<< Harvey i was going to stay out of this until you mentioned that cigs are just as if not MORE deadly than crack or heroin. Having one cig cannot kill a person. using heroin or crack just once CAN kill a person and has. as far as addiction....i would say that crack and heroin are more addictive than cigs, you just do it less often than cigs. >>
Pyonir, I wasn't even going to reply to this thread, but your post made me feel the need to. I am an ex-heroin addict, who is currently on methadone(which, contrary to many people ignorant to facts, doesn't get you high, and is equivelent to insulin for a diabetic or the patch for a smoker, but that isn't the topic at hand)but guess what I have not been able to stop. That's right, cigarettes.
I can tell you that heroin and cigarettes are about the same in their addictive properties, and i've gleened that knowlege from first hand experience, not a book. The only difference is that heroin gets you high, so it would seem to people who have not smoked cigarettes that there is no positive effect, so why do they smoke. Well, the answer is that cigarettes contain nicotene, which is a stimulant and is addictive, and it does give you a slight euphoric feeling, whether you realise it or not.
I'm not saying heroin is easy or easier to quit than cigarettes, because it isn't. They are equivelent in my experience. If I didn't have methadone I don't think i'd have stopped heroin, because the only amount of time I was ever able to get away from it with nothing was two months, and that was the most painful two months of my life, both physically and mentally. I have not been able to stop cigarette smoking for even a day, ever. You were right about one thing though, crack is a bit easier than both cigarettes and heroin, but not much.
If you have never smoked, you have no idea how hard it is to quit. I agree with Harvey that the cigarette companies lied to the public for many years, but the government is not penalizing the companies, at least not nearly as much as they are penalizing smokers by charging us five bucks a pack when they know damn well that most smokers never even require treatment for any smoking related disease, although they have done a pretty good job at making non-smokers believe cigarettes cost taxpayers zillions in their taxes every year.
Even if smokers did need tax money to pay for their treatment for smoking related illnesses, who cares, they pay their taxes too, so why should they be charged extra for it, especially when they will likely never even get sick from anything even remotely related to tobacco. Instead smokers are charged a bit more every year. It amazes me that people are so willing to make smokers pay billions of dollars a year in taxes, raise the price of smokes yearly, even though smoking related illness costs no more than a quarter billion a year, and that is being generous.
I'm tire of being penalized for being a smoker, and i'm sick of people who don't smoke complaining about what a liability I am and wanting to charge me more so they can pay less. How about I charge you non-smokers twenty bucks a six pack of beer and raise it a dollar every year. Would you like that?