Pro's and Con's of smoking ciggarettes

[Scar]

Does anyone know what the benefits of smoking are?

I wanna do this art project comparing the pro's and con's of smoking, but there don't seem to be many pro's.

Let's see......
it's cooooool
it passes the time when bored or feeling social anxiety

um... drawing a blank here... help??

[Donald Rilea]

Gives ya something to do with your hands. Helps one to decompress after a particularly stressful event, and, especially if one blows smoke in their faces, keeps really annoying people at bay(last one's a joke only, folks)!!!!

[Mr Karl]

it's calming effects keep me from becoming violent with those obnoxious stop smoking people

[Mr Karl]

.....and it's the only time that I can really say I'm taking a break

[malcolm]

um....pros, i enjoy smoking-it keeps me from being a total major bitch/cons-you cant fuckin smoke nowhere out here anymore...at all. and you have to stand atleast twenty feet away form any public entrance if you are smoking...

[Mindgames]

If you're looking for medical research then there is SOME out there, but given the 99.9% anti-smoking bias on anything published these days, anyone who hints that smoking could have a positive influence on something (and there are indeed papers saying that for everything from skin cancer to stomach ulcers) will be torn to shreds by the mass media. Google for 'benefits from smoking' etc. and you can find the reports easy enough.

(I'm not talking about the pro-smoking lobby group propaganda, I mean things written by doctors.)

[Wickedanima]

Pro's are actually the subject of understudy, mostly because Cigarettes are one of the number one products used to self-medicate people with anything from anxiety problems, to hyperactivity.

I use them to calm my hyper-twitchies down, cause I'll tend to get natrual bursts of high-strung, paranoid, hyperness that can pull me into a little rollercoaster of tooooo much energy and no ability to focus it. And for me it only takes one or two cigarettes a week.

The boi is very adhd and grumpy, and his ciggies are used to keep him somewhat pleasant, and a little more chillax.

[Cafe_Post_Mortem]

I have two pros.

First, nicotine. A lot of the anti smoking crowd forgets the lessons of train spotting. People do not smoke to be cool, or to annoy others or because of commercials. People smoke because tobacco because it, like drinking, is a cheap and legal high.

Second is smoking culture. As the anti smoking crowd grows it is changing but there are certain things you will notice about most smokers. (At least in the US, I have not had the opportunity to observe elsewhere.)

One of the main hallmarks of smoking culture that dates back quite some time is the willingness to share smokes and lighters. Have you ever asked a stranger for change, gum, a mint, directions or even the time? In the US at least you will often meet resistance. Ask the same people for a cigarette or a light and a lot of time those barriers will drop. Smoker also bond over cigarettes. Especially now that smokers are separated to more remote locations to smoke. Strangers talk while smoking huddled in cold doorways and the alley behind the club. I can't tell you how many girls who would not even give me a second look in the club are telling me there live stories just outside the club over cigarettes.

I am not really a smoker. I light up about twice a year for the hit, and that is where I started to notice it. Granted not all smokers are sociable, but the culture that is there is kinda cool and worthy of note.

Any foreign correspondents or international travelers on the board notice this in other locations?

[Velvet-Tongue]

Helps people die faster.

Smoking cigs is nice once in awhile I'll admit. When I do smoke its usually out of boredom or loneliness and involves me pacing up and down the sidewalk. The best high you can get from tobacco comes from cigars though. You'll keep that warm nicotine high and your enhanced awareness for atleast 30 minutes or so after a good cigar.

Also after smoking your short term memory is temporarilly boosted, your brain works faster, and apettite is supressed. It also released a bit of adrenaline in your blood if I remember correctly.

Nictoine is a very interesting drug because continuous use strengthens the receptors for dopamine (the mmm chemicle in the brain) and raises the level of the drug in your body. Because it actually alters your physical body its very hard to quit.

If there are any people gifted with better biological information please edit what I said.

[bohoki]

Helps people die faster.

Smoking cigs is nice once in awhile I'll admit. When I do smoke its usually out of boredom or loneliness and involves me pacing up and down the sidewalk. The best high you can get from tobacco comes from cigars though. You'll keep that warm nicotine high and your enhanced awareness for atleast 30 minutes or so after a good cigar.

Also after smoking your short term memory is temporarilly boosted, your brain works faster, and apettite is supressed. It also released a bit of adrenaline in your blood if I remember correctly.

Nictoine is a very interesting drug because continuous use strengthens the receptors for dopamine (the mmm chemicle in the brain) and raises the level of the drug in your body. Because it actually alters your physical body its very hard to quit.

If there are any people gifted with better biological information please edit what I said.

hmm if its truly the nicotine then why not just chew the gum are there nicotine gum addicts?

you know how there is decaf coffee why not de-nic cigs i'm sure we have the tech to remove the nicotine from tobacco

but if they did that then they would discover that its a habit that is just cool and hard to break

i always thought the smokers had it too easy with their smoke breaks

i couldnt say i'm going outside to eat a fruit roll up or i'm going outside for a 5 minute fart break

[mmmcherry]

ohhhh there are nicotine gum addicts... my ex boyfriends parents have been chewing nicotine gum for YEARS and are totally addicted.

and yeah fart break... some fucking people need those. like jamie. haha.. seriously.

[spleen]

A pro is you can burn your submissive easily with a cig. It is much harder doing it with a match

[Camby Savelle]

when you're smoking meth, smoking squares helps you smoke less meth. (however you will probably smoke 2-3 full packs in a single night)

[theUnclean]

Smoking helps to keep (some) assholes at a distance. The others that dare come within your bubble only need one small poke with a cattle prod.

[Bikerpunk]

Smoke only after sex.

I'd go through 2 a decade hehe

[TheDeathKnight]

It's gonna be the same thing with finding the pros of drinking. A lot more people drink than smoke, but it's the same thing. There are not a ton of health benefits to drinking, other than red wine. It's the psychological benefits of fun or relaxation why people drink. Not because it has health benefits.

[Bikerpunk]

Alcomahol has tremendous benefits as an antidepressant

[evilstonermonkey]

cigarettes give you a reason to talk to the hottie that just stepped outside