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[Jacob/Lee]

I have asked several smokers if they know the risk. Every single one said yes, and when I asked them why they don't stop if they know it's bad for them, they give me the same response: "I wish I could" or some variation of that.

[scriver]

For the most part they're not aware of it, and/or think the health damage is far milder than it really is.

Citation needed.

On another note, your avatar is profoundly disturbing. It just got creepier and creepier the longer I looked at it, and it wouldn't let me look away!

[Doomchild-]

Jeez, could you be more patronising? Seriously, I would quit, except this is what non-smoking does to you 

Smokers, despite what nonsmokers may think, are very well aware of the damage it does. Unfortunately most of the fun things in life are bad for you. Since we're all only going to be around for a very short time anyway, why not enjoy it?

I both agree and disagree with your statement.

When I was still smoking I was 'aware' of the risks involved, I knew an entire list of possible result of smoking and often informed others of the dangers involved, especially non-smokers. Yet personally it never bothered me and I just kept on smoking.
After 15 years of smoking I got some fairly minor health problems which at first hand didn't even seem related to smoking, at least not that I knew. It was only when my doctor informed me that those issues were caused by smoking that I finally realised that there's more to smoking than just the horrible pictures of black lungs and the possibility of slow and painfull death.
So yes, almost every smoker is aware of the dangers, but for most those dangers seem so distant or have a such a small chance of happening that it doesnt seem to outweigh the pleasures they get from smoking. But a lot of smokers dont realise the other problems caused by smoking, some of which dont lead to disease or death but cause discomfort, both for you and the people around you. (and i'm not just talking about the smell)

Since we're all only going to be around for a very short time anyway, why not enjoy it?

I agree, life is short and if smoking related problems wont kill you, something else will and some of our daily activities have a much bigger chance of killing us than cigarettes ever will. but tbh, when you smoke you're missing out on some of the little things in life (for example, food tastes a lot better when you dont smoke) so it's up to you to decide what you enjoy more.

for those who claim that you dont gain anything from smoking, that's something only non-smokers can say. and Duuvian, smoking tabacco for one month doesnt count, you cant really compare it to smoking cigarettes. even though it's been 2.5 years since my last cigarette, I'd never claim that smoking does nothing for you. I may be healthier now, I often miss the feeling I got from smoking.

meh, enough rambling

tbh I wonder where this thread is going next, it's been all over the place since the day it was started...

[Bohandas]

The point that I was trying to make was that the only effects of smoking that are visible to others are the health problems it causes, thus making it baffling that anybody ever starts in the first place. (as opposed to alcohol, which produces a high which is clearly discernable to others)

[Doomchild-]

actually, the fact that smoking's only visible effects are the health issues which usually only surface later on in life (if they surface at all, as I mentioned, not all health issues are visible or life threatening) makes it rather easy to start smoking. alcohol may have more visible 'pleasant' effects, it also has a lot more visible unpleasant effects. alcohol fueled violence, driving under influence, acting like total retard, etc... imo, judging from visible effects, alcohol seems a lot worse than smoking. it's easy to start smoking when you have people around you that smoke, health issues usually arent visible until much later in life, so for teenagers it seems as if smoking has little drawbacks and since your friends are doing it, there has to be something to it.
smoking also has (or used to have) a different image than drinking, more refined and mature. the fact that it doesnt alter your perception or inhibit your abilities also makes it more prominent in daily life. smoking while driving is acceptable, where as drinking while driving is just plain stupid.

so your point is (imho) invalid as the lack of visible effects only increases the possibility that someone will say "why not" when offered a sigarette. (as opposed to alcohol, which is situational at best and has a whole lot more visible drawbacks than smoking)

[Bohandas]

I didn't mean just the downline health problems. I also meant coughing and sputtering when attempting to take a drag on the part of people who have just started.

[Doomchild-]

the coughing and such is often brushed aside as "you'll get used to it" or is just experienced as a side effect of being unprepared or overwhelmed. It's not as much a health issue as it is a natural reflex to the fact you're inhaling something you're not used to.

[Lord Shonus]

No, even after only a few moths smokers usually develop a noticable wheeze in their breathing. There's also the stench.

