quamp Posted July 18, 2006 Report Posted July 18, 2006 Story here DALLAS - A patient who was wearing an oxygen mask tried to light a cigarette in his hospital room, sparking a fire that forced the evacuation of more than 100 patients, destroyed the room and melted medical equipment, officials said. Apparently, he thought the no smoking signs didn't apply to him. He somehow got the strength to smoke a cigarette with a nonremovable mask," Dallas Fire-Rescue Capt. Paul Martinez said. "I don't know how he did it, but he did it." Strong body, weak brain. A pretty good candidate for a Darwin award, wouldn't you say?
Guest SilverFox-chan Posted July 19, 2006 Report Posted July 19, 2006 Yeah really! * hands the man a Darwin Award *
StoryJunkie Posted July 19, 2006 Report Posted July 19, 2006 ah, the wonders of oxygen! That's an addiction for you. He probably wasn't even thinking. My husband just quit smoking, 5 days after he quit, he bought a pack of smokes, and didn't remember that he had quit until he had unwrapped the package, pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
Guest SilverFox-chan Posted July 19, 2006 Report Posted July 19, 2006 Wow. But he put it down again right?
StoryJunkie Posted July 19, 2006 Report Posted July 19, 2006 Nah, what an idiot. He consumed the entire package in a day, as usual. He's trying to wean himself off smoking by smoking cigars ( )
StoryJunkie Posted July 19, 2006 Report Posted July 19, 2006 My thoughts exactly. Well, at least he's trying. I can't wait for the monetary benefits to kick in. Right now a pack of smokes is over $7 $7 a day for a month is what, like $200? I could use that.
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted July 19, 2006 Report Posted July 19, 2006 $7!!!!! Holy crap! In Canada, it's like 15 bucks. Of course, health care if totally free, so it's a good trade off. There are places in Manhatten that sell cigarettes for $8-9. It's crazy. And now if you order them from out of state, you STILL need to pay the tariff on them!
Guest SilverFox-chan Posted July 19, 2006 Report Posted July 19, 2006 Holy cow...Here in my town they are as much as a gallon of gas and thats about $2.88 in some places ( also )depending on the brand.
Guest Mike256bit Posted July 19, 2006 Report Posted July 19, 2006 I saw on 60 Minutes that some employers are starting to fire smoking employees, because the health risk from smoking increases the chance that said employees will be a burden on insurance plans.
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted July 19, 2006 Report Posted July 19, 2006 Isn't that against the law? Or is it okay because it's a chosen affliction?
Guest Mike256bit Posted July 19, 2006 Report Posted July 19, 2006 It's a bit shady, I admit. But, yeah, it's not really descriminating because the choice is either to smoke, or to work for said employers.
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted July 19, 2006 Report Posted July 19, 2006 I smell a lawsuit. The fact is, unless employers can think of a better argument then that, they can and likely will be sued for all they're worth and about 5 million more then that. Unless you can prove that the worker is incompetent in some way, on illegal drugs, or that you can no longer afford to pay them anymore, then you really can't justify firing them. However, if tobacco becomes an illegal substance, smokers are SCREWED!
Guest Mike256bit Posted July 19, 2006 Report Posted July 19, 2006 I guess the suggestion is that it's incomptency to hurt your own body with smoking, and expect that the insuarance plan your employer has for you will pick up the pieces.
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted July 19, 2006 Report Posted July 19, 2006 I guess the suggestion is that it's incomptency to hurt your own body with smoking, and expect that the insuarance plan your employer has for you will pick up the pieces. Hmmm... arguable. Total bullshit, but hard to argue against.
StoryJunkie Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 Hm, well with the exchange, the cigarettes are probably more like $4.50 in US funds, that's 20, kings, so still, twice as much. If we sneak some from the natives, then WAY cheaper, and BETTER tobacco. I think the Mohawks were selling them for $2 less than the regular price. But the natives are ticked off lately...so we get them from the Cree, who got them from the Ojibwa, who got them from the Mohawk. Never get them from the natives in BC. There used to be head-hunters around here! (you know I'm just spinnin a story!)
