[elucidate]

Originally Posted by Angela

A couple of reasons, I think: First, although I understand you may not see it this way, smoking occurs as such an egregiously harmful agent, causing cancers, premature aging, respiratory and cardiac problems, etc., that it shows up as bold self-destruction. Many of us have personally witnessed loved ones dying of lung cancer (a very suffery kind of death) or emphysema, or just seeing the skin of someone who has smoked for a few years - yichhh, and actively doing something that occurs as causing those things can make a person look pretty stupid to a person for whom health and vitality are values, and then on top of that, smoking is invasive into the lives of nonsmokers -- it's pretty yucky to breathe in second-hand smoke without having any choice in the matter but to leave, or even have to smell the fairly disgusting smell on people's breath or clothing. Food choices don't tend to infringe on other people's space as much. (Perfume does, though -- that can get pretty gross.)

Yep.

Also, to an anti-smoker, the manipulation for profit by tobacco companies is pretty disgusting, along with the willingness of smokers to dramatically compromise their health and pay lots of money for the privilege of doing so.

This was the main reason I chose to stop smoking. I was so angry at the thought of these people getting rich off these things that were sucking the life out of me and other smokers, and didn't even care...AND they know exactly how harmful it is, and still sell them to people. That's just an uncaring way to operate.

So the feeling of resentment towards smokers and the disgust at the manipulation done by tobacco companies, added to what looks like extremely self-destructive behavior, is what makes smoking the patsy.

This is how I have felt about it in the past.

To be honest though, I don't even think about smokers anymore. It's the first time I have given an opinion about this subject in years.

I have had the awful experience before of seeing a friend smoke his lungs out, remorselessly, and I could actually FEEL his body screaming out for him to stop. It was really hard to take...and I had the perception that if smokers don't care about their own bodies enough to respect them by not putting hazardous chems in their system, then they can't really care about me either.

This is the main reason I choose to be around non-smokers as much as possible.

I don't not accept friends who smoke...but I will do my best to not put myself into their line of fire. Some are considerate enough to not blow it in my face though, so I like those smokers much better than the ones who don't care.