Not Smoking

It makes me feel superior compared to others sometimes… but it also is hard because you can't really talk to people about many subjects that matter because they don't know what the hell you are saying or they just don't have an open-mind. It is lonely sometimes. It is somewhat depressing.

If somebody doesn't know what you are saying, then the problem is your own inability to comunicate effectively, not their inability to interpret, and I've never met anybody without an open-mind. I've met people who disagree with me... but never anybody with a closed mind.

Not many people in my town want to listen to what you say and they just want to stick to what they think they know… They think it is cool to be stupid so people pretend to be dumb… it is quite strange to me… It's like they do not want to communicate with me. I guess it's just part of being in highschool and most people just think they know everything and that they are always right.

How ironic. I recommend a mirror, because it always allows you to find somebody who's mind is as open as your own. Maybe it's not that they want to stick to what they think and know, but instead they wish to learn by themselves at their own pace, in their own way, and not simply abandon the trusty realities with which they have grown comfortable, in reaction to your unique and confidently educated world view. Or perhaps whatever you're trying to enlighten them about is so unimportant when trying to maintain the basic necessities of life (food, clothing, shelter), that they simply see no reason to bother changing their own beliefs, considering those beliefs have not generated any obvious setbacks thus far, minus the occasional need to ignore your indoctrination attempts.

I dunno, there are some really stupid people out there…

g0sh it sucks..... i really hate sm0king....

Smokers just smell, thank god most of my friends are non smokers.

And thank god I have a poor sense of smell.

I don't even get why people smoke. THere are other ways to relax that are cheaper and don't include a high risk of getting lung cancer

smoking sux to the max. they think it's cool when it's not. i'd really hate it when there's a smoker in the room, it stinks(literally)! inconsiderate people!

I think most smokers are simply mimmicing their parents. They were raised around smoke, and so they feel the most at home breathing it.

It took me two days to get caught up on this topic, but I'm finally there!

On a different note, I agree that people should be allowed to smoke in the privacy of their own homes, unless they have small children which could be adversely affected by a smoking environment.  Then, smoke in your backyard.

Well, how considerate of you to endorse private freedom.

lol. Anyways, like someone said below, there are better ways to relax, like masturbation. So I suggest smokers head off to that forum.

Good point.  If we are to choose a habit in which people should be indulging in public for relaxation, open masturbation is far less offensive to the people around you than smoking. I can see the anti-tobacco ads now: "Don't smoke it. Choke it." and "Ladies, don't smoke. Objects of that shape are best suited for the other end." 

You should be President.

HM, you may have misunderstood.  I'm not against people smoking outdoors.  Just indoors where smoke is not welcome.  Ex, restaurants, malls, homes with children.  If people want to smoke indoors, and everyone who lives there is fine with it, by all means risk your life.  I'll just leave. 

Funny stuff there.  ^

nah… if masturbation works as a replacement for cigarettes, why do smokers crave so much for a fix after they have sex?

touché

I don't think they do. Unless it's just become a habit. I've never known any smoker to crave a cigarette after sex. I know the do on movies. But, Yeah, pretty much every person in my family smokes other than my father and me. 

Hahahaha, and when I was advocating masturbation, you made a good point HM, even though I think you may have been trying to insult me, I found it funny. But, they could always just go to the bathroom and do it. Eventually, if people do it enough, they won't think much about it. (I'm kidding, just incase you took it seirously, well, kinda kidding.)

All of my apparent insults are insult mockery.  That is I mock someone who might insult somebody, and try to make it sound funny. In fact, any message I post which has the appeaerance of an emotional response is secretly sarcastic in some way. I never take anything seriously enough to get angry over it. I only argue as a strategy game, and once in a while an apparently emotional reply seems like the best strategy.

Smoking is disgusting. I can't understand how someone could smoke and not give a shit about their lungs, as well as everyone else's lungs around them.

The same way people eat trans fats and meat, and don't care about how badly livestock is treated, nor the damage it does to their own bodies. The same way people buy brand name clothing, without caring about the sweatshops that manufacture them. The same way we use electricity and motor vehicles, without the slightest concern for the pollution produced when they are used. Pain happens, death happens. Most living things benefit from the death or suffering of others. It's a fact of life, and some of us simply accept it. 

I don't know if you heard, but recently a woman from south London celebrated her 100th birthday by smoking her 170,000th cigarette.  She's been smoking five per day since she was seven years old. The fact is that the only people who care about the dangers of smoking are non-smokers like you and me. Some smokers say they care, but they're wrong. Those are only words. Only behavior is honest.

they probably do care.. ok maybe not all of them but its the addiction. do u realize how hard is it to stop smoking?

