"They got you, too, huh? (No Smoking)" Thu Oct-05-06 12:06 PM by ToeJam
Yes I face the daily prospect Of this very scary object This weapon that a lot of you wield From which there is no shield Even when I’m in the section prefixed “non-“ I’m taking ‘bout that bit that stains your teeth & fingers blond I’m dropping bombshells Cuz you are all inept Choosing the #1 cause of death Not to mention your awful breath
You close talkers Spitting up hawkers Coughing up the money that should Go in your coffers Coughing up enough tar for a blacktop With a vice harder to kick than crack rock
You’ve quit many times and been failing as often Don’t consider what the hell it is costin’ Another nail in the coffin Your addiction to nicotine is sickening These companies are vultures Your flesh they’re pickin’ clean The spread of cancer’s only quickening And you’re still bickering Not seeing the bigger thing
The industries lobby to control your body Reminds me of another time when people were commodities They call it chain smoking cuz you’re still in shackles Slave to tobacco Working the fields like a back-ho
But it ain’t black, yo It ain’t white, dude And I’ll never lighten up on those lighting up I’m quite rude And you must be a bettin’ man Thinking you gon’ take your time And encircle me with your second-hand And front like the hazard is disputed and unsure That’s why when I go to a concert I turn to a monster It’s a concern
You really need to hold up As you puff in the ride with the windows rolled up Or down as your kid in the backseat drowns When my pops would take us out I’d always tie a shirt around My nose, Lord knows, pleading got us no’s Up until I saw my father hooked up to every kind of hose Helpless
One life And that is all your health is But you oppress yourself So we can’t call you selfish But do you care? It seems unlikely Letting false advertising marlburrow itself Into you psyche Now with sugar for kids to find more enticing Your justifications are not sufficing
You claim you just like the physical motion Of lifting a smoke and Really You’re just fulfilling the pitiful quotient
See, you’re old now, and it ain’t cool no more, it’s putrid And we know the effects, as much as they suppress it, it’s lucid That’s why I don’t hang out with smokers, y’all to fucking stupid We need soldiers, and you are ill-suited Cuz if you’re not strong enough to stand up to that Then you just ain’t got the point So forget your cigarettes I’ll have me a joint
1. "lights up newport... lol" In response to Reply # 0
nice drop.
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myself is sculptor of your body’s idiom: the musician of your wrists; the poet who is afraid only to mistranslate a rhythm in your hair... -E.E. Cummings
2. "RE: lights up newport... lol" In response to Reply # 1
Word... I know this probably won't cause anyone to quit (though it might discourage some youngn's to stop), but I just wanted to put y'all on blast for a minute. Maybe light a fire under your ass instead of under your nose.
3. "i ain't hooked, i've been smoking three years..." In response to Reply # 2
i can quit whenever i want.
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myself is sculptor of your body’s idiom: the musician of your wrists; the poet who is afraid only to mistranslate a rhythm in your hair... -E.E. Cummings
myself is sculptor of your body’s idiom: the musician of your wrists; the poet who is afraid only to mistranslate a rhythm in your hair... -E.E. Cummings
folks to quit. what you do with your life and how you do it, is you...
i dug these lines:
Choosing the #1 cause of death Not to mention your awful breath
You close talkers Spitting up hawkers Coughing up the money that should Go in your coffers Coughing up enough tar for a blacktop With a vice harder to kick than crack rock
You’ve quit many times and been failing as often Don’t consider what the hell it is costin’ Another nail in the coffin Your addiction to nicotine is sickening These companies are vultures Your flesh they’re pickin’ clean The spread of cancer’s only quickening And you’re still bickering Not seeing the bigger thing
The industries lobby to control your body Reminds me of another time when people were commodities They call it chain smoking cuz you’re still in shackles Slave to tobacco Working the fields like a back-ho
and maybe this will be that some one thing that one person needed to read in order to help him or her... *nods* Peace~
6. "RE: i don't encourage" In response to Reply # 4
>folks to quit. what you do with your life and how you do it, >is you...
In total aggreeance. But when what you do with your life is cutting into mine, we got a problem. Being a musician, I work in bars a lot. But I wouldn't be the first non-smoker to die of lung cancer from ciggarettes.
>and maybe this will be that some one thing that one person >needed to read in order to help him or her... *nods* Peace~
>You’ve quit many times and been failing as often >Don’t consider what the hell it is costin’ >Another nail in the coffin >Your addiction to nicotine is sickening >These companies are vultures >Your flesh they’re pickin’ clean >The spread of cancer’s only quickening >And you’re still bickering >Not seeing the bigger thing
**Okay, I just logged on for the first time in a long while, and I see this post. I like the message and all, but I have to comment. Smoking cigs is fucked up, for sure, and prepetuated by some insane lobbying and much bullshit (you think it's bad here go to Central America or most Asian countries). The tobacco industry rivals big oil on my list of corporations to take down once I'm out of law school. BUT, folks who preach about smoking squares had BEST be enjoying their ganja from a Volcano or a bong, becuase smoking just once a day from joints and pipes seems to be worse for you than smoking a few cigs. Check this out:
The Effects of Marijuana on the Lungs Researchers at the UCLA Pulmonary Research Laboratory studied the effects of marijuana smoking in 75 young men. The men consumed an average of five marijuana cigarettes a day for two months. The study showed that the lung damage caused by four marijuana cigarettes were equal to the damage caused by 112 tobacco cigarettes.
