Smokers (a rant)

[KitchenWitch]

Why are some smokers so fucking inconsiderate of others (I know not all are, but I seem to run into so many who are).

Mr KW and I were at the grocery store, and as we were leaving this young woman was walking up to the door, smoking a cigarette. As she gets to the door, she tosses the cigarette on the ground, does not stamp it out, just leaves it there, burning...

My issues with that are as follows (in decending severity order):

1. The cig is right outside the door, still burning, so everyone who walks by gets the benefit of some second hand smoke (I have lung problems - NOT GOOD.)

2. The cig is still burning, so it could be construed as a fire hazard (remote possibility, I know, but it IS possible).

3. The cig is LITTER, and adds to the work that the low paid grocery store staff has to do.

:grr:

:rant:

[Kurovski]

1. I feel the same about folks who pour on

too much strong artificial perfumes.

It's especially bad for Asthmatics. Even small amounts can cause big problems.

Consideration of others is always a good thing.

Unless yer an asshole freep, then "it's like so totally what all the cool kids are doin'!"

[KitchenWitch]

2. I am with you on that too!

[chaska]

13. I second. Oops, third.

[chaska]

14. nevermind

[WCGreen]

20. fourth,,.,,,

Cheap perfume keeps me outta the Strip Joints......

Curse you walgreens

[dolo amber]

3. I'm a smoker, and I agree

It's not hard to be considerate. I pick up my butts (heh :D) in any sort of public place (excepting like...a bar or something) and place them in the nearest trash receptacle. It's my gross habit, which I love...but there's no reason to subject those who don't have it to it's sublime disgustingness. ;)

[rbnyc]

5. Thanks for that.

And regarding my post below, I hope I made it clear that it's a very personal reaction from an x-smoker.

You know x-smokers are the WORST!

;-)

[dolo amber]

12. Not at all

It's all about personal taste and consideration. I get that. :)

How's that baby? I bet he's thinkin' about walking by now, eh? You do realize all the fun's over once they become mobile... :D :*

[rbnyc]

35. He's been walking for almost 2 months!!

He'll be 1 on the 13th.

:loveya:

[TransitJohn]

22. I do that too.

Other smokers always ask me, "How come you don't just throw your butts?"

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[justabob]

23. I do too

[rbnyc]

4. I'm sorry but smoking is just disgusting.

I agree with your post, that particualar behavior is very rude. But I swear, whenever I see anyone smoking at all, I just think, "You are DISGUSTING!"

BTW, I'll be 7 years cigarette free in one month from today. Before that, I was DISGUSTING!

[KitchenWitch]

6. I was disgusting a little over 15 years ago.

Quit when I was PG with my son.

[rbnyc]

8. Right on.

My plan was to quit for my 30th Birthday, but I quit 4 days prior.

[ofrfxsk]

7. This smoker never does that

I don't through my cigs out the window when I'm driving and I generally don't smoke in outdoor places like parks or where there are others around anymore.
If I do have a smoke where there isn't an ashtray I squeeze out the tobacco and put the filter in my pocket to throw away later. It makes me angry when I see other smokers doing the crap you described.

[KitchenWitch]

9. I wish there were more like you out there

I swear to goddess, the smokers around here have actually gotten more brazen and "in-your-face" about smoking lately.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

10. Indeed I must say that in my world of cigar smoking it is

rude and un-gentleman/gentlewomanly, to behave in a manner that would annoy someone with your smoke. How uncouth of that person to do such a thing!

[Faygo Kid]

11. I smoked for 34 years

Can't believe it; quit two years ago. Now I find it repulsive. But, like Peter Jennings, I am doomed. Oh well. Don't underestimate its addictive power.

[BamaGirl]

15. I agree.

About the perfume too. Most perfumes give me a migraine. x(

I always put mine out in the car ashtray before I got out of the car. But I quit two weeks ago. :D Now I find smoking just completely grosses me out. I'm gonna be one of those obnoxious ex-smokers apparently lol.

[chaska]

16. I can't think of a darn thing I hate worse than cigsmoke, not even...

Gee Dubya.

[KitchenWitch]

17. Finally got the post in the right place?

:hi:

[chaska]

18. My brain broked.

Hey, Kitch. :hi:

[Floogeldy]

19. Chill out, baby.

:smoke:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

21. When I was a smoker

Which wasn't that long ago. I never dropped a cigarette on the ground any place. I actually snuffed it out and then placed it in an air tight container in my purse for later disposal.

I was a weird smoker, however. I also never smoked in my own home or anyone else's either, even if they were smokers. Funny as it may sound I hated the smell of cigarette smoke.

