Huckleberries Online

Nonini Is Last Capitol Cig Smoker

Posted by DFO

Feb. 3, 2012 3:54 p.m. • 12 comments

Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, walks toward the Idaho Capitol in Boise on Monday. After another Republican representative quit smoking last year, Nonini is the lone open smoker in the Idaho Legislature. (AP photo)

Standing outside the Capitol on a brisk January afternoon, Rep. Bob Nonini cups his hand deftly to shelter a cigarette — not from the wind, but from a camera. The Coeur d'Alene Republican and House Education Committee chairman has the distinction of being the lone Idaho lawmaker who still regularly, if bashfully, steps outside for a smoke. “This is private,” Nonini says, declining further comment this week. His solo status in Idaho's Statehouse underscores a decadeslong transformation in American culture. But despite a near absence of smokers in the Republican-dominated Legislature, don't hold your breath in anticipation of new anti-cigarette laws, even with about a quarter of lawmakers belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which forbids tobacco use/John Miller, AP. More here.

Question: Would you be more/less/same likely to vote for a candidate who smokes?

12 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

stebbijo on February 03 at 4:57 p.m.
I will vote for him just because he smokes. I am so sick of the lies, he might be able to help.
danofthecommunity on February 03 at 5:07 p.m.
Then what, do we start not voting for those who are over weight and what would the cut-off point be?

I’m sure he knows all the reasons why he should quit and will probably do so when the time is right for him.
stebbijo on February 03 at 5:26 p.m.
He might not ever quit, some people don’t, because they can’t. It is wrong to assume that this is a behavior when it is an addiction. The states sued the tobacco companies and now that settlement money is running out, so the state needs to raise cigarette taxes in order to keep the love to the tune of around 51 million dollars a year. What the states do not expect is the possibility that cigarette smokers who cannot quit can sue the state over their addiction. The state of Idaho regulates the emissions of cigarettes. Greedy jerks - even the American Cancer Society pushes this hoax when they know that the only answer for HEALTH reasons is to remove them, but they don’t because they would be out of jobs and our government drips with green saliva.
Stickman on February 03 at 6:28 p.m.
stebbijo. For some reason, I’ll bet you smoke. Just a guess.
Stickman on February 03 at 6:30 p.m.
As for the question, less likely.
stebbijo on February 03 at 6:58 p.m.
Stickman, I don’t smoke at all. I never did.

I have tried but I just can’t. Some folks have tried to teach me the craft and I have miserably failed. I like smokers, they are fun people. My mother was a smoker and suffered from emphysema. She finally quit to prolong her life and I swear she would have been a happier woman with a smoke or two during her last days. She absolutely hated the grass burners and blamed them for everything. My Dad smoked and quit.

My husband is a smoker, and began his addiction at the age of eleven which takes over 40 years of his life. I love him, dearly. He has tried and tried to quit, came close and then failed again. He hates the smell, the ball and chain effect, ect. more than anyone. He smokes outside, but if we are in the car, he rolls down the window and I still gag.

However,my lungs are still the best part of me. I just have to work on that deep fat frying addiction.
HonestGeorge on February 03 at 9:21 p.m.
Forty years ago when I quit smoking I did it by a ‘home-brewed’ aversion method. That is I devoured every article that I could find that discredited smoking. Soon I had such an aversion for it that I was able to quit and stay off them for good. It is now hard to notice someone that is smoking and not have a negative opinion about it.
greenlibertarian on February 03 at 9:34 p.m.
Stebbijo, if your husband hasn’t already tried it, take a look at the E-Cigs and a possible way to wean off the cancer sticks. Not for everyone, but it eliminates 95% of the nasty stuff. Still a powerful and addictive poison, nicotine. Easier to measure usage and cut down until cravings subside.

It’s worth a try, I’ve seen it work.
Phaedrus on February 04 at 12:01 a.m.
I smoked 2 packs a day for 32 years and it was the last of my addictive vices that I was able to quit, but it took 7 serious attempts and I tried everything including hypnosis and acupuncture before finding success with Wellbutrin. I took it for 6 months until I felt comfortable enough to get off it. I’ve been tobacco free for 7+ years. There are still times I miss it.
stebbijo on February 04 at 7:20 a.m.
Congrats Phaedrus. People need to understand that the nicotine addiction is a very serious battle. Some folks cannot beat it and that does not make them ‘bad’ people and it just happens to be LEGAL. I am tired of the hypocrisy that attacks the very core of the person and makes them feel worthless, not to mention some folks are kissing rats.

But, if they can attack the “smoker” we will be less likely to look at the state’s involvement that pushes and benefits from the sales. The Idaho Statehouse renovation was largely funded by tobacco taxes with millions of those dollars.

The other day I watched a clip on TV and there are those people who still smoke with oxygen in their noses and the common assumption is they are just plain stupid and they deserve the anguish. A dying person would quit IF they could.

Folks, he has tried it all and he is well aware of the health risks. The one that almost worked was the Nicotrol Inhaler. It is a prescription, but they would not renew it after 3 months - the insurance companies will only cover it for so long - if at all. The e-cigs don’t cut the mustard. Welbutrin was not successful AT ALL.The patch was also not a win and the gum is not an option.

I believe the method of treatment has become “behavior modification” thru attack ads and peer to peer pressure which is barbaric at best. I think the real liability rests on the state’s shoulders because they continue to sell, profit, and take.
Stickman on February 04 at 9:35 a.m.
Sorry I assumed that stebbijo. It’s hard for me to be around smokers, it just seems like, why don’t they get it? It’s a serious addiction and some just can’t seem to give them up. I smoked for 25 years starting in the army and finally gave them up about 20 years ago. It was easy for me, I just put them down one day and never picked another one up again. I wish it was that easy for some.
Digger on February 04 at 10:33 a.m.
I started in college at the age of 18 “just because I could” and continued until Spazz moved in with me in 2006. I smoked off and on through 2007 and made a real effort to quit in 2008. I havent bought a pack for myself since late 2007 but still bum one here and there every so often.

If you’ve been a smoker you know that there something about that first smoke and first cup of coffee that really hits the spot. Or after a good meal.

I miss it but don’t if that makes sense?

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.