Why does MN hate smokers so much?

[PalmTreesPurple]

Not all of MN of course but I’ve seen a lot of negativity about it. I understand not liking smoking yourself because of the health issues, I’m a smoker after giving up for nearly a year and I was stupid to start again but it’s a nasty addiction to kick. I only smoke outside, in designated smoking areas, and never around people who are eating/close to other people. I also don’t smoke in places like parks or walking through town. It is either in my garden or in a designated spot. Would a smoker like that bother you, or is it people who don’t have any courtesy, or do you just not like smokers in general?

Not being aggressive at all, just very interested.

Would also like to know if anyone on here smokes themselves?

I don’t hate smokers but I hate selfish behaviour from some of them. I also hate the smell, it is disgusting.

I used to work in the early years and the dc of smokers always stank of it, their clothes, bags, spare outfits, nappies. It clings to everything.

@Muppetry76 I'm nearly 50 with a 'couple of kids' already. I'm more pragmatic as I've gotten older. No one is perfect. So how someone treats me is much more important to me than a list on non negotiables. Ideally I would date a non smoker. Ideally I'd date a millionaire!. But in reality I want to date a man I care about who cares about me.

I hope he gives up but that's his decision to make. I spend money on makeup, skin care, clothes etc. I don't expect anyone to tell me how to spend my money and I wouldn't tell him how to spend his. He knows my views on it. But no, it's not the deal breaker it might have been when I was younger. I know from experience there are worse things than being a smoker.

Hmm a lot of hypocrisy here I think. I bet most people on this thread have been drunk at some point.

Alcohol is also a carcinogenic, bad for your health in general, makes you smell like a keg and is anti social when done to excess, which loads of people do, regularly. It puts a huge strain on the NHS, police and other services.
Yet anyone anti-alcohol on MN is accused of being judgemental and people get defensive over their "wine-o'clock".
As someone who rarely drinks more than 1-2 drinks, I hate being around excessively drunk and rowdy people at social functions/in the park on a sunny day/when in town on a weekend night. I think it's anti social and selfish, and ruins the atmosphere. If I voiced that I'd be called a party pooper and told to lighten up.
But smoking is apparently The Worst Thing, even though it's been banned in indoor public places for years and there's minimal risk to your health when people smoke outside. It takes literally seconds to walk past someone smoking and you're in more danger than when breathing in toxic car fumes 24/7 if you live in a city.
So yeah, people smoking in doorways isn't something I can get worked up over.
I say this as an ex smoker who hasn't touched cigarettes in 7 years.

@Overthinker1988 I agree ☝🏾

@ExtremelyBoldSquirrels
I haven't read the whole thread so I haven't seen the comparisons to alcohol, which I have just brought up.
But it's absolutely not true that only addicts drink to excess. Binge drinking is something that's been normalised - almost everyone I know has done it at some point or still does it and I don't hang out with addicts, my circle is professional people in their 30s and 40s. Someone havjng a glass of wine with heir meal isn't a problem, but let's face it, a lot of people drink a lot more than that. Go to any town centre on a weekend night and you'll see it.

[quote Bananabread8]@Overthinker1988 I agree ☝🏾[/quote]
So do I.

@Nanny0gg his smoking hasn't impacted on me at all. He chews gum when we're together. He says he wants to quit. But clearly not enough. He has a lot of things going on right now so not the right time. Aa I say he has other qualities. And that matters to me more. Even though I'm a massive anti smoker.

So, some smokers were very inconsiderate to you and it was understandably aggravating and horrible. That does not mean that all smokers bear the responsibility for that.

It was not some smokers, the default attitude back then was that you could pretty much smoke where you wanted unless someone objected, and even then, the person who objected was either ignored or begrudgingly assumed to be one of the awkward squad. On the rare occasions that you were asked if it was okay to smoke it was always with a passive aggressive attitude, that you were somehow obliged to say yes because they had extended the courtesy of asking your permission. Most of the time your refusal was met with a sigh or exasperated look. The levels of entitlement back then were astonishing. Even after the Kings Cross fire you had these morons complaining about how their civil liberties were under attack because they could not light up during their 20 min tube journey.

I used to smoke. I started smoking in my last year of school and while I was a uni student. I used to smoke twice a day and probably a maximum of 4 on a bad day. I am quite a studious and conscientious person so I had a lot of comments from people who were surprised that I smoked. I didn’t “look” like or act like a smoker, apparently.

I know the dangers of smoking and I know it’s a stupid thing to do. The fact is I found smoking relaxing. Some people unwind with a glass of wine but I had a cigarette at the start and the end of the day. Both aren’t healthy activities but a glass of wine (or a bottle) was socially acceptable in my circles, whereas a cigarette wasn’t - although I suspect smoking would have done a lot more damage to my health.

I don’t judge people who say they smoke or who enjoy a cigarette. I do judge people who smoke all over non-smokers or in front of their children. I still have an occasional cigarette if I’m out drinking with other people but I’d never want my child to see me smoking (especially as I’d have the added stigma of being a young mum).

It's not either or, drinking or smoking?

Because some people get rowdy pissed doesn't mean smoking isn't a stinking killer that contributes massively to litter and consequences for smokers' kids.

