Chairlift Confessions

[JimG.]

Well my Mom is recovering from lung cancer. We almost lost her last year. The few friends I have who still smoke don't ever get a lecture from me though. If they don't know by now.....well....they know and I sure don't need to remind them. Sucks losin' friends/loved ones to something so stupid though Jim. Sometimes you just GOTTA say something.

Don't care for your analogy to folks with runny noses. From them I might catch a cold but from 2nd hand smoke - a tumour. Big difference.

Sorry to hear about your Mom Willy...I lost my oldest and best friend Eric to lung cancer 5 years ago. Smoked 3 packs a day. We used to argue because I would get on his case about it, only because we were so close and I knew he knew I was worried about him. Dead at 43, left behind a wife and an 8 year old son.

As for my analogy to folks with runny noses, don't fool yourself about the inherent health risks there. Many cancers are caused by viruses...did you know that? And one of the first symptoms of Avian bird flu is, you guessed it, a runny nose. So please don't minimize the health risks associated with sick people in public, it's just as bad as 2nd hand smoke, and certainly just as rude and inconsiderate.

 

[freeheelwilly]

Point taken.

 

[ChileMass]

I am in the middle of trying to quit yet again, so I do realize how bad it is for me, especially as I get older. And - I agree it's rude and unhealthful to blow smoke in others' faces. When I do smoke, I try to go off by myself to minimize the impact on anyone who might not enjoy my addiction as much as I do.

And yes, it's a stupid thing to do and yes it's within the personal willpower of every smoker to quit since quitting has been successfully done by many. But it's a very difficult thing to do and even harder to maintain. Some studies say it's harder to quit smoking than to quit heroin (I wouldn't know about that, thanks). So a little compassion is in order, IMHO. If a smoker is rudely smoking near you and it's bothersome, I'd be really surprised if a polite request was ignored. These days the number of smokers is dwindling and those left realize they need to be sensitive to non-smokers around them. But getting immediately and hysterically offended by a smoker is not going to be productive for anyone. You're not going to "catch" cancer from exposure to the occasional cigarette, especially in an outdoor setting.

 

[andyzee]

OK, if this is going to turn into a smoking thread, I might as well jump in. I have been a smoker most of my life, I quit at one point for 9 years and then went back. Tomorrow will be my one year anniversery for being smoke free once again. I have been on both sides and my feeling is that smokers do not have a right to infinge on other's space. When on a lift, if I wanted to light up, I always asked the person next to me if it was OK. If you can't hold off smoking until you get into a situation where you won't bother anyone, well, that makes it a real addiction and perhaps you need to look at quiting. When I smoked, I always tried to be respectful of the people around me. End of story

 

[JimG.]

When I smoked, I always tried to be respectful of the people around me. End of story

This is why I quit for good...it didn't make sense to me anymore to be so worried about others and not myself.

 

[tirolerpeter]

Hijacked Thread

Just to "clear the air here." I was "cool" from about the age of 15 to 23. Yep, I smoked nearly two packs a day of unfiltered Lucky's or Camels. When I got back from a 14 month tour in Vietnam, my wife had become "detoxed" (she was never a smoker, but lived with smoking parents..Guess what Dad died of at age 47?...) because she had lived away from her family and me for that time. She said I "stank" and "could I please stop?" So at age 23 I did. No, it was not easy. Tried one about 3 months into it, and it was "gooood." Still, I stuck to it and quit. We both discovered, that having been "smoked out" so long, we had become incredibly allergic to tobacco smoke. But, then we had kids. One of my sons became a "garbage head" drug addict in his teens. Put him in rehab. It was in rehab that he began smoking. They use cigarettes as a substitute for drugs, and as a "reward/punishment" technique for motivation. He successfully finished 2 1/2 years of the rehab program and kicked heroin, coke, and whatever. Still struggled with booze for a while but managed to deal with that too. Guess what? It took him 10 years to kick cigarettes! He said many times that nicotine was the hardest of all to kick. It's legal, it's all around you, and you can't not breath it when others are smoking. So, I KNOW how tough it is to stop smoking. Why would anyone start, and insist on continuing, especially in close proximity to others? That is an individual issue. But, smokers have no inherent RIGHT to make me endure their smoke for their convenience. Stay off the lift line, or go up the lift, find a spot and light up as much as you want. Oh yeah, I forgot, then they would be giving up trail time.....! BTW, how many 60 year old heavy smokers can you find who can ski "first to last chair" without running out of gas? I can and do, but have no doubt that I wouldn't be able to had I not quit so long ago.

 

[SkiDork]

tears... tears... serious tears....

I watched my brother-in-law die (at age 47) of lung cancer. Tyrolean_Skiers brother. A nicer guy you'd never meet. What sadness..... And I empathize with all you who've lost loved ones for whatever reason....

 

[andyzee]

This is why I quit for good...it didn't make sense to me anymore to be so worried about others and not myself.

