My RANT

I may be way out of line, but this has been bothering me SO much recently!! 

I feel that pack a day smokers have no business complaining how "broke" they are.  Even the cheapest cigarettes are $5 - for a pack a day smoker that's $150 a month!  For the name brands, it is TWICE that! $300??? That is a CAR PAYMENT! 

And how many of those people are standing out in front of the Social Service office taking a "smoke break."?   I am out of work, and our Department of Labor is in the same building as the Social Services office.  You have to FIGHT your way through the people and stench to get down the sidewalk to the DOL entrance.  You can SMOKE but you can't buy groceries?!?!?  Are you applying for health insurance??? I use that service, but why are tax dollars paying for YOUR ILLNESSES and your family's that are caused by smoking??

How about just like you have to indicate marital status or race when you apply for services, you also indicate SMOKER OR NON!?!  Then we can reduce your food benefits by what you're paying for cigs - so you spend your money appropriately?   Or how about you pay something toward your health insurance since you're likely going to need it far more just because you CHOOSE to engage in self destructive behavior?  It makes ME sick just thinking about it!!

I'm against smoking primarily because I lost my dad to lung cancer, and I am asthmatic and being around smoke and smokers throws my lungs into a frezny - but that aside?  The "poor me" behavior only irritates me more. Boo hoo - you don't have any money?  QUIT!  And think about it when you have that $5 or $10 to spend every day but can't pay your bills! :(

Rant ended - it is probably none of my business anyway - but I can't think of many other things that are an obvious CHOICE that people make that has this kind of an impact.