Smoking in Front of the Church After Mass

[oneGODoneCHURCH]

You don’t think being addicted to something insinuates an over indulgence??

Good. We should all smoke, and encourage out kids to smoke too.

I’ll remember this story to make me feel better if I ever have a kid who comes home from college with a pack of cigarettes in their bags.

I guess you should be just as happy as you would be if they come home with a keg of beer and a 5th of burbon.

It is responces like this that make it hard to really take the militant anti smokers seriously. I would hope that no one would smoke, but I refuse to treat smokers as if they are the dredges of the world or cigareetes as if they are the source of all ill health.

 

[Debora123]

I guess you should be just as happy as you would be if they come home with a keg of beer and a 5th of burbon.

It is responces like this that make it hard to really take the militant anti smokers seriously.

Being a smoker would be on the same level as being an alcoholic. Would I be upset if my college kid drank at a party? No. Would I be upset if my kid were an alcoholic? Yes.

Bringing home a pack of cigarettes from school would insinuate being a smoker, ie addicted. I would be just as upset about that as I would if my kid was addicted to alcohol or food or anything else that is hazardous to the health.

I would hope that no one would smoke, but I refuse to treat smokers as if they are the dredges of the world or cigareetes as if they are the source of all ill health.

No one here is advocating this sort of treatment towards smokers or anyone else. But to say there is nothing wrong with being addicted to smoking is a bit ridiculous.

 

[oneGODoneCHURCH]

Being a smoker would be on the same level as being an alcoholic. Would I be upset if my college kid drank at a party? No. Would I be upset if my kid were an alcoholic? Yes.

Bringing home a pack of cigarettes from school would insinuate being a smoker, ie addicted. I would be just as upset about that as I would if my kid was addicted to alcohol or food or anything else that is hazardous to the health.

No one here is advocating this sort of treatment towards smokers or anyone else. But to say there is nothing wrong with being addicted to smoking is a bit ridiculous.

Never said that there was nothing wrong with being addicted to smoking or anything else for that matter, but smoking does not in and of itself make one addicted to it. Haveing a pack if cigarettes would not make your child addicted to smoking it may mean they smoke, but thats all it would mean.

It is that thinking that makes any one that smokes an addict that I obeject.

 

[maryjk]

…This could be because cigarette smoke from the person next to you smells infinitely more disgusting and intolerable than cars, buses, and trucks on a busy downtown street.

I would much rather smell a cigarette than a bus. Sorry the bus is more disgusting and intolerable than a cigarette.

No one here is advocating this sort of treatment towards smokers or anyone else. But to say there is nothing wrong with being addicted to smoking is a bit ridiculous.

Well the comment that the ashtrays have been moved behind the dumpster seemed pretty close to advocating that sort of treatment, don’t you think?

 

[Corki]

Never said that there was nothing wrong with being addicted to smoking or anything else for that matter, but smoking does not in and of itself make one addicted to it. Haveing a pack if cigarettes would not make your child addicted to smoking it may mean they smoke, but thats all it would mean.

It is that thinking that makes any one that smokes an addict that I obeject.

I am not sure where the idea came from that smoking, or even being “a smoker” is the same as an addiction. For many people, it’s just a habit. In my youth, I knew many smokers. Most of them are non-smokers now. They quit for a variety of reasons - marriage, kids, money, got on a health kick, etc. All but a few, including my husband who smoked over a pack a day, quit with little drama so I don’t know how they could be considered addicted.

 

[oneGODoneCHURCH]

I am not sure where the idea came from that smoking, or even being “a smoker” is the same as an addiction. For many people, it’s just a habit. In my youth, I knew many smokers. Most of them are non-smokers now. They quit for a variety of reasons - marriage, kids, money, got on a health kick, etc. All but a few, including my husband who smoked over a pack a day, quit with little drama so I don’t know how they could be considered addicted.

Me either that is the point I was trying to make. The Militant Anti smoking crowd is they would rather sit in and sewage filled dumpter than next to a a smoker and that if you smoke you are an addict.