Whataboutism.

There are some parallels but because one exists doesn't negate the other!

What you said in your original post would bother me if I lived next door to you and could smell it from my garden, or if I was sitting outside at a pub and you were on the next table.

Smoke travels and it stinks. It’s a vile habit that affects other people, and I honestly wish it had never been invented.

@Overthinker1988 thing is, there just is no smoking equivalent for having a glass of wine with your dinner. There’s no way to make it not be antisocial. It stinks (and the smell lingers), smoke does affect other people, it’s just generally unpleasant.

I didn’t say all binge drinkers were addicts at all. I said ‘where addiction is an issue’ and made a distinction between this and other problematic use. I think we can all agree that the kind of binge drinking you describe is problematic and not something we (as a society) should want to encourage.

Just because some drinking behaviour can be associated with antisocial behaviour isn’t really relevant (even if it should g be socially acceptable). It’s just a distraction from the issues with smoking.

‘Well X, Y and Z are bad too’, just does not in any way make smoking less bad. I don’t care if car exhaust fumes are terrible (they are - the clean air at the start of lockdown really was lovely). Or if violent drinks are arseholes (clearly they are too). Or any of the other things that might be shit in the world. It doesn’t mean I want to stand next to someone smoking at a bus stop, or that we (as a society) need to accept or encourage it.

Hmm a lot of hypocrisy here I think. I bet most people on this thread have been drunk at some point
Alcohol is also a carcinogenic, bad for your health in general, makes you smell like a keg and is anti social when done to excess

This is a false comparison. Firstly, me getting drunk doesn’t affect anyone else’s liver but my own. Smoking does. People like Roy castle have died as a result of 2nd hand smoke.

Secondly, no one at work pops outside every 30 mins for a beer break and comes back to their desk breathing alcohol fumes over everyone, their clothes smelling of stale beer. They’d be sacked if they did that.

I also don’t agree with the simplistic and lazy comparisons to alcohol that have been made repeatedly on this thread. Apart from anything else, the person on the table next to you having a glass of wine with their dinner doesn’t affect your experience in the restaurant at all. Smoking at the next table will (and the effects will linger on your clothes and hair too). It’s not the same thing

Exactly. Smoking is different to drinking and we all know why so these attempt at comparisons are a straw man argument.

I used to work alongside a senior director who smoked. Y desk was just outside her office. Every time she came back from a fag break she’d spray some kind of air freshener to cover up the smell of smoke. It stank as badly as smoke and we all had to sit there breathing it. (She only shut the door if she had a meeting.)

Harmful to other people's health. Driving. www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/in-car-pollution-equivalent-to-passively-smoking/

Because it stinks and the smell of stale smoke which lingers for ever is even worse. It causes cancer and many other illnesses not just for the smoker but also those who have had the smoke inflicted on them which in turn uses up valuable NHS resources.

Because it litters terribly - how long does it take for filters to decompose. Because it’s a massively selfish, unnecessary act.

It's perfectly reasonable to compare alcohol. Problem drinking absolutely does affect other people.

Alcohol costs the NHS 3.5 billion.
This figure doesn't include the costs to the police, criminal justice system, prison service, social services.

1 in 20 road accidents in the UK involve alcohol.

It's perfectly reasonable to compare alcohol. Problem drinking absolutely does affect other people

I disagree but even if it is- that doesnt make smoking suddenly great does it? It doesnt make smoking harmless, it doesn't make smoking suddenly not anti social, it doesnt make smoking suddenly not toxic to other people's health. I mean, so what? That changes exactly nothing about people's valid arguments on this thread about why they dislike smokers smoking around them.

Problem drinking causes untold harm to others.

Problem drinking causes untold harm to others

So? this thread is about smoking. You are welcome to start a thread about the dangers of alcohol if you so wish. Doesnt make smoking ok.

Why is smoking not ok?
You think it costs the taxpayer? Wrong. It brings in more than it costs. And saves on pensions.

You say it's harmful to the health. So? Lots of things, including alcohol, cakes, and cars harm the health. Homelessness is a far more immediate health emergency but nothing's done about that. The average age of death for a homeless person is in their 40s. A hell of a lot younger than smokers. If people are worried about harm to health and risk of early death, it seems a bit odd to be so obsessed with smoking.
Why single out smoking?

What's the alternative to dying young? Neglect in a care home and a slow undignified dementia death? It's absolutely valid to make an informed choice as to the preferable option.

I don't even miss cigarettes but the attitudes towards smokers by some here are ridiculous and ignorant. If I didn't hate the term, I'd even say hysterical.

My mother was a very heavy smoker and throughout my childhood, I was forced to be a passive smoker. She died, horribly, from lung cancer 3 years ago yesterday.

I've suffered regular bouts of bronchitis throughout my life, as has my younger brother. It's left us both very vulnerable to the impact of serious respiratory viruses...

Therefore, apart from the fact it stinks, I've been having to self-isolate since March because of passive smoking's impact on my lungs.

If we're concerned about passive smoking effects, we'll have to ban cars.

Can you die from passive cake eating?

Not cakes no. Driving, yes.