Never smoked
Smoked briefly
Smoker who quit
Have tried to quit and failed
Smoker
Never smoked but thinking of starting
I never had a smokers cough until they changed to "fire safe"...which was probably a butane cough, trying to keep the dumb things lit. I bought a carton of rolling tubes (with filters), a bag of tobacco and a rolling machine and I've never looked back. After the original investment of $40.00 for the rolling machine, the math works out to be around .75 cents a pack. They taste better, they go out when I say so and there's no cough. If there's a downside, it would be the hour I spend rolling enough to last me a week. Cuts into my scrapping time.
Oh, and a little added bonus: the casino down the street just had a huge bon fire in their dumpster...caused by "fire safe" cigarettes.
(insert perfect Sirscrapsalot quote here)
Smoking would probably cost more than my scrapping money, so no.
I thankfully never got into it, but have seen some friends from the yard switching to the e-cigarettes. they start with menthol and high nicotine levels and then gradually lowers the nicotine level on each fill up. a starter pack is only $14 at the gas station, rechargeable, and refills are $3 a peice. they said it helped them quit for good, maybe you scrapper friends should atleast try it out
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Meh ... society is fickle. Back in the day the suggestion was that you weren't a real man if you didn't smoke. Nowadays you're a second class citizen if you do.
Most folks mindlessly follow the trends.
Ohh gawd .... next it will be another run at alcohol prohibition. There was already talk about raising the drinking age to 25 here in Maine.
Switched to Dip 5 years ago to help quit smoking. Now I just need to quit dipping
We moved from Minneapolis to Oklahoma City in 1980 where folks still smoked in the grocery store.
Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesaler
Certified Zip-Tie Mechanic
"Give them enough so they can do something with it, but not too much that they won't do nothing."
A lot has changed over the years.
I used to work at a mid sized healthcare facility in the mid to late 80's. A lot of us smoked and it really wasn't a big deal back then. It was pretty cool cause everybody got along. We would all get together and break for lunch at the same time in the break room. After the meal those of us who did smoke would light up and nobody thought anything of it.
It was a few years later that the higher ups directed us to build a wall and divide the break room into smoking and non smoking sections. Most of us still gathered in the smoker's section but there was less space. We still got along just fine and we would be laughing, joking, and enjoying each others company just as we always had. On the other side of the wall were a few of the higher ups. They never laughed and had fun. They just quietly ate their meal and then went back to work when their break was over.
I guess they must have been feeling a bit left out because they next directed us to tear down the wall and build a shelter outside where people could smoke after lunch.
( The higher ups used to refer to it as the "smoke house". )
Anyway ... we all ate quickly then headed outdoors. It was cold in the winter but it just gave us a reason to snuggle up together. It was all harmless fun but it was kinda nice to have a pretty young nurse sitting on your lap.
After awhile the job got sort of routine so i moved on to a better paying job that offered more challenges. I learned later that the higher ups had ordered the shelter demolished and declared it to be a non smoking campus.
It's sad .... it's not a very good place to work anymore. The jobs there don't pay very well and management has been targeting it's best long term (20 + yrs ) employees for termination to reduce labor costs. Nobody smiles and laughs anymore.
I guess the higher ups were determined to remake the world in their own image.
~ It's called social engineering. ~
Last edited by Scrappah; 12-06-2014 at 06:20 PM. Reason: fix typos and make it a bit more readable
Never smoked cigarettes, but chewed to make weight in high school and college for wrestling. In high school a science teacher use to chew Red Man during lectures and spit into a coffee can on the floor. When I started teaching, we were still allowed to chew in school.
Quit one time until the wife bought me a can and told me to start back up and to never try quitting again. Then the dentist told me I would loose all my teeth. Did the only sensible thing, researched the effect of dip on dentures. No problem, therefore still chewing. Yes the cost is prohibitive, but not compared to the expense of a counselor or marriage. Just my two dips worth.
Last edited by Patriot76; 12-06-2014 at 07:47 PM.
Well selling "lucies" in NYC became deadly for one guy. Cops went to arrest him and he ended up dead. I encourage you to do research on who was at fault.
From what I have heard/read the NY state tax on a pack of smokes is over $4/pack and the the NYC tax is about $1.45/pack. The same folks who want you to stop smoking are counting on the taxes so they can direct the spending.
I've often thought that politicians and perhaps me as well should be thanking all the smokers for their tax contributions. Mike
"Profit begins when you buy NOT when you sell." {quote passed down to me from a wise man}
Now go beat the copper out of something, Miked
a friend of mine quit smoking, and used the money to buy a truck....that's how expensive it can be in nys
Currently looking for a job in or related to scrap/recycling. Relocation is possible for the right offer.
