Croc

And how many of those 438,000 premature deaths involved costly court cases?

Of course it can aggravate it...but so can running, smog, or anything else in the air. You are definitely born with it. I have athlete's asthma, but cigarettes do nothing to stir it up. When I was born/in utero I/my mother was not subjected to second hand smoke...so why do I have it? Who knows...

As a teacher of middle schoolers, you should know better than that! No one starts it to be "cool"; kids are trying to find themselves and therefore try a wide variety of experiences so as to discover who they really are.I know I tried it first out of curiosity. Never really caught on though until college when it became social/stress-relieving. I never do it over the summers unless I'm drinking. BTW--Hookah is just as bad as cigarettes if not worse in some ways. Less tar, obviously, but far more carcinogens. Asthma? People smoking is not a primary cause of asthma at any stretch of the imagination. Why is the asthma rate skyrocketing now when Americans are smoking less than ever before?Also, the drunk driver has a double whammy on the costs...not only do you get hit for medical insurance hikes, but auto as well. --------------------------------------------------------- I'm with Black and Blue..."he who is without vice..."

...my sentiments.

razor spells it with an "i" because he thinks it's cute and clever to say "urin" [sic] in saturn.

Yea, but my "changed" feelings came like a week later after I saw it in person...I really don't know what you're getting at in this thread...the quotes I posted above were from January...my dislike for it isn't new...

Who said anything about "cool"? I guarantee you people who drink cause more societal evils and drive up insurance costs far more than the smoker.

There already was a thread on suicide, so you should reference that for my thoughts on that Seriously, what do you want me to say? If you want to discuss this topic, fine...but don't try and bait me into a flame war.

See I believe when it's your time to go, you're going, regardless of the cause.

Yea but everybody dies eventually...

Uhhhh...I don't know what thread you're referring to, but: Not hardly loving it... I do think the interior has some nice touches, but the more I look at it the switchgear just looks so plastastic.

They desperately need a better grille. The rest of it is OK, but nothing special. The plastic interior bits are just too black and contrasting...I think I'm having K-Car flashbacks.

excellent!

Oh, I enjoy the drink. But as I said above, smoking doesn't affect your mental performance. And cigarettes have no calories >_<

I'm confused with what you are asking...I haven't even disagreed with you in the last few months. You've been very blunt lately and it's been cracking me up in a good way...

I read it twice, and I'm not seeing it. If you can sign legislation to stick with CA, legislation can later be amended/repealed if there is a problem with it. The only negative impact I saw was that prices may go up. The thing about towing less is BS and hauling fewer people is BS too. They said the same thing in the 1970s and interior packaging was just improved. Lighter materials will be used, and even if hp goes down a little, the lighter materials will more than make up for any "performance loss." So those arguments I don't buy. What else am I missing?

I voted "YES" but I actually agree with Captainbooyah on this. The "Breaking News" stuff should be made "registered users only" while the general news and discussion should stay public. Maybe have an "breaking news archive" forum created to which the breaking news can be moved within a few days? Not to create more work for people, but that could be a happy compromise.

PA has a smog problem though, as the article stated that it is on track to lose Federal highway dollars due to poor air quality.I guess I just don't understand why you are so against it since it will not affect you negatively?

My hypothesis is that the people who smoke because they run on a high frequency DUE TO drama are going to be dramatic about it...but that the people who smoke because they enjoy it and feel it helps keep them grounded prolly won't be all drama on their cig breaks. I run at a fairly high frequency, but not due to drama. Same with my smoking buddies, though all but one is trying to quit. Yea, smoking is bad for you and all, and I'm well aware of that...but it's a very cheap way to get a lil buzz, doesn't take much time, and doesn't affect your mental abilities in any way. Also gives you a boost of energy as well as suppresses appetite (stress hunger cravings)...but longterm use can give you cancer. I never got up to a pack a day or anything...usually my packs would last me anywhere between 3-5 days...sometimes up to a week depending on how much was going on and how often I was running on empty.

Well CA kinda has to have strict emissions controls since the topography (especially in and around LA) is such that air comes in and is dumped there with no way of really dissipating. Smog comes in (often from Mexico or Southeast Asia via windcurrents) and is just dumped on LA, which is a big basin. Since smog sinks and not rises, getting it out is difficult. Hence, CA wants to add as little smog to the air as possible since it just sits there and sits there. Since the 1970s when LA air was at its worst, air quality has improved dramatically, no doubt a result of the drastic emmisions controls. I personally have no problem with the PA legislation since I see nothing against cleaner air. Also, the legislation really has no effect on the people, except saving them money from eliminating emmisions inspections. I don't think the CA emmissions law will survive as it is a bit ridiculous...but even if it does, so what? Prices are going to go up by 3k in about 5 years anyway so why not? Sorry, but clean air is definitely an issue with me, though I think PA should ALSO impose restrictions on their industry. Going for cars and not the industry is stupid and hypocritical.

Note the name of the man who was quoted, Oldsmoboi. There is some significance to it, and I am not at liberty to post publicly about it (NO ONE ELSE SHOULD EITHER) but suffice to say it is a credible source. PM me if you really gotta know...

I was definitely part of the smokers clique last semester in Theta Chi...but I had to quit due to surgery. I miss it... I would say that in our case the smokers were some of the most level-headed of the bunch simply because if we had something we wanted to say...we kinda had to wait until we exhaled...thereby kinda forcing us to think before we spoke? Our group is pretty dramatic sometimes, but the smokers weren't at all. So relaxing... Of course though...in college nearly everyone smokes just to relieve the stress. And if not tobacco it's pot or hookah.

I have no problem with the occasional comment here or there, especially if it is said in jest...God knows I've jokingly made a "Blame Canada" type comment more than once...but there's no way I was being serious

I'd like to apologize for my post the other day to you...I re-read it and it definitely came off harsher than I had remembered writing it. I also apologize for taking it too personal; that was unacceptable and out of line. I do stand by what I said regarding the anti-American comments (yes, you make quite a few of them) because that's been building for a while, yet I still should have chosen my words a bit more carefully.

definitely something that needed to be said...