Monday, February 20, 2006

Smokending

I quit smoking over 2 years ago, just after we moved to Houston. I did it mostly because it was boring to go out and smoke by yourself, though the health reason was a bit of a factor, as well.

For the last several years, there have been a steady stream of commercials from an anti-smoking site that uses scare tactics and abrasiveness to try to get people to quit smoking. I'm sure most of you have seen the ones of which I speak. The overarching purpose of the commercials is to try to convince people through shame, fear, or whatever, to quit smoking.

I have a hunch, and this is my conspiracy theory mind going to work here, that this website doesn't really want people to quit smoking. I think the commercials are as abrasive as they are to encourage people not to quit smoking. I think it's classic reverse psychology. Why would an anti-smoking organization want people to keep smoking? So that they can continue to get funding from the various lawsuits and settlements that the tobacco companies have to pay to smokers. If people stopped smoking, then these guys would be out of jobs, and would have to actually work, instead of point fingers and sound condescending. It's a cycle.

Note: I don't actually believe this to be true, but I think it would be funny if it was.

1 comment:

Cassie said...

I have much to say on this subject but I will keep it relatively short (ha). I quit smoking 5 years ago which was before I even was married, let alone had children. It irks me to see people smoking around kids (I speak of my MIL mostly). I never smoked around kids or pregnant women when I was a smoker but my in-laws aren't that considerate. They smoked outside when Jack was born but that was only if he was in the living room or kitchen area (cause the smoke knows to stay out of the bedrooms). And when I was pregnant? Forget it, I was lucky if they cracked the window 1/4 of an inch. My MIL doesn't believe that second hand smoke is dangerous, she thinks that people made that up. I think smoking, like any addiction, is a selfish habit. It's extremely difficult to be considerate of others when you have that "need". That is all. *Cassie now steps down from her soapbox*