[the_spectator]

24. Wow, think we need some more controversy tonight?

Is that just what we need, a nice smoker/anti-smoker flamewar? To take our minds off looting? Not a bad idea maybe, who wants to start a PETA thread with me? An obesity discussion? Another chapter in the God Wars? Atheists can be "shirts," God-guys can be "skins." Come on, people!
:popcorn:

[Seabiscuit]

29. How could you overlook a new gun thread or pitbull thread?

Just what we need while people are dying like flies in New Orleans.

[jus_the_facts]

25. those gasoline fumes and drippin' oil in parking lot is worlds worse..

....not to mention paper..plastic and chemical mills...that're polluting and disturbing your health at a much faster rate than second hand cigarette smoke...oh the fuckin' humanity.

[KitchenWitch]

26. The difference being....

Second hand smoke has the ability to kill me and my daughter faster than what you listed, since we both have severe asthma.

[jus_the_facts]

34. yet you can avoid the second hand smoke...exhaust you cannot....

.....when you drive you're killin' yourself and the entire planet as well at a much faster rate.

[KitchenWitch]

36. Whatever

It is almost impossible to avoid second hand smoke the way people who smoke congregate around the doors of buildings, and under overhangs and in parking garages...

I have been in the Emergency Room no less than three times this year due to attacks triggered by second hand smoke.

[Debi]

27. Agreed

My husband is a smoker and our son has asthma - so no smoking in the house.

He put his cigs out before we go in a store and if he's done w/it he throws the butt in the tray/receptical.

He also thinks of others in public by not smoking inside a restaurant unless there is a smoking section (our family sits in non-smoking section so he'll go off by himself) and if outside moves away from people to smoke (like at sporting events or political events).

It's his addiction, he tries to not make others suffer for it.

[Seabiscuit]

28. So why didn't you just stamp the cigarette out????

[KitchenWitch]

30. Mr KW did

I could still smell it on his shoe though (did I mention that I have asthma and just a hint of second hand smoke can trigger attacks of major proportions?)

[khashka]

31. I smoke but I try to be considerate

I ask if it's OK if I smoke. If not I go outside. I don't just throw cigs down. If I'm outside, i'll drop it, step on it, and then try to find a place to dispose of it safely. I won't smoke in my own home if I have a guest who finds it bothersome for whatever reason.

But I have a bone to pick with nonsmokers (and I don't mean you KW your complaints are totally legit).

If one more time I ask "is it OK if I smoke" and someone says "no it bothers me or I have health problems" and I go outside and away from them to smoke and they follow me and lecture me about the dangers of smoking... well I'll be facing a trial for homicide.

In the immortal words of Tom Robbins (paraphrased): If kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray, then kissing someone that self-righteous is like licking a mongoose's ass.


Rant over.

Khash.

[tjwmason]

32. As a non-smoker I second that

I've known many different types of smoker - considerate and inconsiderate.

I might as well say that folk who drink coke are all bad because I've seen coke cans rolling around dropped on the floor.

Personally I've got no problems with fresh cigarette smoke, and so if folk wish to smoke whilst (for example) sitting at a table in a pub with me, then that's fine (though it is polite to ask).

That said - I have never smoked a cigarette, and have no desire to at all. I do think that it's a nasty habit, but if others want to indulge their nasty habit, that's their choice.

[KitchenWitch]

33. LOL

I do not lecture...I used to smoke myself...and for me to follow someone outside to lecture would be endangering my own health...

I may jokingly say, "Hey, that shit's gonna kill you!" but it is in a playful joking way...not a lecture.

[skygazer]

37. Inconsiderate is the key word

I smoked for many years - I understand both the enjoyment and the fact that it's a need so I'm not judgmental of the smoking per se. It's the inconsideration for others that so many people show with so many things, not just cigarettes.

Litter makes me crazy no matter what it is and cigarette butts on the ground are litter. Maybe a small amount but it builds up and those filters do not biodegrade.

Around here (California), I get very irate when I see drivers dangling their hand out of the car window with a lit cig in it. Even moreso when they toss them out. Fire is a very real threat here and I've seen grass fires by the side of the road which the FD has attributed to a lit cigarette (because the end is like a hot little coal - it doesn't automatically go out when it hits the ground). Last year there was one that burned a whole hillside and came dangerously close to a home.

At my job, there are a few workers who will go outside for a smoke and do it right in front of the door - this to me is rude and inconsiderate. The smoke wafts into the store every time the door opens and anyone who walks in or out is subjected to it. Most (more considerate) employees smoke away from the door and the heavily trafficked area - common courtesy (why do they call it common courtesy when it's such a rare thing?).