vraiblonde said:
That's because they're jealous that others are sitting around enjoying a smoke.
Those who've never smoked don't have those cigarette-envy issues.
Us quitters tend to be nastier for many reasons, but jealousy isn't one of them.
The difficulty of quitting showed us a weakness in ourselves that was difficult to overcome. I am ashamed that I was addicted to nicotene, and for years seeing people smoking reminded me of my own addiction.
Also, being around smokers and smelling the stale smoke, seeing the stained fingers and teeth, hearing the smokers cough, and seeing people huddled together in frigid nasty weather to feed their addiction reminds us of just how pathetic we were. Rather than sympathize with smokers, we pity them.
I was a vocal anti-smoker like Bob for the first five years after I quit. It's been 12 years now, so I've gotten over it. I really don't care if people want to shorten their lives. I just avoid places that have excessive smoke.
There are only three things that still bother me about smokers:
1. People who can barely feed their kids or pay their rent, but can somehow afford a pack or two per day.
2. People who throw their butts on the ground.
3. People who violate non-smoking areas, particularly in dangerous situations(pumping gas) or around kids.
