Showing posts with label smoking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label smoking. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 05, 2022
Politics and Prohibition: Should Smoking Be Banned for Good? | ThinkTent 2022
I think you all know what I think of this stupid idea. I believe in free choice. I also don't believe that smoking is as bad as they say it is, particularly if one smokes in moderation and otherwise lives a healthy life by eating well, not drinking too much and sleeping well. – © Mark Alexander
Saturday, October 01, 2022
How to Start Smoking (Again)
THE GUARDIAN: There's nothing quite as dull as a how-I-quit-fags story. Taking up cigarettes, however, can be pretty interesting, says Tim Wilson, who has begun smoking seven times
I have started smoking about seven times. The best one was the last. It always is. Practice makes perfect, so you have a more textured awareness of what is unfolding. There's the moment of fatal nostalgia, the decision, the dizzy embrace, and, between 10 to 15 minutes later, the desire to repeat. Quitting cigarettes grabs headlines, (understandably, it's a trial) but starting them deserves scrutiny also. Just because something is easy, doesn't mean it isn't significant.
I'm not alone, apparently, in my vacillation. Studies say that smokers who quit may fail three to seven times before making the final abstention. "Relapse rates" are estimated to range from between 60 and 90 per cent in the first year. Relapse, indeed. Medical language is so cold-blooded. If I'm relapsing, why does the event feel like a reunion? It's like bumping into an ex-girlfriend, finding she is still trouble, and knowing that just this once more, you're up for it.
My last... fling began at a party. I was with intelligent and attractive people, and on the wagon. My doctor had told me not to get off the wagon, so there I stood, clutching my sparkling mineral water. The sex columnist I was talking to was smoking. I looked about me. Everyone was smoking. Cigarettes hung in the air, being tapped insouciantly, being sucked as a prelude to delivering clever remarks. The bubbles in my water continued to rise, cheerful and empty. Something was missing from my life. Risk.
To an ex-smoker, good health can pale because its benefits are quickly absorbed into daily existence. Clean breath and a lack of morning phlegm are instances of absence rather than presence. You quit because you are tired of the smoking rigmarole, the locating of matches and the coughing. You start because well-being is, well, tedious. » | Tim Wilson | Tuesday, December 17, 2002
...
MARK ALEXANDER: I came across this delightful article recently. It is delightful precisely because it goes against the current poltitically correct narrative about how awful and dangerous smoking tobacco is. I don’t agree with this narrative.
Let’s get this straight: I am an ex-smoker. I smoked for most of my adult life. I smoked twenty cigarettes a day, which I consider a normal, moderate number of cigarettes to smoke in a day.
Smoking gave me great pleasure: I loved a smoke. I never felt addicted to cigarettes. I simply wasn’t. That is why I was able to give up smoking from one day to the next; and I haven’t had any cravings for cigarettes after quitting.
My only 'naughty' pleasures in life were a few alcoholic drinks and some cigarettes. These days, even though the smoking of cigarettes is frowned upon by many, people do far, far worse things than smoke a cigarette. You don’t need me to tell you what they do. I have never ever indulged in anything stronger than a few glasses of alcohol—Scotch whisky and red or white wine, usually; and perhaps gin or vodka, more usually in summer.
I quit the lovely and enjoyable habit of smoking on April 10th this year. The day after my birthday. I had three cigarettes left in the pack from the day before. I smoked them; and that was the end of my smoking career (I think!).
The only negative thing I find about not smoking is that I have gained weight. Smoking helped me maintain a fairly constant weight all of my adult life.
When you tell people that after giving up smoking, one gains weight, they immediately think that one eats more. Not so! At least not in my case. One thing I have learnt is that smoking increases one’s metabolism; so, when one stops the pleasurable habit, one’s metabolism slows down. A slow metabolism means that one’’s ingested calories are more slowly burnt off, of course. Hence the weight gain.
Most people these days don’t smoke cigarettes anymore, at least not in public in the Anglosphere. But are they healthier because of this abstinence? Emphatically not! I have never seen so many obese people in my life. They may not be smokers; but they are certainly not any healthier. These days, they eat junk food instead, or puff on e-cigarettes (the long term consequences of which are as yet unknown), or puff, perhaps, on cannabis.
Some of the nicest, happiest people I have ever met in my life have been smokers. By contrast, some of the nastiest, most miserable people I have met have been non-smokers, especially when being militant about not smoking. Think about the non-smokers we know of: Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Putin; and many others besides.
