Hit by a burning cigarette

So you care so little about your own daughter that you're willing to give her lung cancer? Note what TJ has to say:

If our legislators were not totally corrupt, smoking in the presence of kids would be a criminal offense.

 

Tobacco should be outlawed. It's one of those things that makes huge amounts of money for some people and causes everyone else pain and misery. All told, it's a net drain. It's an insidious, addictive poison. Ban it.

Why tobacco is legal and marijuana isn't makes no sense whatsoever.

 

More could be done to bring prices in line with costs, but there's no way people could ever be compensated for the pain and suffering of losing their loved ones, or of people losing their lives. I might be less adamant if I weren't in the process of saying goodbye to yet another close friend. Enough already.

 

Sorry to hear about your friend...

My aunt has chronic COPD (emphyzema). It is hell for her. Love her so much and it kills me to watch her suffer. Also makes me glad I don't smoke.

 

If i am not mistaken, California has made it illegal for someone to be smoking in a car with a child in it...although they cant be pulled over for that specifically, if a peace officer makes a stop and an adult in the vehicle is or was smoking and there is a child, they can cite them for that as well

 

You're not mistaken. Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Maine and Puerto Rico now ban smoking in cars with kids. It's being proposed in New York and I think other states as well.

I don't have big problems with the law, I just think it's not necessary. A much more needed law that would save a lot more lives is a ban against talking on a cell phone while driving a car.

 

Yeah, same thing. And a heart condition, and brittle veins, and lung cancer. A nebuliser full of potent drugs and an oxygen mask is all that keeps him alive at this point. He kicked alcohol decades ago, but still can't kick the nic. May as well be heroin.

 

California is moving in a somewhat good step...Effective July 1, 2008, the legislation prohibits drivers from using a wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle unless the driver uses a hands-free device. Drivers who violate the law will face a base fine of $20 for a first offense and $50 for each subsequent offense.

 

My mom quit smoking after nearly dying from ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome, I think). That was about 3 years ago. She still chews that nasty nicotine gum. I tried a piece once, out of curiosity...

Nasty!

At least she has quit attacking her lungs. I wonder how ill the effects of nicotine are, sans the smoke, on a body. Maybe I don't wan to know. Just glad she finally quit smoking.

 

Kicking the nic is the much easier part. You can shoot up or nicotine patch a smoker with twice their normal nicotine intake from cigarettes, and s/he'd still have a hard time kicking cigarettes.

 

I really hated my step-mother. But I never wanted her to suffer as much as she did during the last couple of decades of her life, when she had emphysema.

And it's not either-or: They could outlaw tobacco and talking on cell phones in cars. Both recklessly endanger yourself and others.

 

I know. Was just putting stuff in perspective. Banning smoking in a car with a child in it -- well it's something I think most of today's smoking parents do anyway without a law. And if they don't, I submit that the harm is comparatively small. On the other hand, cell phones while driving are proven killers, and most everyone does it, so a ban is really needed.

 

As a victim of car-smoking, I assert that the harm is not small at all. I was made very sick every time I had to ride in the car with my father.

They are two very different issues: Smoking does cause illness, and has deleterious effects (even though they might not always be visible ones) every time a child (or adult) is exposed to second-hand smoke. Talking on cell phones causes accident and death on a probabilistic basis. One is a smaller harm every time it's done, the other is injury and death in a very small percentage of cases.

Comparisons are inappropriate. Both are inexcusable actions. But in very different ways.

 

I agree, or at least only with hands-free ear pieces. It is really frightening how many people are on the phone in the car. I notice it most on the motorcycle. I'll be looking around and nearly every single driver is on the phone. They are distracted, don't use their turn signals, and they miss a lot of what is going on around them in traffic. Very dangerous...

 

I had the same problems when my mom smoked in the car (I would get in trouble for complaining). It was only in winter, though. She didn't want to crack the windows because of the cold temperature. I used to get so nauseated. Since she quit smoking, she finally understands how inconsiderate a lot of smokers are. She actually apologized to me for all of her past smoking deeds (like always making us sit in the smoking sections in restaurants and airplanes and the car issues). Soooo glad she quit.

It's funny how obnoxious of a non-smoker she is now. She will actually confront people when they are smoking around her. I've never done that. Don't want to deal with the confrontation. My mom has never had a problem with confrontation...

 

What a bunch of Nancy's. Quityerbitchin ! I dont smoke nor do i condone it. But smokers have the same rights as anyone else. No i dont agree in the littering part. The little goof Governor of the great state of Illinois, (little donkey is what he is) thought it would be good to outlaw smoking in any establishement in the state. Now a friend of mine that owns a bar, A BAR FOR GODS SAKE ! is losing customers because of it. Like i said i wish smoking wasnt around at all , but it is so Pull up your big girl panties and deal with it.

 

I actually do have on girl panties (and they are already up).

I don't have a problem with people smoking, but their rights shouldn't trump mine. One of their rights should not be the right to pollute the air I breathe. They should go outside to smoke, even in a bar setting. Bars should have patio areas for this, I believe. I would like to once be able to have a drink without reeking of smoke for the rest of the night. GROSS. One of the reasons I don't smoke is because I don't want to smell like that.

Look at it this way. I have a bad habit. Say I'm addicted to champaign. That is my problem, not yours, right? Would it be acceptable to you if I popped the cork of my champaign bottle and it flew all over you or if I was messy and splashed you with it while I drank it? No. Why? Because my addiction should not be your problem. What if I sat there and said, "It is my right to drink champaign. Don't violate my rights by complaining when I splash champaign on you or insisting that I don't."

As for the littering, I contend that smoking and littering are two different things. Just because you smoke doesn't mean you have to or even will litter. Nobody should litter, regardless of whether or not they smoke.