I'm so sorry to hear that. I would say "don't hate yourself," but I know it's way easier said than done :(

Definitely helps, thanks!

Forcibly move you away from them? Yikes.

When you say "trashy people," are you referring certain groups of people who smoke (people who throw butts on the ground it sounds like?), people who smoke in general, something else?

Some groups that are disproportionately affected by smoking in the US — low SES (the smoking rate among people below the poverty line is somewhere close to 50%), LGBTQ, Southeast Asians, people in the military, African Americans...

I think the science is still out on e-cigs compared to normal cigarettes. Yeah, I'm not sure how they were first marketed either. I think some of the marketing I first saw was like a "Be able to smoke without bothering other people and also maybe this is better for you" kind of thing.

I guess it could depend how you look at it, like maybe it's a harm reduction type thing for smokers, or for non-smokers like lethekk. Or maybe not, I dunno.

Just adding, so the interest in smoking and stigma these days in public health is related to health inequities — how stigmatization can have different effects for people who are already marginalized in other ways. Enforcement can be different, the ability to accommodate a habit or addiction can be different, whether…

Thanks for replying.
It seems like e-cigs are becoming more popular — wonder if you have encountered those at all, what you think of them... also, if you feel like saying, if there any places in particular where you wish people would feel less comfortable smoking?

Random question: What do you think about anti-smoking messages and how smokers are treated in the US?

That sounds so much classier than Dippin Dots, which is where my mind immediately went.

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUR MAKEUP CAN LAUNCH DRONES

I don't have a degree in linguistics — go, you! — but she definitely inspired a lifelong interest in the subject for me. Her and John McWhorter (even though I disagree with JM about a lot of stuff).

Maybe English isn't their first language

So cute!

I don't suppose there is a picture of this pumpkin dress you could share? Asking for science.

Wow, that vet sounds incredibly condescending. Also, what exactly would be so wrong with a "magic pill"? Sounds like a good thing to me.

I hope this isn't too weird of a thing to post here (if so, my apologies!)... I'm working with a project that is looking for a few quick, anonymous stories about about how people feel that (tobacco) smokers are treated.