Smokers, why do some of you do this?!

a reply to: Hecate666

I can't believe you got so little stars. You said what seems obvious but nobody wants to say outloud because it is not PC.
I guess it was only me. The moral outrage and self rightiousness I see in the US on this issue is ridiculous.

I remember the last time I was there, and saw a commercial, in which a guy was smoking on a sidewalk,
on the other side, but very far away down the street, was a mother with her toddler in a stroller. The child coughed and the mother gave him an angry look. As if his smoke had anything to do with it at 200 meters away!
Anyone with half a brain would see the commercial was BS.

The argument that "it is bad for health, therefore we have a right to such exaggerated condemnation against smokers, for their own well being" has two problems with it- if that is so, you must include my right to exert pressure and laws against you for eating processed food, and to force you to exercise daily! Alcohol and donuts should be outlawed now, or at least taxed until they are impossible to buy.

Having pet birds as well, because of the risks to asthmatics- oh yeah, and dogs and cats, because their dander stick to their owners and can have detrimental effects upon the allergic strangers they are around outside the home!

I get it when it come to your own loved ones- putting pressure on them is sort of your role. Telling them they shouldn't have children because they are incapable of supporting or raising them properly also falls within your responsibility.
But not strangers, and not with laws upon everyone.

originally posted by: intrepid

originally posted by: kaylaluv


So, it's a bit disingenuous to assume that every overweight person out there just has a "gland problem", or that every person with a cane has a disability that didn't have anything to do with an unhealthy lifestyle. The odds are MUCH more in favor of it being the result of all the stuff in my first paragraph.

What's disingenuous is people putting their spin on an issue one has no right to. That's between the patient and the doc.

It isn't "my" spin. It has to do with the reality of the situation.

Chronic diseases and conditions—such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and arthritis—are among the most common, costly, and preventable of all health problems.

Health risk behaviors are unhealthy behaviors you can change. Four of these health risk behaviors—lack of exercise or physical activity, poor nutrition, tobacco use, and drinking too much alcohol—cause much of the illness, suffering, and early death related to chronic diseases and conditions.

www.cdc.gov...

This is a FACT: The overwhelming majority of people who eat healthy, never smoke, and are physically active have a higher quality of life when it comes to illness, disease, pain and mobility. Of course there are people who did everything right and just had bad genetics, but they are in the vast minority.

I resent being falsely accused of moral superiority. I used my mother, not me, as an example of what a healthy lifestyle can accomplish. I have a healthy diet, am not overweight and never smoked, but I could stand to be more physically active. My mother is better at exercising than I am - she and my dad go to the gym and work out a couple of hours a day, 5 days a week. But at least I'm willing to admit where I need improvement, and if I do end up having health problems down the road due to inactivity, I'll be willing to admit it was my own damn fault.