[Doomchild-]

the stench can be managed fairly easily depending on what you smoke and where you smoke it. if it becomes a serious and persistent problem it's more due to poor hygiene than just the smoking. people also grow accustomed to the smell. but i must agree, it can be really bad. when I quit smoking I was living with my dad, who smokes cigars, at the time it didn't bother me much. one year later I moved out to a smokefree house and now every time I go back to my dad's place it's like walking into a solid wall of cigarstench although I barely notice it after about 10-15 minutes.

as for the wheezing thing, it think it takes a lot longer than just a few months and that it's not as noticable as you say it is. if it is, it wouldn't have taken my parents 6 years to find out. I think you really have to know what to listen for to notice it earlier on and it's not as easy to pin it down on smoking as there are a lot of things that can cause wheezing.

I think the earliest visible problems of smoking are the nicotine stains on fingers and teeth, and again, those are managable with proper hygiene (as I was smoking self-rolled cigarettes for years, the nicotine stains on my fingers took months to clear up after I stopped smoking)

[nenjin]

The point that I was trying to make was that the only effects of smoking that are visible to others are the health problems it causes, thus making it baffling that anybody ever starts in the first place. (as opposed to alcohol, which produces a high which is clearly discernable to others)

Consider how non-gamers view hardcore computer gaming.

And by non-gamers, I mean people who literally get no psychological fulfillment from non-physical gaming in most forms. They're out there.

[Lord Shonus]

the stench can be managed fairly easily depending on what you smoke and where you smoke it. if it becomes a serious and persistent problem it's more due to poor hygiene than just the smoking. people also grow accustomed to the smell. but i must agree, it can be really bad. when I quit smoking I was living with my dad, who smokes cigars, at the time it didn't bother me much. one year later I moved out to a smokefree house and now every time I go back to my dad's place it's like walking into a solid wall of cigarstench although I barely notice it after about 10-15 minutes.

as for the wheezing thing, it think it takes a lot longer than just a few months and that it's not as noticable as you say it is. if it is, it wouldn't have taken my parents 6 years to find out. I think you really have to know what to listen for to notice it earlier on and it's not as easy to pin it down on smoking as there are a lot of things that can cause wheezing.

I think the earliest visible problems of smoking are the nicotine stains on fingers and teeth, and again, those are managable with proper hygiene (as I was smoking self-rolled cigarettes for years, the nicotine stains on my fingers took months to clear up after I stopped smoking)

It may be my unusually sensitive sense of smell, to be honest.

[Doomchild-]

the smell really depends on how often you're exposed to it. if someone in your immediate vicinity smokes, you'll get used to it over time, but if you live in a smoke-free enviroment and only ever so often come into contact with someone who smokes, it'll stand out much more and it'll take longer to get used to it.

[Vector]

It was just a creative insult, i have heard somewhere that alchohol shits up the fetus causing a wide variety of different flavors of autism and mania.

Oh, so we're using "autistic" as an insult, now?

Thanks.  Thanks a lot.

Also, you're just digging a deeper hole for yourself, so you might want to stop about now.

[Kirbypowered]

the smell really depends on how often you're exposed to it. if someone in your immediate vicinity smokes, you'll get used to it over time, but if you live in a smoke-free enviroment and only ever so often come into contact with someone who smokes, it'll stand out much more and it'll take longer to get used to it.

Two out of the three people I live with smoke, but they're so kind as to pretty much never smoke around me, so I can agree that when someone smokes near me I near keel over from the smell. Also, about the coughing one goes through when they begin smoking, I learned in Biology class that it's actually caused by the cilia(or whatever) lining your trachea pushing the smoke back out because smoke in your lungs usually = bad. Once you've been smoking for a longer time, the cilia will gradually die and you'll start coughing less. Maybe a tad irrelevant (and possibly incorrect, it was almost a year ago), but it just came back to me.

[DrPoo]

Oh, so we're using "autistic" as an insult, now?

Thanks.  Thanks a lot.

Also, you're just digging a deeper hole for yourself, so you might want to stop about now.

Why are you so hostile? It was not to insult autists. Also stop backseating.
You Sound like that stupid Girl in my School that does everything she Can to Make all i say insulting to her and make me look like some dimwit bully. I dont like unreasoned hostility