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I would never want to become a business partner with someone who is smoking cigarettes. Why? For me it indicates a lack of intelligence, not being good at deali

I would never want to become a business partner with someone who is smoking cigarettes. Why? For me it indicates a lack of intelligence, not being good at dealing with stress and bad long-term thinking. When smoking cigarettes you are paying twice - first when spending money in order to ruin your health, and many years later when you are spending money on health-care in order to fix your ruined health. The Greeks have understood this. Also, when you are getting closer to an emergency situation than we are normally today, you will also start caring more about your health automatically. That's what evolution has taught us, it is natural behavior. Modern luxury has let us care less about our bodies than we should.

Rebelgecko 9y ago
Do you feel the same way about having a business partner that drinks alcohol or is overweight?
- baumbart 9y ago
  That's a good question. Interestingly not! For one part I think that drinking (modest) amounts of alcohol is not as bad for your health as smoking. I would avoid people who love binge-drinking though, for the same reasons as above. Also it is much harder to find non-alcoholics than people who don't smoke, I would think. Being overweight is a different card, because it's a symptom, not an action that is chosen voluntarily. There can be many reasons for being overweight... maybe genes, some kind of illness etc.. I can't judge based on something I don't exactly know. But then again ... when I see someone eating lots of fast-food, chips and drinking Cola ... I would probably hesitate to ask him to become my business partner.
  - connorelsea 9y ago
    This is all seemingly a very superficial and judgmental process you've described for selecting a business partner. I'd probably want to know more about their work experience and skills - not so much their taste in cola or cigarettes.
  - dpc59 9y ago
    You would miss out on guys like warren buffet with that kind of reasoning.
- matwood 9y ago
  > that drinks alcohol I haven't really thought about whether I would be a business partner with someone, but in this case quantity certainly matters. When people say smoker, it is implied someone who smokes often and constantly throughout the day - 24/7. The equivalent drinker would be an alcoholic, not just someone who has a beer on Friday.
  - rubber_duck 9y ago
    1) "social smoking" is a thing just like social drinking 2) alcoholism has much worse direct consequences than heavy smoking
  - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
    I used to smoke, and it was around 4 a day. Hardly all day, but I was still considered a smoker.
- dyim 9y ago
  In a judgment free way - my dad's long-term business partner was overweight. Died super young, in his mid-60s. It was heartbreaking for everyone involved, and I would not wish it upon anyone. Please take good care of yourself.
DoreenMichele 9y ago
Some smokers are self medicating for mental health issues: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/depression-anxiety.html https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/depressio... Before you say that is also justification for rejecting them, be aware that some folks on HN are vocal about the need to destigmatize mental health issues generally and plenty of very successful people have mental health issues.
- omginternets 9y ago
  Which, in all fairness, is a big red flag where joint business ventures are concerned... what exactly is your point?
  - DoreenMichele 9y ago
    If they are self medicating for something, their performance may be worse if they quit. The optimal answer is to resolve it without drugs of any sort. But that optimal answer is really hard to achieve and is not considered a realistic expectation in many cases. Do you drink coffee? Coca Cola products? Tea? All of those can also medicate for an unrecognized health issue. Do you exercise regularly? Eat spicy food? Live a spartan life? Again, every last one of those can be an effective means to manage health problems. Not managing them is worse. Being judgy about a particular means of management strikes me as close-minded and ill informed. There is no clear cut difference between lifestyle choices and health management. Lifestyle and diet play a very large role in health outcomes. And that role is not as simple as "Don't do X and you will be healthier."
chimen 9y ago
I find your arguments a bit shallow. I know extraordinary people who like to smoke. How can you say a smoker has a "lack of intelligence" and what makes you think people smoke from stress? I smoke from 16 to 35 and I never did it because of stress (yes I smoked when stressed too) - for me it was that calmness it gave. I could concentrate more than I can now as a non-smoker - I could go deeper and stay there for bigger amounts of time.
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- Ascetik 9y ago
  Quite a lot of these arguments against smoking are silly. In moderation, smoking is fine and studies have shown that it increases cognitive ability and lowers stress. Some of the best engineer's I've ever known in my career smoked cigarettes. I don't personally smoke them, but I used to. I use nasal snuff and smoke a pipe now, which is significantly different than cigarettes. However; the social stigma against cigarettes is crazy. It doesn't bother me as long as I'm not trapped in a room with no ventilation with a cig smoker. Sugar is probably worse for you than cigarettes, but like anything it should be moderated. Cigarettes are specifically engineered to get you hooked.
jakobegger 9y ago
Good luck finding a business partner, then! In my experience you don’t often run into worthwhile potential business partners, and you‘ve just excluded 20% of them on a whim!
nvus 9y ago
That's a bad habit you have there, I bet you thinking extends to more than just people who smoke, I would distance myself from people with this line of thinking when looking for a business partner.
- zerokernel 9y ago
  So, the feeling is mutual then? Isn't that great, you've got so much in common!

