Smokers "Rights"

At the very end of my last thread "Smokers are people too" I came up with a very good point... I want to see how it holds up to scrutiny!

It is argued that smokers cannot be in a protected class because smoking is a choice…

Here is my problem with that…

Obese people are now a protected class, some handicap people that fall into the protected class have a temporary injury that will eventually heal… But while they are healing, they are protected and have special rights!

I think that although at one time smokers chose to smoke, once they made that choice it became an addiction… They “we” become chemically addicted to the nicotine and it is not as easy as just “not smoking any more”…

That being said… Food is an addiction, and it is a choice, but they are protected from being discriminated against… Special rights have been applied… Handicap people keep their handicap status until they heal, us smokers should be in a protected class while we are chemically addicted to cigarettes and we should be given special times to smoke, special areas to smoke, and the right to smoke indoors if there is no weather protected outdoor smoking area provided!

If we can prove our chemical dependency than you can’t keep saying it is a choice… As long as we are “attempting” to quit we should get the following… Companies should be forced to allow us at least 4 unpaid smoking breaks per day, they should provide us with an outdoor weather protected area to smoke, and we should get to smoke inside if there is no suitable outdoor area provided! We should be in a protected class so that we no longer get treated like outcasts and tossed aside by society!

Originally posted by sparda4355


I think that although at one time smokers chose to smoke, once they made that choice it became an addiction… They “we” become chemically addicted to the nicotine and it is not as easy as just “not smoking any more”…

We should be in a protected class so that we no longer get treated like outcasts and tossed aside by society!

I fully agree, the fact that we are forced to smoke in unsafe places is unconstitutional. AS a woman, i don't like the fact that at an outdoor mall at night i am forced to stand in the parking lot to smoke since now even an outdoor mall is restricted. What if I were to be sexually assaulted, or even worse, abducted (not by aliens folks) and murdered all because of the fact that I am a smoker. I think since it IS a chemical dependency we should be given the rights you speak of. I think it's only fair. And I can't imagine that it would be that hard for employers to provide a safe and covered area for us smokers to smoke...

I agree with you that smoking is an addiction. But I disagree with you when you say smokers should be a protected class.

Lets say im a coc aine addict. At one time in my life I choose to take coc aine , fully knowing that coc aine is bad for my health and that I could become adicted.

Well now that I am chemically addicted to coc aine I find it kinda hard to stop.

Do you think that I should get an unpaid break everyday at job because I cant fight the need to snort the F out of my brain?
Or maybe the company should provide me with a room outside for this purpose?

I know tabacco isnt coc aine...But when you take something and you fully know that you gonna get addicted to that...You shoulnt complain that your addicted and that its hard to quit.

If you feel that your tossed asside by society its because society want you to quit smoking.

Also when you compare nicotine addiction and food addiction, keep in mind that people who get obese didnt choose to be that way. Contrary to cigarette, food is essential if you want to live.

Smoking is only part of this,the obese or lazy ten to be placed on mnufacuring jobs were they can do the least manual labor.
Lost mine do to the fact that i was an allaround kind of guy.
Got run into the ground picking up the slackers jobs,and still doing mine.
I saw these over weight people B.S.ing with the leads wihile i did their jobs!
Buy the way we were union(outside smoking,no shelter,Minn.unionized),St.Paul had higher wages(non union),i bet they had smoker areas that ruled!!!

reply to post by Jigore


To start with... you can't use cocain as an analogy because it's obviously illegal! Employers can fire you for using it! They can't fire you for smoking a cigarette! Cigarettes don't alter your ability to function your job correctly after you smoke them...

And although I agree that we made the choice, we made the choice when smoking was accepted in doors... Now that we are chemically addicted, you take away our right to smoke inside and force us out into unsafe weather conditions! Also like my beautiful girlfriend pointed out, females can be in unsafe situations because of this law (guys too I guess?)...