“Only behavior is honest.” So very true!

I don't believe in addictions. I believe in behavioral patterns, and establish comfort zones. I believe that trying to abandon one causes stress, but I know a lot of smokers, and I've done a lot of personal inhibition experiments. There is no behavior that is not the product of human will power.

Trust me, when you grow up around an entire family that suffers from alcoholism and drug addcition, it's not too hard to believe in it. Your body literally because addicted to a substance, and when you take that substance a way not only does the person mentally get sick, but your body also gets sick because it had gotten addicted to always having that substance. I don't see how you can not believe in addictions.

Symptoms of severe stress. Nothing more. Addiction, strong habit, call it what you will... what I don't believe in is the dependence part of it. 

No, addiction actually is (in this case) a chemical process.  Withdrawal doesn't happen because people think they need a chemical, it happens because their body has become used to the presence of that chemical and protests if that chemical is withheld.

and why is this forum in timeout?

(and what does timeout actually do?) 

Try cocaine over and over agian, and you'll see the dependence of it. It's not like they actually NEED it, but their desire for it is much stronger than their will power.

And, when I described withdrawl, that's what I meant. I'm not sure if you were disagreeing or agreeing. But it is also a mental thing too. My dad used to have to treat people in detox and such. 

Timeout prevents anyone from voting for, bookmarking, or editing an item in any way.

Why have so many items been timed lately? Does someone out there have a grudge or something?

Maybe they're working on stuff. Upgrades or something.

I don't see it that way. I think that if you give into your desires, it's not that you don't have will power. It's that you assign your will to the task of fulfilling your desires. I do expect that a body would protest the absence of a chemical to which it has become comfortable, though I don't consider that a medical problem.  The reason is that it seems to be something programed into human nature. If "addiction" is something any human has the potential to develope, and it's not a virus or infection, then it must mean that when you become addicted, your body is functioning properly. 

I'm not sure about that. I mean, I guess I could see it that way if it was that your body was fuctioning properly to need the chemcial. But, in a weird sense. Because once it gets the chemical, it no longer is fuctioning properly. I'm not sure if that makes sense, because it sounds like a contradiction, but it's not. I don't think.

Addiction is very real. I mean, once it has you, it's very hard to loosen it's grip. No one WANTS to be addicted, but once they are, they don't see anything else other than fulfilling that addiction.  

in smoking theres 2 addiction mentally and physically.. u maybe right HM, mentally u can overcome it.. but physically .. thats why addiction is so bad. nicotine starts to get its own receptors in ur body.. the more u smoke the more receptors u ll have. when u want to stop.. u get these receptors starts craving for nicotine which is why makes it hard to quit.. u cant control these things. so i have to agree with jean in this, plus because shes a hottie n i like her.. but thats not the issue here.. unless im making this thing up.. addiction is not only in ur mind.

err btw what does it mean in timeout??

a friend of mine actually able to quit smoking.. but instead of smoking now he is like addicted to caffein.. he'll be like drinking strong black coffee all the time.. i guess mentally he just shifted his addiction from nicotine to caffeine makes himself feel good

"Really hard to stop" doesn't sound like a problem to me.  "Impossible to stop" would mean something.

So, in order for something to be a problem, it has to be impossible? I mean, it's not impossible to stop cancer, but I'd find it to be a problem.

Yes, I noticed a few seemingly innocuous things lately have been put into time out by someone (some persons?). Apparently, some people haven’t been taking their trusted member status too seriously (or perhaps they are taking it too seriously)!

Cancer is only a problem for those who fear death.

Um, no it's not. When something causes physical harm towards someone and it's not something that can be taken care of right away, I'd call that a problem. It's not a problem only if you fear death.  You'd pretty much have to say that there are absolutely no problems in the world unless you fear death.

Only if continuing to live is your only objective.

You are truly unique HM.

"Unique." Yep.

But if everyone was the same, conversations would get pretty boring...

yeah...cancer's still a problem for those who don't fear death, they just don't mind it as much...

and just because they don't mind doesn't mean it isn't a problem: what about their loved ones? it'd still be a problem for them

why is this on “time out”? what does that mean?

Trusted members can put spammy or inappropriate/offensive items into Timeout. Why someone has been choosing to do this randomly, I don’t know. Recently, there have been many more members being granted “trusted” status, (I guess all you have to do now is ask!) so it’s probably the work of someone rather new here.

can tms untimeout things?

there are an insane amount of things on timeout right now, its annoying. The person responsible should be punished XO

agreement!