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 find that smokers are often very selfish people. I remember being at my in laws in their garden when I was very pregnant and my SIL sitting next to me and lighting up a cigarette. She made some comment about how people didn't approve of smoking anymore but that she wouldn't let that stop her, ha ha. I stood up and walked inside.

Because it's truly disgusting and will only kill you or those around you. Or more selfishly: I take pride in wearing clean clothes and wearing nice perfume etc and smokers turn it all to shit by coating everyone around them in an ashtray smell they themselves are immune to.

@MyTearsAreOnFire I honestly don’t think you should be more tolerant of smokers because you have every right not to like it and to not like the smell and any effects it has on you. The only thing I would suggest is if someone does smoke near you to not be scared to ask them to move away from you. If they don’t, they’re arseholes.

As a smoker, would you prefer to be a non-smoker if giving up wasn't so difficult?

I don't like smokers because they are often inconsiderate. For example, I've been exposed to smoke at a bus stop, while it was raining, (and I was heavily pregnant with twins) and we were standing a group of people squashed together in the bus shelter.

Also I grew up with parents who smoked and I've loathed smokers ever since I was a child.

@PalmTreesPurple

I do hope you can - having been prompted as it were - stop again for the good of all who love you.

"people with mental health issues smoke to help with stress" but it does not. My DF had TB and was in hospital long ago and the other patients smoked in bed. Thank goodness for the progress in cutting the places where you can smoke!

And vaping is as bad. I don't believe that it is an aid to cut down and stop. It's a plot by the tobacco companies! You see these vapers delighting in going along in vast clouds of toxic fumes.

@AgeLikeWine

I’m an ex-smoker, and I have no problem with other people smoking. Their money, their health, their choice.

What I do object to, strongly, is being forced to inhale their disgusting toxic carcinogenic smoke. Smoking should be banned in pub gardens, outside restaurants, at bus stops, outside workplaces and anywhere else that non-smokers could be forced to inhale smoke.

Lol. Typical ex smoker!!!

I've never smoked and am very anti, but even I can't muster up the vitriol that some Ex smokers can!

@PalmTreesPurple

you sound like a very considerate smoker, you're a rare breed.

I really like my next door neighbour, but one thing that seriously pisses me off is her smoking outside our backdoors. Mine is almost always open. She smokes outside so it doesn't make the walls yellow - but she doesn't seem to understand u don't want to have it in my house either. It stinks and it sometimes hangs around inside the house for hours. Vile. She's changed brands recently & they're even more vile now!!

And again, you don't do it, but people that smoke in the park, pub garden, shopping areas etc. I don't want to smell it or inhale it.

It shouldn't be allowed except inside someone's home or in sealed smoking rooms.

I've had smokers say how disgusting the sealed rooms are at airports etc. - you couldn't make it up! YES IT STINKS, WE KNOW THAT!!

I wouldn't say I hate smokers though, but I do hate their inconsiderate behaviour!

You can give up again 🌷

I feel exactly the same as I do about people who drink alcohol. Ocassionally, it’s fine several times a day less so. I don’t hate smokers at all but I do dislike the expectation to accommodate their habit.

Yes @NYMM most definitely. As mentioned, this thread really has given me the boost I need to give it up, I have already been referred for help by my GP. X

A lot of smokers here proving the point about smoking and stupidity ‘but I went to university’. Intelligence and being a moron can go hand in hand. Like my friend the doctor who is clearly intelligent starting smoking at 25 = clearly also a stupid moron with no sense.

Also I have to sit beside a smoker in work and my god she stinks. It’s the same as sitting beside someone with terrible body odour. You do judge. No one says oh well maybe they have a mental health problem. You sit there breathing in their stench day in day out and it’s revolting so yes you judge them for it.

@Lovewithalampost

A lot of smokers here proving the point about smoking and stupidity ‘but I went to university’. Intelligence and being a moron can go hand in hand. Like my friend the doctor who is clearly intelligent starting smoking at 25 = clearly also a stupid moron with no sense.

Do you always call your friends 'stupid morons' ?

