See a smoker? Call 911

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 5:08pm

To call 911 over a smoker seems to be a bit extremist.
Link

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 7:39pm

Right now smokers are one step below child molesters on the food chain according to some.The same people who are bothered by cigarette smoke 50 feet away think nothing of the car & bus fumes they are breathing in daily. I would rather smell 1 cigarette than breathe in black acrid fumes

Bloomberg wants you to stop smoking but where would he get the money replaced from cigarette taxes should it be totally outlawed ?

Updated On: 10/23/06 at 07:39 PM

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 7:49pm

I think any city that bans smoking in public areas also have to ban cars and trucks in public areas.

Akiva

[Elphaba]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 8:09pm

not to worry, by the time the caller gets done holding on 911.....the smoker will be done and gone.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 8:36pm

I should certainly hope most public areas that ban smoking also have a policy against driving your car or bus into them.

It isn't a choice of either breathing in the acrid nonesense from a cigarette or from a car, people are forced to deal with both.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 9:13pm

Smoking is gross. I always report clubs and places in Manhattan when people do it there. I hate leaving somewhere and my clothes smell like smoke. You are right about the air quality in NYC, I'm ready to leave this toxic place. I’m glad smoking is on the way out here.

Umm by the way, the government has plenty of money. We’re just spending it on the wrong things. It’s pathetic the state has to rely on tobacco money to fund anything. What does that say about our government?

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 9:18pm

mejusthavingfun...out of curiousity do you ever ride or drive in cars?

Akiva

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:00pm

Akiva- if you are insinuating that I think I don't contribute to pollution you are wrong. Of course I do tons of things that cause air pollution. I don't like smoking though it's gross. I'm not trying to tell anyone else what to do. I like the ban we have here, and I like to keep it in effect. That simple. The air quality in NYC is terrible and a valid concern but I don’t equate the two.

I don't date guys that smoke it's gross. Yellow teeth, fingers, bad breath etc... not for me. Huge turn-off.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:07pm

There legal to buy, legal to carry, hundreds of millions of dollars are generated with taxes on them. But, you just can't smoke them? Why doesn't the government just ban cigarettes? Is it because there in the pocket of big tobacco?

Thousands of things are banned by the government for being unhealthy. But, something that is a known carcinogen is sold in every state of the union, for public consumption. Huh, go figure.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:09pm

I don't like driving though it's gross. I'm not trying to tell anyone else what to do. I think a ban should be put into effect against it. That simple.

I don't date girls that drive it's gross. Big asses, weak legs, smell like gasoline etc. Not for me. huge turn-off.

Akiva

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:17pm

Fair enough. I think there should be rules for automobiles too.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:27pm

Whoa, is that what Sean Penn really looks like nowadays?

The years have not been kind.

Not that he was ever good-looking.

[Marlene]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:28pm

Behold the wonders of public transportation.

I have this knack of spotting people dropping their valuables on the train, I was very tempted not to tell the man who dropped a pretty full pack of his Marlboros.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:29pm

Remember Sean Penn was smoking in that transplant movie. Who get's a heart transplant and then lights up?

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:31pm

Yeah, after you see how all the Marlboro men in the ads who smoked got horrible lung cancer and died prematurely.

Anyone who manufactures tobacco products should be jailed for killing people.

Bunch of murderers, those tobacco companies.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:41pm

Its not their fault people are stupid. It's not like people don't know the risks these days.

Akiva

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:43pm

They knew and they lied.

And they make a product that kills.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:45pm

Maybe in the past, yes. But even then we don't know how much they knew. But these days are you telling me that not every smoker (in the western world) is aware of how bad it is for them? Are we also banning bleach from being made in America as well? tha kills too.

Akiva

[jimnysf]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:54pm

Smoke in your house if you must but keep it away from me! I don't want you out on your balcony smoking while I have to keep my windows closed on a hot day in order to keep the smoke from coming into my apartment. Also, why aren't smokers fined for throwing their stubs all over the street. It's disgusting. And to liken second hand smoke to car exhaust is like comparing same sex marriage to marrying a sheep. Keep your disgusting smoke away from me!

[Marlene]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:54pm

No one smokes bleach, and when used correctly it serves as an inexpensive multipurpose cleaner.

Tobacco on the other hand, good luck arguing the values of that...

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 11:00pm

We'll, I hardly think it's fair to target children. Did you guys see this month's National Geographic? There is an article called "Tobacco Planet." Almost a billion men smoke worldwide and some 250 million women smoke. In Armenia 70% of the population smokes. Most of Europe and Asia is around 50-65% for males and the US has a higher female demo at around 20-30% smoking. Largest number of quitters in the US, Honduras and Zambia.

They don't mention in the article, but these are not all chain-smoking people. In places like Peru smoking is extremely casual, so casual you buy single *cigarettes on the street. The article also states that 5 million people die from smoking-related illness each year.

It does not mention birth defects or environmental damage. By environmental damage I don't mean air pollution. At nearly 15 Billion cigarettes a day, that is a lot of cigarette butts that take around 10 years to biodegrade and tons of manufacturing waste. Littered butts are carried by wind and water into nearby bodies of water. The cancer causing agents in the filters leak into aquatic ecosystems, threatening the quality of the water and aquatic life. Cigarette filters have been found in the stomachs of fish and birds that mistake them for food. So it's not like they are doing us much good outside the cancer part.


Updated On: 10/23/06 at 11:00 PM

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 11:03pm

Jimmy,

I am pretty sure second hand car exhaust is WAY more toxic (and prevalent) than second hand tobacco.

Turn your car on in your garage if you must but keep it away from me! I don't want you out on your driveway spewing exhaust while I have to keep my windows closed on a hot day in order to keep the smoke from coming into my apartment. Also, why aren't Drivers fined for spilling their oil all over the street. It's disgusting. And to liken car exhaust to second hand smoke is like comparing same sex marriage to marrying a sheep. Keep your disgusting exhaust away from me!

Have fun with your sheep tonight jimmy!

Akiva

(By the way...I'm agree with you about targetting children...however if the retailers are doing their job right, then that shouldn't even be an issue. I'm not saying Tobbacco comapnies aren't guilty of wrongs, I'm more emphasizing that it is more the populations fault than anything. Also...i am being a little cheeky just to play devil's advocate here)
Updated On: 10/23/06 at 11:03 PM

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 11:06pm

I have to be honest here, I prefer car exhaust smell to cigerettes. (waiting for the brain cell jokes). Smoking is just so uncool these days. It's time to let go and move on.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 11:11pm

I don't own a car. So there! I don't smoke either. As I said, smokers DO NOT have any right to blow their disgusting smoke in my direction and they don't have any right to litter either.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 11:18pm

I agree about the littering...and I don't have a car or smoke in pubic either.

But if you are are complaining about cigarettes so much, you should also be complaining about car fumes. They go in your face so much that you are probably so used to it and you barely notice anymore, whereas smoke you do. But if there was a ban in effect I don't think I could sign it on a matter of principle. I think we have to be very careful when it comes to supporting rights being taken away. Its a slippery slope that could lead to Footloose all over again. dancing is NOT a crime I tell you!

Akiva