Record $145B Tobacco Verdict Tossed (606 hits)
Category: NewsRating: 1.42 on 42 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by The Known Unknown (View user info) at 2006-07-06 12:36:02 EDT
Regarding - Record $145B tobacco verdict tossed
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/07/06/tobacco.verdict.ap/index.html
This isn't much of a surprise to me; I was still baffled on how the courts even gave that verdict to begin with. I still can't believe there are idiots out there who believe smoking isn't bad to your health. I'm a smoker, and I damn well know I'm knocking minutes off my life probably with each puff, and it's my fault, not the tobacco companies. There might even be some good news out of this, hopefully tobacco prices might come down, I doubt it, but hey we can all dream! I'm wondering what your opinions on this decision are. Do you believe it was right or wrong to throw out the verdict? Do you think they should have lowered the amount, or just have tossed the case all together? Are the tobacco companies really responsible for our actions with do with there product? Lets see were everyone stands on this.
Tobacco Prices: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0207.pdf
User Reviews
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-07 14:39:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Amazing, everyone was for the verdict reverse, can this be the first time everyone agreed?!
Submitted by Chroniclysm (user info) at 2006-07-07 01:53:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by BobLobla (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:38:15 (#)
Ranking: 2
Whatever, smoking takes the worst years off your life...
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 17:04:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Buy the plot now and save yourself the $$$ later on :-D
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-07-06 16:34:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
well at least you won't be dying from heart disease now.
Submitted by jgreening (user info) at 2006-07-06 16:32:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"But their advertizing was very seductive!"
I hate that excuse...
I am the only person in my immediate family who has never smoked. My Dad quit 7 years ago.
And the sad thing, *I'LL* be the one dying early from cancer, more than likely...
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 16:25:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2006-07-06 16:01:21 (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm going to smoke 2 full-flavored Menthol kings in approval of this post.
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Burn'em up buddy :)
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2006-07-06 16:01:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm going to smoke 2 full-flavored Menthol kings in approval of this post.
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 15:08:57 EDT (#)
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Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:39:28 (#)
Ranking: 1
I've got lung cancer in my anus.
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So do you cough up blood?! ;)
Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:39:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I've got lung cancer in my anus.
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:26:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
antiobiotics and vioxx are in the same category as smoking.
asbestos should be under unsafe working environment or housing codes.
paint is still not for ingestion. if you leave the walls alone you don't usually get lead poisoning. when it peels and starts turning to dust yes, but that's still under housing. more of an environmental thing.
things you ingest on purpose need different laws and handling than things that just happen to be in the environment. kinda like second hand smoke should be under environmental factors but firsthand shouldn't be.
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:17:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Susie_Derkins (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:08:01 (#)
Ranking: 0
You make a good point, Wookie.
There are lots of products that were proven dangerous after the fact and the information made public. Asbestos, erythromyacin (sp), Vioxx, the aforementioned lead based paint, the list could go on. Are we going to hold all their inventors/developers accountable?
The bottom line is that yes, the tobacco company may have hidden these test results from the public. But as soon as this information became public knowledge, people still continued to smoke. Other people picked up the habit, knowing the dangers beforehand. People are going to do what they're going to do. Incidentally, who would the money won from the suit gone to?
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Are we going to hold the inventors/developers accountable? Well, if they discover the dangers of their product and either (a) make it widely known and allow the consumer to decide if they want to take the risk, or (b) discontinue the product then I would say "no." If, however, they continue to market the product while actively covering up their knowledge of the product's danger then I say "yes," they need to be held accountable. I'm thinking about the Ford Pinto here as the landmark case (read Unsafe at Any Speed), but I think I would say the same about any product.
I think most of the money from the suit went first and foremost to the lawyers. The rest, or at least a large portion of the rest, was supposed to go toward tobacco/smoking prevention campaigns aimed primarily at children.
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:17:27 EDT (#)
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Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:04:44 (#)
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Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:55:51 (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:38:54 (#)
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Only question is how long did the compaines know how dangrous there products were, I'm sure they didn't run tests right off the bat to see the effects. But, couldn't the same go for paint compaines who sold lead based paint for years? I'm sure they knew the effects of the product but didn't do anything about it. It is hard sometimes to point a finger.
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Isn't lead based paint more dangerous to kids, and wouldn't they have less choice as to what they were exposed to?
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Yes, and it could be dangerous to adults as well, eating without washing the hands well.. etc etc but more so in kids developement.
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the difference between paint and smoking though is paint was never meant for inhalation/ingestion. smoke is only made for that. why should benjamin moore be sued cuz your stupid kid ate the wall? cigarettes are something marketed as a product for your body to absorb.
but no they probably didn't know. smoking, like i said earlier, was even considered medicinal by some people and cultures.
