2238 replies to this topic

[Copaman]

I don't want this to turn into a flamewar so I'll throw in my .02 and be done.

Smoking cigarettes is proven to kill you in a variety of fun ways. Then again, you're bound to die eventually. It's really a matter of how you want to go, I guess. Do you want to die in an exciting way, or do you want to die at 35 hooked up to a half dozen machines with a novacaine line in your arm knowing that you could've prevented it from happening and living for god only knows how many more years (for some of you, the novacaine line would be welcomed, and I can respect that, but for the sake of my opinion, we'll ignore that.)?

I can't make you stop smoking cigarettes. I can tell you I think it's stupid. I can't make you listen.

You're entitled to your opinion of smoking, I'm entitled to mine. I can agree to disagree. Can you?

The one thing I'd ask of cigarette smokers: please, do not smoke around non-smokers. They don't want to smoke, so why should they have to inhale your smoke? They can respect your habit, can you respect their lack of one?

I have no issue with weed. None at all. I don't smoke it anymore, and I've never smoked a cigarette and I won't. Cigars, tho...

I know that's a bit chopped up, but it's how I feel. Thanks for reading.

Edited by Copaman, 12 March 2009 - 01:01 AM.

[Caspa]

So here's the real choice then. Live a long, boring and pathetic life or smoke and live a short yet cool life.
Smokers might die younger, but not as young as non-smokers who don't look both ways before they cross the road.

[Mathijs]

Yeah, because not smoking means you're boring and pathetic, right?

I'm a casual smoker myself, but I don't get any ''pretentions'' and ''ideals'' whenever I light up. One thing's for sure, the fact you're so strongly associating coolness with smoking means the tobacco companies' commercial designers did a good job.

[Vortigern]

Man, what did I start here? OK, here's my real opinion. Smoking is entirely a matter of personal preference, but I honestly feel that, when performed with a degree of suavity, smoking does make you look kinda awesome. Of course, it is very possible to do it wrong, at which point you just look like a retard.

There are plenty of ways to die, and at least one of them is going to catch up with you sooner or later. You may as well do what you want when you want while you're alive. This is all you've got, so don't be a non-smoker because you're afraid of the possibility of getting lung cancer or something. There are plenty of real reasons not to smoke, just as there are plenty of reasons to do just the opposite.

Both weed and cigars are fun, though obviously for entirely different circumstances. I smoke cigars with my dad sometimes, but I really can't imagine ever sharing a spliff with him. They are also not particularly likely to cause any murderous diseases unless you take them to ridiculous excess. I read a study which said that regular weed-smokers (read: at least once a day for several years) doubled the chance of developing psychoses. From 0.5% to 1%. Forgive me if I fail to quake in my boots.

[olli]

The fact of the matter is that breathing in ANYTHING that isn't clean air (pure oxygen excluded, as are the inert gases that make up air) will do you no good from a biological perspective, but you may benefit psychologically from the feeling of enjoyment.
Vortigen, as an English student define the term "cool" in the context you’re using it.... It has been constantly changing because of culture and society and has a number of connotations now.
The reasons why people think smoking is "cool" is because;

1. Maybe they see the smokers as rebels, rebelling against the health advice given to them by various health organisations. It kind of says… "Look at me! I'm deliberately disobeying advice from a health organisation! And I clearly couldn't give a fuck! I don't care about life or death! I’m not scared! I'm just going to enjoy it as it comes! Woo! Yeah! I'm so crazy and happy go lucky!

Doing anything that is risk taking can be seen as a "cool" thing because there is an element of danger involved. Danger is exciting. It’s in our genes. Dicing with death can be seen as exciting. The bigger the danger, the cooler it is. What's cooler? Looking at someone smoking a cigarette, or watching someone doing a back flip off a house roof and landing feet first unharmed on the ground?
What's cooler? Watching smoking a cigarette or watching someone read the paper? Admittedly, the smoker is cooler, because it’s more interesting. You can see the patterns the smoke takes. And there is fire involved which always has some element of danger. There’s smoke produced. It smells funny. It’s more animated. It’s obviously way cooler than observing someone very static doing a mundane task such as reading the paper

But although the immediate danger element is very little, it still has some form of risk taking because of the long term effects.

But what about someone slashing their wrists in public? That is not cool. If you saw someone do that in public you would seek medical attention. You wouldn’t want to be near them, yet it is dangerous. It’s risk taking. They could bleed to death. It should be seen as cool… But maybe it might be easy to imagine the pain of lacerating yourself with a sharp steel razor. That’s not pleasant at all, and pain is not cool. But when you watch smokers, they seem to be in no apparent discomfort at all. Breathing in smoke is just like breathing normally. It’s not painful. So because there is no pain associated with it, it’s easier to be curious and take an interest in it… People who smoke all their lives can die at a ripe old age with no medical conditions what so ever. People who have never smoked once in their life can die at 20 with cancer. It’s the way it works. People who smoke are gambling with their chances to increase the likely hood of cancer. I know that smoking is not 100% guaranteed to cause it, but there is proof to show it increases the likely hood. So maybe it is that element of uncertainty and gambling that draws people to be interested in it, and instantly think “ Ahh, now he’s cool!”

2. Another far more likely explanation is because of the way the media has portrayed it (I.e. in films - the villain always has a cigar or something of the like in his mouth.) The media has a massive influence on our lives, and people like to copy what they see. Seeing a bad-ass man in a film with a shiny expensive car and with guns blowing stuff up whilst smoking a cigarette is vicarious reinforcement. It's association. People what to copy that, they want to recreate it so that they can try and get the same image.