Rebelgecko 9y ago

Do you feel the same way about having a business partner that drinks alcohol or is overweight?

baumbart 9y ago
That's a good question. Interestingly not! For one part I think that drinking (modest) amounts of alcohol is not as bad for your health as smoking. I would avoid people who love binge-drinking though, for the same reasons as above. Also it is much harder to find non-alcoholics than people who don't smoke, I would think. Being overweight is a different card, because it's a symptom, not an action that is chosen voluntarily. There can be many reasons for being overweight... maybe genes, some kind of illness etc.. I can't judge based on something I don't exactly know. But then again ... when I see someone eating lots of fast-food, chips and drinking Cola ... I would probably hesitate to ask him to become my business partner.
- connorelsea 9y ago
  This is all seemingly a very superficial and judgmental process you've described for selecting a business partner. I'd probably want to know more about their work experience and skills - not so much their taste in cola or cigarettes.
- dpc59 9y ago
  You would miss out on guys like warren buffet with that kind of reasoning.
matwood 9y ago
> that drinks alcohol I haven't really thought about whether I would be a business partner with someone, but in this case quantity certainly matters. When people say smoker, it is implied someone who smokes often and constantly throughout the day - 24/7. The equivalent drinker would be an alcoholic, not just someone who has a beer on Friday.
- rubber_duck 9y ago
  1) "social smoking" is a thing just like social drinking 2) alcoholism has much worse direct consequences than heavy smoking
- seanmcdirmid 9y ago
  I used to smoke, and it was around 4 a day. Hardly all day, but I was still considered a smoker.
dyim 9y ago
In a judgment free way - my dad's long-term business partner was overweight. Died super young, in his mid-60s. It was heartbreaking for everyone involved, and I would not wish it upon anyone. Please take good care of yourself.

DoreenMichele 9y ago

Some smokers are self medicating for mental health issues: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/depression-anxiety.html https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/depressio... Before you say that is also justification for rejecting them, be aware that some folks on HN are vocal about the need to destigmatize mental health issues generally and plenty of very successful people have mental health issues.

omginternets 9y ago
Which, in all fairness, is a big red flag where joint business ventures are concerned... what exactly is your point?
- DoreenMichele 9y ago
  If they are self medicating for something, their performance may be worse if they quit. The optimal answer is to resolve it without drugs of any sort. But that optimal answer is really hard to achieve and is not considered a realistic expectation in many cases. Do you drink coffee? Coca Cola products? Tea? All of those can also medicate for an unrecognized health issue. Do you exercise regularly? Eat spicy food? Live a spartan life? Again, every last one of those can be an effective means to manage health problems. Not managing them is worse. Being judgy about a particular means of management strikes me as close-minded and ill informed. There is no clear cut difference between lifestyle choices and health management. Lifestyle and diet play a very large role in health outcomes. And that role is not as simple as "Don't do X and you will be healthier."

chimen 9y ago

I find your arguments a bit shallow. I know extraordinary people who like to smoke. How can you say a smoker has a "lack of intelligence" and what makes you think people smoke from stress? I smoke from 16 to 35 and I never did it because of stress (yes I smoked when stressed too) - for me it was that calmness it gave. I could concentrate more than I can now as a non-smoker - I could go deeper and stay there for bigger amounts of time.

deleted 9y ago
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deleted 9y ago
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Ascetik 9y ago
Quite a lot of these arguments against smoking are silly. In moderation, smoking is fine and studies have shown that it increases cognitive ability and lowers stress. Some of the best engineer's I've ever known in my career smoked cigarettes. I don't personally smoke them, but I used to. I use nasal snuff and smoke a pipe now, which is significantly different than cigarettes. However; the social stigma against cigarettes is crazy. It doesn't bother me as long as I'm not trapped in a room with no ventilation with a cig smoker. Sugar is probably worse for you than cigarettes, but like anything it should be moderated. Cigarettes are specifically engineered to get you hooked.

jakobegger 9y ago

Good luck finding a business partner, then! In my experience you don’t often run into worthwhile potential business partners, and you‘ve just excluded 20% of them on a whim!

nvus 9y ago

That's a bad habit you have there, I bet you thinking extends to more than just people who smoke, I would distance myself from people with this line of thinking when looking for a business partner.

zerokernel 9y ago
So, the feeling is mutual then? Isn't that great, you've got so much in common!