# So, found a basket 'o' smokes in the bargain bin @ Kroger (Rant: mild and menthol-y) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 3, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756 "2009-01-03T23:50:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/21 "2009-01-04T05:33:15Z")
There has been a change to the displaying of cigarettes in stores here recently; they are now behind black flaps so you can’t see the cigarettes at all. I too would have found a bin of cigarettes on clearance odd, but I find alcohol for sale everywhere odd, too. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/22 "2009-01-04T09:37:35Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > 20 to 1 the Manager dumped em right back inna bargan bin 5 minutes after you left. Yeah, the manager realized you ( **Tripler** ) weren’t going to shut up until he told you what you wanted to hear. Three people told you that the cigarettes were intentionally put in the bargain bin. To which you replied “But they’re _in the bargain bin!_ They’re _out in the open!_” and acted incredulous that they “didn’t get it”. You’re the one who didn’t get it. Although, I suppose you did get it but just wanted to make a grand display of how your opinion on the matter was just so much more civilized, enlightened, and just plain “right”. If you felt so strongly that you needed to make your opinion heard, after the _first time_ you were told that the cigarettes were placed exactly where the store had intended to place them, you could have asked to see a manager. Then, skipping over the passive-agressive bullshit, you could have said: “I am told that the cigarettes placed out in the open in the bargain bin were placed there intentionally with full knowledge of the management. As a member of the community, this concerns me as it seems too accessible to children. I hope you will note my concern as such a practice strikes me as irresponsible and thus I will reconsider offering my patronage to your establishment so long as such a policy remains in effect.” And, of course, the manager could either consider your opinion or decide he didn’t give a shit. Open your own store and you can put the cigarettes anyplace you please. You can even place a big sign in the window saying “Hey, come to my store instead of the other store because I am morally superior!!!” But the way: I don’t smoke, I don’t enjoy being in the presence of smoking, I think our society is well served as smoking becomes less less common. Still, I do not believe that choosing not to smoke makes me a better person than people who do choose to smoke. And I hold nothing against any establishment that chooses to make legal sale of legal goods to people who choose to make legal purchases. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/23 "2009-01-04T10:02:19Z")
The manager said that there was a policy of checking IDs for purchases of cigarettes. If they follow policy, no problem. If not OH MY GOD SOME KIDS MIGHT SMOKE! OK, take deep breaths, it’s gonna be OK… ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/24 "2009-01-04T11:15:29Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > Smoking can be stopped, but stealing is an indication of a bigger problem(s). You dumb. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/25 "2009-01-04T11:32:06Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > The thing that seems to be working is teaching kids that smokers are stupid, and it’s a low class habit. I hate to say it, but social pressure and scorn are fabulous tools to control behavior. That is indeed what seems to work. I smoke (yes I’m stupid and low class) but my son is seriously going to be the last person on the planet to smoke. He KNOWS that smoking was something my generation was sucked into. His distain is clear. When I was a teenager it was more about “If THEY can then I can!”. I actually started smoking to annoy my father, my son will not start smoking so he can clearly show the world he is superior. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/26 "2009-01-04T11:33:45Z")
> [@Cuckoorex](#): > > The manager said that there was a policy of checking IDs for purchases of cigarettes. If they follow policy, no problem. If not OH MY GOD SOME KIDS MIGHT SMOKE! And if they do, it will be society’s fault. We will have failed our children in ways that only QED can know. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/27 "2009-01-04T13:03:14Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > To whom is this addressed to? Me, or the manager? > > Tomorrow, on our way out of town for the day, we’ll pick up our usual Sunday paper, and casually see if it’s back in the bin. > > Tripler > Although I agree with your odds. The manager. ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/28 "2009-01-04T14:02:53Z")
