Leonard Nimoy: Smoking Is Illogical 401
An anonymous reader writes "My boyhood hero, actor Leonard Nimoy,
has developed lung disease. To those still smoking and in the grips of marketing induced denial, he says 'quit now.' Small acts of goodness make the universe a better place."
two spock quotes come to mind (Score:3, Informative)
It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want.
--Spock in 'Errand of Mercy'
Nowhere am I so desperately needed as among a shipload of illogical humans.
--Spock in 'I, Mudd'
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It's hard to reconcile the fact that those Spock quotes emanated from the same guy who sang that Bilbo Baggins song.
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Re: two spock quotes come to mind (Score:5, Funny)
He is both Spock and not Spock at the same time?
What is this, some sort of Schrödinger's Cat joke?
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"I Am Not Spock"
- Leonard Nimoy (Title of his autobiography, 1975)
I am Spock, Leonard Nimoy, 1995
He is both Spock and not Spock at the same time?
If you look carefully, there's a twenty year difference.
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Illogical (Score:5, Insightful)
You're 82, Leonard. Holding yourself up as an example of the ravages of smoking after reaching the age of 82 is illogical. Refusing to accept death at 82 is illogical. Go with grace.
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Implying he doesn't inject large sums of money into his veins to keep himself alive
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COPD is actually pretty bad, and there isn't a whole lot that having a ton of money can do. Maybe a heart/lung transplant. But at 82, that's a pretty rough surgery.
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I hope everyone you know realizes what an awful person you are and you die alone and miserable.
Re:Illogical (Score:4, Insightful)
You're 82, Leonard. ... Refusing to accept death at 82 is illogical. Go with grace.
Let's see if you feel the same way if and when you reach the age of 82.
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My mom did before 82.
For many, living just becomes increasingly miserable-- especially if you have a chronic condition as she did.
She was very orderly about it, maintained a "death" board, made sure her wishes for cremation- and who would inherit what was clear.
A lot of people are able to go. Perhaps Nimoy feels he still has more to say, he has money to do things with, he's not ready to go yet.
A lot depends on your general health, happiness, and even finances. And, of course, you religious outlook.
I'm no
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My mother was treated for cancer in her '80's. The cancer was (temporarily) defeated, but she lost her quality of life. Afterward, the cancer treatment, she regretted opting for treatment instead of palliative care. When the cancer came back, she opted for palliative care.
My father (approaching 100) told me years ago that he felt that he had done everything that we wanted to do and did not fear death.
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My father didn't fear death at 76 from lung cancer, and he didn't assign blame to others for his smoking. If I have the good fortune to live so long with the better part of my mental faculties in working order I will not wallow in excuses and blame when whichever of my many vices and faults catch up with me.
Not everyone clings to life with claws and teeth, ready to squander every last shred of dignity to catch the next episode of Jeopardy.
Sounds like you probably will though.
Re:Illogical (Score:5, Funny)
I want to die peacefully in my sleep - like my grandfather.
Not screaming in terror, like the passengers in his car.
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Gangrene at 60? Sounds like you have some defective genes in your family shrub.
Can't really see any point in sticking around any longer. Why would you want to?
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Can't really see any point in sticking around any longer. Why would you want to?
Not sure if serious or troll.
On the off chance you're serious, I think you lack imagination. There are many things I wish to do, far mor than I could manage in a lifetime. Why give up at 60? There's so much more fun to be had.
And given your UID, chances are you're now decently over half way through your life if you plan on giving up at 60. Have you realy done half of everything worth doing?
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Can't really see any point in sticking around any longer. Why would you want to?
It looks like insanity runs in your family. I turn 62 in April and retire this month. For the first time in my life I'm FREE. I can do anything I want.
Your deathwish is crazy, you should seek professional help.
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Where did you get hold of the guy's medical history? I mean, you obviously wouldn't try to diagnose a hereditary genetic disease based on a single sentence from a stranger on Slashdot, would you? That would be a really dumb thing to do, so that can't be it.
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I so wish I could cut your throat and watch you bleed out on the soil.