 

[TrueLight]

Me either that is the point I was trying to make. The Militant Anti smoking crowd is they would rather sit in and sewage filled dumpter than next to a a smoker and that if you smoke you are an addict.

You might want to ask the companies who make millions selling nicotine patches.

If it were so easy for everyone to quit, there would be no need of stuff like that.

How many people do you know who are trying to quit smoking and have been trying for years.

Just a habit?

 

[Young_Thinker]

Being a smoker would be on the same level as being an alcoholic. Would I be upset if my college kid drank at a party? No. Would I be upset if my kid were an alcoholic? Yes.

How is smoking the same as alcoholism? You do not get inebriated and humiliate yourself from using tobacco. And no one goes home and beats his wife or screams at his children because he smokes. And it is humanly impossible for an adult to get sick or die from a tobacco overdose. But that can all happen if someone drinks too much.

 

[CB_Catholic]

You might want to ask the companies who make millions selling nicotine patches.

If it were so easy for everyone to quit, there would be no need of stuff like that.

How many people do you know who are trying to quit smoking and have been trying for years.

Just a habit?

As an ex-smoker, I can guarantee you it is not just a “habit” and research is showing that nicotine is more addicting than heroin. Yes, I had actual physical withdrawl symptoms when I quit, which was mostly relieved by the nicotine patches.

I probably will never be quite free of the urge to smoke, but it has lessened considerably over time, which is pretty typical according to ex-smokers I’ve talked with. My girlfriend hasn’t had a cigarette in 25 years and still gets the urge once in a while.

However, I think if you smoke you need to be considerate of other people. I cannot see smoking at the entrance to a building, (Not just a Church) or in a restaurant, or people’s houses, or in front of children, etc. I also see no reason to treat smokers as if they were the scum of the earth and the misfits and outcasts of society–I’ve heard and read plenty of that.

We go out of our way as a society to treat drug addicts and alcoholics with compassion and have extensive and elaborate programs to treat them, but there are very few programs out there to help smokers quit, mostly they are shamed and treated like dirt. That rarely helps anyone.

I think that when you look at all the social ills–alcoholism, drug addiction, STD’s, fornication, adultery, abortion, sexual crimes, criminal behavior, etc., the way smokers are treated is a little out of proportion.

 

[Phemie]

As an ex-smoker, I can guarantee you it is not just a “habit” and research is showing that nicotine is more addicting than heroin. Yes, I had actual physical withdrawl symptoms when I quit, which was mostly relieved by the nicotine patches.

I probably will never be quite free of the urge to smoke, but it has lessened considerably over time, which is pretty typical according to ex-smokers I’ve talked with. My girlfriend hasn’t had a cigarette in 25 years and still gets the urge once in a while.

However, I think if you smoke you need to be considerate of other people. I cannot see smoking at the entrance to a building, (Not just a Church) or in a restaurant, or people’s houses, or in front of children, etc. I also see no reason to treat smokers as if they were the scum of the earth and the misfits and outcasts of society–I’ve heard and read plenty of that.

We go out of our way as a society to treat drug addicts and alcoholics with compassion and have extensive and elaborate programs to treat them, but there are very few programs out there to help smokers quit, mostly they are shamed and treated like dirt. That rarely helps anyone.

I think that when you look at all the social ills–alcoholism, drug addiction, STD’s, fornication, adultery, abortion, sexual crimes, criminal behavior, etc., the way smokers are treated is a little out of proportion.

Your experience mirrors my dad’s: he quit cold turkey after 25 years of smoking (at that point 2.5 packs a day) after he found himself scrounging the ashtrays for butts to smoke when Mom went to a hockey game and left him with only a few cigs one night. He didn’t ever want to find himself in what he considered a degrading condition ever again so he said ‘no more’ and never touched another cigarette. He moonlighted as a bar tender and even 25 years later said that he still got the urge when he saw everyone smoke and he knew that one cigarette would lead him to 2.5 packs in a matter of a few weeks.

Smokers are reviled I think because, unlike with alcoholics and drug addicts, their habit/addiction affects everyone around them, even those who don’t know them. My Mom’s alcoholism affected the family. Her smoking affected everyone who came into our house & it affected those who socialized with her anywhere before cigarettes were banned in just about every public place.

