Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

Original post by anna

May 20, 2003 09:55 PM

One of the other posts (on strealing company time) reminded me of how us non-smokers at work would take our 'chit-chat' breaks and get questioned while the smokers took their 'needed' 5 cigarette breaks a day! How can this be fair ???

So we started our 'non-smokers' breaks! and the boss never said a word when we used that 'Excuse'

Does everyone still see this alot @ work ?

Sorry smokers, dont throw cigarette butts at me!

cw0904 Posted: May 21, 2003 09:43 AM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

I am a social smoker so it doesn't bother me too much. What bothers me about work is the CFO/VP is downstairs more than in the office! I overhear other VPs all the time by my VP's office: Where is Bob? He must be downstairs, call him on his cell.

And people get questioned why they are 10 minutes late 2 days out of the week!

Thrilled Posted: May 21, 2003 09:43 AM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

I add my 2 15 minute breaks a day to my lunch hour so that I can work out and take an hour and a half to do it. Works so far.

Sage10.03 Posted: May 21, 2003 09:47 AM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

I hate ciggarette smoke and I could not agree more about the people that stand outside the buldings....

But I have to say, I don't know anyone that I work with that smokes!!! and I have never known anyone to leave for a cig. break...guess I am lucky!
But at my office we pretty much come and go as we please, so no one has to say why they are stepping out....they just do.

eroxgirl Posted: May 21, 2003 09:49 AM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

The only person who smokes in my offices is one of my bosses and unfortunately he smokes IN his office (which my desk faces, of course ) so he opens his window and freezes me out and then makes me sick with the smell because it lingers, even with the window open....as a former smoker, the smell bothers me more than you can imagine!

eroxgirl Posted: May 21, 2003 10:24 AM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

....and he just went in his office to light up

At least he has one of those 'smokeless' ashtrays. One of the other partners bought it because he couldn't stand the smell either!

yabbobay Posted: May 21, 2003 10:44 AM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

its illegal to smoke in a workplace right?

my old principal would smoke in his office...or if he wanted to hide...in the custodians office...one day the vice principal was banging on the locked custodian door yelling 'I know you're in there'
it was pretty funny...

very illegal in a school...drugfree zone and everything...but I don't think this guy cared...thats not the only laws he violated...

eroxgirl Posted: May 21, 2003 10:52 AM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

its totally illegal in my office too, but as a LAWYER and the boss, he doesn't care. There's even a sign up in the office saying how if you get caught by the building people you'll be either reported to your superiors (obviously that won't work) or you'll get fined...but that probably won't happen either.

dgtlsunshine Posted: May 21, 2003 11:39 AM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

Oh my goodness I was just saying this. I mean just this minute.

I went downstairs and of course all the smokers were out there. Well what got me was that one guy was out there smoking and reading a book Now when do I get a book break?

michele31 Posted: May 21, 2003 12:04 PM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

I am probably one of the most ANIT-Smoking people you can ever met. When you watch your grandmother cry for the Virgin Mary to end her life because of lung cancer caused by smoking (she stopped in the early 80's) you just don't think that a puff on a piece of paper is really all that important!

I actually believe that there should be a law created that anyone born after 1990 should NOT have any first-hand smoking related medical problems covered by insurance or especially medicare/cade. Why should my tax dollars pay for treatment because someone CHOSES to smoke? We ALL know it is deadly so if you do it, it should be at your own risk and your own financial problem, not mine. People who started smoking 40 years ago didn't know that it could kill them and the people around them. But today we have soooo much info on this.

Editted to say: That at my old job I used to arrive 10-15 minutes late somedays and say 'I took my morning smoking break before coming to work!' , even though I don't smoke. If so many people get to take tons of breaks during the day, why can't I?

dgtlsunshine Posted: May 21, 2003 12:40 PM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

Michelle I am with you. I am highly against smoking as well. When I see young people smoking I just want to smack them.

deby Posted: May 21, 2003 12:53 PM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

I dont mean to make this into a debate, but if we limit the health coverage of smokers, we should also limit the coverage of people who have skin problems/cancer from tanning (naturally or artificially) and those who have health problems because they are overweight and let's not forget the people who suffer from liver damage from being alcoholics. Where do we draw the line?

Why is everyone picking on the smokers?

michele31 Posted: May 21, 2003 02:57 PM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

Smoking is a totally avoidable problem! Don't smoke and you have no problems. It is NOT a disease. I don't want to cover crack addicts either for their related-health issues. If someone wants to get the cigarette companies richer and richer that is fine, but I shouldn't have to walk thru a cloud to leave my office building or smell it when someone walks on the train. It is the WORST to sit next to a smoker on the LIRR for an hour!

verdila Posted: May 21, 2003 05:11 PM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

I am an ex-smoker and while I agree with some of the above - yes, smoking is an annoyance to others and yes it is bad for your health...and we all know that now.

BUT I have to say that smoking is HIGHLY HIGHLY addictive and very aggressively marketed to young people. When you are 16, you dont think about the consequences either and the smoking companies know this and target them. There is something added to cigarettes besides the nicotine that makes people CRAVE them. Once the smoking companies get you, it is very difficult to stop. You are hooked, plain and simple. You need that cigarette like you need air. It took me 5 tries before I stopped, & I still have a cigarette once in LONG awhile when I drink. There have been studies that show smoking is harder to quit than crack and yet smoking is still legal. Until they stop selling cigarettes and marketing them and profiting from the sale, we should be more sympathetic to smokers.

Edited to say- I saw my best friedns father die of lung cancer and it was terrible to watch. Guess what, he was so addicted he never stopped smoking. He smoked till the end. That's what I mean about being addicted. He didnt want to die, but he COULD NOT Stop. We need to help smokers not ban them from certain areas but still sell them - its a mixed message. I grew up in the 80s and in the 80s it was SOOO easy for me to buy smokes. I know kids are proofed now, but still they find a way. Once you start at that age, its pretty hard to stop.

Teri Posted: May 21, 2003 07:21 PM

Re: Why do SMOKERS get a gazillion 'cigarette' breaks a day?

We could debate this all day, but i have to add my two cents.

I strongly disagree that health coverage should be altered for smokers for a variety of reasons that would take too long to argue! But would the same apply to alcoholics? Where do you draw the line?

One point I do want to make is to piggy back on verdila's comments - smoking is one of the most addicting things out there. No joke. I too have read that it's more powerful and addicting than crack, which says something. When i hear others comment that they shouldn't smoke, why not stop, etc. to me that just means they've never had an addiction with anything (cigs, alcohol, etc)

These millions of ppl with cancer aren't all stupid and ignorant - by now EVERYONE knows how dangerous it is. But like verdila said, I started when I was 14 and I had NO concept of what addiction was - you're so naive you think you can concur anything! LOL

Anyway, I've quit since then, but it's a battle I'm always going to face - and it was by far one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I still think about smoking just about everyday. It's my single biggest regret in teh world.

I hate walking through the clouds of smoke at work too, but if anything, I feel bad for them, knowing how hard it really is and how sick it makes you.