This is your reaction to someone disagreeing with you? I really hope you have never managed to breed. That would certainly be for the benefit of humanity. Even if you accept the dubious notion that breedig is a good idea, your polluting of the gene pool with aggressive nutcases certainly won't improve things.
Re:Illogical (Score:5, Insightful)
Shouldn't the entire species also go with grace when it reaches its limits? You know, as opposed to the grand visions of the species colonizing the universe and being forever an ape that lasts a few decades before completely falling apart?
No, no, that's different. Space is the Holy Manifest Destiny of the species, but only if we keep aging and dying like we did a thousand years ago. No technology must be developed to extend youth.
Uncomfortable yet? Or only your pithy little statements are the truth??
Re:Illogical (Score:4, Interesting)
You're 82, Leonard. Holding yourself up as an example of the ravages of smoking after reaching the age of 82 is illogical.
Refusing to acknowledge what science teaches us about disease is illogical and yet you are holding yourself up as an arbiter of logic.
Refusing to accept death at 82 is illogical.
There is no logic to dying before necessary if he can still do productive work or enjoy life.
Go with grace.
What an interesting contract to your words in this post [slashdot.org] and this post [slashdot.org]. It is almost as if you don't really mean it. You seem to lack empathy. Isn't there a word for that?
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Refusing to acknowledge what science teaches us about disease is illogical and yet you are holding yourself up as an arbiter of logic.
Who said anything about what science has discovered about disease? All science can say is, 'if you smoke, your risk of lung cancer is increased'; it cannot determine whether that risk is worthwhile.
I'd argue that the risk is worthwhile when it comes to cigars and pipes, and not when it comes to smoking a pack a day of cigarettes, jsut as the risk of eating grilled meat is well worth it.
Re:Illogical (Score:5, Informative)
You're 82, Leonard. Holding yourself up as an example of the ravages of smoking after reaching the age of 82 is illogical. Refusing to accept death at 82 is illogical. Go with grace.
His problem is that 'grace' isn't really one of the features of COPD. First the coughing starts. Then you begin to experience difficulty breathing and shortness of breath. These become more severe until you can't maintain adequate O2 saturation without supplemental oxygen. Then they become more severe until you can't maintain adequate O2 saturation with supplemental oxygen. Then you die. Available treatments are largely aimed at easing the symptoms, and rarely effective in halting the disease's progression.
It's hardly the worst (there's a lot of competition); but a long, futile, struggle to breath isn't a pretty exit. If he's really lucky, something else will kill him fast and first.
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But he shouldn't make it too obvious, or we'll crucify him for being a coward who took the easy way out.
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Refusing to accept death at 82 is illogical.
Accepting death at any age is what is illogical, not the reverse. My mom's 85 and bowls every week, she should just lay down and wait to die like her dad did when he was forced to retire? That's not just illogical, it's stupid.
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Your friend is genetically defective. It's sad, it happens, the world turns.
Because everyone who gets something really nasty as a result of smoking deserves it? That's addict's reasoning, anything to justify the drugs.
For someone who said "live long" (Score:3, Interesting)
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Some personal responsibility before you die? (Score:2)
It is not my fault! Marketing made me do it!
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What all these sites suiciding has taught me: Don't leave design in the hands of the faye!
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As if marketing don't exploit your brain. Ever hear of "supernormal stimuli"? This post has some interesting info for you: http://ciotti.quora.com/Was-Yo... [quora.com]
Is it even possible (Score:2)
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Gene Ray? Is that you?
When did marketing ever claim otherwise? (Score:2)
Perhaps in the distant past smoking marketers claimed smoking was safe, but I never saw any sign of that... they simply make smoking glamorous while glossing over the dangers, but it's not like they actively hide the dangers.
Nor is it the case that any person who smokes does not know the danger at this point. There are millions of sources telling you smoking is bad. People do things they know are bad for them for whatever reason; that will never stop and it's unfair to blame marketing for human nature.
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Until forced to stop, they not only claimed that it was safe, they claimed it was good for you. It reduced stress and improved digestion you see.
That was some time ago, but Nimoy is 82, so...
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they claimed it was good for you. It reduced stress and improved digestion you see.
