My last quit was some years ago - smoking back then was on the decline but you could still do it almost anywhere. Bars, restaurants, most social environments, hotels etc. This quit has been so much easier because you cannot smoke anywhere. The only time I've noticed smokers is when they are in their cars (we all now how bad that is), or behind a restaurant next to a dumpster. At the office, they are hidden behind the building in an area thats dusty, filthy and full of insects. At some airports smokers are lucky if they get to be caged in little rooms with yellow ceiling tiles (thats nicotine yellow. What I am saying is that wherever I see someone smoking its not a pleasnat environment or experience - they are hurrying a long because they want to get back out of the snow or rain. This study of current day smokers should be filmed on a massive scale. I believe the footage would be pretty sad - something we would pity. Which brings me to my next point - if cigarettes were ust no longer available - with all of the information we have how is it possible they have not been banned. I understand the tax argument and that tobacco taxes are hard for states to give up - but surely we have got to take the plunge soon. I have kids under 3 - they should not even be exposed to cigs at all - shouldnt be available. The statistics clearly show that as rate of smokers decline so do the rates medical ailments linked to smoking. if its so obvious why has nothing been done. does anyone have any ideas (besides the usual conspiracy theories) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/2/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 68 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,378 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $204 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 10 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 12 [B]Seconds:[/B] 17

Did you know that the FDA does not control what ingredients are in cigarettes but they control dog food???? Money talks! :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/8/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 64 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 966 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $268.8 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 23 [B]Mins:[/B] 4 [B]Seconds:[/B] 27

This sums it up. The federal government sued the tobacco industry in the fall of 1999, charging cigarette makers with deceiving the public regarding the safety of their product. The U.S. Department of Justice asked for reimbursement of the money it has spent treating smoking-related illnesses of Medicare patients, military personnel, and federal employees. The government's decision to sue companies like Philip Morris raised eyebrows, particularly in light of a 70-year-old federally funded tobacco subsidy program. Since the Great Depression, the government has offered a price support program to tobacco, guaranteeing farmers crop prices if their harvest does not meet a set price at auction. Tobacco farmers also benefit from a $34 million crop-insurance program intended to protect growers from risks such as seasonal and cyclical price changes in the face of weather, production, and use variations. On One Hand... The federal government has a hypocritical stance on tobacco. Even since it passed a 1998 federal law forcing cigarette manufacturers to pay billions for treating tobacco-related illnesses, it continues to subsidize tobacco growers to produce the crop responsible for millions of deaths and billions of dollars worth of health problems. The government could better spend dollars intended to support tobacco growers by helping those farmers transition to growing other crops. On the Other Hand... Ending the program will not reduce the number of smokers or the number of smoking-related illnesses or deaths. Instead, it will be the nail in the coffin of the rural economy in many parts of the country. The tobacco program is a low-cost, efficient program that combines price supports with production control. Farmers are not directly subsidized, they are assured a fair market price by the government for their hard work. John Rolfe began commercial cultivation of tobacco in Virginia as early as 1612. 1999's $8.7 billion emergency agriculture aid package included $328 million to compensate tobacco growers for declining cigarette sales. In 1982, Congress mandated that the tobacco price support program operate at no net cost to taxpayers, other than for administrative expenses. The U.S. produces over 1.4 billion pounds of toba

one word....... "money" [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/4/2002 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1892 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 75,718 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $10784.4 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 249 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 28 [B]Seconds:[/B] 7

JQ, Interesting topic! There are many positive points for this argument and the explanations are not necessarily the right or true ones :) Let's hear what everyone else has to say? Josie _____________________ The SSC Support Team.