 

[TrueLight]

As an ex-smoker, I can guarantee you it is not just a “habit” and research is showing that nicotine is more addicting than heroin. Yes, I had actual physical withdrawl symptoms when I quit, which was mostly relieved by the nicotine patches.

I probably will never be quite free of the urge to smoke, but it has lessened considerably over time, which is pretty typical according to ex-smokers I’ve talked with. My girlfriend hasn’t had a cigarette in 25 years and still gets the urge once in a while.

However, I think if you smoke you need to be considerate of other people. I cannot see smoking at the entrance to a building, (Not just a Church) or in a restaurant, or people’s houses, or in front of children, etc. I also see no reason to treat smokers as if they were the scum of the earth and the misfits and outcasts of society–I’ve heard and read plenty of that.

We go out of our way as a society to treat drug addicts and alcoholics with compassion and have extensive and elaborate programs to treat them, but there are very few programs out there to help smokers quit, mostly they are shamed and treated like dirt. That rarely helps anyone.

I think that when you look at all the social ills–alcoholism, drug addiction, STD’s, fornication, adultery, abortion, sexual crimes, criminal behavior, etc., the way smokers are treated is a little out of proportion.

Good post.

And Phemie is right. Cigarette smoke can be literally in your face whether you want it there or not, so you’re forced to smoke with the person in a sense.

One time a man got on the bus and sat next to me. His clothes reeked so much of cigarettes, I started to sneeze.

 

[PatriceA]

Good post.

And Phemie is right. Cigarette smoke can be literally in your face whether you want it there or not, so you’re forced to smoke with the person in a sense.

One time a man got on the bus and sat next to me. His clothes reeked so much of cigarettes, I started to sneeze.

I think its just an easy target because smoking is so visible and it cuts across all ethnic lines, sexual orientations, age groups, economic status, etc. You don’t have to get into much of debate or worry about offending someone as much if you just judge someone because they smoke and only because they smoke.

 

[Phemie]

I think its just an easy target because smoking is so visible and it cuts across all ethnic lines, sexual orientations, age groups, economic status, etc. You don’t have to get into much of debate or worry about offending someone as much if you just judge someone because they smoke and only because they smoke.

I’m not judging them, I just don’t want to be anywhere near them but sometimes I’ve got no real choice. Written as I sit here looking at my brother light up and stink up the house we co-own and in which he lives, as we wait for our daugther and SIL to arrive with our 5 month old grandson. They’ll be sleeping in a tent so as to not impose this filth on their son. I’m just visiting for a week. DH is also sleeping outside in a tent and I’m taking antihistamines to keep breathing.

 

[TrueLight]

I’m not judging them, I just don’t want to be anywhere near them but sometimes I’ve got no real choice. Written as I sit here looking at my brother light up and stink up the house we co-own and in which he lives, as we wait for our daugther and SIL to arrive with our 5 month old grandson. They’ll be sleeping in a tent so as to not impose this filth on their son. I’m just visiting for a week. DH is also sleeping outside in a tent and I’m taking antihistamines to keep breathing.

Wow.

 

[PatriceA]

I’m not judging them, I just don’t want to be anywhere near them but sometimes I’ve got no real choice. Written as I sit here looking at my brother light up and stink up the house we co-own and in which he lives, as we wait for our daugther and SIL to arrive with our 5 month old grandson. They’ll be sleeping in a tent so as to not impose this filth on their son. I’m just visiting for a week. DH is also sleeping outside in a tent and I’m taking antihistamines to keep breathing.

I wasn’t meaning you specifically. I mean in general, I’ve done it myself. They are just an easy target.

Believe me, I know the smell and trying to visit relatives that smoke. My inlaws just quit 10 months ago. But before that, we use to have to frebreeze even the Christmas gifts before we brought them into the house because they stunk so bad. Or if my MIL sent a card to one of us, all I had to do was get a whiff of the mail to know she had sent one without even looking at the envelope.