We made a choice to enjoy the benefits of a calming and very relaxing cigarette without worrying about the negative side effects... If you eat french fries... you make that same choice... You enjoy french fries, you might enjoy them to the point where you want them all the time, and they are cooked in rancid carcinogenic greese that causes cancer! Same thing with sugar free products that have aspertame, or food that has MSG... You can't get away from things that cause cancer, we enjoy the benefits of cigarettes and think the benefits outway the risks... You might not agree with that choice, but we made that choice without breaking any laws, and now are being treated unconstitutionally... If we were a protected class as we should be, America could NOT treat us the way they do... So it is my destony to make us a protected class!

And although obese people don't have a choice to eat or not... They did make the choice to keep eating as much as they did to go from 200 pounds to 400 pounds... I am sorry... That was a choice!

Originally posted by mule skinner
Smoking is only part of this,the obese or lazy ten to be placed on mnufacuring jobs were they can do the least manual labor.
Lost mine do to the fact that i was an allaround kind of guy.
Got run into the ground picking up the slackers jobs,and still doing mine.
I saw these over weight people B.S.ing with the leads wihile i did their jobs!
Buy the way we were union(outside smoking,no shelter,Minn.unionized),St.Paul had higher wages(non union),i bet they had smoker areas that ruled!!!

That is just plain unconstitutional!

We need to stand UP... we need to fight for our right to reclaim the indoors! Enough of this mightier than thow bull crap that is going on, like these "non-smokers" never do anything that is bad for their health...

We should be aloud to smoke inside and non-smokers should be banned from being aloud to breath in our delicious smoke because they didn't pay the freaking 500% sales tax to get it!

Ok you are right with the coc aine as a bad analogy. Lets replace it with something legal (in Canada) lets say salvia divinorum...Salvia is legal, effect lats only 5 to 10 min and some people get addicted.

When you smoke you feel relax, feel good and enjoy this feeling of liberty.
Salvia is pretty much alike, people enjoy it.

The effect vary on the dose you take, it can go from the feeling of well being to the shamanistic trip to the 12th dimension and beyond.

And like cigarette its unhealthy. So should it be ok to use it on your break if after 10min youll be fine? I dont think so

If you find nicotine to be Ok, other drug should be also Ok right?

Also, I dont think people who weight 400 pounds ''choose'' to be that way. Do you think 10year old boy who weight 200 pounds choose to be that way?
Well Im sure you agree that when you weight 200 pouds as a kid it will be really hard to change your habits you learn as a child.

Never heard of these drug you speak of,is this something like the leaves used by middleeasterners?Never seen Dante's hell smoking tobacco.

Salvia divinorum is also used to spice food Real good in marinade!
Be sure not to burn your meal or youll get high

Originally posted by Jigore
Ok you are right with the coc aine as a bad analogy. Lets replace it with something legal (in Canada) lets say salvia divinorum...Salvia is legal, effect lats only 5 to 10 min and some people get addicted.

When you smoke you feel relax, feel good and enjoy this feeling of liberty.
Salvia is pretty much alike, people enjoy it.

The effect vary on the dose you take, it can go from the feeling of well being to the shamanistic trip to the 12th dimension and beyond.

Forget about the rest... I agree, you should be able to do this on break, heck it should be encouraged!!! Where do I find this drug? How much does it cost, and will you ship it if I pay the fees?

I am SOLD!

I guess that was khat i was thinking of(illegal),card playing and dancing,we were warned.

Don't spit in the wind.

Damn dirty apes!

Its a form of racism , People are disciminating against smokers because of the color of thier lungs.

its like this if its really that bad for you THEN GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD SHOULD STOP SELLING THEM.

Sell them to you one minute , then say u cant stand thier do this do that etc etc .. its disgusting

Anti smokers and drinkers should stay away from some professional sports stadiums as well. Many of them were built with money from "sin tax", taxes placed on the sale of tobacco and alcohol. I say this tongue in cheek, but yet it is true that if you're so against the evils of tobacco and alcohol, why would you go to an outlet that is funded by tobacco and alcohol?