Guest TricksterKitsune Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 Hm, well with the exchange, the cigarettes are probably more like $4.50 in US funds, that's 20, kings, so still, twice as much. If we sneak some from the natives, then WAY cheaper, and BETTER tobacco. I think the Mohawks were selling them for $2 less than the regular price. But the natives are ticked off lately...so we get them from the Cree, who got them from the Ojibwa, who got them from the Mohawk. Never get them from the natives in BC. There used to be head-hunters around here!(you know I'm just spinnin a story!) I worked in a convenience store once and some guy came in asking how much such-and-such brand was. I told him and I guess it was too high for him since he said something along the lines of "Screw that! I'm going to Smokin' Joes (on the Tuscarora reservation)!" I just smiled and nodded. But yeah, cigarettes are dirt cheap on some of the reservations.
Guest SilverFox-chan Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 I worked in a convenience store once and some guy came in asking how much such-and-such brand was. I told him and I guess it was too high for him since he said something along the lines of "Screw that! I'm going to Smokin' Joes (on the Tuscarora reservation)!"I just smiled and nodded. But yeah, cigarettes are dirt cheap on some of the reservations. After something like that I think all you can do is nod...
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 See, this is why I never took up smoking. Between the costs and the compromises to one's health (not to mention my lungs are probably black like pitch now since I live in NYC and with a pair of heavy smokers!) it's not worth it in the least. I don't even fully understand the reasons people START smoking.
Guest Mike256bit Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 My dad quit cold turkey. One of the hardest things I've seen him do after what had to have been 20 years of it. Thanks to him, I've never had to notion to even try. Smoking terrifies me, and I'm getting more concerned about second-hand thanks to the sensationalization that is the News. I remember when I first came to New York, how surprising it was to not have to say "Non-smoking, please" when entering a restaurant.
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted July 21, 2006 Report Posted July 21, 2006 I've never wanted to smoke. EVER. My grandmother smoked for an insane amount of time before she got throat cancer and had to have her voice box removed. Not pretty, not pretty at all.
Guest OzoneRed Posted July 21, 2006 Report Posted July 21, 2006 I saw on 60 Minutes that some employers are starting to fire smoking employees, because the health risk from smoking increases the chance that said employees will be a burden on insurance plans. This happened in Michigan, USA, where I live. Michigan is what's known to lawyers as an "at will" state. An employer can fire you at will, for any reason or for no reason at all. The only exceptions are for certain types of discrimination: sex, race, religion, old age, stuff like that.
Guest SilverFox-chan Posted July 22, 2006 Report Posted July 22, 2006 See, this is why I never took up smoking. Between the costs and the compromises to one's health (not to mention my lungs are probably black like pitch now since I live in NYC and with a pair of heavy smokers!) it's not worth it in the least. I don't even fully understand the reasons people START smoking. I did for a while. It was during cosmetology school, it was the stress that made me start. It relaxed me for some odd reason, but then I quit 3 - 4 months before I got married last year. After I got married I had a really good reason not to start back up...I found out 23 days later I was pregnant with my first baby... Never picked it up again. But then again I wasn't a heavy smoker. 1 pack lasted me a month.
Guest SilverFox-chan Posted August 2, 2006 Report Posted August 2, 2006 I'm totally allergic to cigarette smoke, and so is my other half. She went home to visit her Mother in PA and came back with a hellish cold from the fact that they all smoked around her. It took her three weeks to get over it. My Dad smoked a long time ago, but he was a fireman and the doctor told him to quit or die because he'd had so much smoke inhalation from a bad fire he was in. So he just gave it up. I hate to be around people who smoke - my landlady is 70 and totally addicted. She smokes at least a pack a day, so I hate to go over to her house for any length of time. I get a massive headache and have to bolt outside to breathe. That really sucks big time. I have a friend that is allergic to cigarette smoke. >.<
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