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On every gravestone, memorial plaque, obituary, order of service etc., it shall be a legal requirement to display next to the date of demise a standardized graphic indicating that the deceased smoked tobacco at some point in their life; the obvious graphic to use would be a smoking cigarette image within
a circle.
Reading such items would then be instructive, since it would soon become apparent that the majority of smokers died somewhat earlier than their peer group.
Here's what I think of this idea.
_5b8thof7_5d_20_22m...0windshield_20wiper [zeno, Sep 16 2011]
A legal requirement? At some point in their life?
_5b8th_20of_207_5d_...2fshifting_20wipers [normzone, Sep 17 2011]
Pack Year Calculator
http://smokingpackyears.com/ I came in at 87 pack years [Klaatu, Sep 19 2011]
A vice is a vice, is a vice.
http://imgur.com/gallery/Mtgz2 [2 fries shy of a happy meal, Sep 19 2011]
[link]
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smoker of what? what next - I ate too many doughnuts? I relied on too many flakey doctors? |
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It quite clearly states "tobacco" in the idea. |
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// I ate too many doughnuts? // |
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Since you've mentioned it .... |
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I think the people who would benefit most from this don't
spend much time in graveyards, except when they go there
to smoke and drink beer that was stolen from thier parents
or clandestinely purchased by older siblings. |
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Perhaps this should include a special logo for people who have had near misses with Spontaneous Human Combustion. |
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Oddly enough (and contrary to folk-statistics),
smokers live on average almost as long as
everyone else. A proportion die early as a result
of lung and other cancers, and cardiovascular
illness (but then so do many non-smokers); the
majority die at the same age as everyone else. |
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The average decrease in life expectancy for a
heavy smoker (from age 16) is something like two
to four years. And, if you think about it, those
two to four years are generally taken from the
part of life when you'd otherwise be sitting on a
bedpan wondering who you are. |
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If I die, my epitaph will be something along the
lines of "I paid for your pension and enjoyed my
life. Good luck with the Alzheimer's, bye." |
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[+]. And the dead smokers should be put in their own
separate section of the graveyard. Because smoking is
highly correlated with other harmful lifestyle traits, the
section will be seen to expand at a faster rate than the
non-smoking section. |
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Yay, [swimswim]. Right next to the Jews, yes? |
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[MB], 8th's idea is about using peoples' stupidity as an
example to deter others from making the same
mistakes. Antisemitism is a pretty far stretch for how
to twist that, unless you're suggesting that Jews smoke
more than other people. |
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//Right next to the Jews// and across from the
bicyclists. |
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Uh, and old people who died of stuff. |
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Cemetaries are already seething with prejudice and
discrimination; the prime example being that only dead people
can be buried there, which is blatant Lifeism. |
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But exceptions are occasionally made. Just google
"Count Karnice-Karnicki, Chamberlain to the Czar and
Doctor of the Law Faculty of the University of
Louvain" |
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I thought this was going to be some kind of badge people could wear to show they've kicked the weed. |
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It would be very handy so I'd know when to go "um, ummm, ummm this cigarette is so relaxing" as they walk past... |
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I honestly and sincerely read this as "Former Smoker LEGO" and was thinking it would be a quitting aid to keep the hands busy. I was very confused and read your whole description before referring back to the title. |
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I'd like some better discrimination as to how much smoking the decedent did. I don't smoke, but I once told a doctor that I'd been given a packet of little cigars and used to sit on the back porch with a lit one, taking one mouthful of smoke before chucking the cigar away, and that I did that about once a month until the packet was empty--she marked me down on my records as a smoker and gave me a hell of a lecture. |
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She'd put a logo on my tombstone, and totally miss the pork rinds that put me there. |
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(I too, thought this was a mark of shame to allow easier teasing of former smokers.) |
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Max, I think you'll need to supply a citation to back up that claim. Actually, probably better would be a meta-analysis study just in case there's an outlier study. Also a study that correlates quality of life (rather than just life expectancy) with smoking vs non-smoking would be interesting. |
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In order to allow proper analysis, the logo would have to show what the deceased smoked (cigars, unfiltered, low-tar, a Sherlock-Holmes-style pipe, etc.) how much per day and over what period. Any other variables (e.g. exercise, doughnut consumption, happiness) that the gravestone-viewer might like to control for should also be shown, perhaps also with appropriate logos. Finally, a section of the graveyard should be allocated to a control group.
Even then I think it would be hard to draw conclusions from this data, so [-]. |
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In the hospital, smoking risk was determined by "pack
years" <link>. This is the # of packs per day X # of years
smoked. Someone who smokes 2 packs per day, over a 10-
year period would have a 20 pack-year history. 40 pack
years is the tipping point for carcinoma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart disease. |
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My Mom is 86 and still smokes cigs- (but she started at age 35) She likes it! |
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My mom still smokes at 86 years old too, soon to be
87. Good genes and a lack of family history of cancer
may be more an indicator for her of life length. Plus
she is mean as hell and crazy as a cross-eyed rabbit. |
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No comment, as I am not former yet. I do have something to add though. [link] It's not relevant but you'll get a kick out of it [8th] |
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Can we get that wholesale ? |
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// ... proper analysis ... what the deceased smoked ... how much per day and over what period... ... other variables (e.g. exercise, doughnut consumption... to control for should also be shown... section .... allocated to a control group. // |
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All very well, but that would tend to move the idea too far away from its original concept, which is simple gratuitous blind prejudice against a group perceived as "other". |
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Then again, the control group could be black Jewish female homosexual non-smokers with disabilities, which offers a rich seam of discrimination, bigotry and irrational hatred to be exploited. |
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Maybe they could be foreigners, too ? |
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// a study that correlates quality of life (rather than
just life expectancy) with smoking vs non-smoking
would be interesting// |
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Would that be quality of life with or without the
constant whining of the pious masses? |
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