Poll: Does Anyone Smoke Cigarettes Anymore?

[Amethyst]

I find it interesting that peer-pressuring people not to smoke, apparently doesn't provoke the same angry backlash that, say, peer-pressuring them to eat right and exercise certainly would.

If, in some weird alternative universe, I was determined to smoke, I would probably defy the pressure and then find other friends.

In a conversation yesterday with a person who is a wellness director, we were talking about why so many people smoke and what gets some to quit. It was interesting to learn (assuming she was right) that most people did not quite smoking due to health concerns. They quit due to peer pressure. For example, telling your friends you must leave the dinner table to go outside for a smoke was uncomfortable. Or, telling your friends that you smoke when they are so disapproving was also uncomfortable. It works the other way as well.

I am not sure of the best peer pressure message one could give to a smoker. But this concept would suggest watching and listening to people near the end of life is not the most effective way to get people to stop smoking. We did not get to the point of discussing peer pressure solution suggestions. But, perhaps the way to go to get more people to stop smoking.

 

[MRG]

I find it interesting that peer-pressuring people not to smoke, apparently doesn't provoke the same angry backlash that, say, peer-pressuring them to eat right and exercise certainly would.

If, in some weird alternative universe, I was determined to smoke, I would probably defy the pressure and then find other friends.

+10000

Peer pressure? Seriously. That person should wake up. I'd find new friends or family(I didn't speak to DF for many years because of his pressure) before anyone could keep me from smoking.

I quit smoking based on fear, not so much about health. Fear. Plain stupid fear, fear of pain.

 

[bloom2708]

I watched a few episodes of "Madmen"...I got a sore throat just watching all of that smoking going on.

I tried to watch Madmen. Couldn't "hack it". The smoking and drinking of hard liquor in every scene just was terrible.

I don't even care how "good and realistic" the show is. Cough.

I can't imagine waking up each morning after all the smoking and hard liquor and how they felt. People were "hardy" I guess. Or just used to the "pain".

 

[savory]

I find it interesting that peer-pressuring people not to smoke, apparently doesn't provoke the same angry backlash that, say, peer-pressuring them to eat right and exercise certainly would.

If, in some weird alternative universe, I was determined to smoke, I would probably defy the pressure and then find other friends.

I think one of the key differences is that the peer pressure for smoking was very silent. A person lights up at a sporting event in the stands and X number of people turn and stare. Some might say do you need to do that here. But most send a silent message indicating their behavior does not only affect them but others. It is uncomfortable for the smoker. This is just an easy example. But, I believe similar things happen among friends.

In the case of weight and exercise, there typically is no 'silent' message. I also wonder when you consider weight and exercise, do most of your friends pay attention to these health issues. Clearly, if you go for a hike and you want someone to join you, that person too must be fit. Very different from smokers. People know their friendship partly depends on fitness.

Since I think most people agree that nagging is fairly ineffective. The peer pressure concept made sense to me.

 

[scrabbler1]

I think one of the key differences is that the peer pressure for smoking was very silent. A person lights up at a sporting event in the stands and X number of people turn and stare. Some might say do you need to do that here. But most send a silent message indicating their behavior does not only affect them but others. It is uncomfortable for the smoker. This is just an easy example. But, I believe similar things happen among friends.

In the case of weight and exercise, there typically is no 'silent' message. I also wonder when you consider weight and exercise, do most of your friends pay attention to these health issues. Clearly, if you go for a hike and you want someone to join you, that person too must be fit. Very different from smokers. People know their friendship partly depends on fitness.

Since I think most people agree that nagging is fairly ineffective. The peer pressure concept made sense to me.

It's fascinating (and great) how the peer pressure has totally flipped from what it was back in the 1980s when there was more pressure (peer and otherwise) to allow a smoker to light up, especially in an area where it was either outlaws or frowned upon. I wrote in an earlier post about my experience in an elevator back in 1986 when I had to go it alone to prevent my elevator ride from turning into a gas chamber when a rude smoker brought a lit cigarette into a crowded elevator, and nobody else took my side when I asked him to put it out, then prevented the elevator door from closing.

