General Discussion

Zorra

(27,670 posts)

44. I've been around addictions of all kinds most of my life.

Fri Oct 4, 2013, 01:04 PM

Oct 2013

Playing in working rock bands for decades, you get to see it all up close and real personal, over and over, - tobacco, alcohol, heroin, coke, meth, scrips, etc, even one of our light guys who was strung out on huffing gasoline. From beer bottles to needles, crack pipes to light bulbs and aluminum foil. Great musicians of bandmates, falling off the wagon and not showing up for gigs, and when you go to look for them the next day, you find them lying in the gutter soiled with urine, babbling from the effects/after effects of a sustained drunken coke binge...damn it, off to rehab again, and who are we going to find to replace her/him, because hardly anyone else has those kind of chops.

I totally have compassion for addicts. It's just very sad to watch addictions and the ramifications and processes of addiction ruin so many lives. I count myself as very fortunate, because I do not have an addictive personality. I couldn't become addicted to anything if I tried. I did try. Couldn't make any of it stick. I even tried tobacco for awhile. It was all just so....boring.

Thanks for being understanding why I post snarky anti-tobacco anti-addiction stuff. People have a right to do what they want to to their bodies and their lives. I just have a hard time watching it, and my snarky anti-addiction posts are maybe wrongheaded attempts to get people to consider quitting.

Believe me, I have enormous compassion for addicts, but it's just frustrating. The addictions of others who I have loved and lost have broken my heart repeatedly over the course of my life, and scarred me, from parents to siblings to partners and all in between.

Good luck in quitting whatever it is you'd like to stop doing, but don't seem to be able to. You are certainly not alone.

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Dear stupid people smoking inside the bus shelter: [View all] Brigid Oct 2013 OP

ugh. Totally agree. progressivebydesign Oct 2013 #1

When I was a small child I knew a heart surgeon that smoked. L0oniX Oct 2013 #6

Tell me about it. The train station into Philly, walking distance from our home... onehandle Oct 2013 #2

Do ya' think ... IggleDoer Oct 2013 #3

Smoking at the entrance to restaurants and food stores is always nice too. L0oniX Oct 2013 #4

Yes, just so appetizing. MoonRiver Oct 2013 #64

and exhaling when they get INSIDE! mikeysnot Oct 2013 #77

I HATE that. Codeine Oct 2013 #85

They do it on purpose mikeysnot Oct 2013 #115

Maybe you should keep a little thing of febreeze or some room freshener SheilaT Oct 2013 #129

Yech pipi_k Oct 2013 #103

I was pumping gas a few days ago, and a car pulls up at the pump right next to me. Nye Bevan Oct 2013 #5

Smoking near gas pumps? Brigid Oct 2013 #7

As a smoker, I consider that a definite no-no. RebelOne Oct 2013 #61

I have called the cops when that happens dickthegrouch Oct 2013 #22

It is much more difficult to start a gasoline fire with sparks than with flame Mopar151 Oct 2013 #28

that's happened to me twice mnmoderatedem Oct 2013 #56

you have a better chance of the fuel igniting due to static electricity datasuspect Oct 2013 #117

Silly me. Guess I overreacted. Nye Bevan Oct 2013 #120

if the pump has vapor capture datasuspect Oct 2013 #122

OK. They really should remove those "No Smoking" signs, then. (nt) Nye Bevan Oct 2013 #123

that's because of an overabundance of caution datasuspect Oct 2013 #124

It is very unlikely that ignition will occur... wercal Oct 2013 #131

As you fuel your vehicle, ronnie624 Oct 2013 #127

Ugh. Disgusting, selfish, inconsiderate. Arugula Latte Oct 2013 #8

I wonder if non-smokers realize how much it SUCKS to be addicted to cigarettes... bunnies Oct 2013 #25

Yeah, I guess you're right Arugula Latte Oct 2013 #50

I agree with you on that. bunnies Oct 2013 #55

That's what pipi_k Oct 2013 #104

I had no idea how badly some of us smokers smell until a couple of months TheDebbieDee Oct 2013 #9

yeah it is amazing isn't it? arely staircase Oct 2013 #69

I'm glad you're succeeding in getting off the stuff. pnwmom Oct 2013 #79

thanks arely staircase Oct 2013 #113

I made the smell discovery wercal Oct 2013 #132

Reminds me of a song snooper2 Oct 2013 #10

Ooooo! FredStembottom Oct 2013 #17

Do the smokers post/read here? Capt. Obvious Oct 2013 #11

Maybe. You never know. Brigid Oct 2013 #12

Oh, they're around starroute Oct 2013 #18

I do. I am a smoker. mecherosegarden Oct 2013 #101

What you may not understand is that no matter where you smoke, SheilaT Oct 2013 #130