I quit for a number of reason, when I quit, I signed up on www.quitnet.com. If nothing else, it was enlightening looking at the up to the minute stats they provide for you. I saved $1528.80 by not buy smokes. Multiply that by 2, my wife quit as well, that's $3057.60. That adds up to a lot of gear. I only paid $25 a carton on the Internet, if I paid regular price, you could multiply that by 2.5!

My Stats:
Your Quit Date is: 8/11/2005 6:00:00 PM

Time Smoke-Free: 363 days, 17 hours, 30 minutes and 14 seconds

Cigarettes NOT smoked: 10912

Lifetime Saved: 2 months, 23 days, 8 hours

Money Saved: $1,528.80

Negatives of quiting: I gained about 20 lbs.

 

[AdironRider]

I feel for everyone who has lost loved ones from smoking but everyone is failing to make one critical connection. Notice how everyone who died young smoked like 2- 3 packs a day, I dont know of anyone who died from purely second hand smoke. Name one person you know who never smoked a butt in their life yet was severely affected. Id like to know.

Im all for asking someone on the lift if its alright, its common courtesy. But if someones enjoying a smoke around the lodge outside, thats his right to do so, you can move to a different table/ lift. Yes you can move to a different lift, or maybe wait a minute or two till he passes and you can wait in line smoke free. Seriously, hes not doing anything illegal, so your not a better human being, you can move as well. There are few mtns that dont have more than one lift option from the base, so if you dont like little bits of smoke, you can move as well. I stand by this point. Your not any better than a smoker, so why should they always be the ones who have to comply?

 

[JimG.]

Just to "clear the air here." I was "cool" from about the age of 15 to 23. Yep, I smoked nearly two packs a day of unfiltered Lucky's or Camels. When I got back from a 14 month tour in Vietnam, my wife had become "detoxed" (she was never a smoker, but lived with smoking parents..Guess what Dad died of at age 47?...) because she had lived away from her family and me for that time. She said I "stank" and "could I please stop?" So at age 23 I did. No, it was not easy. Tried one about 3 months into it, and it was "gooood." Still, I stuck to it and quit. We both discovered, that having been "smoked out" so long, we had become incredibly allergic to tobacco smoke. But, then we had kids. One of my sons became a "garbage head" drug addict in his teens. Put him in rehab. It was in rehab that he began smoking. They use cigarettes as a substitute for drugs, and as a "reward/punishment" technique for motivation. He successfully finished 2 1/2 years of the rehab program and kicked heroin, coke, and whatever. Still struggled with booze for a while but managed to deal with that too. Guess what? It took him 10 years to kick cigarettes! He said many times that nicotine was the hardest of all to kick. It's legal, it's all around you, and you can't not breath it when others are smoking. So, I KNOW how tough it is to stop smoking. Why would anyone start, and insist on continuing, especially in close proximity to others? That is an individual issue. But, smokers have no inherent RIGHT to make me endure their smoke for their convenience. Stay off the lift line, or go up the lift, find a spot and light up as much as you want. Oh yeah, I forgot, then they would be giving up trail time.....! BTW, how many 60 year old heavy smokers can you find who can ski "first to last chair" without running out of gas? I can and do, but have no doubt that I wouldn't be able to had I not quit so long ago.

It is interesting how this thread seemed to be hijacked but in reality is still on topic of confessions...I guess we're all on a virtual chairlift at this point.

Peter, we've skied together and I hope you realize that I do agree with you for the most part. Knowing how hard it is to completely quit does give you the insight to understand why those who continue to smoke resist logic. Howling at them about the health risks only drives them deeper into thier denial and makes them more determined to smoke wherever they can.

As a fellow ex-smoker, I do know that psychology but I don't have a solid, foolproof solution other than to tell folks that I care about who smoke that I'm worried about them. But I will not shun them.

 

[smootharc]

Health risks of second hand smoke....

http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35422

....as long as we're on the topic.

 

[andyzee]

Damn Greg, you've got Google trained real good. I wanted to get this thread back on track, but couldn't think of any good stories, so I figured I do a search on Google for Charlift Confessions. This is the first time I've ever tried something like this, but figured for the good of the board, what the heck. The result came up with AlpineZone as the number one find! :lol: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=chairlift+confessions

 

[JimG.]

Damn Greg, you've got Google trained real good. I wanted to get this thread back on track, but couldn't think of any good stories, so I figured I do a search on Google for Charlift Confessions. This is the first time I've ever tried something like this, but figured for the good of the board, what the heck. The result came up with AlpineZone as the number one find! :lol: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=chairlift+confessions

That'll teach you!

Apparently you don't like the job us mods are doing here Mr. "for the good of the board"!

I think you're a closet moderator Andy. Hey Greg, Andy wants to be a moderator!

 

[freeheelwilly]

That'll teach you!

Apparently you don't like the job us mods are doing here Mr. "for the good of the board"!

I think you're a closet moderator Andy. Hey Greg, Andy wants to be a moderator!

So do I! :evil: :lol:

 

[andyzee]

That'll teach you!

Apparently you don't like the job us mods are doing here Mr. "for the good of the board"!

I think you're a closet moderator Andy. Hey Greg, Andy wants to be a moderator!

:flame: Two word for you pal!