“Warning: Cigarettes cause cancer.” This familiar message will now go with something new: a picture of a rotting, cancerous, human mouth. Other pictures will show colorful corpses with toe tags and autopsy scars, or people on oxygen masks or crying children. And the pictures will be accompanied by messages such as, “Cigarettes are addictive,” “Tobacco smoke can harm your children,” and just “Smoking can kill you.”
One of 36 pictures will soon cover the top half of every pack of cigarettes. But whether it makes a difference with smokers remains to be seen.
But many New Jersey smokers seem ambivalent about the ads — or even oppose them.
“I’ll probably just take them off the box — so I don’t have to look at them,” said Gwen Turner, a longtime smoker from Newark, during a cigarette break at work.
“That’s a bit much,” said David Sanchez, of Rahway, as he looked at the picture of a suffering cancer patient. “I don’t think that anyone that smokes doesn’t know.” Full story in Star Ledger.
It won’t make a dffrence cuz bachorim always take them out of the box to hide them…..
you are right, the buchirim dont care.. they care about shabbos, they care about kosher, they care about learning, they care about the tiniest nick on their esrog and ensuring their tzitzit strings are in perfect allignment… yet somehow ruining the body hashem gave us, the one that he says was made in HIS IMAGE,, somehow they have no concern…. and i dont wana hear this rubbish about addiction, how its hard, etc, etc… people who became frum and were addicted to all the delicious non kosher fast food out there, dont use that as an excuse. if you make a commitment to being religious, you have ZERO excuse for smoking. period.
They are so concerned about keeping the 613 mitzvos, yet they forget about the one that came before all of them. Honoring hashem by protecting our bodies, the one… and I will repeat due the importance… the one that was created in G-D’s own image.
A DISGRACE whenever i saw a frum person smoking. I would be less repulsed if I saw him eating a burger from mcdonalds.
If they’re trying to get people to quit, why don’t they just stop making cigarettes??
#3-
It would be wonderful if they could stop producing cigarettes, but the people addicted will have a hard time, and can potentially sue for the punitive damages the government caused them, by mass producing a known addictive substance, and then drastically taking them away from the public. Most insurance companies aid in the quitting of smoking by giving them free nicotine patches, gum, and a 24 call service. Also, by quitting, your insurance will go down significantly. People can’t lie to the insurance companies about their smoking habits because they will not pay for any smoking related illnesses, and they may even drop the person from the insurance in definite.
#3- the tobacco companies are too powerful and would never allow that to happen. Besides that, if they became illegal people would find a way to get them and the government would then have to treat tobacco products as they do street drugs. It would cost way too much. Look what happened when they tried out outlaw alcohol.
To 3
Good point.
If they’re trying to get peolpe to quit taking drugs….stop making drugs
If they’re trying to get peolpe to quit texting while driving….stop making text phones
If they’re trying to get peolpe to quit drinking….stop making alcohol
If they’re trying to get peolpe to quit gambling….stop making money
If they’re trying to get peolpe to quit becoming obese….stop making food
All jokes aside, I cant think of a positive reason for cigarrettes. So I would agree with you, if it was realistic.
I’ve never posted a comment before, but I think this is out of hand.
Let me start by asking a question, do you hate bochurim? It seems to me as you are just jealous.
Why don’t you focus on all the good things bouchurim do? You mentioned all the things that they are so careful for is that not good enough for you? No one is perfect and look at their counterpart teenagers in the street are they better? Is it OK to behave like animals in the street but if you are a bochur smoking you are horrible?
I’m not defending smoking, I went thru the whole yeshiva system and never had even ONE cigarette and there are many people who do not smoke, it is not everybody. But there are bochurim who smoke and as bad as it is, I like to focus on the unbelivable fact that they are still yeshiva bochurim who sit and learn most of the day when right outside their door there are so many taavos and nisyonos.
