As a conscientious smoker, I choose not to smoke around children, nor do i smoke indoors and leave a residue to “contaminate” others with. Here in california, it is fairly highly regulated where you can and cannot smoke while in public.

This also means that conscientious “non-smokers” should not go out of there way to come over to a designated smoker area and give me the 3rd degree about how horrible and wrong I am and that I am harming others and children, etc, etc…. Nobody forced you to walk the extra 200 feet to prove a point and bring yourself or your small children into any “immediate danger.” Again as a conscientious smoker, if I see children even heading in my downwind direction, the cigarette goes out.

I do like the comparison that was made to eating fast food, CO2, or any multitude of other maladies that are causing more harm to people en masse, so much more so then my “choice” (no, right) to smoke.

And to those whom complain that it causing everyones healthcare costs to remain sky-high and or is burdening the system, I will make several points:

1. Obesity, Diabetes, and their subsequent “complications”, and treatment costs is probably the largest single healthcare problem and expense, at least here in the United States.

2. Just because I am a smoker does not make me a lecherous “welfare-like” drain on society and the healthcare system. I already pay the “sin” taxes for my choice. And we all know the majority of those funds never make it towards an earmarked program for the treatment, prevention, cessation and such of tobacco related products. This is how it is with every “tax”, people. There are plenty of other “sin” taxes out there as well, which we all make a choice to pay or not. The point is that there is after all a choice. If you want to purchase an overpriced gas guzzling 4mpg XUV, you pay a luxury tax at a minimum, not to mention all of the others that are added on.

3. For the record I also pay a ridiculous amount of money in taxes as a higher income single person, but still have the same expenses as everyone else does. The truth of the matter is, I will never see the money that the government takes out of my paycheck in the form of social security nor am i eligible in any way for such enitlement programs which cost just as much if not more such as medicare. but i am splitting hairs on that point.

4. I understand that people choose “smoker’s” as a cause to get “righteous” about, since it is something tangible, or at least something you can see it right before your face. Whereas I would be considered in the wrong for pointing my finger at someone who is morbidly obese and giving them a once over for sucking the life out of the healthcare and tax systems, or any other number of reasons.

I don’t believe it is right to categorize a group of people and “demonize” them as a whole, there are many reasons that the problems of today exist and the world is not a terrible place because I made the choice to smoke and continue doing so.

The addiction is only for two thirds of smokers. One-third find it not difficult to quit, especially with nicotine gum. Who keeps promoting the heroinlike difficulty??