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Most of the women in my family are afraid to quit because they think they will gain weight.
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4 years ago me and a girl friend of only 1 year broke up (we both smoked ciggs) a month later i was over my sisters house & she came over, i couldn`t believe how much weight she gained just because she quit smoking after we split. i teased her & put some tears in her eyes. afterwards i felt so bad. not too long after that she started smoking again. again ,i felt so bad. i hope this doesn`t discourage any women from quitting!!!!!!!!!!!

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Most of the women in my family are afraid to quit because they think they will gain weight.
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And they're willing to risk heart disease for it?? What's the point? Weight gain comes from an unhealthy combination of not eating right and not exercising.

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Health issues* such as asthma, chronic bronchitus and lung cancer, are difficult for society to frown upon when they are internal and therefore not as outwardly noticable, but society does have a problem with external & cosmetic issues*, including obesity.  It is hard not to be conscientious, and afraid of weight gain.
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Hey, it's a T & A world out there, but I would not go blaming my blatant disregard for my own health on society. Cancer is not outwardly noticeable?? Huh?? Obesity goes above and beyond a "cosmetic concern." It is also a health hazard - as bad as lung cancer, except that something can be done about it most of the time. Weight gain should only be a concern if one eats in excess and doesn't exercise. Smoking only adds to the sedentary lifestyle of fat people, plus I could not buy into the whole smoking culture since they directly support the marketing of a known addictive toxicant to children. Ugh.

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Most of the women in my family are afraid to quit because they think they will gain weight.
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:o :o :oHard to believe,with some of the smokers I've seen! :oI mean,what---they'd weigh 300 instead of 200 if they didn't smoke???Give me a break!!! ::)I'm 5'4" and weigh about 115 pounds,and I've never smoked1In fact,I'm allergic to it!Cheers! ;)

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:o :o :oHard to believe,with some of the smokers I've seen! :oI mean,what---they'd weigh 300 instead of 200 if they didn't smoke???Give me a break!!! ::)I'm 5'4" and weigh about 115 pounds,and I've never smoked1In fact,I'm allergic to it!Cheers! ;)
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The study I read also said that only after 10-20 years of smoking did they see a difference in the loss of weight by those who smoked and were overweight. I dont know how reliable the study was, but I never heard of Men smoking because of possible weight gain, Its always nerves. Here is one article that I found that states  gender specific issues

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_forwomen/factsheet_outcomes.htm

Smoking and Reproductive Outcomes
Women smokers, like men smokers, are at increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and pulmonary disease, but women smokers also experience unique risks related to menstrual and reproductive function.
 
Women who smoke have increased risk conception delay and for primary and secondary infertility.
 
Women who smoke may have a modest increase in risks for ectopic pregnancy and spontaneous abortion.
 
Smoking during pregnancy is associated with increased risk for premature rupture of membranes, abruptio placentae (placenta separation from the uterus), and placenta previal (abnormal location of the placenta, which can cause massive hemorrhaging during delivery; smoking is also associated with a modest increase in risk for preterm delivery.
 
Infants born to women who smoke during pregnancy have a lower average birth weight and are more likely to be small for gestational age than infants born to women who do not smoke. Low birth weight is associated with increased risk for neonatal, perinatal, and infant morbidity and mortality. The longer the mother smokes during pregnancy, the greater the effect on the infant’s birth weight.
 
The risk for perinatal mortality, both stillbirths and neonatal deaths, and the risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) are higher for the offspring of women who smoke during pregnancy.
 
Women who smoke are less likely to breast-feed their infants than are women who do not.


If having a child isnt a reason to stop smoking I dont know what is!

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I know guys like that at my school. For example, he works out and then he smokes???? Why?
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I dunno, but I bet he only works out with weights. The only guys I know who smoke and work out do it with weights, exclusively. They can't run worth a d@mn, much less swim or do any cycling... They're gasping by the time I am getting warmed up!

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I know guys like that at my school. For example, he works out and then he smokes???? Why?
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I think at some schools they make people air themselves out before they can come to class,if they;ve been smoking.Cheers!

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I dunno, but I bet he only works out with weights. The only guys I know who smoke and work out do it with weights, exclusively. They can't run worth a d@mn, much less swim or do any cycling... They're gasping by the time I am getting warmed up!
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Yeah, that explains them.

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Hey, it's a T & A world out there, but I would not go blaming my blatant disregard for my own health on society. Cancer is not outwardly noticeable?? Huh?? Obesity goes above and beyond a "cosmetic concern." It is also a health hazard - as bad as lung cancer, except that something can be done about it most of the time. Weight gain should only be a concern if one eats in excess and doesn't exercise. Smoking only adds to the sedentary lifestyle of fat people, plus I could not buy into the whole smoking culture since they directly support the marketing of a known addictive toxicant to children. Ugh.