I've run across those ads before. So ... were those claims true or not?
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It's fairly uncontroversial that smoking was not safe. There is some evidence that nicotine can help with irritable bowel syndrome, but for most it doesn't seem to do much for the digestion (and smoking is a hell of a way to take nicotine). It may have helped with stress.
There is evidence that nicotine can help the negative symptoms of schizophrenia with far less side effects than approved drugs, but again, smoking is a hell of a way to take nicotine.
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Was 1977 the distant past?
Still didn't claim it was safe, just didn't tell you it was dangerous.
I sure knew at that point smoking was bad, which was why I never even tried it.
When you have people in cigarette marketing who spend millions of dollars trying to figure out how to get people to smoke cigarettes even though it's bad for them, and succeed
I think it's reaching to claim marketing has succeeded in that regard. You have no idea if that person would have smoked anyway without the marketing; it seems v
Spock was a smoker? (Score:2)
Was he out of his vulcan mind?!
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Was he out of his vulcan mind?!
No, Spock was sleeping in Obama's brain . . . who was also a smoker, but stopped . . .
. . . if you have the faith to believe him . . .
"If you like your cigarettes, you can keep them."
82 years old (Score:4, Interesting)
Leonard Nimoy is 82 and he probably has a few more years ahead of him. Was he planning on living to be 1000 years old?
Smoking has pluses and minuses. News flash: people like to smoke, just like they like drinking alcohol and using other substances. Ask a heroin user whether he likes heroin -- he loves it. So it's not illogical to take heroin, but it's a choice that can have a negative long-term effect.
If you're already 82, like Leonard Nimoy, you might want to try smoking. Or heroin. The benefits are immediate. And you probably won't live to experience the consequences.
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Leonard Nimoy is 82 and he probably has a few more years ahead of him. Was he planning on living to be 1000 years old?
Smoking has pluses and minuses.
If he didn't have COPD, he'd probably live another 5 or 10 years longer than whatever he's got.
COPD is one of the more painful ways to die. It's like breathing through a straw.
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If he didn't have COPD, he'd probably live another 5 or 10 years longer than whatever he's got.
"Probably" indicates more likely than not. Do you have any statistics to indicate that an average 82-year-old male without COPD is "more likely than not" to live to 90 or 95? I don't think you do.
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If he didn't have COPD, he'd probably live another 5 or 10 years longer than whatever he's got.
"Probably" indicates more likely than not. Do you have any statistics to indicate that an average 82-year-old male without COPD is "more likely than not" to live to 90 or 95? I don't think you do.
Yes I do. I went to a few medical conferences on COPD. COPD is the third biggest cause of death in the U.S. It gets a chapter in every introductory medical textbook, like the Merck Manual and Harrison's, and there are a lot of medical journal articles on it. I remember seeing a chart of the lung function of a healthy individual compared with one with COPD over the course of their lifetimes. At the bottom of the chart was a line indicating the minimum oxygen capacity you need to survive, and the people with
Re:82 years old (Score:5, Funny)
Smoking has pluses and minuses.
Such as???
Re:82 years old (Score:5, Interesting)
People have been smoking tobacco for about 1000 years now. Why do you think they started doing that? How far up your own ass would you have to be to deny even the possibility of a pleasant neurochemical effect?
Here's a quote an article [livestrong.com]:
Re:82 years old (Score:5, Interesting)
The high goes away pretty quickly as your brain adapts, though nicotine remains a mild stimulant. After that, you mainly just get the relief of feeding the addiction - you go into withdrawal pretty quickly once you're addicted. In addition, it's psychologically addictive as you get used to the relief, and associate it with the physical act of smoking. Thus quitting is very hard, even with nicotine replacement therapy, and why most who try to quit fail, repeatedly. Nicotine is supposedly as hard to quit as heroin.
Personally, I've switched to vaping from e-cigs. The same stress relief my brain associates with the physical act of smoking, a much lower dose of nicotine* (similar to caffeine in its effects) without all the tar, benzene and the many other carcinogens from combustion. Better to quit outright of course, but this is a workable half-way house for now, and much cheaper to boot.
