A new anti-smoking law everyone could be happy with

The province is proposing taking $250 from parents caught smoking while in a car with children.

But why stop there?

McGuinty should deputize a force of anti-smoking rangers, charged with writing tickets for a whole new set of infractions.

$100 for buying a pack of cigarettes then repeatedly smacking it against the palm of your hand. I never really understood this. I mean, why do it? To better pack the tobacco in each cigarette? Whatever the hell for?

$200 for anyone caught smoking those long, thin, all-white cigarettes. This isn't the 1920s and there are no more speakeasies.

$300 for anyone caught smoking while wearing lululemon yoga gear. That's just stupid.

$400 for anyone who offers 25 cents to buy a cigarette from a stranger. Trying to pass yourself off as a thoughtful mooch, all the while knowing the smoker you're harassing couldn't possibly be cheap enough to accept your quarter. It's a transparent, offensive and supremely annoying little ploy.

$500 for not holding a cigarette properly. You cannot grip with perfectly straight index and middle fingers. This is a sign that you are a dorky, tentative and uptight smoker, and that you should stop immediately.

$600 for exposing your dog to second-hand smoke. You may wonder why a steeper fine for a smoking crime against dogs than for a violation against children. Dogs are generally cuter than kids, and their lives are shorter.

$700 for being able to smoke only on weekends without craving cigarettes on weekdays. It's not fair, and you should pay.

$800 for being that smoker who tries to sabotage another's quit attempt. I actually had a co-worker say to me, "Relapse is part of recovery, you know." I wanted to garrote him right there in the newsroom.

$900 for not inhaling.

$950 for being in a running club. (If I were Premier McGuinty, I would try to sneak this law in to the proposed legislation, even though it's not related to the war on smoking. I think all running clubs should be disbanded. They are polluting good, quiet neighbourhoods with garish colours, absurd attire and silly, breathless, grunt-filled banter.)

$1,000 for employing an individual who heroically tries to quit smoking, and who blogs about the ordeal in his free time, but not paying him extra.

Comments

[Wesley]

I think this particular entry hits it on the nail head on. While you have mentioned many ways we should be fined for smoking... (yes, I am still trying after 4 times of trying to quit) you are missing a few critical points. Let me try to add to it.

$1200 for a cop who smokes in a cop car. The city and province should try and put out a clear message and set good examples.

$1500 for smoking, driving and talking on a cellphone all at the same time. We should be banking in on their telent and make others feel better for the lack of that ability.

$1800 for those who create grand smokey entrences by lighting up in front of buildings.

$2000 for those who want to join the club. This is an exclusive cash draining club. We do not need more people asking us for a cigarettes who can't afford to buy their own.

[girlfriend]

Hi - I wrote you a couple months ago about my boyfriend who would not quit smoking. How I could tell it was making his health worse and I was scared and angry about what he does to himself. And I was thinking about leaving him just for that reason. Well let me add that I really loved him so much. I guess that was making it worse. He was telling me how I should leave it up to him when he is ready to make that decision. Well he just died. That is it, nothing more. He is gone.

[Craig]

How about $2500 for smoking anywhere on TTC property. Oh wait, they have that fine but it's never enforced. Nothing makes me want to relapse more than when I'm waiting that 5-10 minutes for my Runnymede bus at the end of a long day, only to have a bunch of kids (and some stupid adults), smoking right outside the doors.

[ATP]

Wow, congratulations! Two and a half months, that's phenomenal! Amazing! I have difficulty imagining an hour, a day, two days without cigarettes. Yesterday I was minding a friend's three year old while they (a non smoking couple) were getting some work done around the house, and by after lunch when I finally had a cigarette, I felt like congratulating myself, and really stopped & noticed, 'wow, I can go 4 hrs without a cigarette, and keep pushing right through, being active, productive, without stopping for a cigarette - what a concept.'

Your blog is inspirational, funny, and I can totally relate. :)

Okay, part of the following is me sharing a few tips, and part of it is well me just sharing my experience and writing on a bit too long, so I'll apologize for that part in advance! :)

One thing that helps me when I have to go longer than usual periods (within a day) without cigarettes, and that I know will help me when I do quit, is: the experience of having taken meditation & yoga classes in the past (as well as Feldenkrais & Pilates).

Part of that will give me an exercise to focus on (I find feeling healthier & eating/drinking healthier just leads to less wanting & enjoying a cigarette; personally, I tried several kinds of protein powders & finally landed on hemp smoothies, like Ruth's Hemp Foods, she has 4 kinds of powders, and now her Chia Goodness cereal too - they work for me & they're awesome!), but *more to the point*, in yoga & meditation classes there are usually various breathing techniques and centering & grounding techniques they teach you that I find help. When I want a cigarette, or can't have one, or am trying to learn that 'delaying' tactic of replacing a habitual cigarette with something else, I breathe. It helps.

And when I have chosen to go a long time (within a day) without a cigarette, I finally learned, rather than focusing on the fact that I couldn't have a cigarette, and 'how could I function without it', I started to ask myself, 'okay, what do nonsmokers do?' They get on with their day. What a concept. This will be a big one actually when I quit. 'What does a non smoker do when they get up in the morning?' 'What does a non smoker do when they take a break from the computer, and want to go outside for five minutes?'