For the record, I am an non-smoker who sides with "smoker's rights".

[edit on 9-3-2008 by migliavacca]

Originally posted by Jigore
Also, I dont think people who weight 400 pounds ''choose'' to be that way. Do you think 10year old boy who weight 200 pounds choose to be that way?
Well Im sure you agree that when you weight 200 pouds as a kid it will be really hard to change your habits you learn as a child.

What a contradiction! But I guess thats ok because smoker's were forced to change there smoking habits by law. If they had obesity law's in resturant's and bar's, how well would that go over with the general public?

I understand why smokers are so upset. Most of my friends are smokers, and I often have to stand outside in the cold with them to keep them company while they have a cigarette. Well... I guess I don't have to, but I do it to be nice.

Anyway...

I disagree with the statement of "it's unconstitutional!" Smoking is not a constitutionally protected right. That being said, I disagree with the logic that was used earlier. I understand that smokers are usually chemically dependent on their cigarettes, however that should not get them a "pass."

Rather than compare smoking to obesity, I prefer to compare it to drinking alcohol. There are people who are obese due to thyroid problems or hormonal imbalances, although I would agree that most obese people can help themselves by just putting down the fork, but I digress.

Alcoholics are chemically dependent on alcohol. In fact, if you are a serious alcoholic, and suddenly stop alcohol cold turkey, it can cause serious bodily harm. Now, there are many places where you cannot walk around drinking alcohol. If you stumble around in the mall drunk, you will be escorted out, and possibly arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct. If you need to take a break at work to go drink a shot of alcohol, you will likely get fired because most places do not allow their employees to drink on the job.

I know that some states have passed laws against smoking in your car, but in my state, it's legal as long as there aren't children in the car. I don't know of any state where it's legal to drink alcohol while you drive.

I'm just saying... Some things, like chemical dependency should not be protected, no matter how much it pisses people off.

How can you compare smoking with obesedy?
Smoking is harmful to others. Obese ppl are not
Only thing I agree with is that smokers could at least have weather protected smoking areas.
And it isn't a discrimination. Don't you smokers care for other people's health???
It's sad that there are such addictions in this world

Originally posted by Blue10110
How can you compare smoking with obesedy?
Smoking is harmful to others. Obese ppl are not

Only thing I agree with is that smokers could at least have weather protected smoking areas.
And it isn't a discrimination. Don't you smokers care for other people's health???
It's sad that there are such addictions in this world

Obese people are harmful to themself are they not? Some have medical complications,(understandable) others just can't put the fork down. Overeating is an addiction to food, just like smoking is an addiction to nicotine. Yes it is very sad. Getting rid of one bad thing does'nt make the other any better.

Originally posted by Blue10110
How can you compare smoking with obesedy?
Smoking is harmful to others. Obese ppl are not

. . .

Have you ever had to sit next to an obese person at a buffet . . . it is as bad as taking a whiff of someone who just smoked a whole pack in an hour.

As for obese people being harmful . . . I am not to fond of getting squished! That would be harmful; being sat on by an obese person.

Lets stay on topic shall we?

Thanks

Originally posted by migliavacca
Anti smokers and drinkers should stay away from some professional sports stadiums as well. Many of them were built with money from "sin tax", taxes placed on the sale of tobacco and alcohol. I say this tongue in cheek, but yet it is true that if you're so against the evils of tobacco and alcohol, why would you go to an outlet that is funded by tobacco and alcohol?

For the record, I am an non-smoker who sides with "smoker's rights".

[edit on 9-3-2008 by migliavacca]

You're the BEST!!!

This is just one tiny right... non smokers are playing right into the trap, because when it's all said and done and our right to smoke is taken away, guess what... They are not going to stop with smoking... they are going to move onto rights that will effect ALL of us... Then smoking won't be such a big deal anymore!

Thank you for seeing the big picture!