Originally Posted by
Porcell
More than anything, my response is:
It's legal. Fuck off. Don't tell me what to do.
Furthermore, Cigarette taxes bring in over $17B per year in the US. People should be thanking smokers.
And you don't think people know it's dangerous? People will make decisions regardless of facts. I started smoking a little in high school, smoked moderately to heavily (1 pack per day or less) throughout college, and maintained a 3-4 pack per week habit for the next 6 years. I quit a year ago, not for health reasons but just because I was tired of it. I went in for surgery, had a cigarette literally hours before I went into the ER and had surgery, and ended up being a couple weeks being laid up where I couldn't smoke. Once I was back up and moving around I finished off the pack I had, figured out I didn't really miss it, and quit cold turkey.
It had nothing to do with diseased lungs and fear of dying young or cancer. I liked smoking, so I smoked. Then I decided to stop. No one could tell me to quit, and the only way a smoker will ever quit is if he decides he wants to quit. But if you bring by trays of black lungs, I'd be just as likely to blow smoke in your face and flick a butt past your head. Just like if some crazed vegan showed me cows getting slaughtered, I'd probably go get a hamburger just to piss them off.
Whenever someone told me "You know that stuff is bad for you" I would always respond in mock horror. "Oh SHIT, really!?!? Let me throw away the rest of this pack right now."