For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for February 04, 2011

The stench from a man’s shoes is his perfume/cologne.

No it isn’t pouncingtiger. It’s the stink of his feet. Don’t try to dress it up…

Smoking in the house with children present?

Bad Grampa.

TheBird55: Sure. Smoking in comics doesn’t have a cancer causing effect since they changed from lead to graphite. :)

Yeah, stop ruining the mood, John.

And look how well your attitude turned out, FishStix. :-) Seriously, while I think we do coddle kids a bit too much, if you think that just because you’ve survived so long that exposure to cigarette smoke, lead paint and not wearing seatbelts is fine for everyone, you’re definitely fooling yourself. And if you disagree, please talk with someone who is not as lucky as yourself.

Fish Stix, you can talk to me. I’m a lucky one.

Is there some confusion about which century this story line is set in? Back in the day, pipes and cigars were common, and cigarettes were practically mandatory.

I too remember riding in the back of the car, standing and holding onto the strap behind the driver’s seat. But, I don’t think cars went faster than 25-30 back in the day. Mom and Dad smoked in the house. I must be one of the lucky ones,72 and still healthy, thank God. Webspider, I think it’s funny how the fans of this comic think the cartoon people are real, thanks for setting them straight.

That does explain a lot, FishStix – and you WERE lucky to survive.

Thank God for scientific advancement and the additional knowledge it has brought. It’s why we now regularly live to be in our 80s and 90s, not our 30s and 40s as our ancestors did. Or would you rather go back to those days, FishStix?

**thebird55 said, about 7 hours ago

Smoking in the house with children present?

Bad Grampa.**

The comic is from the early 1980’s before we knew the terrible things smoking, and the other stuff FishStix mentioned. My mother smoke 2 packs a day til I was 6, then increased to 3 packs - A DAY. Each pack had 25 smokes.

And let’s not forget that it was a pipe. Many men, and a few women, used to enjoy having a smoke after their evening meal. Once a day was the full extent of their smoking. Theres a big difference between that and the 2 to 3 pack a day smoker that puts out a noxious fog all day long.

And ah, the heady perfume of a good cigar or good pipe tobacco….

I remember taking friends and family to the airport and hanging around to watch their plane take off. Now you have to just drop them at the entrance. Lots of times now you’re back home before their plane leaves the jetway. I miss the olden days …

Hee hee….awww, poor Daddy.

So, Mike, how do n your socks smell after running around and playing all day?

the smell of da feet! :-D (sorry, couldn’t resist)

Sorry for the trolling. I knew my comment would stir debate. It’s a very sensitive issue. Many people do not understand that the smoke does not just go away after a few minutes. They think that if they can’t see it, it’s gone. This attitude was even worse ‘back in the day’. The smoke from one cigarette stays in the air all evening. I can’t visit a friend the day after he has a party. I know that most people are not as sensitive as I am, but it will trigger a migraine in me. And besides, it stinks. Especially after it has “disappeared”, because then it is stale.

I’m 55, and I still don’t wear a bicycle helmet. And I ride often.

I smoked for about 50 years, and some of the tobbacos i smoked were pretty rough. I even recycled butts when cigs weren;t available. Quit in the mid-90s, but far too late!!

I am 79 years old, and I have COPD!!

If you smoke, please stop for your own sake, and the sake of those around you!!!!!!!

howtheduck said, about 3 hours ago With its antiquated sensibilities, people often think these comic strips were published in the 1950s. However, this comic strip was originally published12 February 1982. This is well after the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (FCLAA) was passed in 1969 as part of the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act requiring a health warning. ————————— Please remember this is NOT an American Comic, thus “FCLAA” has no affect in the comic world. This comic strip was - and is - 100% Canadian Written, and Canadian Based, in ONTARIO CANADA. We didn’t have many ‘controls’ placed on Cigarettes until the late 80’s and early 90’s.

Let’s face it. Official warnings or not, we all knew better. But our habits were too ingrained, and changing them was too inconvenient. And it takes time. I smoked until late ‘78. Before I quit, I thought I was a considerate smoker. “I’ll open a window.” Yeah, right. “My smoking bothers you? I’ll move to the other side of the room.” And that reminds me of the smoking/non-smoking sections in places like restaurants. Like the smoke was going to observe the boundaries.

The third panel implies smoking. But to tell the truth, I don’t remember if he smoked in the house or if Mike just smelled the pipe itself. I’m sure that I would be able to smell where a pipe sat for a few days.

Non smokers seem to be able to tolerate it better than ex-smokers. What is it with us? I can’t stand the least exposure to it.

I’m a non-smoker and extremely sensitive to the smell of cigarette/cigar/pipe smoke. I can’t tolerate that stuff at all. It just gives me a horrible headache.

nah, the Canadians must have been even worse than the BNAmericans…

I agree with AZLILSIS- lived through all of that with smoking parents and I’m a year older (73 last September) and constantly improving my diet and exercise. I raised 4 kids in the 60s and my 2nd was just 50 yesterday. I smoked Lucky Strikes when in HS but quit when I went to college because it was just an “image” thing. My parents both smoked and Dad quit after his brother died of emphesema but Mom did not quit until after her stroke. They lived to celebrate 60 years of marriage but Dad suffered the care of an invalid and died of stomach cancer. Mom died because my brother put her in a cheap nursing home- he had total (power of attorney and exexutorship)- and he died of brain cancer (he was 4 years my junior).