Ex-smoker here, and now I cannot stand it excepting tobacco that does NOT have chemicals in it. KittyWampus Oct 2013 #13

I agree. I was walking on the street behind a guy not long ago and he was smoking a cigarette kestrel91316 Oct 2013 #39

Both my grandfathers smoked. laundry_queen Oct 2013 #51

some cigs smell like incense sticks Liberal_in_LA Oct 2013 #90

THis wasn't like that. It was just sort of a mild tobacco smell but kestrel91316 Oct 2013 #96

organic american spirit... n/t nebenaube Oct 2013 #135

Wouldn't surprise me if that's what it was. And if everybody smoked that one, kestrel91316 Oct 2013 #137

just curious but I hope you told them the way you're telling us? Skittles Oct 2013 #14

No, but I did tell them I was sending you . . . Brigid Oct 2013 #15

seriously though, speak up Skittles Oct 2013 #16

Can't blame them at all. They have been banished and treated like pariahs. Forced Laura PourMeADrink Oct 2013 #19

That is how people think you get things done these days. Shame and bully people liberal_at_heart Oct 2013 #20

These threads are always a perfect example of that. bunnies Oct 2013 #24

You are SO right. I go home to Dem CT and there are SO many rules for everything now. Went to Laura PourMeADrink Oct 2013 #32

Unfortunately Democrats never do it to Republicans. lol. laundry_queen Oct 2013 #57

think society as a whole, has become so incredibly judgemental. Wonder why that Laura PourMeADrink Oct 2013 #59

They choose to stand outside in the freezing cold. No one is forcing them to do anything. Ikonoklast Oct 2013 #26

Hmmmm. don't agree - they are being forced to go outside if they want to smoke. Wish Laura PourMeADrink Oct 2013 #33

And people who drown themselves....... Amaril Oct 2013 #41

I've become more sensitive to perfume myself. It gives me headaches. liberal_at_heart Oct 2013 #42

Can't smoke anywhere except home and car anymore. SomethingFishy Oct 2013 #65

Just get an e-cig that doesn't resemble a cigarette. Mariana Oct 2013 #91

I've got a Blu.. It looks like a pen I guess... SomethingFishy Oct 2013 #92

If you exhale slowly Mariana Oct 2013 #94

Boo hoo. And drunks aren't allowed to wander the streets, chugging all day long either. kestrel91316 Oct 2013 #40

We should beat them all up! All addicts suck and their disease should give us licence to Dragonfli Oct 2013 #46

That's not what I'm saying and you know it. I just think addicts shouldn't be able to inflict their kestrel91316 Oct 2013 #68

I don't smoke, but tell me since I also don't drive, how much more of YOUR smoke Dragonfli Oct 2013 #71

Kind of not pipi_k Oct 2013 #105

Well, they sort of are here in Houston and down on Galveston Island... ScreamingMeemie Oct 2013 #63

I feel like neither a pariah nor banished; merely a bit stupid for continuing to smoke... LanternWaste Oct 2013 #45

I won't consider the battle "won" until smoking is banned in all public places. Nye Bevan Oct 2013 #47

Oh please. Arugula Latte Oct 2013 #52

I was called a smoking Nazi years ago because I wouldn't let someone hold my baby while smoking. alphafemale Oct 2013 #72

reminscent of the house GOP SoCalDem Oct 2013 #89

Fact is, they are breaking the law. There are signs posted all over about that. n/t AngryOldDem Oct 2013 #107

Then the police should be called. Mariana Oct 2013 #108

Yes, but reading and comprehending the signs would be helpful, too. AngryOldDem Oct 2013 #110

They read and comprehend the signs just fine. Mariana Oct 2013 #112

People look so silly when they smoke I can't even stand to look at them Zorra Oct 2013 #21

I'm sorry you lost your mom. Smoking like many other things is an addiction. I myself am addicted liberal_at_heart Oct 2013 #23

Your sugar addiction doesn't blow sugar into other people's lungs. pnwmom Oct 2013 #27

