Reformed Smokers – A Real Pain in the Butt!

There’s no worse anti smoker than a reformed smoker! They’re a bigger pain in the butt with their self righteous attitude than those who have never smoked. They seem to have forgotten the day when they too where addicted to the drug nicotine and also got a twisted pleasure out of their dependency on it. Do they not remember all those times when they would grovel up to their non-smoking friends and family members and ask if it was OK to smoke in their cars, their houses, or their place of work etc? Yet the moment they quit, it’s; ‘Get away from me with that disgusting filthy cigarette’, or ‘Can’t you blow your smoke somewhere else’, and other such sanctimonious remarks!

Not so long ago, I was walking down the narrow streets of central London with a reformed smoker chum of mine. It was early morning and there were many trucks and vans unloading their wares, all of which were billowing out choking exhaust fumes into our path. Yet when I dared to light up a cigarette, my friend protested and asked me to walk behind her as the smoke from my tiny smouldering Marlborough was irritating her throat! Honestly, reformed smokers are a pain in the butt. But keep reading, as the hypocrisy is astounding!

Later that day she jumped into her Dodge Durango 4.7 V8 4WD and drove off to pick up the kids from school, which by the way, is just half a kilometre from her home. That motor of hers is probably one of the top polluting cars around today, though she dares to complain about the tiny furl of smoke emitted outdoors by a single cigarette. Yet off she drives churning out all those pollutants from the exhaust of her gas guzzling four-wheel drive.

Reformed Smokers – a Smokers Worst Enemy!

Look, some of us smoke because we want to. Other’s smoke because they feel they have to. A lot of smokers smoke simply because they really do enjoy it despite the consequences. So long as it’s legal and we abide by the laws of the land, and only light up in the designated areas, then the anti-smoking brigade should keep stum! One might think that those who have ‘never smoked’ would be the most opposing. In actual fact, they are the most understanding and tolerant. It’s these holier than thou reformed smokers that are a smoker’s worst enemy.

Can you believe that a couple of people I used to smoke with who have since stopped, actually make rude and derogatory remarks each and every time they see me or anyone else smoking outside the office. I mean, these people used to be part of our smoking clan for crying out loud, and now they’re anti anything tobacco.

They actually have the audacity to mutter audibly snide remarks when passing by us smokers. It’s not uncommon to hear them utter such things as: “look at those people using the streets and doorways as their personal ashtray. If I see them dumping their butts on the floor or flicking their cigarette ends on streets, I’m gonna report them.” Honestly, have they forgotten when they were fellow smokers, standing out with the rest of us enjoying their nicotine fix? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

Reformed smokers seem to think they have a duty to educate the world on the dangers of smoking, but their approach does little to make folks sit up and listen. Their method seems to be to put the smoker down at every given opportunity in an attempt to make them feel like some kind of underclass, or social outcast. According to them, we are disguising, we’re selfish, we’re smelly, we’re untidy, we’re a fire hazard, and just to put the icing on top of the anti-smoking cake, we’re a danger to the health and wellbeing of those around us.

Enough is Enough!

To all you do-goody reformed smokes out there, here’s a Newsflash for you: Smoking is legal. We are no longer allowed to smoke inside the place of work nor do we. The same goes for restaurants, cinemas, and coffee shops. We all huddle together in the designated smoking areas and respect all places nominated as a no smoking zones. Our cigarette smoke spews fewer pollutants into the atmosphere than your gas guzzling motorcars. So do us smokers a favour and butt out of our business and mind your own!

Reformed Smokers – A Real Pain in the Butt! by Andy Maingam