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:14:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Just came accross this, author is unknown...
I lie in here, beside the whitewashed wall,
My hair is gone, my head is bald,
The room is sterile and it's very cold,
Wish you were here, Dad, I need someone to hold.
I can't breathe, I'm on a machine,
It goes whirr and click, it's such a din,
I've got lung cancer, it's all black inside,
When Mom says smoking causes cancer, Dad, I think she lied.
I never lit up, even when you did,
I just sat next to you, a small little kid,
You huffed and puffed through your life, Dad,
And Mom always looked so very sad.
My friends asked me to smoke, but I never did,
Because Mom told me from young: smoking is stupid,
It soots up your lungs and blackens your teeth,
So when I see a smoker, Dad, I anger and seethe.
You smoked two packs a day but you're still healthy and strong,
I hate smokers, Dad, but I never thought you wrong,
I love you, Dad, I always sat next to you,
And I know that you always loved me too.
The room here is cold, I see you through the glass,
And I think back to long ago, Dad, of times past,
Of the memories, I recall as much as I can,
There's always been a cigarette, Dad, stuck inside your hand.
I remember the fun things, Dad, all the times we had,
But as I look at you from here, you look so very sad,
You're not smoking, Dad, no cigarette I can see on you,
Maybe it's just the hospital, and this is the ICU.
My breathing becomes labored, I don't think I'll live,
Well, I tried my best, I gave all I had to give,
But one thing, Dad, I cannot comprehend,
I'm not a smoker, so why is my life about to end?
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:10:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:04:24 (#)
Ranking: 1
I'll smoke wherever the hell I goddamned feel like it, thanks.
That's what living as an anarchist allows you to do.
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Does that mean you could smoke a squirrel if you wanted? Shaved or Unshaved?
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:09:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Susie_Derkins (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:08:01 (#)
Ranking: 0
You make a good point, Wookie.
There are lots of products that were proven dangerous after the fact and the information made public. Asbestos, erythromyacin (sp), Vioxx, the aforementioned lead based paint, the list could go on. Are we going to hold all their inventors/developers accountable?
The bottom line is that yes, the tobacco company may have hidden these test results from the public. But as soon as this information became public knowledge, people still continued to smoke. Other people picked up the habit, knowing the dangers beforehand. People are going to do what they're going to do. Incidentally, who would the money won from the suit gone to?
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Please not let us get started on Vioxx, thats a whole different post :)
Submitted by Susie_Derkins (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:08:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
You make a good point, Wookie.
There are lots of products that were proven dangerous after the fact and the information made public. Asbestos, erythromyacin (sp), Vioxx, the aforementioned lead based paint, the list could go on. Are we going to hold all their inventors/developers accountable?
The bottom line is that yes, the tobacco company may have hidden these test results from the public. But as soon as this information became public knowledge, people still continued to smoke. Other people picked up the habit, knowing the dangers beforehand. People are going to do what they're going to do. Incidentally, who would the money won from the suit gone to?
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:04:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:55:51 (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:38:54 (#)
Ranking: 0
Only question is how long did the compaines know how dangrous there products were, I'm sure they didn't run tests right off the bat to see the effects. But, couldn't the same go for paint compaines who sold lead based paint for years? I'm sure they knew the effects of the product but didn't do anything about it. It is hard sometimes to point a finger.
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Isn't lead based paint more dangerous to kids, and wouldn't they have less choice as to what they were exposed to?
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Yes, and it could be dangerous to adults as well, eating without washing the hands well.. etc etc but more so in kids developement.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:04:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I'll smoke wherever the hell I goddamned feel like it, thanks.
That's what living as an anarchist allows you to do.
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:04:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:47:08 (#)
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Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:44:20 (#)
Ranking: 0
i agree that now it's dumb. however, people above a certain age were not told that. they maybe should get something.
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Stupid is as stupid does sir.
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?
well seriously people have been smoking for centuries. sometimes it was even considered medicinal. seriously, people that came before the surgeon general's warning should have like a grandfather clause kinda thing. cept they're probably all dead anyway.
stupid old people dying.
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:01:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:55:46 (#)
Ranking: 2
and by public good I mean healthcare
You choose to smoke, that's just lovely. I can't say that I really care. I'd rather not have your smoke near me but we'll argue about smoking sections later. The question is, what happens when you inevitably develop lung cancer or one of the other host of rather horrific, painful, and terminal diseases associated with smoking? Am I, as a taxpayer obligated to pay for your treatment?