Personally, I've been smoking since I was 15 (tried it at 14 & decided I didn't like it - then later someone taught me how to inhale, I got a head rush which seemed cool at the time - stupid now - and that was pretty much the end of it), that means - holy cow - 21 yrs, geez. Yep.

So far what I've managed to do gradually over the years is:

- smoke only outdoors (at home, at work & in transit, etc.),
- cut down from about 20-25 cigs a day to 8-12 usually now,
- and cut down to ultra mild cigarettes (it's the next closest thing to smoking air - and yes I once made fun of such cigarettes too).

A few other things I've done:

- I was fortunate several years ago to have a few sessions with a hypnotherapist. We agreed from the outset that I didn't want to quit at that point, wasn't ready to quit, wasn't about to quit, but what she did do was help me disassociate certain things from smoking, like I could relax without it, etc. (all those things smokers associate having a cigarette with). And it helped. I knew too that when I got more than 85% of the way ready to quit, that hypnosis would again be a helpful tool for me. (But no, nothing can 'make' one quit, if they're not prepared to.)

- A friend told me also at that time that if I was going to smoke, then to smoke what they call 'additive free' cigarettes like Craven 'A' brand, etc.- they're still bad for you, but they're missing one addictive additive. So I tried it, and shortly thereafter dropped several strengths in the cigarettes I smoked, and the quantity as well. It's worked for me, and makes it hard to go back to other cigarettes. I've heard others say the same thing.

- The other thing I did was contact the Smoker's Helpline. While not everything they had to offer worked for me at the time, I wasn't ready or committed to quitting, they do have a brochure 'for smokers who don't want to quit', and it offered some suggestions that have helped - like delay, distract, and something else - I think there were 3 "d's".

- Another thing I did, while working on a temp assignment somewhere that I really absolutely could not smoke, was to carry Nicorette around with me every day - several packs of it. I meant to use it, but never felt the need (I was still smoking morning & night after all). But carrying it was a crutch that got me through the day, that let me know I could make it through the day - because I could have made it through the day without it, I just didn't *know* that, and couldn't envision it or embark on it, without the crutch. Much less anxiety that way too. (I did start to cheat and have one at lunch times, but still, I did go 5 to 8 waking hrs a day without a cigarette, which was unheard of for me up till that point. :)

- The other thing that has contributed some help in getting me at least as far as I've come, and will help more when I actually quit smoking, is seeing an HD (Homeopathic Doctor) and using homeopathic remedies. Taking something to help remove or balance out the physical & habitual craving will help, as will doing different kinds of cleanses (kidney, liver, gall bladder, lungs, etc.). And the natural remedies, custom prescribed for each person's individual case, for me seems like a better option than the conventional 'stop smoking' drugs available out there.

(Feel free to edit / cut. :)

[Carol McNeill]

This blog and these comments were "so me" before Sept 10th 2007. That morning, I finished reading the best-hidden quit smoking book ever written and from 8:45am that very day(in the parking lot of Tim Hortons with coffee in hand) , I stopped, cold turkey. I have not smoked one cig, not had one drag nor missed it for more than a few seconds at a time, every now and then. I smoked for 36 years - 1 pack a day...and the beauty of this book is that you continue to smoke until you finish the book. This book was written 20 years ago...by a Brit who could not believe how successful he was in so many ways but could not...could not....stop smoking. He did finally crack the combo (no scare tactics, heart stories, lung, money, stinky clothing stories etc) and if you read this, you will stop...it is easy and pleasurable...it destroys the lies and untruths we have been lead to believe about smoking that keep us smoking and soooo dependent - and the ridiculous belief that we have to replace cigs with patches etc...it's like going to the doctor and telling him that you shoot up cocaine and he says "oh, ok here you go: swallow these cocaine pills to get off shooting the stuff" and you believe that you don't do cocaine anymore! Nicotine replacement products don't REPLACE nicotine...they GIVE you nicotine...there is no replacement involved....they only ensure that you will still require nicotine- the tobacco companies are replacing something alright...they are replacing the smokers money with patches/gum money and making us believe that we can't stop...well, buy Alan Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking - and you will be sooooo amazed by what you will learn. I went from a crying, shaking, freaked out person when I even THOUGHT about stopping(with a patch of course which was the only way I could envision it at all)to someone who has had such an amazingly easy time of it...as does everyone who I referred this book to. $20. and a little reading and you too will be done forever!!! No luck is needed, no will power...just knowledge and that's all! I LOVE IT!!!
Ellen DeGenerous (I know I spelled that wrong!) stopped but don't bother to tell your doctors etc as they won't recommend this book for obvious reasons...they'll pooh-pooh it and write a zyban 'script for you.
Now...you go! and be a "stopper"...not a "quitter"
Carol

[markl]

Parents who subject their kids to cigarette smoke should be dealt the same justice as people who force their kids to drink beer and alcohol.Smoking is a deadly activity (not just an innocuous,annoying habit) that jeopardizes everybodys health besides the smokers.

Smoking should be outlawed in all public spaces and should be confined to the addicts personal residence.Over 500,000 are killed by smoking in the usa annually by cigarettes.At least several percent of that number are people who died from second hand smoke.That would equal from anywhere of 5000 to 20000 innocent people wrongfully killed.There is quite an uproar about drunk driving and its victims well we need to apply the same scrutiny and punishment towards smoking.

[A]

$175 for smoking while COUGHING YOUR BRAINS OUT in public.
I mean, how much more obvious does it need to be that you should quit?