 

[Sojourner]

I suppose you know the answer, but I'll bite anyway. The difference is you would become intoxicated after drinking Vodka and therefore unproductive at work.

Yes, that's true... if each 5 minute break involved drinking an entire shot of vodka. But what if it was only 1/3 or 1/4 of a shot each time? My point wasn't so much about the intoxicating effects, but more about the odd deference that many employers seem to give smokers, never batting an eye when they'd step outside to smoke a dozen or more times during the workday.

A better example than "vodka breaks" might have been something like "porn breaks". Someone could plausibly claim they're addicted to porn and that looking at it every half-hour throughout the day makes them more relaxed and better at their jobs. But would most employers really be OK with numerous 5-minute "porn breaks" where the person disappeared outside to watch porn and socialize with other porn addicts?

Yeah... pretty silly, I know, but sometimes I just couldn't help wondering about these kinds of analogous hypothetical scenarios back in my office/cubicle days.

 

[kcowan]

Quitting can be really tough. When I was trying to quit years ago, my efforts were hampered by the many local stores that sold single cigarettes for a quarter. It was too easy to pop in and get "just one" for a fix, which usually led to another round of "what the heck, might as well buy a pack, it's cheaper". I finally managed to quit using aversion therapy: retraining the brain to associate smoking with something unpleasant.

IWe did not get to the point of discussing peer pressure solution suggestions. But, perhaps the way to go to get more people to stop smoking.

Since I think most people agree that nagging is fairly ineffective. The peer pressure concept made sense to me.

When DW was pregnant, she quit smoking for the health of the child. I was sympatico and quit as well. After the birth, she returned to smoking but chose lighter nicotine. I chose heavier nicotine with a view to smoking fewer cigs. When the second child was in the oven, same thing. But the cigs I was smoking were so disgusting, that the aftertaste and stains on fingers and teeth helped my quit for good.

The only other time I smoked was when my lawyer and I went to dinner to celebrate the end of my divorce process 22 years later. She was still smoking.

And this month, I gave up alcohol because of AFIB. Now I get to spend more for Clausthaler beer and NA red wine.

 

[Sojourner]

I tried to watch Madmen. Couldn't "hack it". The smoking and drinking of hard liquor in every scene just was terrible.

I don't even care how "good and realistic" the show is. Cough.

I can't imagine waking up each morning after all the smoking and hard liquor and how they felt. People were "hardy" I guess. Or just used to the "pain".

I absolutely love Mad Men and watched every single episode, even though I completely agree that the constant smoking and drinking made me cringe. I'm not a smoker, never was, and loathe being around cigarette smoke, but I do indulge in alcohol a few times a week. The way the Men drank hard liquor throughout the day, though... every day... at the office and then each evening at bars or at home was hard to comprehend. They either had livers made of titanium or they all died of cirrhosis or cancer before they reached 60.

 

[Amethyst]

Good points, especially about people using peer pressure when they believe other's behavior affects them in a meaningful way, as most believe to be the case with second-hand smoke. That could be called the one "good" aspect of peer pressure.

As for fitness, with some women, there can be a strange pressure not to be fit, lest you "show the rest of us up." So, what you do for your own good, others treat as somehow a dig at them. I don't think the remarks and teasing ever made anybody give up their fitness activities, though.

But most send a silent message indicating their behavior does not only affect them but others. It is uncomfortable for the smoker. ....

In the case of weight and exercise, there typically is no 'silent' message. I also wonder when you consider weight and exercise, do most of your friends pay attention to these health issues. Clearly, if you go for a hike and you want someone to join you, that person too must be fit. Very different from smokers. People know their friendship partly depends on fitness.

Since I think most people agree that nagging is fairly ineffective. The peer pressure concept made sense to me.

