Non smoker. I’m mildly allergic to smoke, so I was never even temped to try. Over the years, I’ve built up a tolerance to smoke (second hand), and it really doesn’t bother me as much anymore as it used to.
This last Memorial Day, I tried my first cigarette.
Ya know what? I don’t see the attraction. If I have to keep smoking in order to get something out of the experience, why bother?
I’ll never smoke again.
You say “cheesy” like that’s a BAD thing.
Mostly non smoker. If I’m in a bar or otherwise around a lot of smokers, I’ll pull out some cloves and smoke them rather than suffocate on the tobacco. Worse for me, but at least I enjoy it.
Did you know that each cigarette you smoke takes 16 seconds off of your life? It’s true. My cousin Walter never smoked a cigarette in his life. Till one day he was on a plane. The engines went out, and everyone started to panic. They guy next to him lit up a cigarette, and Walt decided what the hell. Bummed a cig and a light, started smoking, and poof his heart went out. 16 seconds before the plane crashed and everyone else onboard was killed.
http://www.madpoet.com
Computers have let mankind make mistakes faster than any other invention, with the possible exception of tequila and handguns.
Uh huh. Right. 
Although an ex-smoker, I’m not one of those rabid in your face type of antismoker.
As violent as I get is telling others that I support their right to smoke, but that right ends where my lungs begin.
VB
“Hey! How 'bout that Toe Jam?”
I don’t smoke. My parents smoked like chimneys when I was growing up, and it just totally repulsed me.
Eve, I have a feeling that the Atlanta Doper group is going to be mostly a non-smoking one (not to scare any smokers away). You should come join us for our get-together!
Vestal, are you from Arizona by any chance? The “nasty-dirty-rotten-stinking” quote looks a lot like the anti-smoking campaign slogan here.
Smoker here. I started when I was 22 (I’d had a couple before, but that was when I started for real.) Why? I was in college, was having “girl troubles”, and was working myself to physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. I didn’t do drugs and I didn’t drink, because I was (still am) a self-control fanatic. I took up smoking as a way of relaxing without giving up competence in my responsibilities.
I suppose I do it now for pretty much the same reason, though I will allow myself an occaisional drink now.
Non-smoker. I tried one of my dad’s cigarettes once when I was a kid and just hated it. Funny thing is, I often smoke in my dreams.
Semi-related question: Anyone else hate people who sit in the smoking section and then complain about the smokers and/or ask someone to put out their cigarette?
Your Official Cat Goddess since 10/20/99.
“I get along well with everybody.” --I.M.F.
Smoke like it’s going out of style. Mainly I smoke because it’s good for you. You see, cigarettes have vitamin C in them in large quantities, and protein too!
Actually, I know it is moronic, but I really do enjoy it. As an avid cyclist, I am one of the biggest idiots I know. You should see those lung cookies I come up with after an 80 miler. I plan on quitting this coming year.
“Teaching without words and work without doing are understood by very few.”
-Tao Te Ching
Hey, Strainger: I think that anti-smoking slogan they have here in AZ is pretty cool. It says,“Tobacco: Tumor causing-teeth staining- smelly-puking habit.”
And, by the way, they have it in MI too, so, it might be a nationwide thing.
And, in case it isn’t evident; I’m a non smoker, and proud of it. That brings up a good question. Do any of you still think that smoking cigarettes is “cool” now that you’re mature adults?
Adam
“Life is hard…but God is good”
I don’t smoke. Never did.
There’s this comedian, Todd Barry, I’ve seen on Comedy Central. My brother saw him perform live once. This guy is really funny. He says: “I’m a militant anti-smoker; I don’t even let people smoke in my apartment. I should rephrase that. . . I don’t let men smoke in my apartment.”
Nice
“I’m just too much for human existence – I should be animated.”
–Wayne Knight
Democritus wheezed:
Good idea…quitting cycling will give you much more time for smoking.
( )
I smoke. I tend to think of myself as a considerate smoker though. I won’t smoke around children, and if I go out to eat with a non-smoker, we sit in the non-smoking section. I know that smoking is my problem, and I don’t want to pollute someone else’s lungs. My husband doesn’t smoke, so I only smoke in my computer room, and only smoke in the car when I’m alone.
Rose
Shadowfox
“We are what we pretend to be.”
Im a smoker. There are many days when I dont particularly like the taste. I’ve stopped many times and am working on it again over the holidays, time will tell.
A true friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out…there are Angels among us
Smoker. Since I was 15. So, lezzee - 18 years now.
When I was a “real” smoker (see previous post above), I always obeyed smoking ordinances. I didn’t smoke near entrances/exits, I never smoked at dinner with non-smokers, and I never insistend on sitting in the smoking section.
When I quit, I vowed to never become militant about it. It would be very easy to do so; I think that choosing (brainwashing yourself) to violently hate something makes it easier to give it up. I had a friend who quit one day and started haranguing me about my smoking the next. What a beeyatch. As any smoker knows (even if it’s subconciously), the high road is to let people decide that they want to come out of their addiction in their own time. The only way that anyone will quit is if they want to. Period.
Anyway, as far as the militant thing goes, I think I’ve succeeded, mostly. The exception is when I see someone violating ordinances. Half the reason smokers are so hated is because so many of them are damn rude with their habit.
non-smoker. also, VERY anti smoking, but i must admit, besides because of my asthma and logic, i am very biased in my reason.
“human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust; we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.” - albert einstein
Non-Smoker
I Smoked Clove cigarettes in High School (last year), but only seldomly (I think I had a pack last about 3 months one time)
I really like them, but made the decision to quit when my dentist asked me if I smoked (I said no sheepishly), and then told me I had a discoloration on my tooth that looked like that of a smokers. I’ve seen enough smokers’ ugly crusty yellow teeth to know that I did NOT want that for myself.
Haven’t touched them since, but occasionally get a craving. (Like, damn! right now!)
[Jacques Cousteau]
“As you can see, the depths of the deep, blue ocean have perfectly preserved this ancient thread…”
[/Jacques Cousteau]
[The Lord and Savior Jesus Christ]
“Lazarus, come forth!”
[/The Lord and Savior Jesus Christ]
IANAM, but I would think a good piece of advice is that if it has old, non-working code in it, the sucker’s dead.
I started smoking because I was bored and got hooked. How many of you smokers smoke when you are waiting for your food at a restaurant, waiting in line for a movie, or smoke when you are driving? I smoke now to kill time or when I’m bored.