Don’t know what to tell you. My parents both smoked in the 50s, and they say they had absolutely no idea it was a health risk. They quit in the 70s when the word started getting out.
Because it’s not just smoke! It’s drugs, that’s why people do it. Alcohol can also cause cancer, but you don’t wonder why people would ever take a drink, do you? Nicotine is the original anti anxiety drug. It helps you relax when you’re tense. One of the reasons I’ve found it so hard to quit is that I started quite young and never developed a natural mechanism for dealing with stress and anxiety. I’ll stop for a few days, and then if something “bad” happens…Wham, time for a smoke. It’s a learned response.
I suspect the feeling of “relaxation” is only relative to the feeling of tension created by your craving for the drug. Nicotine is actually a stimulant.
Good point. I’m still amazed since ones first puffs of a cigarette are downright nasty while first sips of alcohol can be quite tasty.
“Truth” ads are frankly the hardest thing about quitting smoking. Here it is, months after I’ve finally quit for good, and the sight of one of those smug ads cause an urge to light up that is almost irresistible. I literally have to change the channel. While the arguments about knowing smoking is bad for you may be applicable for pre 1950s times, nobody now doesn’t know that smoking causes cancer. I see those Ads, and I just want to light up, blow the smoke in the face of those smug asshole kids and say “Yea, I know it’s dangerous. So what?. Mind your own fucking business, asshole”. The premise that people don’t know smoking is bad for them-right now, today, in 2004-is ludicrous.
That makes absolutely no sense. I can think of several reasons why a person might smoke, but spite?
Kidding about removing them from the gene pool, or about being an asshole?
And i notice that your username contains the words “ash” and “tar.” I smell a tobacco company representative in our midst. :dubious: 
I agree with the OP, and ranted not long ago about how the people who make these spots seem to believe we’re morons.
Now I’m not saying tobacco companies should get a free pass in all situations. There are some deceptive practices in which they’ve engaged, and for which they should be accountable. I’m referring to such acts as refusing to recognize the health hazards, manipulating nicotine content specifically to heighten the addictive affect, and so on. That is indefensible. But still. Cigarettes don’t kill people. People who smoke cigarettes die. It may seem like semantic hairsplitting, but IMO it’s not. Aside from second-hand smoke situations which have been largely eliminated anyway, the victim still has to decide to smoke.
I realize that propaganda, by its nature, is not supposed to be clever or deep, but I still find the ads aggravating. I think the real reason fewer people smoke now is that most advertising has been eliminated.
So Ashtar, saying ‘You come a long way baby’ is ok, but pointing out that women are dying of lung cancer at the same rate as men is not? I get it.
Apropos of my earlier reply, this is an opportunity to say that I don’t object to anyone pointing out that women smokers are dying of lung cancer at the same rate as men, because it’s simply stating a fact. Facts are fine in my book.
*I snipped the name of the person you were addressing because I wanted to respond to your post, but didn’t want it to appear as if s/he had made this reply.
It is a stimulant, but it’s also a good excuse (well, not necessarily a good excuse, but it is an excuse) to leave a stressful situation and spend a few minutes outside breathing deeply. Granted, you’re breathing lungfuls of toxic smoke, but you’re still breathing. There’s also the placebo effect - if you associate cigarettes with relaxation, you’re likely to find them relaxing, regardless of their stimulant effect. It doesn’t have to be about the chemical addiction.
Weirdly enough, and I’m not saying that most people smoke because of this (in fact, very very very very very very few people would use cigarettes this way), but nicotine can actually help with some of the symptoms of schizophrenia, which could explain why so many schizophrenics smoke (80%, I believe). So it’s not all bad. It’s only mostly bad.
Where did you get that from?
Both. I’m really not an asshole (dispite what some people on this board may think), and I would never wish death on anyone.
Damn, you got me. I’m actually the CEO of Marlboro. 
What SoP said. Facts are fine, but these Truth.com commercials are nothing more than appeals to emotion. I don’t remember which doper said it (but I do remember it was in a Michael Moore thread), but it fits in here just as well.
Every time you make an appeal to emotion, God kills a kitten.