Smokers, do you give cigarettes to people who ask for them on the street?

[Phillycat]

Poll question: Smokers, do you give cigarettes to people who ask for them on the street?

I rarely do - if I'm in the right mood I might. I live in Philly and it's a constant thing - I could easily give away a whole pack of cigarettes in half an hour. My husband, before he quit, actually bought two packs each time he bought cigs, and gave one to the homeless guy who lived in his neighborhood. I know people who give them away because they think it gives them good karma, and those who give them away because it's "less cancer for me!" I also know people who will never give someone a cig on the street, no matter what.

What do you do?

[datasuspect]

1. i'll give them a "short."

the remainder of what i am smoking.

in street situations, giving up a smoke too easily makes you look like a mark.

offering a short can be iffy, sometimes it can be taken disrespectfully, but if someone wants a few puffs, they usually appreciate it.

[Heidi]

4. What's a "short"?

Respectfully submitted,

Heidi (dumbest person you never met)

[JVS]

6. A half used cigarette

[Heidi]

7. Thanks, JVS.

:blush:

[JVS]

8. It sounds grody as hell, doesn't it.

[Heidi]

12. No comment,

except this: Even _I_ don't smoke "shorts" (they stink, and putting a half-smoked cigarette back with the "fresh" ones would make the rest of 'em stink, and I certainly wouldn't offer a cigarette tainted with my saliva (and DNA) to a stranger. But I admit that I'm funky about my smoking habits. I don't smoke in the house or around kids or animals or in confined places where smoking is permitted. Also, when smoking in outdoor public places where no ashtry is available, I "field strip" cigarettes and put the filter in my pocket instead of just tossing it down on the ground. Neurotic, I guess. :shrug:

[datasuspect]

11. it's jail slang

for what JVS said.

[MrCoffee]

2. As much as I wanted to vote for a suffusion of yellow, I had to go with No way

I'm with you, it would be way too easy to give away a whole pack in no time flat. I had to cut the cord on bumming any.

[Heidi]

3. If it's an adult asking, I don't mind. If it's a kid too young to buy 'em, no way.

That's my rule, and it's got nothing to do with karma. :hi:

[guitar man]

5. I do

and I always tell them that I made it myself and explain that you can make your own for about 80 cents a pack vs. 4-5 bucks for factory made cigs.

[Heidi]

9. !

Exactly.

We buy filtered tubes and use a little injection device to fill them with American Spirit.

I have to admit, though, that I keep a box of Marlboro reds in my briefcase for when I'm traveling for business. It's just easier.

[guitar man]

14. American Spirit isn't bad

...but, I have discovered a tobacco called Stoker's #2, light blend. My gods is it good! It's a little more expensive than the American Spirit, but it's worth it :thumbsup:

[MonkeyFunk]

10. Always

I'm a fucking cigarette-magnet downtown.

[Breeze54]

13. If they look like they can't afford a pack, yes, but not all the time.

I do not always lend cigs to co-workers who say they left theirs in the machine. :P

Well, sometimes....

[asthmaticeog]

15. I would. It depended on a lot of things, though.

If the person was polite, if the person didn't strike me as a panhandler who'd use the ciggie exchange as an in to try and get me for money, if there weren't a zillion people around who'd follow suit and hit me up after seeing me give one away (the old "if you don't bring enough gum for everyone you can't have gum" thing). It's always a delicate series of negotiations to engage a stranger in the city, but I sometimes ran out myself and needed to hit up a passerby, so I couldn't rightly withhold when it was my turn to give one up, right?

(The past tense is because I kicked, so I don't have any smokes to spare anymore. I swear, no judgments on anyone who hasn't kicked yet, I *know* it's fucking hard.)

[Heidi]

16. Maybe you'll hate me for being so perky as to say so,

but I think it's fabulous that you've kicked. I wish I were you. And one day, I will be. I _loathe_ that I smoke. :puke:

[Bake]

17. I do occasionally, but not often

It just depends on the circumstances.

