posted 04-06-2005 08:15 AM         

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Yes, I was a smoker until about 20 years ago,'' Jennings said, and I was weak and I smoked over 9/11. But whatever the reason, the news does slow you down a bit.''

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Just like alcohol and drugs.......tobacco is a serious addiction with long lasting repercussions even if you do quit. People do quit.......some can't manage to fight the addiction. Why do we allow any of these then? Money.

Neither Bob nor I have ever smoked. His parents did, my parents did. Bob's father had a stroke, his mother a heart attack (and heart disease). My father had a massive coronary that killed him at 61. My mother smoked for 66 years. She was 82 when she passed away three years ago. We think she had heart disease, but we aren't sure if that's what killed her. We think it was a blod clot from dehydration after the flu. My oldest son used to smoke until he had children and doesn't anymore. My youngest son has smoked since high school.......He's tried quitting many times.........but hasn't been successful as of yet. I pray every day that he does.

If my son should die of lung cancer, should I not have any empathy for him because he knew better.....but was so addicted he couldn't stop? Yes, he was wrong for starting.. he knows it.........but I love him.....and would be devastated no matter how he died.

posted 04-06-2005 10:39 AM         

...when I was a kid, I was a motor head....my dad told me if I didn't smoke or drink till I was 16, he would see that I had a car (I had to pay for it, but he would sign)....when I got the car, it took all of my money to keep gas in the tank and a girl in the seat....I didn't have the $$$ to date, drive and smoke, so smoking never happened.....still have never even tried one...

...if you smoke...STOP....if you don't smoke....DON'T START !!!

posted 04-06-2005 11:41 AM         

But I had to develop a plan to kick the addiction. I knew that to lick the addiction of two packs a day, I had to use mind over matter.

I set July 2 (my birthday) as the date I would quit. For three months prior I continually told myself that July 2 was the date. I established milestones; 7 hours without a smoke; then a second 7 seven hours and then 7 days without a smoke, etc. so I could gauge my progress and to develop short term goals to reach for.

posted 04-06-2005 08:02 PM         

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blah, blah, blah.......

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Politicians demonize it and lawyers sue the pants off it constantly.

So why don't they just ban it? I mean if it's so horrible (not disputing that fact), why allow it to keep being sold?

The dirty little secret is that something like 1/7 of GNP comes from taxes on tobacco.

posted 04-08-2005 08:02 AM         

In my mind it really does boil down to economics. I know the federal government used to provide subsidies to tobacco farmers in Virginia and North Carolina. I don't know if the Feds still do that or not. However it's ironic that on the one hand congress mandates all sorts of warnings and restrictions on tobacco and on the other hand provides taxpayer money to support the tobacco growers.

Our government is all over the poppies growers in Afghanistan to switch to other cash crops so that the opium supply is reduced. But we have an equally dangerous tobacco crop in the US and we don't do that to my knowledge...

If tobacco companies, rather than individuals (via insurance) and states, were required to factor in the cost of medical care and lost time due to smoking-related illness into each pack of smokes, no one could afford to smoke! The real cost of smoking is not factored into cigarettes like it should be.

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Originally posted by Bob Miller:
If tobacco companies, rather than individuals (via insurance) and states, were required to factor in the cost of medical care and lost time due to smoking-related illness into each pack of smokes, no one could afford to smoke! The real cost of smoking is not factored into cigarettes like it should be.

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While I can see your point, I can also see where something like that could be factored into just about anything we do. Drinking - accidents, drugs - side effects, cars - accidents, gas - explosions, guns - accidents, homes - just about anything, power tools, ladders, boats, planes, motorcycles, obescity, etc.

I think we'd pretty much price ourselves out of existence bacause if we started it with cigarettes, it would end up with anything and everything.

posted 04-08-2005 06:41 PM         

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Originally posted by Jim C:
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