Straight out of the box I'll let you know that I don't like cigarettes. I don't smoke them and I don't like to be around other people when they are smoking them. In the old days people used to smoke them because they were cool. Well of course years later those same cool people are running around with emphysema and hacking up parts of their lungs every day.
The Marlboro Man died of cancer. Some lady that did ads for cigarettes back in the old days is now on TV with throat cancer trying to redeem herself by convincing people not to smoke. Between her and the other lame ass non-smoking commercials on TV, it's no wonder smoking hasn't had much of a decline lately. We need some reality based commercials here. Take people into an autopsy and carve open some two pack a day smoker and pull out a lung. Show someone in the morning hacking up brown thick chunks.
You see, even though there are people out there that actually want people to quit smoking, it will never happen. Most people have to almost die before they make that kind of decision like this for themselves. Like everything else in this country, it's a money maker. They make billions of dollars every year selling cigarettes, and I'm sure a lot of that money sneaks its way into the government. Doctors are making a shitload because of all the smoking related problems people wind up with. Sure they say "you should quit smoking Bob", but they don't really mean it. Politicians are getting their pockets lined by the big tobacco industry. Who else makes money off this? Advertisements pull in millions of dollars. Time magazine might have a big article about the problems of cancer and how bad smoking is, but I bet every five pages there is an ad for cigarettes. Most magazines nowadays have like anywhere from 80 - 200 pages, and about 85% of the magazine is advertisements, a lot of that being cigarette ads. Hell, there's probably cigarette ads in an issue of Walking.
Now, one of the things that annoys me about these ads, is that when I was in school, we did a lot with magazines, read them, cut stuff out from them, had to do reports from them as we got older. All the efforts they have made to not let kids see advertising for cigarettes is all pretty much worthless because they are seeing the ads in school now anyway. So now what? Look at your watch. In the next hour, the tobacco industry will spend nearly $1 million on advertising. (fact courtesy of thetruth.com)
My personal opinion on the whole matter is this. I absolutely hate cigarettes. Let's not even touch on the health issue here, I just plain hate them. First there is the actual smoke, straight from the cigarette, and from the smokers mouth when they talk to you. That is annoying as hell, might as well strike up a conversation with my car exhaust pipe. Going into a bar? Forget about it. That's why you always bump into people in the bar, you can't fucking see - there's a cloud of smoke blocking your view. After the initial smoke problem, there is the lingering smell that stays on your clothes. If you do venture to a bar, smell yourself when you get home. It's a horrible smell that almost gags you, I usually have to take a shower after I get home from a bar just to be able to sleep. Hell, most smokers can't even stand that smoky clothes bar smell. Another thing I hate about cigarettes are that they still hold some kinda "cool" image with them. You think someone is so cool 'cause they are smoking there, check them in the morning when they are hacking up phlegm.? Have them run up a flight of stairs and listen to them wheeze!
Smokers need to realize they are nothing more than a dollar $ign in the eyes of this industry and the industry doesn't give a fuck about them. If they die, there's plenty more smokers still out there.
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