Originally Posted By ssWEDguy Last week I was in a line of cars waiting to make a left turn. While we were sitting there the car in front of me opened their driver's door and emptied the contents of their car's ashtray on the ground. Great. A little pile of butts and ashes for us all to enjoy. Smoker scat.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Like I said there are uncultured slobs everywhere! The idea of non-filtered cigarettes is a good one, they basically biodegrade just getting wet and then they become just so much mulch. It's a win..win!
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost And how many more times have you seen a McDonalds take out bag thrown out a car window. It all depends on your litter of choice.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 A heck of a lot less than a cigarette going out -- but either way litter is litter....not sure what the point was meant to be, but I sure missed it
Originally Posted By ssWEDguy >> And how many more times have you seen a McDonalds take out bag thrown out a car window << Yes I have seen it. VERY seldom anymore. But cigarette butts go out the window ALL the time.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost The referance was to an ashtray full of cigarette butts, not an individual. I guess I must concede that smokers are by far the worst litter producers on the planet and just let it go. Speaking as a non-smoker and an ex-smoker and a human being, I am just tired of the singling out of one group of people that happen to have a habit (smoking) the apparently all of you consider to be the sole distroyer of our environment. The whole purpose of my rather lengthy diatribes on this subject was to try and show that entirely too much is being made of this. Bottom, line! If people are smoking in inappropriete places, do what is necessary to get it stopped. If they are in a univerally socially approved area, then let it go. AND make sure that your house is in order before you point fingers.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I am FAR MORE FREQUENTLY bothered by people's body odor and flatulence than I am by an occasional cigarette butt tossed here or there. I think we should ban people who don't shower or eat beans.
Originally Posted By Fe Maiden ^^^I don't mind when someone farts out the window of a car going 65 mph.
Originally Posted By danyoung >smokers who throw their cigarette butts on the ground or out their car windows should be slapped (literally) with a minimum $1000 fine...< Sorry, but I just got this mental image of a police officer dancing up to a smoker and slapping him in the face with his fine, kinda like John Cleese doing the Fish Dance! Sorry, back to the subject . . .
Originally Posted By danyoung >Have you ever noticed that every single smoke in the world is a litterer?< Be careful how you generalize. I am not a litterer, either of the packaging or of the tobacco remnant. I agree, tho, that far too many smokers will just chuck whatever wherever, and that ain't cool. I've come late to this discussion, but I have a couple of points. I'm a cigar smoker, which, while not harming me as much as someone who inhales cigarette smoke, more than makes up for that by being much stinkier than the average cig. I try to be ever so considerate about where my smoke goes. I would never smoke in a queue, nor would I smoke while walking along with a crowd. I do, however, smoke at the end of an Epcot day, while I am walking in the opposite direction of the general crowd. Will someone somewhere get a whiff? Yup. Will they drop dead from cancer from that whiff? Nope. I do realize that it's on the inconsiderate side for me to fire one up at all in public. But I balance my enjoyment against the occasional offense, and do my best to minimize those offenses.
Originally Posted By danyoung >2nd hand smoke, in the outdoors, away from the masses holds about the same risk to passers by as the odds you will get hit by lighting three times in one day. Let's avoid our modernistic over reactive view point designed to create a sense of urgency where none exists.< Well spoken, Bruce! Sorry, an obscure Python reference. But really, nicely put!
Originally Posted By ssWEDguy Okay, let's try this one more time.... If I'm a fat guy, Yes, I'm going to shorten my life. But it won't affect your lifespan. If I'm a drinker, I'm going to shorten my life. But (unless I'm driving a car), it shouldn't affect yours. If I don't wash and stink or fart a lot, it will be unpleasant. But I don't think it will shorten your life. But if you smoke, you can affect my lifespan -- just by being nearby. So there IS a difference. It's just not a "socially unacceptable" thing. It's real, live damage. I don't think the "Where will all these rules end?" argument applies here.
Originally Posted By ssWEDguy >> about the same risk to passers by as the odds you will get hit by lighting three times in one day << So where does this lightning bolt statistic come from? The word I hear is that 10's of years of exposure to second hand smoke WILL shorten your life. Not just "might." It's just a matter of time.
Originally Posted By danyoung >But if you smoke, you can affect my lifespan -- just by being nearby.< I know you're not directing this at me, but I have to jump in and say that if I'm standing by you and blowing smoke into your face for hours at a time, then yes, it's possible that I'm affecting your lifespan. If you're walking through a cloud on your way into a building, which admittedly can be unpleasant, it will not affect your lifespan. The safety issue is the whole reason why smoking was outlawed in buildings and work places, where prolonged exposure to smoke could affect the innocent. But the occasional whiff of smoke? I'm just not believing it's going to affect you in any negative way, other than going 'eewwwww' at that smell.
Originally Posted By ssWEDguy >> But the occasional whiff of smoke? I'm just not believing it's going to affect you in any negative way, other than going 'eewwwww' at that smell. << You know, you might be right. And I'm not trying to give anyone a hard time personally. But when it comes to my lungs, you're suggesting that I'm supposed to judge "Oh, that much smoke won't bother me" versus "That smoke will?" I make it simpler. The rule for me is, if it's smokey, I don't want to be anywhere near it. The same is true around smokey cars and buses.
Originally Posted By Shooba Your cost of smoking: <a href="http://mediresource.sympatico.ca/calculator.asp?which=cost_of_smoking&front_page=1" target="_blank">http://mediresource.sympatico. ca/calculator.asp?which=cost_of_smoking&front_page=1</a>
