When did JDB.....

[hummingbird]

James dad is pushing 70 and unless he gave up is a smoker and drinks too ..my grandad lived to 82 and was a heavy smoker.. George Burns (actor) lived to 94 or older and smoked cigars every day and drank..keith richards ..still alive as i've said before..yes there is a larger risk that you'll have smoking related illnesses but that doesnt mean you will defintely get cancer or even die from one.

Passive smoking...again there is a risk but it isnt a guarantee.. stop being so self righteous about it..what people do to their bodies is their own business...

[DoodleBug]

Originally Posted by *Found That Soul*

There is a video around 2002 i think were he has fag in his mouth whilst playing You Love Us.

I must admit im very anti smoking but he did look cool as fuck!!

Here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8LWoVhBEEs

Eeeep! Sorry, but I couldn't help but laugh. He just... look at those cheeks... he just has such a cherubic quality to his face - James, thank you for spitting that cigarette out. It just... it reminds me of someone I went to college with. He had even rounder cheeks than James, a real Beaver Cleaver face, and every time he smoked I thought he looked ridiculous.

[Chocolate Kettle]

Originally Posted by hummingbird

keith richards is still alive..he fell out of a fucking tree and even that didnt kill him

Yes well, I'm seriously starting to doubt Keef's even entirely human. Either that or he's lied about all the stuff he's done.

Back to James, I reckon he started smoking in his teens. Doesn't bother me much but I do share the amazement expressed throughout this thread that his voice seems all but undamaged owing to it. If anything it's become more powerful. Perhaps he's cut down in very recent years though (2006-2009) because I see a subtle improvement (perhaps 'improvement isn't the right word) from TGW onwards.

[Elizabeth M]

Originally Posted by harrijack

It affects different people in different ways. Of course it's unhealthy, but it's personal choice. I hate the people who demonise smokers far more than I would ever hate someone who chooses to smoke because God forbid they actually enjoy it. I smoke every so often, about once a month whenever I fancy one. Selfishly I enjoy it very much.

Interesting. You must be one of the lucky ones, then, who is able to smoke without becoming physically addicted to the nicotine in cigarettes. I can do that, too, and have done since I was 18. Fine for us, sure, but it does make our experiences and concerns around cigarette smoking quite different from the vast majority of users.

Originally Posted by harrijack

That's good. I probably didn't word my reaction correctly, as the image I did have in my head from your comment was more funny and melodramatic than serious. In my head I had violin music and James walking in slow motion.

That made me

[hummingbird]

he has tried to quit before so maybe he tries and tries and tries and just fails all the time awww

[bruisepristine]

Originally Posted by hummingbird

stop being so self righteous about it..what people do to their bodies is their own business...

I don't think anyone is being "self righteous" about anything. It's a discussion. Granted, it borders greatly on the personal, but James' voice/lungs are 50% of his profession and a damn big chunk of why we're all here discussing their music to begin with. Hence why the subject is actually relevant to some extent.

Someone who has spent a great deal of time around James personally made the comment that he is already clearing his throat constantly with a "smoker's cough" and at just 40 years old, that's not a good sign, period. I don't care when anyone else did or didn't show effects from smoking, obviously James is, and all anyone is saying is "that's a shame" because, selfishly, we mourn him doing damage to his voice/lungs/being because we are fans of the Manics and want them around forever. That's what it all boils down to, nothing else.

I believe everyone has pretty much ended their part of the discussion with the disclaimer "but, it is his own body" or something similar, so no one is getting self righteous about anything.

[The Gutless Wonder]

No harm in kindly persuading them to think about it at least! Think of the number of guitars you could buy James if you cut down a bit! The effects of smoking on the body can pretty much return to normal the longer the period since a person smoked, quit and then remains a non-smoker. As said it's his choice what he wants to do.

[hummingbird]

Originally Posted by The Gutless Wonder

No harm in kindly persuading them to think about it at least! Think of the number of guitars you could buy James if you cut down a bit! The effects of smoking on the body can pretty much return to normal the longer the period since a person smoked, quit and then remains a non-smoker. As said it's his choice what he wants to do.

oh i'm positive he's being nagged to quit from time to time...all he has to do is look at the *smoking kills* sign on his packet of fags

[Elizabeth M]

Originally Posted by hummingbird

he has tried to quit before so maybe he tries and tries and tries and just fails all the time awww

He does. Hopefully he will succeed at quitting eventually. Nicotine is a brutal addiction.

[The Gutless Wonder]

James - decide when to smoke your last ciggie then garner up as much will-power as you can to do it! Lot's of smokers out there who have managed it and I'm sure you can too!

[hummingbird]

i think cutting down slowly is the better option..cutting out alltogether much much harder..maybe thats where he's going wrong

[The Gutless Wonder]

I dunno. Sometimes they say it's better just to try and stop outright but it depends on each person I suppose. Try both ways James!

[hummingbird]

Originally Posted by The Gutless Wonder

I dunno. Sometimes they say it's better just to try and stop outright but it depends on each person I suppose. Try both ways James!

i guess it depends how much you smoke a day..someone on 20 a day stopping suddenly i wouldnt think would work..the craving would be huge

[The Gutless Wonder]

Some really heavy smokers have managed it but others need help with it. I don't and never have smoked so I wouldn't know myself!

[4Manics]

I was going to quit but then someone gave me a free packet of 50G tobacco and you just cannot say no to that, it lasts ages...James is a simple man with simple pleasures, he would do well to get a time machine to take him home to 1950 where everyone adores fags, whiskey, fish and chips without being condemned (spot the stereotype )