* I've scaled down the amount of nicotine in the liquid to much lower than I started with.
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My grandmother is 95-years-old. If she wanted to start smoking or start taking drugs for the "undeniable initial high", should I tell her not to? Do you think she'll regret it 20 years from now?
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The other people -- puritans? -- on this thread were trying to deny the pleasant effect exists at all. Just because something pleasant can become addictive doesn't mean it was never pleasant.
Someone "logical" would weigh the benefits (pleasure) against the costs (addiction) rather than taking an extreme puritanical approach.
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PLUS: You die sooner, and so your exposure to Slashdot Beta is reduced.
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If you've already developed COPD, as Mr. Nimoy has, then you *will* experience the costs of continuing to smoke, even at the age of 82. So there are negatives.
Also, at the age of 82 you probably don't give a damn about looking cool any more, so the biggest plus for a teenager doesn't apply.
+1 Funny (Score:2)
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There must be something good about them. It's not like every teen who tries out a filter-tip instantly becomes addicted. I know a few people who only smoke occasionally, often going weeks or months between cigarettes.
They must get something out of it. Why would they bother otherwise?
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So ... why did they smoke until they became addicted? What do you think happens anyway? "Wow, this does nothing for me! Better keep at it until I'm addicted!"
Try thinking before posting.
Yeah Yeah (Score:4, Funny)
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In any case it's preferable to die quietly in your sleep of quickly from a heart attack than slowly and in pain due to lung disease.
Electronic cigarettes (Score:3)
I use something like this -> http://i.imgur.com/ciomNzs.jpg [imgur.com]
Only nicotine - none of the tar or any other 500 chemicals which burn in a cigarette.
82 (Score:2)
If you gonna live till 82, you gonna develop any disease you can possibly develop.
Death is just a part of life (Score:3)
Our friend Leonard Nimoy is probably feeling very mortal these days. So would you if you were 82 years old. I hope he enjoys every day he has left, spending as much time as he can spoiling his grandkids and telling Zachary Quinto more about the Zen of Spock.
One of the things I learned in a certain Twelve Step program I've worked the steps in for many years is that death is just another part of life, only the final part, and one that comes to everyone at some time or another. There is not much point in being concerned about the how and when of that final moment in this existence. It just wastes energy and brain cycles that can be better spent on other endeavors. While I do have plans for the future, never want to retire, and my fondest wish is to drop dead at my desk at work, I will accept when it's my time to go. I will probably be disappointed in some ways since there are some things I want to do in life, but that's just human.
And since it seems to be obligatory these days, FUCK the BETA, it really is bad.
Smoke e-cig instead (Score:2)
E-cigarettes gives you the fast, abundant and finely controlled nicotine intake, with the experience of breathing hot air and satisfying the "nipple sucking" primordial reflex.
They really give everything a cigarette user needs, and are cheap, especially in countries with high taxes on tobacco.. while like 95% of the toxicity just goes away. No more tars and whatever crap.
So, don't hesitate.. Do it immediately!
It's even something of a Star Trek thing. Star Trek had that fake alcohol which makes you drunk wit
something Spock would say (Score:2)
That's something Spock would say to Uhura. You know, "singing is illogical", "fun is illogical", "kissing is illogical", "sex is illogical". Many things we humans like to do are "illogical", but we generally do them anyway, often because they are enjoyable, and sometimes because a lot of illogical risk taking propels humanity along as a whole.
There are many things that shorten you life, and at age 82, Nimoy really can't complain about his life span. I think a better reason to quit smoking isn't necessarily
Influental actor (Score:3, Insightful)
Leonard Nimoy is probably one of the most influental actors the last century. He may not have intended to be, but that's how things are - you can't control every aspect of your life - accept what you have become. As a person that have a rather iconic status he can reach more people than many others. He has at least not abused his position in life given by his characterization of Spock, which means that people will listen when he do say something.
The sad thing here is that the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a very slow and agonizing thing to experience - you know that you eventually will die from it. Cancer is another high risk for smokers. Of course people can die from lung cancer or COPD anyway - but smoking increases the risk considerably. Be it passive smoking or active - it increases the risk.