 

[Mdlerth]

If I were a hobbit, I would definitely smoke a pipe

My father smoked when he was in the Air Force in the 1950s, but quit when he started having kids. My mom never smoked. However, most of their peers - my aunts & uncles & grandmother - still smoked back in the day. Consequently, all my favorite childhood memories of extended family get-togethers at Thanskgiving/Christmas/Easter included a background fragrance of cigarette smoke. I've never lost that Pavlovian association of smoke smell and good times.

Both of my sisters smoke. Both of their husbands, also lifelong smokers, are today fighting lung cancer. My older brother smokes, despite already having had surgery for an aortal aneurysm. My younger brother picked up the habit during Navy boot camp, but switched to dipping because he's a deer hunter. I won't be surprised to bury the lot of them over the next ten years.

I'm not "better" than my siblings; I have plenty of my own vices and weaknesses to deal with before finding fault with other people. But I do not smoke either cigarettes (smells like fun) or dope (smells like burning sweatsocks), although I will have one cigar every year at a kilt-related event. Maybe it's the updraft that makes me feel like a chimney.

 

[bloom2708]

There is a subset of smokers that will never stop due to that "peer pressure". The defiance is still prevalent. "You are not going to tell me what to do..."

It is a statement, a defiant move, a throwback to a simpler time, whatever statement or meme you want to attach it to.

I agree with the statements about "smoke breaks". A co-worker takes at least 8 smoke breaks every day. Ignoring it or just walking away when a smoker is near is about all you can do. Peer pressure just ups the defiance.

 

[JustCurious]

A better example than "vodka breaks" might have been something like "porn breaks". Someone could plausibly claim they're addicted to porn and that looking at it every half-hour throughout the day makes them more relaxed and better at their jobs. But would most employers really be OK with numerous 5-minute "porn breaks" where the person disappeared outside to watch porn and socialize with other porn addicts?

I think the answer boils down to whether an addiction is socially acceptable and whether it is prevalent enough that employers are willing to accomodate it.

Certainly smoking cigarettes was socially acceptable for a long time, and it still is in some circles and in some situations, but from my perspective that is changing. None of the people I work with smoke, and I think the tide is turning away from smoking being an acceptable reason for taking constant work breaks.

 

[omni550]

A better example than "vodka breaks" might have been something like "porn breaks". Someone could plausibly claim they're addicted to porn and that looking at it every half-hour throughout the day makes them more relaxed and better at their jobs. But would most employers really be OK with numerous 5-minute "porn breaks" where the person disappeared outside to watch porn and socialize with other porn addicts?

Don't want to derail this topic...since you mentioned porn breaks....

Back when I w*rked at MegaMotors, I heard about several porn addicts there. They'd watch porn for 4 to 8 hours a day on their desk computers.

HR got involved. As this was classified a "disease" they could not be fired but had to be sent for therapy or something.

omni

 

[JoeWras]

I take ER.org breaks.

 

[BLS53]

Smoking in public areas has all but vanished. I recall when large public buildings had those large cylindrical, trash can like ashtrays, filled with sand where people deposited their cigarette butts. Seems they had them placed every so many feet apart. Ashtrays were everywhere in some shape or form. People smoked in other peoples houses, without a thought of asking permission.

 

[BLS53]

I think the answer boils down to whether an addiction is socially acceptable and whether it is prevalent enough that employers are willing to accomodate it.

Certainly smoking cigarettes was socially acceptable for a long time, and it still is in some circles and in some situations, but from my perspective that is changing. None of the people I work with smoke, and I think the tide is turning away from smoking being an acceptable reason for taking constant work breaks.

I would think it's to the point now, that the inconvenience of smoking, would come close to overcoming the addiction.

 

[omni550]

People smoked in other peoples houses, without a thought of asking permission.

...and if they dropped an ash into the carpet, they'd just grind it in with their foot, saying something like it was 'good for the carpet'...or 'good for cleaning the carpet' (I can't recall the exact words). As a youngster from a non-smoking I would stand there and sort of wonder what that was all about. In fact, I still do. Are cigarette ashes good for a carpet?