Yes you appear to be just overflowing with compassion Dragonfli Oct 2013 #36

I am a person with asthma pnwmom Oct 2013 #70

Same could be said of drivers whose emissions are far greater and pose an exponentially higher Dragonfli Oct 2013 #73

Auto-emissions in my city are far LESS of a risk to my health than working with pnwmom Oct 2013 #74

If auto emissions were less of a health risk than cigarette smoke as you arbitrarily claim Dragonfli Oct 2013 #76

You example is completely beside the point. The point is that pnwmom Oct 2013 #78

Interesting study, all about just particles, the weather is cool today so there is no climate change Dragonfli Oct 2013 #82

People enjoy hating people, God I hate people like that! (bad joke sorry, but true about the hate) Dragonfli Oct 2013 #31

AMEN to the Nth Degree Dragonfli Laura PourMeADrink Oct 2013 #34

+1 nt Live and Learn Oct 2013 #49

I wonder if people are hard-wired to have to feel superior to other people. nt raccoon Oct 2013 #66

I believe it may be yet another unfortunate remnaint of a hard wired primate psychology Dragonfli Oct 2013 #67

Your reponses don't seem cynical at all. Zorra Oct 2013 #75

That woman on the bus is lucky I wasn't the driver. Brigid Oct 2013 #88

Actually, the woman must have realized she was making a huge fool out of herself, Zorra Oct 2013 #99

I've been around addictions of all kinds most of my life. Zorra Oct 2013 #44

I do understand it is not always easy to have compassion for addicts. My sister in law is a liberal_at_heart Oct 2013 #48

My mother and father both died because of smoking. RebelOne Oct 2013 #30

I know several people who never smoked, yet they died, too. Go figure. Comrade Grumpy Oct 2013 #35

I am a smoker, but I always obey No Smoking signs. n/t RebelOne Oct 2013 #29

Cigar smoke is nasty too. I hate that smell even more than cigarettes. Dash87 Oct 2013 #37

Message auto-removed Name removed Oct 2013 #38

I like the ones that smoke outside a hospital emergency ward graywarrior Oct 2013 #43

"The saddest thing that I'd ever seen were smokers outside the hospital doors" Arugula Latte Oct 2013 #53

Yay! The smoking thread! Earth_First Oct 2013 #54

YUCK to cigars, cigarettes, and heavy perfume/cologne... Owl Oct 2013 #58

apparently we're all nazis for wanting to breath air without toxins, allergens, and carcinogens unblock Oct 2013 #60

You should call 911 when that happens. MineralMan Oct 2013 #62

. arthritisR_US Oct 2013 #80

yeah I hate intaking some one elses cig also gopiscrap Oct 2013 #81

They'd tell you that being out in the rain would put their cigarettes out Warpy Oct 2013 #83

Uh-oh, Brigid. Now you've done it. You're going to piss off the smokers in GD. Aristus Oct 2013 #84

. . . Brigid Oct 2013 #87

How are you holding up so far? Aristus Oct 2013 #95

Bring 'em on. Brigid Oct 2013 #97

That's the spirit! Aristus Oct 2013 #98

Yeah, you smoking Cha Oct 2013 #100

Gotta love the addicts defending their addiction in threads like these. nt RedCappedBandit Oct 2013 #86

When you observe someone breaking the law Mariana Oct 2013 #93

oh jeez riverwalker Oct 2013 #102

Didn't you get the memo? AngryOldDem Oct 2013 #106

^^^THIS^^^ Aristus Oct 2013 #125

Calling someone stupid isn't an effective way of changing behavior taterguy Oct 2013 #109

It's disgusting! LukeFL Oct 2013 #111

Dear inhuman jerks: Provide a separate shelter for people who have Fawke Em Oct 2013 #114

Probably not pipi_k Oct 2013 #118

I'll take that bet wercal Oct 2013 #134

Ah, yes -- police calls. Brigid Oct 2013 #139

I never understood wercal Oct 2013 #140

if you're in illinois, wait for the bus inside a bar datasuspect Oct 2013 #116

Once upon a time... Javaman Oct 2013 #119

So yeah, let's get a pissed off cop to beat the shit out of the smokers! Bake Oct 2013 #121

Ah, these people never actually call the cops. Mariana Oct 2013 #128

they're too afraid of their own shadow to do anything else. datasuspect Oct 2013 #133

I love the smell of tobacco mokawanis Oct 2013 #126

I love the smell of my methane/sulphur farts. Bucky Oct 2013 #136

I hereby dub thee . . . Brigid Oct 2013 #138