The generics here in Maine are running a bit over eight dollars a pack. Some brands are over ten dollars a pack now. I don't have exact figures but the tax is somewhere between four to five dollars a pack.
Then there was the tobacco settlement awhile back that ran into billions and billions of dollars. The cost of that has been passed on to the consumer in higher prices.
From what i understand the theory behind all of this is that the health effects of tobacco were putting an unreasonable burden on the government healthcare entitlement programs in the form of increased costs. All kinds of money was portioned out to the states that participated in the lawsuit.
It would seem reasonable that this money should be used to provide healthcare to smokers that have fallen ill but that doesn't seem to be the case. It's been used for anti-smoking propaganda campaigns, some campaigns to provide support to those wishing to quit, and in in one case it was used to build a lovely park.
~ Looks even more like social engineering ~
It's a shame that most folks don't see it for what it is. Next it will be alcohol or maybe high fat foods.
Those alcoholics and obese people are placing an unreasonable burden on their health "collective".
http://tucson.com/news/state-and-reg...4b9f6253f.html
Not only not hiring smokers, but a 30% tax on current tobacco users.
Money is not the root of all evil, the love of money is.
Closing lines from the article:
Allyn Bulzomi, an ex-smoker and human resources director for Pima County, said the policy is about urging people to be healthy, not punishing those who smoke.
"The use of nicotine is a voluntary lifestyle choice," Bulzomi said. "It was a choice at one time."
====================
There are a couple of things going here:
1: Mr Bulzomi is a reformed smoker. It's no different than a reformed alcoholic that goes on a tear to rid the world of alcohol.
2: Interesting that he refers to it as a choice. Our country was founded on the principle of personal freedom ( of choice ). That includes the freedom as an adult to make the wrong choice.
A guy like that will wave the flag and be a strong proponent of personal freedoms and long as people are making choices that HE agrees with.
You really can't have it both ways. In order to preserve your own freedom you have to allow that same freedom to others.
The alternative is to mindlessly follow the trends and allow them to tell you where to go,what to do, and what to think.
( Sorry guys ... i'll try to refrain from posting on this subject any further. It's just that i've been watching this issue unfold over the last 40 years. It's downright disgusting ... )
I know what you mean olddude, 9/11 killed the icecream truck vending business also. I had 4 trucks and was managing 30 for another guy. I sold out the following season and he closed shop the season after, he had been in the business for 26 years. As far as smoking, I am, have thought about quitting but Its hard to say if I ever will.
There's always someone to criticize the spending actions of another, so I'll add to the pie:
A certain local native owned casino sells cigs tax free and draws business from quite a distance. Some people come just to buy cigarettes (and get some $2.13 gasoline while there). I remember seeing two elderly ladies with a shopping list for cigarettes which probably included her friends and neighbors smoke needs. One gal had to go outside to light up while the other one filled the order. She had a long list and the total came to over $800. They packed the trunk of their car and left with mission accomplished. The highest priced brand name smokes there are about $5.50 a pack.
What I really hate to see is my young neighbors who have one yr old twin sons and they both smoke in their vehicles with the boys.
As I said, I was a smoker, but I am not a smoker nazi. There is no doubt that there are better things to spend your loot on.
On the other hand, it amazes me that the same people who want everyone to quit smoking cigarettes are fine with, seek to legalize, and encourage people to smoke marijuana. It won't be long before there are pot bars where everyone can smoke pot, but every place will be forbidden to smoke cigs. There are already laws that keep people from smoking in their own homes.
Coffee addiction is equally amusing, or annoying, depending on distance from and relation to the addicts.
You know .... you did really well to quit. It's no easy thing.
You sure can't generalize about any group of people. To say that all ex-smokers become smoke Nazis just wouldn't hold true but there are a few extremists here and there.
For me: This isn't a cost issue or a health issue. If it were i think i would have quit awhile ago. Nah ... there's something much more important at stake here but if you're not directly affected it's hard to see it for what it is. The way i see it is that somebody is reaching into my life and trying to force me to do something. They probably mean well and most likely they're just trying to make the world a better place but they've gone overboard with it.
I respect the rights of others to make personal choices / lifestyle choices that i don't agree with. As long as what they're doing doesn't directly affect me in a bad way it's none of my business. After all, who is to say what's right for the other guy ?
Anyway .... all i ask in return is that others respect my right to make my own choices.
~ If they can't do that then we've got a problem.~
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