Gabriel Nahas, a leading researcher and anesthesiologist at Columbia University, wrote in the Journal of American Medical Association:
"Cannabis use interfered with cell division...harmed lung tissue significantly, with the damage persisting long after cessation of smoking...lowered the lungs' defenses against bacteria 'substantially more' than does tobacco...reduced sperm counts and decreased testosterone levels (although these effects were reversible after the users stopped smoking marijuana)...."
Although many studies have come to the same conclusions about marijuana smoking and its effects on the respiratory system, some studies have shown otherwise.
**Now, you know I smoke one or two cigs a day. I'm not thrilled with that. BUT, I have to say it's hard to hear concerns about my health and criticism with open ears, when I don't smoke weed and the folks who are talking do. What you say?
12. "RE: Counterbalance" In response to Reply # 11
"TWO OFFICIAL PERSPECTIVES Two organizations have attempted to make sense of the conflicting data: NIDA (a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) and its Canadian counterpart, the Addiction Research Foundation (a branch of the Ontario Ministry of Health). Neither of the organizations can be considered a completely disinterested observer . . . since their funding comes from legislative bodies which have kept marijuana illegal."
Depends on who you ask. Studies of smokers who smoke between four and two-hundred and fifty joints have too high a variable to be accurate. Look closer. Who sponsored the studies. (No, look deeper than that.) But I know how much I smoke and it ain't near that much. Find that line between use and abuse, though most people aren't observant enough to watch themselves. Marijuana is super easy to abuse. People foolishly build up their ammunity and thus must smoke more and more to achieve the same or less effect. But used properly, a little bit can go a long way, especially with todays strains of herb. (the marijuana piece is coming soon.)
But at least when I smoke weed, I know exactly what it is I'm smoking.
But if you want to use that last line to negate out everything I say, then you are looking for an excuse to justify your own addiction.
Read more closely: I didn't say I was pleased that I smoke at all, or that I wasn't concerned about my health or addiction, or that I was negating what you said b/c you smoke weed - rather, I said it's hard to hear it from folks who are likely affecting their lungs more with weed than two cigs a day (one joint = about 4 cigs). I hear that deep lung cough from weed smokers and it freaks me out- do people really think there's a huge difference?
To resolve this, I hereby challenge you to a trampoline bounce off- who can bounce longest? To be held in Eugene, Oregon- February 7th, 2007. Be there or be square.
everybody has a choice people know cigs cause cancer but yet the continue and as far as weed it doesn't have all those poisions as cigs and it helps with glucoma and nausea and vomiting in caner patients i don't do either one at this time but weed is a relaxer not a stimulator like alcohol but that's legal why because you give strong drink to you enemies so they can destroy themselve plus in the old testament the prophets would mix herbs before the started to tell up coming events and every seed was place here for man if you wanted to use the bible as authority but oops i shouldn't had spoke i'm double dipping.
I agree- I certainly don't mean to come off as pro-cigarettes! I think smoking is fucked up and the tobacco companies are evil. I have to stop this whole replying thing because that's how this is going to come off- you can't reply to a post about how smoking is awful and escape without seeming pro-tobacco (which I'm not). I'm not pro-tobacco, but I was trying to point out that smoking weed has negative health effects also. That's it, no more no less.
I think weed has important medicinal benefits- I come from a place where many people use it appropriately to treat medical conditions- so I do understand its value and usefulness. Does anyone know if tobacco had medicinal uses as well? I know it's sacred to native peoples, but I'm not sure what the medicinal properties are, other than as a mild astringent to wash wounds and to calm (like chammomile).
Anyway, I guess abuse of anything will tip the balance of health and contribute to our demise. We should all do what we can to honor ourselves and each other- and keep that second hand smoke out of each others' faces.
Your comments made me think a lot about this piece and its effectiveness. That last line, even though I love it, compromises my message and leaves me too open for rebuttal. Nothing can be argued with up to that point, and then the whole discussion can turn into an argument on that exact point instead of the overall message of the poem.
So thanks for pointing that out. Don't be afraid to make comments! There's not enough people willing to share their true opinion on this page.
16. "i didnt start smoking b/c it was cool." In response to Reply # 0
i wanted to take an active stance my own destruction.
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myself is sculptor of your body’s idiom: the musician of your wrists; the poet who is afraid only to mistranslate a rhythm in your hair... -E.E. Cummings