That's not entirely fair now is it? Here I am specifically and willfully not smoking and yet I end up having to pay for your nasty little habit.
But then again, where would it lead if we sat around and determined as a matter of public policy to only pay for treatment for people who were not the direct cause of their own ailment?
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Last I checked we don't tax anyone for haveing ghey buttsex, whereas we tax the hell out of cigarettes. There was a study put out in some eastern eurpoean country (I forget which and I am sure there are ones to counter it, it is just the only on ei remember seeing). The meat of it was when you calculate how much the state makes in tax it more than covers the cost of health care, especially when you consider how much healthcare is needed with a shortened life expectancy.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-07-06 14:00:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I just lit up a cigarette and nodded in agreement
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:55:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:38:54 (#)
Ranking: 0
Only question is how long did the compaines know how dangrous there products were, I'm sure they didn't run tests right off the bat to see the effects. But, couldn't the same go for paint compaines who sold lead based paint for years? I'm sure they knew the effects of the product but didn't do anything about it. It is hard sometimes to point a finger.
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Isn't lead based paint more dangerous to kids, and wouldn't they have less choice as to what they were exposed to?
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:55:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Is this just in Florida? I am pretty sure that there were a lot of other lawsuits against them out there.
although
I imagine that with this one falling apart, the rest will follow suit.
get it
"follow suit'
oh come on that was kind of funny
I never really understood the whole tobacco lawsuit thing. Well except that they should be held responsible for lying to consumers, adding all that extra shit they added to make sure it was addictive, and maybe marketing to kids.
I don't know if they should really be held responsible for marketing to kids though. It really should be the parent's responsibility to keep their kids from smoking. Funny thing really, parents scream bloody murder if they think someone is telling them how to raise their own kids but then they freak out over violent video games, sex scenes in movies, cigarettes, etc that they don't seem to want to be responsible for keeping away from these same kids.
but that is most likely a different story
I really think the issue with tobacco hits at a deeper issue of personal responsibility vs. public good.
and by public good I mean healthcare
You choose to smoke, that's just lovely. I can't say that I really care. I'd rather not have your smoke near me but we'll argue about smoking sections later. The question is, what happens when you inevitably develop lung cancer or one of the other host of rather horrific, painful, and terminal diseases associated with smoking? Am I, as a taxpayer obligated to pay for your treatment?
That's not entirely fair now is it? Here I am specifically and willfully not smoking and yet I end up having to pay for your nasty little habit.
But then again, where would it lead if we sat around and determined as a matter of public policy to only pay for treatment for people who were not the direct cause of their own ailment?
No more treatment for AIDS since clearly that is preventable.
No more treatment of heart disease since if you had been eating right and exercising, this wouldn't have happened.
No more treatment for any car wreck associated injuries because you should have slowed down before you got to that curve.
Pregnancy? not my fault, I wasn't even there when it happened.
Perhaps this is a bit of a slippery slope, but then again if the tobacco companies suppressed medical evidence of the dangers of smoking and intentionally marketed their product to kids and all the other shit they are accused of doing, then why should I have to pay for it when you get lung cancer.
As a side note, it always cracks me up when someone cites that McLawsuit because it was actually not quite the frivolous suit that most people think it is. Oh hey, its much easier to just giggle and point than find out the details.
As another side note, I have Altria stock so AHAHAHAHAHA SWEET.
Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:42:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm going to start smoking through my anus just to see what kind of lawsuit I can manage. I never seen or heard the disclaimer for smoking through your ass.
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:38:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Only question is how long did the compaines know how dangrous there products were, I'm sure they didn't run tests right off the bat to see the effects. But, couldn't the same go for paint compaines who sold lead based paint for years? I'm sure they knew the effects of the product but didn't do anything about it. It is hard sometimes to point a finger.
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:22:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Susie_Derkins (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:01:01 (#)
Ranking: 2
Tobacco companies are no more responsible for people's bad habits than the makers of booze, fast food and any other unhealthy indulgence. People are such greedy idiots, they want other people to pay them for the harm they caused themselves. These people are the very reason there are laughable warnings on products nowadays.
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I don't know. I can't remember any fast food corporations covering up, for decades, their own research that indicated their food was addictive and caused cancer.
That verdict against the tobacco industry wasn't really supposed to compensate smokers, it was to punish the tobacco companies (and to send a warning to like-minded companies) for misleading everybody for years and years and years. Sure, now we all know that smoking is bad for you and may in all likelihood kill you. The thing is, the tobacco industry knew it long before everybody else.