My FIL had serious health problems due to 40 some years of smoking last fall. The doctor told both my FIL and MIL they had to give up or even if she smoked, it would kill my FIL because his lungs were in such bad condition. I have seriously have never seen them so happy and healthy looking now.

 

[Debora123]

How is smoking the same as alcoholism? You do not get inebriated and humiliate yourself from using tobacco. And no one goes home and beats his wife or screams at his children because he smokes. And it is humanly impossible for an adult to get sick or die from a tobacco overdose. But that can all happen if someone drinks too much.

I never said smoking was the same as alcoholism. I said being a smoker (ie - being addicted to smoking) is the same as being addicted to alcohol, junk food, narcotics… etc etc. Alcoholism is one example. What I mean is, it’s an addiction that is hazardous to the health and harmful to the body.

 

[Debora123]

I’m not judging them, I just don’t want to be anywhere near them but sometimes I’ve got no real choice. Written as I sit here looking at my brother light up and stink up the house we co-own and in which he lives, as we wait for our daugther and SIL to arrive with our 5 month old grandson. They’ll be sleeping in a tent so as to not impose this filth on their son. I’m just visiting for a week. DH is also sleeping outside in a tent and I’m taking antihistamines to keep breathing.

That sucks man… sorry.

 

[Young_Thinker]

I never said smoking was the same as alcoholism. I said being a smoker (ie - being addicted to smoking) is the same as being addicted to alcohol, junk food, narcotics… etc etc. Alcoholism is one example. What I mean is, it’s an addiction that is hazardous to the health and harmful to the body.

I see. Thanks, Deb.

 

[quiet52]

I am grateful that my city has an ordinance which bans cigarette smoking in public spaces where people congregate, and smoking within 20 feet of the entrance to any business or office. I and very many other people get sick from cigarette smoke. I used to have to leave social situations, or simply plan not to attend, when smoking was more socially acceptable (not to me, and not to my asthmatic child). Twenty years ago, I was a volunteer in one organization. A new supervisor, who was a smoker, came on board. I told him I could not tolerate his cigarette smoke, and he said, well, it’s my choice to volunteer there or not – I was forced to quit.

At a couple of parish potlucks, I’ve approached people who were away from the group smoking, and nicely asked them not to smoke – the breeze was blowing their smoke right into the crowd. If they had continued to smoke, I believe they would have chosen to sin against me (and others sensitive to the smoke). Many smokers seem to not consider that they have no right to make people sick or uncomfortable…

Smokers who smoke outside the church doors, please stop.

 

[oneGODoneCHURCH]

I am grateful that my city has an ordinance which bans cigarette smoking in public spaces where people congregate, and smoking within 20 feet of the entrance to any business or office. I and very many other people get sick from cigarette smoke. I used to have to leave social situations, or simply plan not to attend, when smoking was more socially acceptable (not to me, and not to my asthmatic child). Twenty years ago, I was a volunteer in one organization. A new supervisor, who was a smoker, came on board. I told him I could not tolerate his cigarette smoke, and he said, well, it’s my choice to volunteer there or not – I was forced to quit.

At a couple of parish potlucks, I’ve approached people who were away from the group smoking, and nicely asked them not to smoke – the breeze was blowing their smoke right into the crowd. If they had continued to smoke, I believe they would have chosen to sin against me (and others sensitive to the smoke). Many smokers seem to not consider that they have no right to make people sick or uncomfortable…

Smokers who smoke outside the church doors, please stop.

I am sorry but out side of your home you do not have the right to expect nor demand that people do our not do anything. I was rude to go to those people whom had taken the other comfort in mind to begin with and move away from the group ( outside mind you in the first place ) and no matter how nicely you "asked " them to stop.

I do not care what anyone says that is rude. It is not reasonable to expect when you are anywhere but inside your home not to have to deal with unwanted scents/ orders be the from smoke, perfume, whatever.

Because guess what folks those that are on the bandwagon to get rid of all the smoking once that is done it will be something you like or enjoy next that goes on the list to get rid of. Soft drinks and snack foods are already under fire how long till they try to ban Ho-Ho’s and Pepsi?