Leave the smokers alone

I believe I have done enough conservative right-wing bashing for the time-being.

Let me focus on the annoying ultra-liberals. Why can't they leave the smokers alone? They've already succeeded in treating them as outcasts by designating them very little space to puff away. They've banned them from restaurants, bus stops, pubs, etc. Now they are cheering the fact that cigarette boxes will have hideous cancerous pics on them to discourage them.

Let me put my disclaimer first - I am a non-smoker. I never intend to smoke at any point in the future. I believe nicotine addiction is one of the worst. I do not want to lose my voice, my breathing and my independence. But that is MY choice. I do not impose it on anyone.

Instead of rattling away angrily, let me compose myself put down my thoughts into bullets points :-

• Reverse Psychology - Telling someone not to do something so that they go ahead and do it. That is the effect of these non-smoking campaigns and these ugly pictures on boxes. In fact a recent study was conducted on chain smokers and it was found that such pictures increase their craving for cigarettes. It is all in the subconscious - "Why the hell are they trying so hard, why can't they mind their own business, I'll show those idiots that these gimmicks do not work on me". A smoker may not admit it but that IS his thought process.
• Even a teen smoker knows it is bad for him. Every smoker knows what he is getting into. These annoying campaigns keep stating the obvious - lung cancer, etc.
  
• Finally, a person already addicted with full knowledge of the poisonous attack of nicotine in his body does not need a patronizing reprimand. He is miserable already. He got himself into it, let him figure out how to get out, that is if he wants to get out!

It is absolute hypocrisy by the government. On the one hand, it wants to rake in revenues through smoking but on the other hand wants to discourage it. Why does it not ban it if it so bothersome?

If 1000 trilliion people are dying of smoking every year, let them die - they got themselves into it! We cannot blame ourselves for not discouraging them enough!!