You’re uncomfortable with smokes being close in proximity to candy? What, you think kids don’t know of the existence of cigarettes? Do you think they might mistake the cigs for candy and ask mommy for them or something? I smoked when I was 14, and the only way I got them was to ask my older friends for them. You still have to buy the things, and there are plenty of anti-theft measures in stores…and despite your assumption, most teenagers won’t steal even if they have a smoking habit. Having them in the bargain bin wouldn’t have made any difference to my smoking habits whatsoever, nor any of my friends’ smoking habits. I’m mystified by this pit thread, and more than a little mystified by your behavior of tattling to the manager about the location of cigarettes. Seems like your recreational outrage got carried too far. I can’t believe that you’re going back, either, what a waste of your time and the manager’s time. I would sincerely hate having to deal with you and your inflated sense of righteousness. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/29 "2009-01-04T15:39:18Z")
**bienville** , **Elysian** , get off your high fuckin’ theatrical horses, and come down to the “real world” where actual people live. Don’t dress up a fairly simple situation with histrionics (either your own, or those you want to imply I performed). Based on what I _thought_ was the law and my own irritation at what I saw, I brought a situation up the ‘food chain’ to the manager. I still feel as if someone just “dumped” them there absentmindedly. But, it’s been shown in this thread that it in fact, _isn’t_ the law. I’ve been wrong before, and I’ll be wrong again. > [@Elysian](#): > > I’m mystified by this pit thread, and more than a little mystified by your behavior of tattling to the manager about the location of cigarettes. Seems like your recreational outrage got carried too far. I can’t believe that you’re going back, either, what a waste of your time and the manager’s time. I would sincerely hate having to deal with you and your inflated sense of righteousness. We’re going back for a newspaper. Like we always do. And we’ll continue to shop there. Like we always do. I’m not about to blow things out of proportion with a simple absentminded drop of the ball (which is what I think it is), and start picketing the damn store. My recreational outrage stems from the indifference of the first employee, and the second, both of which just didn’t give me the impression they gave a damn whatsoever–either of the existence of cigarettes, or the existence of a customer with any sort of a question. I made a casual observation, and hold your hat for this: sometimes, just _sometimes_, casual people take simple actions where they see something wrong. But, I will spare you the trouble. Next time I see your shoe is untied, I won’t say anything. I’ll let you trip. > [@bienville](#): > > Three people told you that the cigarettes were intentionally put in the bargain bin. To which you replied “But they’re _in the bargain bin!_ They’re _out in the open!_” and acted incredulous that they “didn’t get it”. You’re the one who didn’t get it. > > Although, I suppose you did get it but just wanted to make a grand display of how your opinion on the matter was just so much more civilized, enlightened, and just plain “right”. Again, I love this. When can I pick up the Oscar you’re awarding me? Get off yer high fuckin’ horse, Pilgrim. > [@](#): > > If you felt so strongly that you needed to make your opinion heard, after the _first time_ you were told that the cigarettes were placed exactly where the store had intended to place them, you could have asked to see a manager. Then, skipping over the passive-agressive bullshit, you could have said: “I am told that the cigarettes placed out in the open in the bargain bin were placed there intentionally with full knowledge of the management. As a member of the community, this concerns me as it seems too accessible to children. I hope you will note my concern as such a practice strikes me as irresponsible and thus I will reconsider offering my patronage to your establishment so long as such a policy remains in effect.” No, because that would have been _exactly_ the grandiose display you all seem to want. But I guess if I want your Oscar, I’ll have to. . . > [@](#): > > But the way: I don’t smoke, I don’t enjoy being in the presence of smoking, I think our society is well served as smoking becomes less less common. Still, I do not believe that choosing not to smoke makes me a better person than people who do choose to smoke. And I hold nothing against any establishment that chooses to make legal sale of legal goods to people who choose to make legal purchases. Good! And I agree with you completely! I still hold that it looked very out of place for smokes next to chocolates. If I’m wrong for _that_, oh fuckin’ well! Tripler I do not apologize for giving a damn. ---
**Author:** ![sugar\_and\_spice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@sugar\_and\_spice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugar_and_spice)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/30 "2009-01-04T16:25:05Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > My recreational outrage stems from the indifference of the first employee, and the second, both of which just didn’t give me the impression they gave a damn whatsoever–either of the existence of cigarettes, or the existence of a customer with any sort of a question. I made a casual observation, and hold your hat for this: sometimes, just _sometimes_, casual people take simple actions where they see something wrong. The first guy was just working the floor, he stopped when he saw you had a question. How much more of a damn is he supposed to give? I mean it’s a grocery store, not Nordstoms, you can’t expect every person walking the floor to resolve every issue you may have. You stop guys on the floor to ask what aisle the ketchup is in, not to give a complaint. Service complaints go the the service desk, which in this case was open and staffed. The second employee, at the service desk, was not a manager but promptly offered to get you a manager when you didn’t like her answer. Again, how does that not meet your expectations? If you really think the staff just failed the public then maybe you should shop at a place like Whole Foods or a locally-owned specialty foods store, where the increased prices help support a trained and knowledgeable staff who will stop on a dime to answer any and all of your questions. I’m sure they would be happy to have your business. ---
**Author:** ![spike404](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@spike404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spike404)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/31 "2009-01-04T16:53:42Z")
My goodness, much ado about nothing! If it were sticks of dynamite, it would be worth being concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/32 "2009-01-04T17:11:05Z")
> [@calm\_kiwi](#): > > That is indeed what seems to work. > > I smoke (yes I’m stupid and low class) but my son is seriously going to be the last person on the planet to smoke. He KNOWS that smoking was something my generation was sucked into. His distain is clear. > > When I was a teenager it was more about “If THEY can then I can!”. I actually started smoking to annoy my father, my son will not start smoking so he can clearly show the world he is superior. I am a smoker too, and yes, I am a moron. My 12 year old daughter knows everything about smoking, and when I threaten her with death if she smokes, she (in that oh so saucy way of a teenage girl) looks at me if as if I had told her she better not kiss the biggest nerd in school. I have no worries about that. I think what most non-smokers don’t get is that smokers are not idiots. They fully understand the health risks and other negatives about smoking. Non-smokers do not need to act as if cigarettes are cylinders filled with toxic goo that will come alive, slither across the floor, and eat your face. The real problem with smoking is that it is so hard to quit. Every smoker I know wants to quit, but it may be the hardest thing we ever have to do in our lives. I mean that literally - burying my mother at age 21 was very hard, and threw me off for years afterward. But quitting smoking is the biggest obstacle I face, one that makes me sad and angry and scared. And I have to do it alone. At least, with my mom, there were others who could share it with me, and make it easier. I have made it clear to my kids, and to the Girl Scout troop I used to lead, that the real problem with smoking is not lung cancer, it’s the addiction. It is hard to get the concept of an addiction across to kids, but I tried my best, and hopefully had some effect. Anti-smoking zealots need to understand that sealing cigarettes behind a wall, banning smoking in public, or any other number of anti-smoking efforts, aren’t going to work. It has everything to do with education about addiction. The next time you have twenty minutes to spend bitching about cigarettes in a bargain bin, use that time to talk to a kid about it instead, or think about how to explain addiction to a kid, or any number of things that may make an actual difference. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/33 "2009-01-04T17:14:55Z")
> [@neutron\_star](#): > > You dumb. I don’t get it - I’m dumb because I think a kid who is stealing is more worthy of concern than a kid who is smoking? A kid who smokes is dumb, but there is pressure by advertisers and the fact that smoking is a legal activity that would give the kid that idea that smoking is okay. A kid who steals is ignoring the social contract, probably has a parenting problem, and is committing a property crime. I’m taking it you disagree? ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/34 "2009-01-04T17:58:55Z")