I'd rather die quickly than have a slow agonizing death.
Re:Seriously - GTFO (Score:5, Funny)
Exactly! Why would Slashdot ever carry a story about Leonard Nimoy? Wasn't he in some westerns, like Gunsmoke [youtube.com] and The Virginian [youtube.com]? Anything else that we should know about? Did he ever travel? Any famous treks to relate that nerds would care about?
Re:Seriously - GTFO (Score:5, Informative)
Better link for The Virginian [youtube.com]. The doctor with him looks familiar too, good old DeForest Kelly, another old hand in the Westerns.
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I just kept getting cognitive dissonance, as
Re:Seriously - GTFO (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the well is drying up, because people are sick of beta or the arguments about beta, nobody is submitting any real stories.
So they are left with these useless stories.
The social oriented market segment that Dice is seemingly courting seems to be the only segment left.
All the tech and nerd types have left the building.
Re:What do you expect? (Score:4, Insightful)
It will be a lot easier to destroy Slashdot than it was to build it. I just really hate to see it go. I just lost my other favorite site, TheOilDrum, not too long ago. Sure, there are other similar sites, but they are not the same. It was like having my favorite watering hole burn down.
There is only one Slashdotter I know personally, the rest of you I only know by your presence here, yet in a way I feel I am among peers and friends here. You have been very generous to help me when I had problems, as well as give me sanity checks when I go overboard. I do not want to see this go away.
Re:Seriously - GTFO (Score:4, Interesting)
Considering that he is sort of an icon to nerds and is dying of a recently announced disease, I would considering it newsworthy.
Although I doubt that smoking is the main reason he has COPD now considering he stopped smoking so long ago, but it may have been a contributing factor. He was an avid Photographer, and if he did a lot of darkroom work, he could have contracted the disease from breathing in the Caustic Developer Chemicals.
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He does not, so far as we know, have cancer. Read the summary or the article. Nimoy has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), one of the other bad things that can happen to you as a result of smoking.
It's your choice to smoke, of course, but COPD is an unpleasant disease and quitting would halve your chances of developing COPD and delay the onset of crippling symptoms if you do develop it.
Re:Seriously - GTFO (Score:5, Informative)
Nimoy didn't get lung cancer, he got COPD.
Smoking does heavily increase your chance of getting lung cancer but it's not the sole cause of it. Smoking does make you far more likely to suffer from one or more of a very large array of nasty illnesses during your lifetime. It also reduces your life span significantly.
Quit smoking if you care at all about the risks of illness and disability that smoking causes. Or accept that you are a nicotine junkie and that you are lying to yourself about your habit because you can't face withdrawal.
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The odds of a smoker getting lung cancer is about 12%.
The odds of a smoker getting one of any number of serious lung diseases is a bit over 50%.
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Or, start using electronic cigarettes
Electronic cigarettes are about a million times better than the regular kind. However isn't it better not to be chemically dependent and to not suffer the mood swings and chronic withdrawal pains?
I see plenty of smokers. They don't enjoy smoking, they enjoy being without the withdrawal symptoms for a short while.
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TFA says he has COPD - Cardio Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder. This is essentially emphysema and congestive heart failure. The disease is terminal. My father died from this disorder, so I've seen it personally. Not a nice way to go (not that any of them are).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C... [wikipedia.org]
Still, Nimoy said that he'd quit smoking thirty years ago. While it's possible the smoking is a contributory factor, COPD is also commonly diagnosed in those who've never smoked. And Nimoy is an old man.
Of course I wish h
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Most non smokers are still subjected to passive smoking, which can also cause lung cancer... Even if your grandfather never smoked, how much time did he spend inhaling smoke produced by others?
That's actually the reason so many of us have a problem with smoking. We don't care what substances you want to consume as thats your choice, but by smoking in public you are taking away our choice not to.
It also seems utterly ridiculous to send most of it up into the air, there are far more efficient ways to consume
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You do realize that many people, while possibly addicted to smoking, continue to do so because they want to, they enjoy it. When you tell them to get help or to quit, you are actually telling them not to do something that is legal and they enjoy.