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Well, duh...of course obesity is more than just a cosmetic concern, my point was that it is more noticable to everyone to be fat than to have an internal health issue and is therefore probably a more significant concern to those smokers who are weight-conscious.  I'm not justifying, I'm merely providing a plausible explanation for why some women hesitate to quit.  I smoke four cigarettes a day and I am very curteous about it.  What I cannot tolerate is someone who has never experienced addiction, but feels they have a right to judge someone who has.

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Well, duh...of course obesity is more than just a cosmetic concern, my point was that it is more noticable to everyone to be fat than to have an internal health issue and is therefore probably a more significant concern to those smokers who are weight-conscious.  I'm not justifying, I'm merely providing a plausible explanation for why some women hesitate to quit.  I smoke four cigarettes a day and I am very curteous about it.  What I cannot tolerate is someone who has never experienced addiction, but feels they have a right to judge someone who has.


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Everyone has the propensity to get addicted to smoking. If smokers chose to bite the marketing strategy, then it's their fault. They had a choice in the matter, just like being obese. It's not a judgment, but a fact of life.

*edited to add: Cancer is usually very noticeable. It is 100% noticeable in its late stages. The hardening of the arteries is also very noticeable in males in the form of erectile dysfunction.

I've not experienced addiction to anything because 1) I chose not to smoke and 2) I do not do things in excess and maintain myself a bit active. I know it's very easy to fall into either one or both at the same time. Pointing the finger at others and calling them judgmental is not the answer though. I cannot tolerate people who fling phrases like "right to judge" because that is exactly what humans do: judge. We do it everyday and it is one of the measures of how we determine who we like and who we don't. So I will judge accordingly, actually. Obesity is bad. Yeah, I'll be honest. I could not "be with" someone who is obese. I don't like obesity. It looks bad. Obesity is not natural; it is not standard of any animal to be obese. This same physical repulsion applies to a smoker.

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Ouch!  I judge people by their actions; not their outward appearances, and therefore, likewise, I could not "be with" someone who is so intolerant. End Quote

Well, while I agree with you that we should judge people by their character rather than their appearances, I do have to say that it's not inappropriate to have a few standards to live by.  Some of these standards are, of course, physical.  I don't think he's intolerant, he just knows what his standards are.

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BTW-- you might wanna do some research on obesity.  It is not always brought on by a person's slovenly attitude about food and exercise.  (See:  Cushing's syndrome, Cushing's disease).
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I can't speak for him, but the way I read it was that he did not sympathize with people who were lazy bums who inhale hamburgers by the bushel.  I am aware of the diseases you speak of, in addition to some genetic links to obesity.  So you raised a good point there.

By the way, I also hate smoking.  

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It's okay... really.  And I apologize if I sound terse... my take is that I just don't think it's fair to judge, exclude, discount, reject, view etc. an overweight person or a smoker in a negative light just because they are fat, or smoking, respectively.  People of all sizes and vices contribute to society, and if they can make me laugh, I don't care if they smoke or weigh 300 pounds.
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No hard feelings :)  I understood what you meant, just putting my own light on it.

Tarzan Boy is right, people are made to judge others.  I personally choose either to not exercise my right to judge (because frankly, sometimes I just don't care) or judge based on certain criteria I have set for myself (re: standards).

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No hard feelings :)  I understood what you meant, just putting my own light on it.

Tarzan Boy is right, people are made to judge others.  I personally choose either to not exercise my right to judge (because frankly, sometimes I just don't care) or judge based on certain criteria I have set for myself (re: standards).


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And I think it's pretty common for men and women to have vastly different criteria when selecting those standards.   ;)

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Ouch!  I judge people by their actions; not their outward appearances, and therefore, likewise, I could not "be with" someone who is so intolerant.

BTW-- you might wanna do some research on obesity.  It is not always brought on by a person's slovenly attitude about food and exercise.  (See:  Cushing's syndrome, Cushing's disease).
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Cushing's Syndrome cannot be masked by smoking. Smoking can act with an additive effect for myriad other problems. It can compound thyroid problems. Thyroid problems already arise from Cushing's disease and now smoking comes into play... Good choice for an example ::) Someone with Cushing's syndrome and who smokes is not someone who really cares about their own health. The public does not react lightly to people who don't care about themselves.

Outward apperances matter, actually. Any introductory class in anthropology, biology, and genetics can tell you that right away. The more deviant and dangerous the mutation, the less likely that gene will propagate. This works outside of the subjective realm of "actions." Tolerant or not, that is the way nature works. That is why you don't see albinos and dwarves everywhere coming from all species, for example. That is why there is always a median, an average in how all animals look. It is about survival of the fittest, not fattest.

