There seems to be a myth floating around the stratosphere regarding the fact that people find smoking unsavoury and bad. This comes as a surprise, and frankly, a disappointment. This node in no way applauds smoking, nor recommends it, but I am having my say, as most smokers don’t have the ability to.

The reasons given are covered off in the following:

Smoking is Antisocial
One of the more social groups I have encountered on this mystery-tour I call life are smokers. They are a shunned part of society that group outdoors in the cold, or in rooms set aside for them, every two hours or so and chat and know one another well.

It is harder to “pick someone up” if you’re smoking
By far the easiest, and most natural, conversation starter in a bar is to go up to somebody and ask them for a light. This certainly is a great “ice breaker” and works better than any other lame pickup line.

Smoking is costly to a countries health system
I, for one, pay more for health insurance in my country than non-smokers because of the fact that I smoke. My country is not picking up the tab for any health issues that may arise from my smoking – I am.

Smoking causes cancer
So what? It is my own dumb-ass fault if I die of some hideous, gruesome disease due to my own stupidity.

Side-stream smoking damages others’ lungs
Now this is true, and it is for that fact that I am very careful whom I smoke around. I will not smoke around children, and usually smoke outdoors or in a designated smoking area.

Smoking is addictive
This is true, and makes it very difficult to give up once you have started, but there are other chemical substances ingested by idiots out there that are just as, if not more, addictive that cause death.

Smoking should be banned
Not a silly idea, until you start to think about the consequences on your own bank balance. In my country the tax on cigarettes is around 60% of the cost. Most of this goes into the government’s coffers to spend on roads, health, education and business-class trips around the world for symposiums and inconsequential meetings. Should the billions of dollars made by government from taxes on cigarettes dry up, where do you think this money will then come from? Tax increases, petrol prices increasing, and reduction in the quality of those things the money is normally spent on.

Smoking is a dirty, filthy habit
Yes, it is. But then so is jacking-off. So long as it is performed in designated areas, and in a considerate manner, taking into account the health and comfort of those around you there is no reason you should be affecting others.

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