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:09:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Susie_Derkins (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:01:01 (#)
Ranking: 2
Tobacco companies are no more responsible for people's bad habits than the makers of booze, fast food and any other unhealthy indulgence. People are such greedy idiots, they want other people to pay them for the harm they caused themselves. These people are the very reason there are laughable warnings on products nowadays.
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Yes, but people are just indenial anyway you cut it, we refuse to listen to the truth untill it is slapping us in the face.
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:08:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:53:26 (#)
Ranking: 1
I get physically violent every time someone even MENTIONS that fucking douche who sued McDonald's over the "too hot coffee spillage".
FUCKING ASSHOLES.
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Said Note, that lady is broke and on well fare now :)
Submitted by Susie_Derkins (user info) at 2006-07-06 13:01:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Tobacco companies are no more responsible for people's bad habits than the makers of booze, fast food and any other unhealthy indulgence. People are such greedy idiots, they want other people to pay them for the harm they caused themselves. These people are the very reason there are laughable warnings on products nowadays.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:54:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Sorry about my horseshit typing...I'm getting fired up.
I'm gonna go outside my office and smoke three Marlboros- at once - to celebrate this good news.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:53:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I get physically violent every time someone even MENTIONS that fucking douche who sued McDonald's over the "too hot coffee spillage".
FUCKING ASSHOLES.
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:52:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by BobLobla (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:49:25 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:40:08 (#)
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Submitted by BobLobla (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:38:15 (#)
Ranking: 2
Whatever, smoking takes the worst years off your life...
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That is true, I can't imagine being in my 90s having to where a diaper all over again and not being able to eat anything solid, I'm good to die at a solid 60.
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I agree, I want to go out in a blaze of glory, I can see the headlines now:
"65 year old oil tycoon suffers heart attack while involved in a skydiving orgy in mid air"
That would be a way to go...
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I could see that, they would blame it on the cancer you got from smoking!
Submitted by BobLobla (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:49:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:40:08 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by BobLobla (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:38:15 (#)
Ranking: 2
Whatever, smoking takes the worst years off your life...
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That is true, I can't imagine being in my 90s having to where a diaper all over again and not being able to eat anything solid, I'm good to die at a solid 60.
=================
I agree, I want to go out in a blaze of glory, I can see the headlines now:
"65 year old oil tycoon suffers heart attack while involved in a skydiving orgy in mid air"
That would be a way to go...
Submitted by TheSpook (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:48:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
People in the country always want some kind of compensation for being assholes.
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:47:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:46:11 (#)
Ranking: 2
Yay for tobacco!
People should start paying the TOBACCO COMPANIES MORE money...for being complete idiots. Take some perosnal responsibility for your own dumbass choices.
I HATE this fucking litigious society...probably because I can't get involved in some ace, frivolous lawsuit myself.
I'm gonna sue McDonald's because those 50 Quarter Pounders with cheese and the 50 large fires I'e ingested in the last three months made me "fat".
Fucking retards.
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When do we start the class action lawsuit? I need to start pounding those Big Macs!
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:47:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:44:20 (#)
Ranking: 0
i agree that now it's dumb. however, people above a certain age were not told that. they maybe should get something.
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Stupid is as stupid does sir.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:46:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Yay for tobacco!
People should start paying the TOBACCO COMPANIES MORE money...for being complete idiots. Take some perosnal responsibility for your own dumbass choices.
I HATE this fucking litigious society...probably because I can't get involved in some ace, frivolous lawsuit myself.
I'm gonna sue McDonald's because those 50 Quarter Pounders with cheese and the 50 large fires I'e ingested in the last three months made me "fat".
Fucking retards.
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:44:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
i agree that now it's dumb. however, people above a certain age were not told that. they maybe should get something.
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:40:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by FartSmeller (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:39:49 (#)
Ranking: 2
Count this as a victory for PERSONAL FUCKING RESPONSIBLITY. Anybody living in the last fifty years has known that cigarettes will harm you. Shame on those who are trying to lay the blame elsewhere.
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You wouldn't believe how many people still believe that it doesn't effect your health.
Submitted by GDR (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:40:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by BobLobla (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:38:15 (#)
Ranking: 2
Whatever, smoking takes the worst years off your life...
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That is true, I can't imagine being in my 90s having to where a diaper all over again and not being able to eat anything solid, I'm good to die at a solid 60.
Submitted by FartSmeller (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:39:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Count this as a victory for PERSONAL FUCKING RESPONSIBLITY. Anybody living in the last fifty years has known that cigarettes will harm you. Shame on those who are trying to lay the blame elsewhere.
Submitted by BobLobla (user info) at 2006-07-06 12:38:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Whatever, smoking takes the worst years off your life...