Smoking or Non?

[Loony BoB]

I meant a sort of "just in case" fallback plan :/

Just in case what? She gets addicted? Well, that's like having a fallback plan for being homeless and then buying a home you know you can't afford - it's a silly thing to plan for if you can simply avoid getting into that position in the first place.

Now, I'm not expecting anyone to change because if there's anything that anyone knows about 'party girls' it's that if you tell them what to do then they'll rebel against you... it's pretty futile. But I know people who can party hard without smoking. I have no reason to just act is if I have to give in and say "Oh alright it's cool just fix it later" because we all know that people won't plan to fix things later, they'll just carry on making themselves worse until they get to the point that they've already ruined themselves in some ways that can't be fixed. And it's sad, and pathetic. People in this world can get away with saying "Hey man, we smoke, you should too!" but the moment someone says "You shouldn't do that..." then everyone jumps down their throat.

Basically what I'm getting at is that just because I know it won't change anyone doesn't mean I need to hide and let all the smokers have 100% pressure towards smoking and 0% against. I'm here to let smokers know they're doing something that's nothing but a dumb, stupid thing to do. Then the more tactful people can pull on the "oh I won't stop you" guilt trips later.

The saddest thing about this whole affair is that it's mostly kids that can't even afford to buy a pack of cigarettes that are smoking their lungs away, and (this being the sad part) it's their peers, the people their age, the ones they respect, that have the most power to stop them - and they don't.

Um, don't you drink occasionally yourself BoBbo?

It's quite easy to replace smokers with drinkers in that sentance.

OVerall though I do agree with you. Just that you seem a tad harsh for someone who does stupid things themselves.

I drink roughly 1-2 times a year, yes. If someone smoked only 1-2 times a year, I'd probably not give them a very hard time (unless they were my partner or children).

I am a hypocrite - everyone is. I don't tell people I'm perfect. But I will tell people if they're doing something stupid... and I expect people to tell me when to stop drinking or if I'm being stupid, too. If nobody ever stopped people from doing bad things even though they do bad things themselves, then the human race may well have not have made it this far. xD

scrumples: I don't have a problem with you, don't worry. I just have my course of action against smokers and you have yours - if anything, the world needs people like you AND like me. It's all good. I just don't believe in people who say "I'll quit ... later." I don't think I'll change Zeldy at all, as I've said. That doesn't mean I won't speak my mind. I don't say these things to stop people, I say these things to let people know what I think. If they happen to think about what I say and make a decision to change, that's a bonus, but I'll never expect it. =]

I'm not sure and have no evidence to back this up, but getting tipsy once a week or two probably won't do much harm. I wouldn't get upset over that kind of moderation. It's getting beyond the tipsy level which is where I think it can be harmful.