No one intents to destroy their body but when people are young they just don’t think the same way as when they grow up, people think they still have time to fix it and one more cig will not kill, etc…
Let me finish with a personal question. Do you only eat 100% healthy foods? Excersize at last 45min daily? Do you ever go outside without a coat? So why attacking yeshiva bochurim? Fix yourself first.
P.S. The part of a treif burger is inappropiate, out of place and it shows how much you care for mitzvos.
“and can potentially sue for the punitive damages the government caused them, ”
this is plain dumb the government is not the sticking the cigarette in the mouth of the user people need to be responsible for their own actions PERIOD ………………..
I just don`t understand how you wish they would stop making them. America is the land of the free and the land of the brave and we have our rights to smoke if we so please. Why don`t they make Big Macs illegal because it`s fattening, or maybe put a $4 federal tax and $2 state tax on every hamburger.
p.s. I am an ex-smoker but i still believe smokers have their rights and should not be discriminated against.
I dont think that poster is a bochur hater, but just trying to make a point about priorities. if a buchor announced that he was keeping shabbos, but not kosher because he can only focus on a few things at once, that would be unacceptable. So why should harming your body take a back seat to shabbos, kosher and other minhagim?
I think the pictures are not for the people already smoking but maybe for those who are not yet addicts. A 16 or 17 year old just might get scared off by these pictures and decide not to cave to peer pressure and therefore will not pick up this repulsive habit.
instead of knocking bochurim who smoke think of ways to help them stop.i read the book the easy way to stop smoking, i dont think a picture will do the trick.
Rabbosai,
I stopped smoking about a year ago. Life is so geshmak now. I can actually do something for an hour straight now, without having to run out for a cigarrette.
Another thing I realized after I stopped. When you smoke, You STINK! You actually have an odor about you and you really smell bad. I was just in line at the bank a few days ago. Suddenly I start smelling this foul odor. Well what do you know, it was a friend that I know who smokes. He just walked in the door, not that he was right near me. It’s like wearever you go you’re wearing a sign that says, “I smoke.”
I just gave a ride to somebody last night. The guy was a nice guy, all smiles & everything. BUT HE STUNK TO HIGH HEAVENS! I couldn’t beleive I was sitting next to him. He smells like those homeless people who you pass on the street and say, “How could they live with themselves.”
I smoked for 25 years and I know how geshmak it is, but please try to stop, it’s worth it. My doctor prescribed a medicine called Chantix. It’s very expensive but it worked for me. It took 1 month and i was done.
Try stopping, it’s a challenge, but you’ll feel like a man after you get through it. Ask anyone who stopped, they’ll agree.
(Please post if you agree, to encourage people to stop)
@ 9
yes burgers are fatting and what not but its FOOD u can live off them even tho its not that healthy for ya Cigs on the other hand….well yea u get were im going with this my mother has lung cancer now from smoking and my father lost his dad to smoking and yea i cant stand it but i dont think it should be against the law people would just do what they do with pot today grow it in basements and hind it from the cops HA it would never happen and by just pushing up the $$ helps and dont help at the same time is helps cuz the way the econamy is today people would rather eat a BURGER then smoke and its not helping cuz its just making the Cig companys richer..the best way u can hand this is teach your kids not to do it like its a DRUG thats how i stayed away
I thought the #1 killer in america is heart attacks and heart attacks are caused by stress and smoking relieves stress. Fattening foods just cause more stress cause they make u fat and then people are always stressed about diet.I dont know anyone that died of smoking but i know people that died from being overweight (in frum community)
I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY HAKARAS HATOV TO ALL THESE BUSY YET DEVOTED PPL FOR HELPING US REALIZE WATS REALLY GOIN ON
ARE YOU GUYS NORMAL
#14 very maskim r shmuel kamenetzky said smokeing is just as bad as eating treif and #2 who ever said ‘bauchrim smoke’ ? there r many teens that smoke including some bochrim