Current Events > I'm so glad indoor smoking became taboo before the modern culture wars

(+) Yeah! (+)

Nowadays it is nearly unthinkable for anyone to smoke indoors. (Of course it still happens, but its not even close to how it was a few decades ago) Smoking indoors used to be so ubiquitous it is kind of amazing how quickly it nearly vanished.

If it wasn't nearly stomped out by the late 2010s I can see how it would have been latched on by some people and we would have tons of people taking up indoor smoking to "own the libs" and states would start repealing anti-indoor smoking laws.

Don't give them ideas

This is absolutely true

Unproveable, and yet

lilORANG posted...

This is absolutely true

Yup.

Republicans' opposition to mass transit and high-speed rail started for no reason other than to "own the libs." Their stance against the COVID-19 vaccine? Same thing.

It is only a matter of time before Republicans try to repeal seatbelt and drunk driving laws. They're going to argue that it's all about their "freedoms".

I'm surprised tobacco companies haven't tried to weaponize "owning the libs" in their favor.

Edit: Well now that I think about it, indoor vaping is already halfway there.

Yeah, one of the only things I am quite grateful for of how society got to this point is how smoking is now mostly condemned.

(obviously, not to the point of unprofitability - which is still an issue frankly - but man.)

Smoking is so nasty and completely ruins building interiors, glad it's almost universally gone.

hivebent4life posted...

Don't give them ideas

this. I also get annoyed by people who smoke at bus stops. Although to be fair, smoking isnt the only assholery that goes on. Just the smelliest.

same with seatbelts,airbags, abestos, leaded gasoline, DUI laws, any form of banking regulation, the civil rights act...right wing media control has essentially locked us out from making any comparable societal improvements for the foreseeable future

I was actually just thinking the other day about how much longer it's going to take for the cult to repeal smoking bans.

YellowSUV posted...

If it wasn't nearly stomped out by the late 2010s

It was practically stomped out in the 90s and basically non-existent by the 2000s.

Give it about a decade and vaping might be rare too. I know quite a bit of people that switched to pouches.

I remember when restaurants had a smoking section. Always thought it was weird since the smoke goes wherever it wants.

Something like Alphas smoke?

I wish!!!! It is easy to smoke indoors and it takes no thinking at all. No smoking lease. They just lie.

SSj4Wingzero posted...

Republicans' opposition to mass transit and high-speed rail started for no reason other than to "own the libs."

now, that's not entirely true. There was also a colossal amount of money from the coal and automotive industries

(as with all fundamentally bad policy decisions caused by lobbying, it's still much *less* money than seems appropriate for Fucking Everything Up Forever, but y'know, might've paid for somebody's nice car at some point)

It's a 50/50 when it comes to cigarettes for the Right side. When I lived in the south, it was always considered "masculine" to smoke cigarettes (and even more masculine if you smoked expensive Cigars) and you were basically a wimp if you smoke stuff like Marijuana (even though I'm pretty damn sure many of them probably smoked it behind closed doors). And then there's the religious right side that tends to villainize smoking (or drugs in general) through shame tactics. It really depends.

With that said, I am also glad that smoking, in general, is taking a down turn. I'm even read somewhere that vaping/e-cigs have gone down as well, but cannibas usage has increased.

Voidgolem posted...

now, that's not entirely true. There was also a colossal amount of money from the coal and automotive industries

Yes, but it wasn't uncommon to see Republicans support high-speed rail back in the day.

For example, the 2004 Republican Party platform actually specifically supported the "development of a high-speed passenger railroad system". Many prominent Republicans, such as Newt Gingrich and even their evil mastermind Paul Weyrich, were actually pretty big supporters of high-speed rail and transit projects.

Of course, once the Obama administration actually included money for high-speed rail in the 2009 stimulus bill, the Republicans suddenly became opposed to it. Republican obstructionism has always been a problem of sorts but it really took off after Obama came into office - they opposed common sense ideas that were originally their own just because Obama supported them. Republican governors and state legislatures literally turned down free money from the federal government to help their poorest citizens get healthcare just because they didn't want Obama getting credit for it...incredibly depressing.

MarshMellow posted...

I remember when restaurants had a smoking section. Always thought it was weird since the smoke goes wherever it wants.

Same, and I can still remember the layout of smoking and non-smoking sections at the Pizza Hut in my city.