Yeah, but he found the cigs because she smoked...had s/he never smoked, they wouldn't have been there.

All the condescending non-smokers, shut the **** up. I'm sure you all have habits that are bad for you. When did it become en vogue to bitch people out for smoking? It's not your business. I only smoke around my friends who don't mind it or with my other friends that do smoke, but even if we're in public at least once every cigarette some self-righteous douchebag comes up to me and says, "Those will give you cancer, you know." Well guess what? They don't always do. I have relatives that lived to be older than my non-smoking ones that smoke. And even if I do want to "give myself cancer", it's none of your business and you have no right to call me an idiot for it. I LIKE SMOKING. I ENJOY IT. And I'm allowed to without you calling me an idiot. I'm sure all of you have done more stupid things than that, so leave me alone, I know what I'm doing, I don't need your bullshit.

No, you're really aren't allowed to smoke without being called an idiot. Consider us an enlightened society. This isn't the 1930s, chap.

Wow. And that's why half of our country is obese? That's why drinking heavily is still so socially acceptable and teen pregnancy and drug addiction rates are so high? Wow, yes, that's all dandy but let's look down on people who, knowing the risks, choose to smoke and need to be sneered at. Don't you have better things to do with your time?

Sorry pal, I'm not American. I'm speaking of Western society in general. But guess what? I don't smoke, drink, or do drugs, nor am I obese. My girlfriend and I also use birth control. To answer your question though, no, I don't have much better things to do than try to help people improve their lives.

If you "knew what you were doing," you'd know that smoking can seriously damage your health WITHOUT giving you cancer. And besides, it sounds to me like you're a condescending smoker so I'm not going to take your shit about being a condescending non-smoker. Third, you're a douche for smoking in public where there are clearly a bunch of other people. Effects of second hand smoke aside, it's extremely annoying to be walking along and have some idiot blow their smoke right into your face and be all "I DO WHAT I WANT" when they're informed that everyone around them hates them. And by the way, I understand that smoking is addictive and therefore is difficult to stop. Here's the trick to actually do it: have some ******* willpower. My grandfather, who had been smoking most of his life, quit smoking completely on his own (none of those ridiculous products) when it became known how harmful it was to health. I'm not claiming that it's a pleasant experience, but for ****'s sake, all you have to do is stop lighting them up. I can relate at least somewhat; I used to be obese and I had horrible health habits, which wasn't helped by the fact that I have a genetic issue with my metabolism that makes it slow. I decided one day to make a complete overhaul of my life and through restricting my caloric intake to below 1500 a day most days and exercising like a ************ I lost over 100 lbs and am now very fit and lean. That process that I went through took far more time and effort than quitting smoking does, so I have very little sympathy for those who claim to want to stop smoking but they "can't," just as I have no sympathy for those who claim to be unable to lose weight. Grow some balls.

I'm actually not a condescending smoker to most people. If people in real life tell me it's bad I smoke and nod and let them go on their way thinking they did their Boy Scout good deed of the day. Every tie I'm around a group of people i ask them if they mind me smoking around them, and if they say yes I don't do it. I don't plan to smoke forever--I've quit in the past cold turkey and started up again because I like it. I enjoy smoking. But I never blow it in other peoples' faces. And you do realize that being so high and mighty that you think you're going to "improve other people's lives" is comparable to the insane evangelical Christians who think they're going to save you, right? Get a life.

So quit to prove me wrong if my internet opinion is so important to you. I don't consider myself being high and mighty, I'm restating facts, not saying you can be saved for $9.95. You say you've quit before, then started again. That isn't quitting. That's trying to quit and breaking. And I have a life, thanks.

You can't help anyone from that high up on a horse.

VictimOfTheft, what exactly is your point? If someone who you don't even know wants to smoke (in this case Hallelujahrip) then you have no business telling them what they should or shouldn't do. Just because you're non-smoker, it doesn't mean you have the right to talk down to smokers as if they're beneath you. You need a major reality check. It's not like being a non-smoker makes you completely flawless and mighty because you're certainly not. Just like you said this isn't the 1930s, I'm gonna tell you that this is the 21st century. I think it's time to be more tolerant and accept other people even if they do things you don't necessarily approve of.

Why do so many smokers think that the laws restricting the public places in which they can smoke are really all about them? If you want to decide to give yourselves cancer, then fine, but what about everyone around you who doesn't get a choice about breathing in poisons when you blow smoke in their face? Research has shown very significant links between secondhand smoke and cancer; that's a very big part of why those kinds of laws are enacted. Not because the government likes to follow you around and tell you where you can stand while you smoke.

Research has shown very significant correlation between Jews and the German defeat in WW1, research has shown that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was the only hope for humanity, research has shown that I consume my enemies with fire from my eyes and bolts of lightning from my ass. You can try and make anything sound legit by saying "research has shown", when actually studies have shown lots of contradictory things and most of them are full of shit. Anyway even if this so-called "secondhand smoking" stuff turns out to be true, what does it have to do with smoking in a bar (not designed to improve your health in the first place) or even in my friggin car ?

Are you really stupid enough to compare laws restricting places to smoke to the f***ing Holocaust?

I did a research paper on the harmful effects of secondhand smoke... Actually, it was a paper on why the Smoke Free Illinois act was good. Yes, there IS proof that secondhand smoke can be as harmful as smoking itself. So far, there's nothing but INVALID evidence as to whether it's moreso harmful (like some places claim), but it is harmful nonetheless. But that's not the only bad part of smoking around others. There is actually a lot of money spent cleaning after YOUR stupid smoking ass; cleaning your stains off the walls, cielings, furniture, etc, cleaning up your ashes and butts everywhere (of course, not all smokers are such dicks that they'd do that), getting the smells out of everything that could hold it, etc. It may not seem like a lot, but it really adds up after a while. That is one reason to ban it in bars, where, as you said, people are already hurting themselves. Of course, some laws allow smoking bars to exist, too. Not only that, but witnessing a trusted someone smoking often influences minors into smoking... or by a bunch of people in general. It implants the idea that it is a socially acceptable practice and has no harmful effects whatsoever. While that sounds rather conspiracy theory, it does happen. I'm sure many here can give examples of such people. There is no safe way to filter out secondhand smoke either. And then, the anti-smoking laws are all pretty similar to the "Click It or Ticket" laws that some states have. After all, if you can get a damned fine for just not having a seatbelt, why not for something considerably more harmful?