However, I'm not generalising this to all smokers at all. I know that people smoke for a variety of reasons. My dad took up smoking again because he was made redundant. It calmed him down. There is no need for a 55 year old to try and look "cool" or try and be a rebel. It all boils down to individual differences.

I personally will never smoke. I am all too aware of the horrors of cancer, and I don’t want to increase my likely hood of getting it. Also, I like staying fit and being able to use my lungs to their full capacity. I need to if I’m applying to the military and I don’t want to disadvantage myself. Because no matter how you look at it, if you smoke your lungs don’t work as well and that is a disadvantage when it comes to physical endurance where you need every single lung cell to be working as well as it can.

Also, just so no one can hold it against me, I try things before I knock them. I have tried smoking on 2 separate occasions. Once when I was young and didn’t know how to do it so it felt like I burnt my throat because I breathed in very heavily, and once when I was older when I was told how to do it properly. I didn’t like the sensation it caused. (Also I've tried smoking weed, Shisha, doing a bong and a vaporiser. Just for the crack and not something I will ever make a habit of)

[Vortigern]

Man, stop trying to quantify 'cool'. It's just a thing. Either something's cool or it isn't, it's all a matter of perspective. Admittedly, yes, supervillains are cool. There's just something undefinably awesome about trying to take over the world and/or wipe out humanity for your own ends. You've got to admire that level of selfishness.

And watching someone backflip off a building is way more cool than smoking. If you can become a stuntman instead of taking up smoking, do that. You're applying to be a fighter pilot, aren't you? With that kind of firepower under you, you won't need any help looking cool. Try out for the Red Arrows. I admit that my heavy smoking has had a negative effect on my fitness, but that's only to be expected. I would probably be in seriously good shape were it not for my bad habits, but there you go. There's a certain kind of apathy that comes with smoking too. I don't really know where I'm going with this, by the way.

If anyone's interested, I first took up smoking because I worked in a cobbler's shop where everyone smoked, and cigarette breaks were a great way to avoid cleaning the shelves again. Then (I admit this reason may sound hollow) there was a smoking hot girl on my bus (pun very much intended) who smoked like a chimney and kept offering me rollies. These days it's just habit, or whenever I'm writing something. I don't know why, but writing, whether creative, essay or otherwise makes me want to smoke a great deal. That and the fact that I just plain enjoy it.

[Tom]

Guys this topic is for posting pics not for debating the term "cool." Any more posts i'll just split the topic.

[Shine On]

Just one cigar makes up for all the cigarettes your NOT smoking in one XD Guess its somewhat more healthy to take it all at once then spread over a long period

[Tom]

Well I don't drink for a few months, then I go crazy. Same for smoking i guess

Nah, there is a slight difference, it was shared with like 10 other people (surprised we didn't managed to get germs but oh well) and plus you don't breathe cigar smoke in, unless you seriously want to be crippled for the rest of the night with a headache!

[segwayrulz]

i wouldnt really like to smoke weed or something like that and alcohol tastes crap anyway, drinks in general don't taste very nice. I might just be different but how is smoking addictive, you breathe it in from other people and cough heaps and it tastes and smells like shit.

[True Lord of Chaos]

I think cigarette soke tastes/smells good

[Vortigern]

It's all a matter of personal opinion. Personally, I think smoking weed tastes a hell of a lot better than smoking tobacco, and it's also a lot more fun, unless you've got drunk first. Don't play it that way. However, Segway, if you don't want to smoke, then don't. You'll probably end up better off in terms of health, wealth and general body odour.

[Tom]

i wouldnt really like to smoke weed or something like that and alcohol tastes crap anyway, drinks in general don't taste very nice. I might just be different but how is smoking addictive, you breathe it in from other people and cough heaps and it tastes and smells like shit.

Wait until you are older and all your peers are doing it. Not that peer pressure is anything to adhere too, but its just fun to go get completely smashed sometimes with your friends.

[Mathijs]

I stopped smoking weed a few months ago, I really didn't enjoy it anymore. Same goes for tobacco. I don't really feel any different. Lucky me!

[segwayrulz]

Oh my friends are getting smashed on Alchohol its just that im the freak (you know the furry bit). So I couldnt be fucked killing my precious brain cells with the stuff.

On a lighter note im going to my semi-formal in a fursuit... and one of my friends is going as Stephen hawking

[Pasidon]

Your friend has decided to mock the dead and lifeless body of the innocent Stephen Hocking? Segway... I think it's rude, I think it's insensitive, and I think its an awesome idea. Nothing tops a funeral like a good old fashion cake and random costume party. Err... what would you call it exactly?

[segwayrulz]

its called a high school semi formal, I think its actually called a Masquerade or some crap.

I think its an awesome idea.

hes going to have Microsoft Sam on a laptop as his voice the whole night

[Vortigern]

Man, you get a masquerade ball? That's the most awesome idea for a prom I've ever heard. I wish my school had thought of that...

[Rafv Nin IV]

It's a semi-formal, not prom. Speaking of prom, my school's starts in about half an hour. Guess who's lame and not going?

[Abrams Tank]

I didnt go to my senior porm, I heard it got really bad reception (due to a communist principal) so luckily for me I saved quite a bit of money for it.
this years porm at my school was called Casino Royale, it sounded cool but didnt go to it I had work and plus I graduated from my high school.
for my next formal dance maybe i should wear my samurai tunic just to show my tastes in a different culture.