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Originally Posted by elucidate  Smoking is actually bad for you. It's not programming...it's fact.
I don't think non-smokers think it's "bad" as in "evil bad"...just that it stinks, it makes people sick and there is very little positive effect on people who have to put up with smoke from cigarettes blown in their face everywhere they go.
I've never thought that smoking is bad, and I've never known anyone who doesn't smoke say they think that either. Almost everyone I do know who doesn't smoke thinks that smokers are selfish though but I think it's closer to reality to say they simply don't get how much their habit effects people around them, because their senses have dulled long ago and they don't even smell how bad it is, or how bad they smell.
It's an all round stupid thing to do if you really think about it...that doesn't make it "bad" and it doesn't make smokers "bad"...just stupid! 
I also think that everyone who responded in this thread gave logical reasons for it being stupid. We may have mistaken the purpose of the thread though, but given the thread title, is it any wonder? |
Actually, I changed my mind. It's not really "smoking is BAD" programming, it's the notion that smoking is STUPID.
The fact is this: smoking *may* (even the most clinical studies use that word "may" btw) have detrimental effects to your health. Some common health issues involve heart issues, lung issues, and gastrointestinal issues. (Although, interest enough, I was told that I had acid reflux -- aka "heartburn" -- because I smoked and I haven't had a cigarette in over 3 months and I still get massive heartburn. I'm still waiting for that to go away.
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Ok, those are the facts (and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that taking smoke into your lungs is harmful to your health).
You know what else causes very similar health issues? Caffeine, sugar, processed food, trans fat, sedentary lifestyles and a lack of physical activity. But you never hear someone say: EATING A PIECE OF CAKE IS STUPID! YOU STUPID CAKE-EATER!" or "EATING THAT FRENCH FRY IS UTTERLY RETARDED. HOW STUPID YOU ARE FOR EATING THAT FRENCH FRY."
But that greasy french fry or that piece of cake is doing the same amount (if not more) damage than a cigarette does. And loads of people eat that kind of food as habitually as a smoker smokes.
Smoking a cigarette is no more stupid than eating a piece of cake, candy, greasy food, cup of coffee, soda, wearing perfume/cologne (yeah, those have carcinogens in them), etc.
My point being this: It's a choice, just like everything else. And that choice has certain consequences...some of them of good, some of them bad. The good consequences of smoking involve relaxation and breathing techniques to sooth stress, chemically altering the brain creating clarity and focus (nicotine does this), and, nowadays anyway, it gets you up and outside (because you can't smoke inside anywhere anymore). It also provides a social outlet (because groups of smokers DO socialize).
So, the choice is no different that any other "bad" thing you do (such as eating or drinking something unhealthy). Why on EARTH people choose smoking as their "patsy" is beyond me.
At the end of the day? Smoking is a choice with consequences just like anything else. Calling it "stupid" is just your opinion and NOT a fact.