Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 12 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 22 years, 9 months ago by
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I’ve always wondered the same thing. It’s always struck me as being odd that tobacco companies are banned from television commercials but alcohol is perfectly fine. I believe it has to do with alcohol being more socially acceptable.
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Name : Chris32203, Gender : M, Age : 25, City : Plymouth, State : MN, Country : United States,Why is it that people are so against smoking, yet support drinking? I was smoking a cigarette once and had a guy tell me that “Smoking will kill ya” … and he was holding a beer! I’ve seen so many people ruin and end their lives (and other people’s lives) because of alcohol. I admit that both are harmful, but why doesn’t anyone else notice the alcohol problems like I do? Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person left in this country who isn’t getting drunk all the time.
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Name : Christine, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 22, City : Hibbing, State : MN, Country : United States, Occupation : Reservations Sales Agent, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Smoking is more intrusive than alcohol. I agree that people do cause harm to others as a result of being intoxicated, but I find cigarette smoke more intrusive. If I go to a bar, there’s more of a chance that I’ll breathe in smoke, and smell like smoke, than someone spilling beer all over me or punching me in the face.
I don’t believe in preaching, so I would never tell someone what they should or shouldn’t be doing, but I would expect some courtesy in return. My main problem with smoke over alcohol is that (until recently here in California) the exposure to alcohol was fairly limited, except when going into a bar – an establishment specializing in alcohol. However, I could be standing in line waiting to go to a movie and there could be someone smoking right behind me.
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Name : Me21901, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : San Francisco Bay Area, State : CA, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Maybe it is because alcohol in moderation is not harmful; in fact, a glass of wine with your dinner can even be good for your heart. The problems with alcohol are related to excessive drinking, whereas smoking is unhealthy, period. There are no health benefits related to smoking.
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Name : CP19386, Gender : F, Age : 21, City : Montreal, Quebec, State : NA, Country : Canada,You can do serious damage by drinking too much, but smoking is much more harmful. They put deadly chemicals in cigarettes such as benzine and arscenic that cause many more types of cancer than drinking. Like smoking, drinking is addictive, but smoking is much more addictive. I once attended an AA meeting (for support of a family member), and it was ironic how all the alcholics in the room were able to give up drinking for extended periods of time, but not one was able to give up smoking.
To put it another way, let’s say the harmful effects of drinking can be represented by a sewing needle, and smoking represents a butcher’s knife. Which would you rather be impaled with? Also, smoking will harm others from second-hand smoke. When I was a kid, both my parents smoked, heavily. During that time, I was in and out of the Children’s Hospital with breathing and allergy problems. Eventually, both my parents quit, and I never again had an asthma attack.
If you’re not going to quit smoking for yourself, do it for others, such as children, the elderly and unborn babies (you stupid women who smoke during pregnancy should be shot!).
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Name : Murray-C, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Unitarian, Age : 31, City : Halifax, State : MA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Draftsman, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class,A person who drinks alcohol responsibly is not a danger to himself or anyone else. In fact, some studies have shown that drinking a small amount of alcohol is slightly beneficial to your health. Smoking, in contrast, has no benefits, and the hazards of second-hand smoke are well-known. So while alcohol is dangerous only in the hands of an irresponsible person, cigarettes are always hazardous.
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Name : Shawn, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Episcopalian, Age : 24, City : Fort Worth, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Aviation/Military Police, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Lower middle class,You are not the only person in this country who doesn’t drink to excess. You sound like you’re being defensive because there is no redeeming characteristic that’s associated with smoking. So, you’re looking around to try to find something you feel is even more harmful. Guess what? You should keep looking. Having a drink every once in a while is actually good for you. Having a cigarette causes damage, no matter what.
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Name : Angie W., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Wiccan, City : Lawrence, State : KS, Country : United States, Occupation : College student, Education level : 2 Years of College,I think drinking and smoking are both dangerous, and I don’t support either one. By the way, you aren’t the only person out there not getting drunk.
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Name : T.R., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Mormon, Age : 17, City : San Jose, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class,I’m not a ‘supporter’ of drinking, but I’m definitely against smoking. I don’t concern myself with what you choose to do with your body, although if I feel someone I care about is making a wrong choice, I’m not going to sit back and let them cause harm without trying to convince them to stop. I take a strong stand against smoking because I am a non-smoker, and when people smoke near me, or even across the room in a non-smoking environment, I can smell it. It stays on my clothes and in my hair, and even worse, it often makes it difficult to breathe. If someone drinking nearby affected the air I breathe I would be equally as offended. For now, so long as you’re not behind the wheel of a car (or other large machine), at least you’re harming only yourself.
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Name : Bren, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pagan, Age : 25, City : Detroit, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : Day Care Director, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,I too am appalled and disgusted with the way our society glamorizes drinking. You just can’t meet the right woman/man, your life is not complete and you just don’t fit in without some kind of booze. And people wonder why kids find someone to buy it for them. It doesn’t help to keep raising the drinking age; they’ll just find someone older. This is why college kids go wild when they get out on their own. Drinking is a sign of being “grown-up.” I have taken care of too many people going through DTs and puking up blood because of their drinking. Where’s the glamour then? I can’t understand how someone can drink themselves into a stupor, puke all over themselves and others, do something stupid, wake up the next day feeling like s–t, and then say they had a good time. Do they even remember it? When someone drinks moderately in a restaurant, I don’t have to suffer from their actions, whereas with cigarettes, I have to suffer with the stink, end up with a headache, and have my clothes and hair stink too. I too have been viewed as a deviant because I choose not to drink. Why are non-alcoholic drinks just as expensive as the alcoholic ones?
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Name : Nicky, Gender : F, Religion : Pagan, Age : 46, City : Ft Worth, State : TX, Country : United States,I have to agree with you, Angie, that alcohol on most terms is less severe then smoking. However, for alcoholics it is a disease and has done much damage to those around them. Smoking definitely kills, but I’m sure alcohol can do damage, too. Anything these days can be used as an unhealthful drug, just like tobacco. But I will agree that smoking has no redeeming quality.
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Name : Lynne H., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, City : Olathe, State : KS, Country : United States, Occupation : Library employee, Education level : High School Diploma,It’s frustrating and probably unrealistic to expect any kind of consistency of opinions or laws when it comes to any substance use/abuse. I think abusive drinking is much worse than smoking, but cigarettes have been the political target of the last decade. I think marijuana is probably less harmful than abusive drinking, but which one is illegal? I won’t join any campaigns for or against anything, but instead will focus on taking the best care of myself physically and spiritually – which means not abusing myself with substances. Then I don’t need to worry about the guy down the hall.
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Name : Karen26777, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Newport News, State : VA, Country : United States, Occupation : accountant,Nope, sorry, I was not being defensive because I was looking for something more harmful. I was simply wondering what all the jazz over drinking is in the first place. Maybe it’s where I live, but I haven’t found very many ‘redeeming’ qualities associated with drinking, other than the claim that it’s good for your health. Or perhaps it’s just a bandwagon thing.
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Name : Christine32080, Gender : F, Age : 25, City : Hibbing, MN, State : MN, Country : United States,
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