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"You've come a long way baby".  Now you are free to become a slave to the media version of female beauty (so skinny that you have no boobs) and the tobacco that will curb your appitite - so that you slowly die of starvation or from smoking.   ??? And this is "liberation" ???  Man, those media guys are smart.  We should be smarter (but I do love a good Cuban cigar  ;))
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But obesity from overeating is far more rampant than anorexia nervosa. So much for the media's influence on our eating habits. Apparently, they are liberated enough to keep consuming and consuming... and it is not only females who bear the mediatized versions of body image. We look to males so strong and powerful that testosterone flows through their veins! ::) We should be more aware. I try to be very objective when it comes to the physical.

Enjoy. "Always Coca Cola" :)

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But obesity from overeating is far more rampant than anorexia nervosa. So much for the media's influence on our eating habits. Apparently, they are liberated enough to keep consuming and consuming... and it is not only females who bear the mediatized versions of body image. We look to males so strong and powerful that testosterone flows through their veins! ::) We should be more aware. I try to be very objective when it comes to the physical.

Enjoy. "Always Coca Cola" :)
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Yes, eating disorders are rampant, and the media, with its "body type" hype is partly responsible.  But, I don't know about the younger generation, but John Wayne never impressed me as the ideal man.  I had other, more positive, role models who, at least to some extent, could allow their feminin side to show through.  You might be interested in a video with Robert Bly and Bill Moyers called A Gathering of Men.  I don't buy all of it, but some of what Bly has to say makes sense.  Coka Cola is good - with RUM  ;D

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{snip} What I cannot tolerate is someone who has never experienced addiction, but feels they have a right to judge someone who has.


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I feel I have to respond to this part of your post FOXVOX...I have gotten the general sense that a lot of people here do not agree with you on this point.

I do.

I wish people in general would take into account the possibility that many older smokers had no earthly idea how bad smoking was for your health. A lot of the older smokers I know chose to smoke their first cigarette way back when nobody thought it was dangerous or addicting.  By the time they became aware that it was detrimental to their health...it was too late.  They'd become addicted.

Yes...doctors had been telling people for years that smoking was bad for you....but they did not have facts and figures to prove it back in the 1940's like they do now.  (That was when my mother started.) They did not have decades of research proving that 100 people who smoke have more cancer than 100 people who don't smoke.  And back then the family doctor would also be in cahoots with your parents...if your parents thought smoking was "unladylike", so did the doctor.  But if you were a boy...you never got that little lecture.

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Yes, eating disorders are rampant, and the media, with its "body type" hype is partly responsible...  
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I disagree. I believe that is a cop-out excuse for the true problem of blaming others for our own actions.

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With all due respect, then why did anexoria nervosa and bulimia only become wide-spread in the mid-to-late 20th century, coinciding with media hype?  Women were never pressured to conform to a certain body type more until the 60s when the waifish Twiggy became the most visible 'model' on the cover of nearly all popular women's magazines.  The same magazines that were filled with ads portraying smoking as 'glamorous'.
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Thanks Fox, couldn't have said it better. and Xena's post, on older folks' addiction also rigns true.  My dad was a smoker, and I had my first butt at 14, sooo many years ago.  If you can, check out Doonsbury's "Mr Butts" series - Trudeau says it all.

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With all due respect, then why did anexoria nervosa and bulimia only become wide-spread in the mid-to-late 20th century, coinciding with media hype?  Women were never pressured to conform to a certain body type more until the 60s when the waifish Twiggy became the most visible 'model' on the cover of nearly all popular women's magazines.  The same magazines that were filled with ads portraying smoking as 'glamorous'.
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The same type of conformity that has driven women to wear those rings around their necks to stretch them and men to carve their teeth to make them look sharp. We are no different from them.

Anyone who is stupid enough to be taken in by the "hype" deserves the results that come of it. If they think starving and vomiting will make them appealing to others, then, by all means, they can starve and vomit 'til their heart's content. Of course, besides smokers and fat people, mental cases are not attractive to me.

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Anyone who is stupid enough to be taken in by the "hype" deserves the results that come of it. If they think starving and vomiting will make them appealing to others, then, by all means, they can starve and vomit 'til their heart's content.
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I don't think that a 13 year old girl who vomits and starves herself and thinks that the only way to be beautiful is to have a boob job is "stupid" and deserves what she gets.

I agree with you "adults" should be responsible for their own actions, but I have a problem when the "hype" is aimed at children.

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I don't think that a 13 year old girl who vomits and starves herself and thinks that the only way to be beautiful is to have a boob job is "stupid" and deserves what she gets.
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This is why the parents or the guardians need to step up to the plate if this is what their 13 y.o. child is thinking.  I am so sick of constantly hearing people say "don't blame the parents, blah blah...", screw that. If my 13 y.o. thought that starving herself & having a boob job is the way to a self gratification, then I would be re-thinking my way of parenting.

This also applies to a child overeating or smoking as well.  :)