On that subject, cigarette butts. Don't those idiots who discard them on the pavement know where they end up eventually?

Smokers that walk with there cigarettes down at their sides so I get burnt by the hot end. I have actually had a cigarette tip in my face.

Geektastic:

 

floydbloke:

 

Walking behind someone who is smoking.

 

 

 

 

And, by extension, the fact that no smoking rules in the office seem to have turned the area outside every office door into some kind of Outdoor Ashtray.

 

i worked in germany for a while and heaps of people smoke there.   

They had a smallish lunch room where the smokers would light up and it was like walking into thick fog.  Gross thick fog. 

I would like to make a distinction here if I may without getting stomped on. I don't smoke but I have friends who do and I have no problem with it. I actually like the smell of tobacco smoke. It doesn't bother me at all.

However, I fully understand and appreciate that others may feel differently and have good reasons for doing so. I am especially struck by MikeB4's comment. It can't be fun to be in a wheelchair and have some idiot stick a cigarette or anything else in your face. 

The distinction I would like to make is that there are thoughtless jerks everywhere. It is the thoughtlessness, not the cigarette, that is the problem here. People who want to smoke, but who are also sensitive to the concerns of others, will not want to subject others to their exhaust fumes. Unfortunately, I think the anti-smoking brigade has managed to turn the issue into one of political correctness. The mentality now is simply smoking is bad, it needs to be banished, no concessions should be made to smokers. As a result of this thinking, there are fewer and fewer places where smokers can feed their habit without imposing on others. No places reserved for smokers, just more and more places where it is banned. This puts smokers in a difficult position. Yes, I know, they should just quit smoking. But I do find that response just a tad bit arrogant.

Rikkitic:

I would like to make a distinction here if I may without getting stomped on. I don't smoke but I have friends who do and I have no problem with it. I actually like the smell of tobacco smoke. It doesn't bother me at all.

However, I fully understand and appreciate that others may feel differently and have good reasons for doing so. I am especially struck by MikeB4's comment. It can't be fun to be in a wheelchair and have some idiot stick a cigarette or anything else in your face. 

The distinction I would like to make is that there are thoughtless jerks everywhere. It is the thoughtlessness, not the cigarette, that is the problem here. People who want to smoke, but who are also sensitive to the concerns of others, will not want to subject others to their exhaust fumes. Unfortunately, I think the anti-smoking brigade has managed to turn the issue into one of political correctness. The mentality now is simply smoking is bad, it needs to be banished, no concessions should be made to smokers. As a result of this thinking, there are fewer and fewer places where smokers can feed their habit without imposing on others. No places reserved for smokers, just more and more places where it is banned. This puts smokers in a difficult position. Yes, I know, they should just quit smoking. But I do find that response just a tad bit arrogant.

 

MikeB4:
It's arrogant of smokers to inflict their smoke on others. The restrictions on smaking is not political correctness it is common sense based on very clear medical evidence.

Tend to agree here.  If not for the tax money I suspect it would be banned.  Well that and the underlying issue of politics being a popularity contest and not want to alienate a large section of voters.

Similar to petrol in some respect, in that it's known to pollute, is highly flammable and toxic if you consume it, but it drives us a around and you can tax it, so all good.

I absolutely agree that smokers should not inflict their smoke on others. I also believe that some smokers are not inconsiderate and would be prepared to go out of their way not to inflict their smoke on others if there were designated places where they were specifically allowed to smoke. That would give them clarity and it would enable others to avoid those places. I think this would be fair and sensible for both sides but it won't happen because the PC lobby has declared smoking evil so no politician or official wants to be seen doing anything that can be interpreted as favouring smokers. It is just another case of allowing emotion to overrule rationality.

Without wanting to get too embroiled in argument about it, nor endorse smoking, I tend to agree a bit with Rikkitic here, the impact of "passive" smoking is probably vastly overestimated by the general public (non-smoking).
EPA conclusion was that it was probably responsible for 3,000 annual lung cancer deaths in the US.  To put that in context, EPA estimate that radon is responsible for 20,000 annual lung cancer deaths in the US. EPA's estimate was released at a time (1993) when I expect smoking indoors in homes, offices, restaurants and pubs, in cars with non-smoking passengers etc was much more commonplace than today.

Feel free to read up on the perils of second hand smoking:

Cancer Research UK - Passive smoking

National Cancer Institute - Secondhand smoke and cancer

If you don't care about your own wellbeing - then by all means, smoke like a chimney. But don't take your bad habits out on others.

Thinking most smokers would go out of their way to not inflict their bad habit on others is naive. We have been there before, having been brought up in a time where it was ok to smoke everywhere, I KNOW from experience that smokers didn't care to not inflict it on others - even other that had very averse effects from it (I have had Asthma since I was born). I have told people that smoke that it affected me, but not been met with a whole lot of understanding.

I think its good that we have got to a place were smoking is seen as the bad habit it is, and that smokers now more and more actually have to keep to areas where there is not a lot of other people that they can affect with their bad habit.

I would rather see them all stuffed into a dingy room of the office building rather than standing outside on the footpath.

surfisup1000:

 

Geektastic:

 

floydbloke:

 

Walking behind someone who is smoking.

 

 

 

 

And, by extension, the fact that no smoking rules in the office seem to have turned the area outside every office door into some kind of Outdoor Ashtray.

 

 

i worked in germany for a while and heaps of people smoke there.   

 

 

 

They had a smallish lunch room where the smokers would light up and it was like walking into thick fog.  Gross thick fog. 

 

Many moons ago I had a boss who smoked the brand that really made him a cowboy.

At the time (early 90's) the MoD in the UK had a policy that people could smoke in their own offices (it was before the evil of open plan destroyed workplaces forever). If you had to go and see him, finding him was the first challenge, not choking the second and getting your suit dry cleaned in time for tomorrow the third..!

Funnily enough I had a Latin master at school who smoked Gold Block in a pipe. As young lads we used to go and see him in his study to beg empty baccy tins as they were the treasure of young boys for storing all manner of things in. His study was always a fog of pipe smoke, but it smelled so much more pleasant than cigarette smoke we never minded much.

richms:

 

I would rather see them all stuffed into a dingy room of the office building rather than standing outside on the footpath.

 

There was an hilarious episode of the UK comedy 'The IT Crowd' in which smokers were progressively moved further and further from the office, until they were on wasteland in some sort of Soviet dystopia, miles away, huddled in a bus shelter in long coats...!

It is quite amazing how socially unacceptable it has become in a relatively short space of time. I can recall going on flights as a child and every adult on the plane lighting up as soon as the no smoking signs were switched off.

I flew Air Cubana a few years back and was amazed when people started firing up their cigars.

Websites that play audio when you open them. 

Looking at you , treatme.co.nz.