What I'm getting at is the anger is not from the conviction, it is likely from someone saying you can't do what you enjoy doing. Imagine if your family members constantly berated you over using the internet or whatever it is you enjoy because of hyped up claims abou
Re: Seriously - GTFO (Score:4)
Not true. I smoked for several years and quit for a little over a year and started smoking again. People like the smoke sensation entering their lungs, they like the relaxation afterwards and they like the way smoking steadies the hands and increases dexterity slightly. When I went back to smoking, I had absolutely no withdraw effects but I went back because I liked it. I only quit smoking (cold turkey) to get in a girls pants and she stuck around after I started back up despite being dead set against it when we first met.
I still smoke today because I enjoy it. If you do not smoke, I guess you will never understand but you have it all wrong. Sure there is addiction, but there is also other positives about smoking that people like and enjoy much the same as people who like to drink alcohol or toke on some weed or even do other drugs occasionally. All that can be done without addiction and is often done because people enjoy it.
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To those still smoking and in the grips of marketing induced denial...
It really indicates how stupid the writer thinks everyone else is, that despite an endless barrage of information about the deleterious effects of smoking from family, friends, doctors, news programs, newspapers, magazines, sitcoms, movies, cartoons, graffiti, puppet shows, and government literature that somehow the little indirect marketing (tenuously through movies and TV) somehow overrides our ability to make an actual informed decision.
"Denial"
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Why should she? Freedom means free to make bad choices the one who needs help is you. Let people make their own decisions good or bad, Help only when asked and try to guide but Never! Never impose your ideals of whats right and wrong on another.
Freedom doesn't mean the freedom to harm other people. Drug addicts do harm other people. This is why most drugs are illegal unless proscribed, because they harm far more people than just those taking them.
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With the exception of incidents of violence many of which have as much to do with the drugs be expensive and illegal in the first place, and DUI which would still be illegal even if the drugs weren't this is a bs. Drug addicts mostly harm other people who put themselves in harms way.
Your failure to recognize someone who is "out of control" whatever the reason drugs or otherwise isn't good company to keep, makes you at least partly responsible if you come to harm. Life is hazardous if you are in a dangerou
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Smoking does harm to anyone who's physically close enough to inhale the fumes...
At least someone who's injecting heroin, snorting cocaine or taking pills etc doesn't directly harm anyone by such actions.
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you can get lung cancer having never smoked and never been around anyone who has. Using lung cancer to say smoking is bad is like saying thinking or using beta causes brain cancer.
Nimoy has COPD not lung cancer. Smoking isn't the sole cause of lung cancer, it's a HUGE risk factor but not the sole cause. Smoking also causes a bunch of other really debilitating diseases.
Do you think we are stupid?
Not sure. That argument sure is stupid.
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Why would someone ignore all the warning signs and stumble blindly ahead on a path to certain doom?
Because nicotine is addicting.
Just like heroin or cocaine, except more so.
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Why would someone ignore all the warning signs and stumble blindly ahead on a path to certain doom?
When others who did the same all shared the same fate?
When trusted community members spoke up and said "were asking you to stop because we care?"
Why would anyone ignore all of the clear warning signs of impending death?
Cigarettes are either a stimulant, or a depressant, depending on dosage. Which means, if you're tired or depressed, it will fix that, and if you're anxious and upset, it will fix that too. It will increase your emotional equilibrium, and make you cool.
Cigarettes increase the quality of life of those that smoke them. That's why people do it.
If you don't understand now, it's because you're refusing to do so.
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Oh, and they help keep you from getting fat too.
Vaping (Score:2)
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If this is the average quality of future stories, I don't need a beta to keep me away.
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Re:Beta is illogical (Score:5, Interesting)
" But as TFA shows the sad thing is you WILL get COPD, doesn't matter how long ago you quit as you WILL get it if something else don't get you first. So if you are quitting do it because you don't want to be smelling like smoke or be out of breath, because if you have smoked more than a couple of years you might as well accept COPD is in your future regardless."
