Why do people care what other people do?

Stop trying to justify smoking, it brings along several negative externalities which impact people in everyday society. Yeah well addiction to playing sport isn't as harmful and having lifelong cancer after smoking too much is it?

So what if its covered? We shouldn't have to deal with the cost in the first place. Well haven't you heard of those stories where parents are smoking around their children at home, which is highly irresponsible and could severely damage their children's lungs

not in your own home it isn't. My mum ****ed up my respiratory system smoking in our house when I was a child. That's why I hate people smoking around me its like blarghhh :'(

The truth is : People don't like the idea of anyone being happier/more secure than your average Joe or Joanne.

If someone tells you about their new love of vegetarianism, we naturally worry that they are doing something better than what we're doing. And that threatens us.
We like people to do what we do, because it's likely to give them the same results that we have. We feel crap (we all do - we're humans), so at least if everyone else does what we do, they'll all feel just as crap, which makes us feel less crap.

Think about the person who's always been 'fat'. They start to lose weight, and why do people tell them to stop, or just become bitchy, or just suddenly have an opinion. Because it makes them feel worse seeing someone do something that may make them happy.
They start to doubt the things that they do differently.

My aunt has terminal lung cancer, and never smoked, and doctors suggested passive smoking may be the cause. I have no problem with people smoking but do it away from others

I think I can speak for the vegetarianism one as a recent convert.

People feel the need to justify themselves by attacking vegetarians as they feel threatened by the fact vegetarians are 'strong enough' to take a very moral life choice which they themselves are unwilling to do. It threatens them as they feel like vegetarians see themselves as/are seen as morally superior.

They feel the need to justify their life choices in the face of that and for many people it means attacking that lifestyle.

Yeah my great uncle got throat cancer - he didn't give up smoking until he was put on a recovery ward with a 25 year old guy with terminal lung cancer who had never smoked in his life.

I have a problem with parents smoking, it really affected me as a child. Just broken promise after broken promise, and now my sense of smell is crap and I struggle to breathe while I am eating.

Interesting argument. I wouldn't say "we all do" though, personally I've never felt like that

That's horrible

It is annoying when vegetarians harp on about it though, in the same way you get with party workers in politics. I'm happy to cook something veggie for you but one of my mate's girlfriends has a habit of then telling us all what scumbags we are for eating meat and how we're responsible for endless suffering/global warming.

This was particularly galling given the beef was from the local farm shop and she rocked up in 3.5 litre Z4.

It's not really common but does seem to happen with a particularly virulent subset, and it's as annoying as people who tell you how superior they are for going to the gym.

Is there a person on earth (beyond a certain age) who feels:

"If I had the opportunity to be born again, I wouldn't change any decisions I've ever made, I wouldn't do anything differently, and I wouldn't change a single thing about myself"

I doubt it. Nobody (beyond a certain age) is completely happy with their life. Everybody feels down about things sometimes. And the thought of anyone else being completely happy makes us feel threatened, without doubt.

We're all happier to be as unhappy/satisfied as each other by doing the same things, eating the same stuff, wearing the same things, acting the same way, making the same money.

Damn anyone who acts differently to everyone else, and has the audacity to look happy whilst doing so. They should be doing what we do, and feeling what we feel.
Thus, we try to bring them down to our level by telling them what they do is wrong or stupid.

Wtf are some people even saying?
People are allowed to have opinions on whatever they want

Yeah mum used to make me do things by promising she would give up smoking 'if you stop sucking your fingers I will give up smoking' 'if you get level 6 sats I'll give up smoking' etc etc etc

she still smokes. Well, she's switched to e-cigarettes

Stop trying to justify smoking, it brings along several negative externalities which impact people in everyday society. Yeah well addiction to playing sport isn't as harmful and having lifelong cancer after smoking too much is it?

So what if its covered? We shouldn't have to deal with the cost in the first place. Well haven't you heard of those stories where parents are smoking around their children at home, which is highly irresponsible and could severely damage their children's lungs

Umm... Nobody is disputing whether one has the right to an opinion.

We're asking why people seem to have such string opinions one what other people do (which rarely affects them).
And it's a very interesting topic, to be honest.

Umm... Nobody is disputing whether one has the right to an opinion.

We're asking why people seem to have such string opinions one what other people do (which rarely affects them).
And it's a very interesting topic, to be honest.

No it's not.
People will always have opinion on things that don't affect them and there's no rule saying you should have a strong opinion on something that affects you directly..

Who said there's a rule?