Why should people feel sorry for a defiant smoker who has COPD or is dying of lung cancer?

Question

Sure if someone is 50+ and started smoking before the health risk were known, I can understand. Yet when smokers who are now in their 30s and 20s no, I don't understand and no I don't care. Especially those currently in their teens. If they see their parents or older relatives dying or becoming ill because of smoking, why on earth would they even try it.

Answer 1

as a rule I don't but you must look at their entire lives and what kind of people they are/were.   2 aunts who had hearts of gold fought both lung cancer  and COPD in their later years.  I wished they had kicked the habit a long time ago but as far as faults go that was their only.  but they always respected others wishes by going outside even when it wasn't expected.  So when they got sick we did feel sorry for them and our selves we were going to loose important parts of our family.  They were the sweetest people I knew and they both lived to 80.  And all of those years good quality.  

My mother never smoked and developed a form of lung cancer that is common in non smokers.  she never allowed smoking in her home.   I didn't like seeing her suffer I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.  but she was a mean nasty person.  she hated life so I didn't feel sorry for her because what she wanted was coming soon, death.  

so don't look at someone as a defiant smoker but look at their life.  If they deserve for you feeling sorry then so be it if they don't, don't feel sorry for them.  but remember don't wish the pain of any cancer on anyone, my personal belief is it will come back to you threefold.

Answer 2

You must be young in order to ask a question like that.  Yes, smoking is bad for you, but so is many other things we all do as human beings.  If a person eats a diet high in fat, they could develop heart disease.  If a person drives a little too fast, they could get into a car accident.  You could write a list a mile long of all the harmful things we do to ourselves as people.  We all have our vices, so we need to be tolerant of each other's shortcomings.  We would all love to do all the proper things in life, but no one is perfect.  As you get older, you'll understand that things are not so clear cut.

Answer 3

Compassionate human beings will feel empathy for anyone who is chronically or terminally ill -- no matter what the cause.

Your attitude reminds me of the way that AIDS was seen by the government in the 70s and early 80s -- that because it was mostly affecting g*y people and some drug users that it was "killing all the right people"  and so therefore nothing should be done about it.

Death is death and disease is disease -- it sucks -- dying and disease can be slow, painful, and tortuous.  I wouldn't wish that upon ANYONE, and certainly not a friend, loved one, relative, or acquaintance.

How you feel about your fellow human being is entirely your choice.  However, remember that the time you have to show compassion to someone who is chronically ill or dying is limited and that the choices you make on how you treat them today may be the last impression that you leave on them.

Answer 4

There a number of reasons - compassion, empathy, sympathy, common humanity or simple respect for another human being; they are dying and dying in a nasty way. What good would it do to hurt them further?

I hope that when my time comes, people around me won't start making judgements on the mistakes I made in the past - we all make mistakes...

Answer 5

Because the cigarette manufacturers secretly add substances that get you addicted to the cigarettes. some people get more affected by these things than other people

Answer 6

You have to remember that years ago there were no age limits on smoking and it wasn't considered dangerous.  As a matter of fact, I could buy cigs when I was 8 or 9 with no questions asked.  Consider someone that's smoked for many years, then was told to quit, but the addiction was too much for them.  Now, imagine that this person is your Dad...do you still feel the same way?

Answer 7

because maybe they want to quit, it is addicting, my mom used to smoke, it took my sis and i yelling at her every time, and a week at a nonsmoker's house to solve it

Answer 8

I feel sorry for anyone who is dying because I'm not a nasty, judgmental, sanctimonious little b*tch.

Sorry, I'm hardly ever rude on Y!A but your attitude is repulsive.