Bake

[Phillycat]

18. Wow, three replies in favor of fascism!

What a progressive board we've got! :D

[MissMillie]

19. when I smoked I did

yep

[applegrove]

20. I will give to anyone who is old enough to buy their own smokes. I cart people. I really

do. I ask their age if they look young. And if someone is trying to quit and I know it...I will not give them a smoke. But otherwise I always do.

[NashVegas]

21. When I Smoked, I Did

If they looked like someone I would have liked to have a conversation with.

[bigwillq]

22. I do sometimes.

Depends how many I have left in my pack, if it's late night and I don't want to stop at a store, I try to conserve.

If I have a full pack, I normally do.

But in downtown New Haven, it's a constant thing too. For smokes and money. I try and give but somtimes I just don't feel like it.

[Ahpook]

23. I use rollemups in various chemicals

They have flavor! If i am actually going to die younger than all the non's, let's enjoy the habit:)

I don't get the high and mighty shit but i have rolled a few cigs for folks that a grocery store kicked away.

Doesn't matter much, does it?

[Withywindle]

24. I usually do.

It's a karmic thing. I bum from strangers too on occasion. :shrug:

What's really a pet peeve is some friends of mine, not strangers - smokers in denial who say "Oh, I quit," and still keep bumming 'em when they drink or when they're stressed. No, you didn't quit - you just became a mooch. (I think it's some psychological belief that bummed cigarettes won't get you hooked again or give you cancer. Just like eating half of someone else's dessert isn't fattening.)

[Madrone]

25. Mooching ...

I've done that before - but not remotely excessively. I always qualify my request with: "Can I bum a smoke? Oh THANKS! I quit. Buying my own that is." LOL

Right NOW in my life - come Saturday at sometime around 2:30 pm I will have 3 weeks SMOKE FREE. We'll see how long I can go this time!

I've also managed to not ask for a drag or bum a smoke from anyone in that time. It is not uncommon for me to grab a few drags from a friend smoking, but refuse an entire cigarette. (When I'm in QUIT mode that is, and before I cave in and start buying packs again) It hasn't been so much of a temptation this time because I don't have another smoker living with me anymore and I've been holing up in the house by myself when I'm not at work. Makes avoiding temptation MUCH easier.

Sorry for engaging in behavior that is your pet peeve! :hi:

[Withywindle]

26. I do have sympathy, I really do.

It's the constant repeat offenders who make me crazy. Particularly because they get shirty with me when I say, "Oh no, you quit. I won't be responsible for you falling off the wagon. No smokey treats for you!"

If it's getting to the point where I feel I have to buy extra before going to a party because I know X and Y and So-and-So will be there (and if they descend on me, I might be left with none at 3 AM when the stores are closed, which is my white-knuckle hate), then that's too far. Of course, it might also be that I'm too much of a pushover.

Good luck in your quitting! I envy you and hope you'll pull through! :hi:

[MrSlayer]

27. No, I deny that I smoke even if I'm smoking at the time.

I hate people trying to bum shit off of me.

[varkam]

28. Yes, but with a caveat.

I will normally bum cigarettes to people, because I would like it if I were out of cigarettes for someone to bum one to me - however if it is a "repeat offender" I will simply inform them of these wonderful places called gas stations where they can go buy their very own pack of cigarettes.

[Roon]

29. In New York asking to bum a cigarette is fighting words..

at $7.00 a pack.

[Phillycat]

32. No shit! They'd be better off asking for a gold doubloon!

:D

[IntravenousDemilo]

30. I do so out of feelings of solidarity with fellow smokers...

...because lately our group has been quite put upon by the fascists.

[Mythsaje]

31. I usually do simply because it doesn't happen that often.

The old lady next door occasionally comes over to bum one, and occasionally I get hit up by passers-by when I'm having a smoke outside at work. Sometimes I let them pay me, sometimes I don't. I don't take money from co-workers unless they bum all the time.

It sucks to really need a cigarette and not have one. I don't mind giving up a cig now and again because I know how it feels.