Sorry… I just can’t get past the concept that cigarettes could ever be marked down. Smokes can actually go on sale in the US??? Oh, you crazy 'Muricans. I bet you have clearance sales on guns and ammo too, right? 🙂 (see, in Ontario this whole scenario would be pretty much impossible… beyond the fact that stores are not allowed to treat cigarettes as sale items, our laws also require that they be locked up outside of the customer’s view, either under the cash register or in an unmarked cabinet, lest a weak-willed minor be tempted by the wall of pretty coloured boxes of tasty death sticks) ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/35 "2009-01-04T18:12:47Z")
> [@Mahna\_Mahna](#): > > Smokes can actually go on sale in the US??? > > Oh, you crazy 'Muricans. I bet you have clearance sales on guns and ammo too, right? 🙂 Sure. Why not? And don’t forget sales on alcohol, too. Beer, vodka, wine, whatever. It was gone last time I drove over that way, but there used to be a place on Hwy 30 (in Jefferson County MO) that had a big sign declaring: GUNS-AMMO-BEER. I bet they sold cigarettes, too. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/36 "2009-01-04T18:13:12Z")
I can see locking them up when a carton is worth 100 bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/37 "2009-01-04T19:04:42Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I can see locking them up when a carton is worth 100 bucks. $100? Where you buying your smokes at? A carton of cigarettes is more like $35 or so here. ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/38 "2009-01-04T19:21:40Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > The instant aura of stupidity sank down from the heavens, “No, they’re on clearance, they’re supposed to be in the bin.” To which I respond, “Um, dude, they’re cigarrettes. Next to the Snickers. They ought not to be out where you can’t at least keep an eye on 'em.” “No, they’re _supposed_ to be there.” Sounds like the aura of stupidity was coming from you. They _were_ supposed to be there. If you don’t like it then move to a state where the laws prohibit such displays or take it upon yourself to change the law. If you’re concerned about kids smoking then you should have brought it up in a different manner than you did. You approached him from a standpoint that his business decision was so patently obviously wrong that it must have been a mistake and he pretended it was to get you to leave him alone. He’ll put them back in the bin as soon as you leave. Now had you approached him explaining your reasoning, then you might have changed his mind. If you want to win people over to your viewpoint you don’t do so by assuming that the status quo is stupid or careless. The righteous indignation you wrote the OP with (I don’t know if it came across in your interaction with the employees) would have pissed me off, I can guarantee you. You are complaining about people portraying your actions in an over-dramatic fashion but the OP would lead one to believe that you were acting in such a fashion. I think it’s good you give a damn, but I don’t agree with the way you went about doing it. ETA: Cigarettes in NYC are about 10 dollars a pack here. That’d make a carton around 100 dollars. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/39 "2009-01-04T19:34:53Z")
Even if I thought the Kroger was breaking the law, I can’t even comprehend caring enough to complain to anyone. I don’t care that someone did. It just seems so odd. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756/40 "2009-01-04T19:37:19Z")
My dad (who is 73) began smoking at the age of 9. Back when I was in high school in the 80s, there was more than one kid who picked up the habit before they were a teenager and these are just the ones I know / remember off the top of my head. I don’t think these examples are _particularly_ uncommon, so I think I see where **Tripler** ’s initial opinion came from. See, it seems that teenagers that smoke can indeed bum their cigarettes off older friends or siblings. Not so much for _kids_ who try it. The folks I mentioned above all talked about having to steal the stuff when they were that little because NO one would just give it to them. Even understanding brothers and sisters said “No way!” to a smoking 10 year old. So although I think **Sateryn** and others are spot on that teenagers and adults wouldn’t steal cigarettes in a clearance bin, mischeivious kids who might want to try being ‘naughty’ could jump all over the opportunity that presents itself _right beside the candy._ Maybe that’s what he was getting at. And yeah, presenting his reasoning to the manager in a different light probably would’ve resolved the situation a bit better to his liking, but a lot of times one doesn’t think as thoroughly at the moment versus when their explaining the situation on a message board. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-found-a-basket-o-smokes-in-the-bargain-bin-kroger-rant-mild-and-menthol-y/479756.md?page=3)