To think that people who smoke aren't totally skint?

[Greedymiss]

Probably going to get shot to pieces for this, but aibu to think that if you are are buying cigarettes, then you aren't actually totally broke?

This has come from someone who has been saying that they can't afford food, but are spending between £40-£70 per week on cigarettes.

I do get that times are tough and the reason that this has made me feel angry is because it reminded me of my parents when I was growing up. We never had money for any luxuries like days out or nice clothes, because they were always poor. Yet they both smoked like chimneys and drank like fish.

I disagree on one point, I don't think it's fine to smoke around your children.

Oh rats I was trying to quote a pp.
Point was, pps have said it's not ok to smoke if you can't feed your children, but I think it's not ok to smoke around them full stop.
Vaping too to be honest, we've swapped an addictive, expensive habit for an addictive, expensive habit that creates mountains of plastic waste. I'm sick of seeing discarded vapes in the street. Forever chemicals are all over the news today. What is our society doing to its bodies?

My now dh smoked when I met him but I said I wasn't interested in dating a smoker. Blow me down if he didn't quit, one or two relapses in the first year but then it was over. I asked him about it and he said "every smoker secretly wants to quit". I guess his sex drive was stronger than the pull of the cigs, and I'm a bit of a plain Jane to be fair.

£20 on a pack of cigarettes? What ones are those? The people I know who are on benefits and smoke get the 'cheao' ones so more like £7 a pack.

I think the thing is, they don’t view smoking as a luxury. They see it more like how somebody who didn’t smoke sees water (bit of a stretch). They see it as an intrinsic need and as they can go without food longer than without a cigarette, that gets prioritised.

Somehow they need a reality check to see that they smoke to feel the same way people that don’t smoke feel ‘normal’ and that after an initial hard 3 months, their lives would be infinitely better.

People who are not addicted but continue to have the 'odd social cigarette' are a huge part of the problem.

This is what normalises smoking.

Lucky you if you can keep your smoking to that level but many many people can't, especially if they start young, perhaps reassured by your example that it's not that addictive after all.

Anyone can give up smoking. Anyone. There is so much effective help out there. If you’re not giving up, it’s because you don’t want to.

Children don't forget when they had to go without to fund their parent's smoking habit. Not even decades later. Not when they use addiction to justify it. Funny how easily they can quit when the doctor tells them they will face the consequences if they don't stop now. I know not everyone can but my parent sure did when it was their well being at stake.

@LangClegsInSpace it is dangerous to suddenly stop using heroin. It’s dangerous because withdrawal symptoms can cause death in some people
secondly , it lowers your tolerance so suddenly stopping without adequate withdrawal management will almost certainly result in fatal overdose on the next hit 🙄
third- I am a drug and alcohol specialist- I know

@UndertheCedartree cigarettes start from £12 and can go up to £depending on the brand
they haven’t been £7 since 2000

I spend £40-£70 a week on coffee and takeaways, although I can afford it I'm not sure on my disposable income I'm best placed to tell others how to save money.

Of course there are better, healthier, cheaper choices but buying a load of carrots, although a better option are not going to get someone through the day.

If it's not cigarettes it'll be something else because life is like that.

I stopped smoking in 2012 and they were a fiver then.

I am an occasional smoker and have never bought cigarettes for £20 …unless you are at a 5 star hotel and ask the doorman to go out and get a packet for you in central London.£11 max at the supermarket!

So what they are really doing is asking you to pay for their cigarettes.

YANBU to say no.

You can get them for £7 if you go into certain shops and ask for the 'cheap' cigarettes. They're ones from abroad. You can get normal cigarettes for £10.50

They vape.

YANBU but it is an addiction. As part of my job I do to visit a lot of older people to do benefit checks etc. They say they are skint, can't afford to put the heating on etc, yet the houses stink of cigarette smoke, the kind of stench that clings to my clothes and paperwork. It's frustrating but I have to remind myself it's an addiction.

💯 💯 agree OP. It winds me up so much on these programmes when you see people whinging about how little money they having whilst puffing on a fag. Then adding ‘cigarettes’ into their essential budget for the week. That £20 a week could be a nice boost, don’t ya think 🙄 🙄 Plus the cost to the NHS!!!

It is an addiction but it's a choice to remain addicted.

😮 😮 😮

My thoughts.

So no-one can possibly give up, ever, and we have to just accept it? Funny, both my DPs managed to give up after decades of quite heavy smoking.

Boogismyname · 27/02/2023 13:12

bringincrazyback · 21/02/2023 19:39

Some people on this thread clearly have no understanding of addiction whatsoever.
My thoughts”

Nonsense. I was a heavy Marlborough smoker for years. Wanted children, gave up. It really wasn’t that difficult. Children were more important.

So heavy but you never looked at the word Marlboro?

Don’t be a twat. Ever heard of autocorrect?

I smoked up to 40 (reds) a day for nearly 15 years. I wanted a child more than another fag. Why is that so difficult to comprehend?