Smoking (post-lecture ideas)

I actually missed the lecture because of all the snow but I managed to get all the notes off WOLF.

The thing I found particularly interesting was Jeremy Clarkson's comment in The Sunday Times that suggested that smokers contribute more in taxes on cigarettes etc than the NHS spend on them because of their smoking. I think this makes the arguments about smokers costing the NHS too much and damaging their own health to the point it is creating an NHS crisis pointless. It makes me feel more inclined to say smoking can be a personal choice because (as long as we have smoking and non-smoking zones) smoking is not having a significant effect on others. That is assuming the smokers avoid making others smoke passively.

I also had some ideas on the categories of smokers and to the four already suggested (regular, occasional, ex and non smokers) I think it could be relevant to add:

• social smokers


• passive smokers (either not worried about exposing themselves to others smoke or purposely being around smokers)


• one off smokers (that have once but otherwise decided not to)


• potential smoker (someone who wants to try smoking one day)

Personally I had been in the potential smokers category and have tried smoking once. I didn't like the taste, felt stupid and knew I couldn't afford to start smoking anyway. I do however sometimes enjoy being around smokers although I don't want to breathe all their smoke. Some of my friends do smoke. i don't look down on them for smoking but if I don't know someone smokes then I see them smoking I think it's a shame. I do think slightly less of them at first and it will make me see them as possibly less attractive (in the sense it would be harder to help them find a boyfriend/girlfriend). I have (I am slightly ashamed to say) enjoyed the taste of kissing a smoker, not that I would get my boyfriend to smoke just for the taste!

I am still no more for-smoking personally, as I would could never start smoking regularly, but I can see how the media makes it attractive. The main film I can picture is Grease where Sandy starts smoking to make Danny think she is 'cool'.

Just a quick extra note: after reading the draft of this post my boyfriend has said he'd be tempted to start smoking just for me, because I liked the taste (that kiss was before I started dating my boyfriend).