Your kids come first!

[Anakah]

I was in a store the other day and this made me soooo angry.

I was paying for my items when I saw this guy with two children walk in. Okay, I know never to judge a book by its cover but this guy looked like a total dirtball but had adorable children.

Kid: Dad, can I have this? It's only fifty cents.

Other kid: Yeah, dad, can we?

Dad: NO! I told you I aint got no money. I get my "vacation check" tomorrow.

Okay, I understand that, he didn't have the cash and candy isn't a necessity but then this made me want to punch him.

Kid: oh ok. Can we have some water then? We're out at home....

The guy had one of those big bottles of dr. Pepper. Which, yeah if they're thirsty that will do the job, maybe it was cheaper than water. I have no idea. The store I was at is a small one that is stupidly expensive but close to home.

I was really sad about this. I swear it took everything in my power not to buy these kids water.

Now I am heart broken as I am about to exit. I had spent all the money I brought so I couldn't really do anything. But then...

Dad: I'll take (enter pack of cigarettes here).

Me:

So let me get this straight... You buy coke and cigarettes but NOT water for your kids!? I ran out cuz I was worried I'd have said something. Or yelled.

Which probably wouldn't have been good for all I know the guy could've gotten really angry and came after me. It was about 12am and I was by myself. I bit my tongue and ran.

Its possible I was wrong about the situation. They may have more stuff at home but from what I witnessed it looked and was heartbreaking but for all I know it could've been a ploy to get someone to help. It almost worked too or they could just be out of water and have other things.

[DeltaSierra]

That's just totally fucked up.

[MaseMan]

What a slimeball. Hopefully someone calls child protective services on him.

[chainedbarista]

wait, it's 12 am and he has his young children out for cigarettes? real father of the year candidate there; when babychains was that young, he was one place: in bed, sleeping soundly (re: like the dead).

that he refused to buy his kids a little treat was incredibly selfish and mean of him; nice values there, bud.

[LillFilly]

Ugh, that's just wrong.

Reminds me of a news article I saw about a woman complaining how the 75$ or so she received every week wouldn't cover food for her family, yet the picture showed her smoking next to a $30 carton of cigarettes!

[blas]

When I worked at the gas station, I had to bite my tongue and bite it hard when it came to dirtballs and their poor kids.

I mean, these children looked filthy, not like they played all day, but filthy like they hadn't been bathed enough lately, and some of them were a little too skinny.

But the parents always had enough money for cigarettes and beer. Always.

It's one thing if you're childless and you are picking cigarettes over food or something more practical, I've done it. But when you bring kids into the world, that stops. You are not #1 anymore.

[malmalthekiller]

I worked at a grocery store for a few years in my teens, and I would see people all the time with WIC or EBT cards, where they'd split the order and buy food (WIC, normal foods, EBT-usually lobster tails, cheetos and soda), and then the regular order of cigarettes and toilet paper.

[tropicsgoddess]

What a douchebag!

[elsporko]

Whats also sad is I've never heard of any free programs to get people off cigarettes. I wonder how many would take advantage of something like that.

[Chromatix]

I'm fairly sure such programs exist over here. I think help is sufficiently available that a large fraction of smokers are in the "don't wanna quit" category. There's no helping those except by making tobacco products impossible to get.

Here's an idea for the anti-tobacco lobby: Raise the minimum age for buying tobacco by a year each year - that is, fix the latest birthdate that is allowed to buy it. If you want to stop the younger generation from starting, that'd be a good start.

[blas]

Those free programs are annoying and not that helpful.

I utilized the Wisconsin Quit Line last summer. I got ONE box of nicotine gum (which just made me sick) and my bf gave me some patches in case the gum didn't work, and I had to get a call once a week or every other week for months and talk with a quit coach, and use up tons of my minutes with those 20 minute sessions that sometimes just went on and on cuz I always got a babbler. That didn't help me quit at all.

[telecom_goddess]

I'm fairly sure such programs exist over here. I think help is sufficiently available that a large fraction of smokers are in the "don't wanna quit" category. There's no helping those except by making tobacco products impossible to get.

Here's an idea for the anti-tobacco lobby: Raise the minimum age for buying tobacco by a year each year - that is, fix the latest birthdate that is allowed to buy it. If you want to stop the younger generation from starting, that'd be a good start.

That doesn't help and bullying people into quitting doesn't help. I smoked for thirty years and just recently quit, I guess about 3 weeks ago now. What helped me was electronic cigarettes. All I needed was a good method and something to replace the hand to mouth action of smoking that I knew I would miss. I tell you what though the nicotine is way lower in these things than regular cigs. I can't even get through a regular cigarette now (yeah I tried one about a week ago..bleh).

Those free programs are annoying and not that helpful.

I utilized the Wisconsin Quit Line last summer. I got ONE box of nicotine gum (which just made me sick) and my bf gave me some patches in case the gum didn't work, and I had to get a call once a week or every other week for months and talk with a quit coach, and use up tons of my minutes with those 20 minute sessions that sometimes just went on and on cuz I always got a babbler. That didn't help me quit at all.

I saw this after I posted...try the electronic ones. They are amazing and helped me quit after 30 solid years of pretty heavy smoking. I feel so much better now...my lungs are feeling a lot better and I don't miss the smell and the mess. or expense.

[blas]

I wonder about those vapor cigarettes. I heard they are quite expensive.

[ThirdGenRetail]

I'm fairly sure such programs exist over here. I think help is sufficiently available that a large fraction of smokers are in the "don't wanna quit" category. There's no helping those except by making tobacco products impossible to get.

Here's an idea for the anti-tobacco lobby: Raise the minimum age for buying tobacco by a year each year - that is, fix the latest birthdate that is allowed to buy it. If you want to stop the younger generation from starting, that'd be a good start.

Actually, very sad but very true - It's literally cheaper for my mother to KEEP smoking(She's at least cutting back on her own) than to get help quitting. Because of her job, she suffers very high levels of stress, and if she wasn't smoking... She'd probably have put a manager's head through the wall a long time ago due to the aggravation they cause She WANTS to quit, though, because the insurance through work will charge her even more because she smokes... But she needs help quitting, and the insurance won't cover the pill she would have to take, because... They charge you outrageous prices to keep smoking, but they refuse to cover the medication to help you QUIT smoking. She can't do the gum(She wears dentures and therefore can't chew on it), or the patch(I get my psoriasis from her... Though she's not as bad, but the patch can't stay on her). So she has two choices - Cold turkey, or the pill. Former would result in her in jail, more than likely, and the latter... We cannot afford.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I happen to like smoking; I don't smoke all that much, one or two a day, and I'm not addicted. However, I would be livid if some do gooder tried to force me to quit. It's none of anyone's business but my own; I don't have kids, and I'm a considerate smoker.

However, I've seen loads of "parents" at the supermarket buying cheapo crappo food for their kids, along with those cheapo nappies that fall apart if the kid poops and yelling at their kids to shut up when they ask for sweeties cuz they supposedly have no money... then going to the kiosk and buying a £50 pack of smokes. *facepalm*