I also recall some cigarette smoking friends in college...and finding tiny burn holes in MY clothes from THEIR ashes.

omni

 

[scrabbler1]

Smoking in public areas has all but vanished. I recall when large public buildings had those large cylindrical, trash can like ashtrays, filled with sand where people deposited their cigarette butts. Seems they had them placed every so many feet apart. Ashtrays were everywhere in some shape or form. People smoked in other peoples houses, without a thought of asking permission.

Back in my more rebellious anti-smoking college years in the 1980s, I recall once having to ask a relative not to smoke in my parents' house because I didn't like having to banish myself to my bedroom when we had company which included him. The relative, the husband of one of my cousins (who was nearly 20 years older than me), and my parents, were taken aback but he took his cigarette outside and it was never a problem again. I know he stopped smoking not long after that and is still alive and kicking in his 70s.

 

[JoeWras]

Mid 80s I let guests smoke in my apartment. It was just what people did.

Late 80s, bought my own place. I made my mom go outside. She was not happy. It was a tidal wave of behavioral change, though. I was one of many and mom was seeing the future. Mom quit a few years llater after a M.I.

It seems impossible today that non-smokers let this happen. But it happened all the time.

Now if I could only stop my guests from passing gas...

 

[PatrickA5]

Both parents smoked heavily when I was growing up, so I had 20 years of second-hand smoke at home. Then my first office job, my desk was attached to three other desks all of whom chained smoked. So, my first 25 years or so I was blasted with second hand smoke. My mom died of cancer at 77. My dad quit in his 40's and lived to 97. I recently had a lung scan done and nothing much showed up, so maybe all of that second hand smoke didn't hurt me too much.

 

[Nightcap]

Don't want to derail this topic...since you mentioned porn breaks....

Back when I w*rked at MegaMotors, I heard about several porn addicts there. They'd watch porn for 4 to 8 hours a day on their desk computers.

HR got involved. As this was classified a "disease" they could not be fired but had to be sent for therapy or something.

omni

With respect, looking at porn has NEVER been classified as a disease. Not in the DSM-5 or any previous version. It’s an abuse of corporate resources and s firing offense.

 

[calmloki]

I quit smoking a number of times. And restarted, often while out drinking at a bar with friends. When i finally had kicked the habit for a year I was out in the woods camping and someone lit up by the campfire and man! it smelled soo good. Took a number of years to stay quit, and the swell of militant anti-smokers didn't make quitting easy - don't like the smell of smoke? Are your legs broke? With time the smell of cigarettes became distasteful to me and I stayed quit.

Remember the glass fishbowl smoking rooms at some airports? It was like looking at weird alien creatures in their own clouded atmosphere. When we finished our home up north the gal would go out on the porch because she didn't want to smoke up the new paint inside. When some extensive dental work came due she went to nicotine lozenges per surgical orders - been eating them for the last 15 years.

It's all about what is socially acceptable at the time. Now it's acceptable to vape and inhale bubblegum scented antifreeze vapor to blow out onto the surrounding crowd. Now it's acceptable to work while attached to a cellphone - I'd hazard that more work time is wasted on cellphones than was wasted on smoke breaks.

 

[Dtail]

With respect, looking at porn has NEVER been classified as a disease. Not in the DSM-5 or any previous version. It’s an abuse of corporate resources and s firing offense.

+1
Friend of mine got fired for watching porn.

 

[googily]

I absolutely love Mad Men and watched every single episode, even though I completely agree that the constant smoking and drinking made me cringe. I'm not a smoker, never was, and loathe being around cigarette smoke, but I do indulge in alcohol a few times a week. The way the Men drank hard liquor throughout the day, though... every day... at the office and then each evening at bars or at home was hard to comprehend. They either had livers made of titanium or they all died of cirrhosis or cancer before they reached 60.

I've never smoked (other than a time or two as I was growing up), but after the first couple of episodes of Mad Men, watching Jon Hamm, I was ready to start smoking and put a couple of whiskey bottles in my desk. That didn't last, though.

Whenever anyone now talks of memories of airlines and smoking (which I remember as well), this is all I can think of:

 

[harley]

I believe this might be the most lopsided poll in the history of ER.org polls.