Negative thinking is a large part of what causes the addiction to be so difficult to break. Beat me it feels good syndrome. IT IS NOT true that you are doomed even if you quit. Also the only attitude to take is that you will be tempted for the rest of your life to smoke. The difference is that you need to make a habit out of not smoking. Don't get all sweated up there is no doubt that in the first week after quitting it will be difficult, such is the nature of the drug. Another misconception about tobacco is the fact that it calms your nerves. THE BULLSHIT fact is that it is essentially a speed ball concoction, at first the carbon monoxide brings you down as does the reduction of 02 in your blood stream. Yes it calms your nerves and the nicotine acts initially as a sedative as well, but the fact is that then after about 4 minutes it actually increases your heart rate and in reality nicotine is a form of speed as well. Most people are not aware of these facts and think that they are actually settling their nerves by havin' a butt. BUT IT IS A LIE, and you fool yourself into believing the soothing tones of the Marlboro Man lighting up on horseback.
Remember dada, dada dada, --dada, dada dada. As Yule Brynner [idahostatesman.com] rides off into the sunset. The tobacco companies up in Canada actually own part of one of the largest drug store chains, they did not suffer, but their victims do every day.
DON'T GIVE UP THE FIGHT and roll over and play dead, it can be beaten. Besides the more you try to quit the more you will learn how not to smoke and also reduce the insult to your body. But don't be negative to others about quitting it is just plain wrong and I am sure Mr. Spock and even the Marlboro man would agree.
Support (Score:3)
Your positive future involves the word QUIT. Your negative future involves that river in Egypt.
Someone tries to support you, you call it a rant, and totally miss what they are saying. Epic indeed.
Re:Beta is illogical (Score:5, Informative)
Looks like some moderators are participating in the protests by modding on topic comments "offtopic".
As to quitting smoking, it depends on your genes and when you quit. My mother and her husband quit 30 years ago when he developed emphysema, he died from pretty much all his organs shutting down last year, Mom's only now starting to get COPD at age 85, but all but three of her twelve siblings are alive and in their nineties.
Generally, though, they say if you quit before you're 40, by the time you're 50 your lungs will be as healthy as a 50 year old who never smoked. And the more you smoke, the more damage there is to the lungs.
If I get COPD it will probably be from reefer, all smoke is bad for your lungs. But at least pot doesn't cause cancer.
Re:Beta is illogical (Score:4, Interesting)
But as TFA shows the sad thing is you WILL get COPD, doesn't matter how long ago you quit as you WILL get it if something else don't get you first. So if you are quitting do it because you don't want to be smelling like smoke or be out of breath, because if you have smoked more than a couple of years you might as well accept COPD is in your future regardless.
I don't know about that.. I smoked in my early 20s, during the 8 years I was in the Army, and for about 2 years after I got out, for a total of about 10 years. One day, I reached into my shirt pocket, by habit, to grab a cigarette, and I had an epiphany.. I asked myself.. "WTF are you doing to yourself???" I wadded the nearly full pack up and threw it away.. All of my friends smoked heavily and when I told them "I QUIT!", they laughed and said "nah, you'll be back..." .. Well, here I am, 40+ years later, and I've not had another cigarette since... Thanks to the "cold turkey". In fact, the smell of burning tabacco so revolts me, I get sick to my stomach when I have to negotiate the flocks of smokers puffing away outside many stores/coffee shops today.. In my last physical, last year, nothing about any COPD or emphysyma or .. (shudder) cancer... Guess I'm the exception...
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Why don't you offer feeback on the changes? I did, and next thing I see is those exact issues being acknowledged. Now that there is a proper news article to comment on, I do not see how disrupting unrelated articles is in any way useful. Quite the contrary.
Re: (Score:3)
I did, in topics about beta, and I emailed them. I'd be fine with beta if I could ignore it, but the problem is they're running full speed ahead with getting rid of classic.
Just tried to get to the altslashdot site, got a 404.
Re: (Score:2)
I think implied in Nimoy's statement is the goal of "live long and prosper" as the primary purpose in life, and from that point of view, smoking is illogical. If you adopt the "have fun and don't worry" purpose, smoking is not illogical.
You people can't make up yo