I’m an ex-smoker and really hate the smell, but I do remember quite clearly that you smell it in the way when you are gripped with the addiction (in fact it begins to smell and taste nice) so you aren’t aware that everyone else is getting a different perspective to you.

So no, I don’t think smokers are selfish. Just generally unaware and it’s only once you quit you really notice what everyone else is talking about.

I dislike smoking intensely. It smells, is bad for health, it can impact on others and I didn’t like my children seeing people doing it.

@PalmTreesPurple I’m astounded by the amount of medical staff smoking in their uniforms at hospital. They literally hide in bushes for a quick smoke.

Unfortunately I live near the hospital and the neighbours who smoke nearby are also medical staff.

Does being asked to move away offend smokers? I think I must be surrounded by arseholes

To the PP who said live and let live. That’s exactly what I’m trying to do

@anon5000 I have told my friend to her face that it’s completely stupid and moronic. She agrees with me. Unfortunately she continues to smoke. It makes no sense.

It’s a filthy disgusting habit. People that smoke smell vile.

There isn't a single thing smoking has to recommend itself. The impact on health, the NHS, the expense....

Smokers have stinky breath, filthy hands and stinky clothes.

I'm an ex-smoker who doesn't really give a flying fuck about smokers or smokers outside near me. But again, on MN, they're right up there with people who point out that wearing a mask can be uncomfortable, are overweight or obese, drink more than a thimbleful of sherry at Xmas, don't eat 'massive salads' with every meal, etc.

Honestly, each to their own and I don't hate smokers as people at all.....

But, smokers absolutely stink and so do their homes! It's absolutely gross, makes me feel nauseous. Sometimes I wonder if smokers are aware of how badly they smell? Imagine you get up, get showered, dressed to go to work but you stink of stale smoke and it's really gross and can be smelt from more than a few metres away!

What about when going on dates etc, or meeting new people, do smokers think they don't smell? Genuine question......

Whenever I see a smoker I think - so how much is this going to cost the NHS? It's great to hear how much less stressed you feel op, but WE will all have to pay for it.

Last proper figures I could find are about 5 years old - smoking cost the NHS somewhere between £3-6bn a year. Taxation on cigarettes brought in £12.5bn. Tax is even higher now. And it’s not really possible to look at the cost in such basic terms because the stark fact is that those who die earlier cost the state less in terms of pensions, social care and their future health needs and the costs cannot be predicted.

So that’s a non-starter as an argument. People who play sports cost the NHS a ton and don’t contribute any extra tax to cover it, are they repugnant morons too?

There are some really vile people on this thread - I guess you can be a disgusting person regardless of smoking status.

@Emeeno1

I'm an ex smoker and I still love the smell of cigarettes, oh and the conversations that used to take place standing outside in the cold all puffing away. Ah, those were the days.

We have certainly become a less tolerant society. Live and let live is dead.

Haha, nice touch of irony there Emeeno1. It's not 'live and let live, is it? because smoking KILLS.

I hope all these people with these views also think they same when they see over weight people, why would they eat so much sugar and fat with no gain? As a PP said. Also cost the NHS millions, also STINK. Same for drinkers but that’s socially acceptable, please see other threads about how much people drink each evening.

[quote Lovewithalampost]@anon5000 I have told my friend to her face that it’s completely stupid and moronic. She agrees with me. Unfortunately she continues to smoke. It makes no sense.[/quote]
She's an adult. It's a legal activity. Some people enjoy it. It doesn't have to make sense. My best friend smokes. Her choice. She can afford it. She enjoys it. Not my body and I'd sure as fuck not insult her intelligence by stating the obvious, how patronising. She already knows . She never stated the obvious to me when I was 2st overweight cuz, well, you know, we're friends.

Addictions are weird things, I stumbled across an interesting experiment called "rat park" about addiction. It suggested the chemical addiction wasn't nearly as big an issue as first thought. The true test was the surroundings and environment of the addict.

Made me re evaluate a lot of my previous assumptions about people and what they are going through. I try to apply it to smokers, alcoholics etc. when I encounter them.