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in reply to Re: Do you smoke tobacco?
in thread Do you smoke tobacco?

It's kinda surprising how many non-smoking Monks there are out there. I chose the "Never Will..." option.

I was amazed at how many smoke or have smoked. The number for "Never Will" is only running around 40%. That means _more than half_ smoke or have smoked. In the circles I run in, the "never have never will" number would be more like 85%. Now, I know 85% is artificially high (for _never_), but by the same token 39% seems very very low; I am almost certain the number for "never" would be higher than that my geographical area (Midwestern US).

I'm also surprised at how many people claim to have quit. I have AFAIK never personally known anyone who quit during my lifetime -- though I have known several older people who quit decades ago, usually as a direct result of a major life-altering religious decision. Both of my grandfathers are in this category. My maternal grandfather quit smoking when my mom's oldest brother was very young, and my paternal grandfather quit when my dad was in elementary school. Neither of them had ever smoked in the house, though, and like I said, quitting smoking in both cases was the direct result of a major life-altering religious decision that also had a wide variety of other implications.

I've known plenty of people who tried to quit, and in a number of cases they were very serious about it. From observing people who use it, I have rated nicotine as the fourth-most-addictive thing in widespread use, after oxygen and caffein and water (in roughly that order). Then there's a wide and expansive gulf between those things and whatever comes out to number five, probably television (which I'm happy to say I have quit completely).


"In adjectives, with the addition of inflectional endings, a changeable long vowel (Qamets or Tsere) in an open, propretonic syllable will reduce to Vocal Shewa. This type of change occurs when the open, pretonic syllable of the masculine singular adjective becomes propretonic with the addition of inflectional endings."  — Pratico & Van Pelt, BBHG, p68

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Re^2: Do you smoke tobacco?
by Paulster2 (Priest) on Sep 28, 2004 at 01:47 UTC

    I have know at least a couple of people who have quit completely, people I never would have thought could. One of them is a friend of mine that said it was harder for him to give up coffee than it wsa to quit cigs.

    I know what you mean about those who never truely quit. Known plenty of them, also.

    Paulster2


    You're so sly, but so am I. - Quote from the movie Manhunter.