Wikipedia talk:Smokers

message: Discussion concerning First Lady Laura Bush's smoking, and Senator Barack Obama's current attempt to quit smoking, led me to seek a broader audience concerning the status of smoking inclusion within Wikipedia biographies.  The page's current text borrows heavily from comments by User:Tvoz at Talk:Barack Obama, with the nutshell de-Obama'ing of the text done by myself. Italiavivi 01:18, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Origin. 

message: I can understand the mantra that just because someone is seen smoking at some point in their lives doesn't mean "this person is a smoker" should be added to their article, but if a reliable source has a non-trivial article on a person's smoking habits (say, a long-running struggle with the addiction), why not mention it in a biography? Fagstein 05:32, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I do think the context and notability of the matter should be the primary consideration. An encyclopedia article is not meant to be an in depth biography, noting every character habit and quirk, but rather an overview of the most important aspects of the individual. I can think of very few individuals where their smoking habit is of more then a trivial concern. Agne 05:42, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Why not?

message: If an article's subject openly discusses their desire to quit smoking, should it be treated differently than smoking itself? Italiavivi 18:14, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Is quitting smoking more notable than smoking? 

message: A possible exception is when a subject dies from a smoking related illness. George Harrison died from the effects of a heavy smoking habit, as is commented in the text. The following quote In early 2005, Katsulas, who, in the words of Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, "loved smoking with a passion that cannot be described," was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer; he died a year later, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 59... is taken from the article Andreas Katsulas. Both were from a time and place where smoking was a cultural habit. In that cause of death is deemed noteworthy, the effect of smoking on the health and eventual demise of a subject must therefore be valid. LessHeard vanU 20:04, 27 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I definitely support the inclusion of this idea into the text.  I'll default to allowing you to write it, as re-wording someone's comments earlier didn't go so well. Italiavivi 03:05, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Sorry about the delay in replying, I'll do it now. LessHeard vanU 13:31, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Smoking and premature death from smoking related diseases 

message: What about someone like William Bennett, who was White House drug Czar, supported execution of drug dealers, and was himself a tobacco smoker? In this case it would be notable or relevant because it illustrates (1) hypocrisy (2) how difficult or impossible it is to quit addicting drugs etc. Nbauman 04:08, 27 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: William Bennett

message: The article shows a picture of him smoking currently. Does anyone think that per an extension of WP:BLP it would be a bad idea to show pictures of people smoking, as in this case? Just wanting some opinions...--h i s   s p a c e   r e s e a r c h 15:04, 29 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  [[Pat Mastelotto]]