I am not suggesting that smoking tobacco makes one a nice person. Obviously it doesn't. But it is interesting to note that some of the worst people who have ever lived have been not only non-smokers, but also militantly anti-smoking. Just some food for thought.
Anyway, enjoy the article. Such articles are a rare find today. © Mark Aleander
I have started smoking about seven times. The best one was the last. It always is. Practice makes perfect, so you have a more textured awareness of what is unfolding. There's the moment of fatal nostalgia, the decision, the dizzy embrace, and, between 10 to 15 minutes later, the desire to repeat. Quitting cigarettes grabs headlines, (understandably, it's a trial) but starting them deserves scrutiny also. Just because something is easy, doesn't mean it isn't significant.
I'm not alone, apparently, in my vacillation. Studies say that smokers who quit may fail three to seven times before making the final abstention. "Relapse rates" are estimated to range from between 60 and 90 per cent in the first year. Relapse, indeed. Medical language is so cold-blooded. If I'm relapsing, why does the event feel like a reunion? It's like bumping into an ex-girlfriend, finding she is still trouble, and knowing that just this once more, you're up for it.
My last... fling began at a party. I was with intelligent and attractive people, and on the wagon. My doctor had told me not to get off the wagon, so there I stood, clutching my sparkling mineral water. The sex columnist I was talking to was smoking. I looked about me. Everyone was smoking. Cigarettes hung in the air, being tapped insouciantly, being sucked as a prelude to delivering clever remarks. The bubbles in my water continued to rise, cheerful and empty. Something was missing from my life. Risk.
To an ex-smoker, good health can pale because its benefits are quickly absorbed into daily existence. Clean breath and a lack of morning phlegm are instances of absence rather than presence. You quit because you are tired of the smoking rigmarole, the locating of matches and the coughing. You start because well-being is, well, tedious. » | Tim Wilson | Tuesday, December 17, 2002
...
MARK ALEXANDER: I came across this delightful article recently. It is delightful precisely because it goes against the current poltitically correct narrative about how awful and dangerous smoking tobacco is. I don’t agree with this narrative.
Let’s get this straight: I am an ex-smoker. I smoked for most of my adult life. I smoked twenty cigarettes a day, which I consider a normal, moderate number of cigarettes to smoke in a day.
Smoking gave me great pleasure: I loved a smoke. I never felt addicted to cigarettes. I simply wasn’t. That is why I was able to give up smoking from one day to the next; and I haven’t had any cravings for cigarettes after quitting.
My only 'naughty' pleasures in life were a few alcoholic drinks and some cigarettes. These days, even though the smoking of cigarettes is frowned upon by many, people do far, far worse things than smoke a cigarette. You don’t need me to tell you what they do. I have never ever indulged in anything stronger than a few glasses of alcohol—Scotch whisky and red or white wine, usually; and perhaps gin or vodka, more usually in summer.
I quit the lovely and enjoyable habit of smoking on April 10th this year. The day after my birthday. I had three cigarettes left in the pack from the day before. I smoked them; and that was the end of my smoking career (I think!).
The only negative thing I find about not smoking is that I have gained weight. Smoking helped me maintain a fairly constant weight all of my adult life.
When you tell people that after giving up smoking, one gains weight, they immediately think that one eats more. Not so! At least not in my case. One thing I have learnt is that smoking increases one’s metabolism; so, when one stops the pleasurable habit, one’s metabolism slows down. A slow metabolism means that one’’s ingested calories are more slowly burnt off, of course. Hence the weight gain.
Most people these days don’t smoke cigarettes anymore, at least not in public in the Anglosphere. But are they healthier because of this abstinence? Emphatically not! I have never seen so many obese people in my life. They may not be smokers; but they are certainly not any healthier. These days, they eat junk food instead, or puff on e-cigarettes (the long term consequences of which are as yet unknown), or puff, perhaps, on cannabis.
Some of the nicest, happiest people I have ever met in my life have been smokers. By contrast, some of the nastiest, most miserable people I have met have been non-smokers, especially when being militant about not smoking. Think about the non-smokers we know of: Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Putin; and many others besides.
I am not suggesting that smoking tobacco makes one a nice person. Obviously it doesn't. But it is interesting to note that some of the worst people who have ever lived have been not only non-smokers, but also militantly anti-smoking. Just some food for thought.
Anyway, enjoy the article. Such articles are a rare find today. © Mark Aleander
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Not for the Politically Correct! Some Thoughts on Smoking
MARK ALEXANDER: I recently came across this article, delightful and politically incorrect, on smoking cigarettes.
It appealed to the contrarian in me. Now please, don’t misconstrue my message here: I am NOT advocating the smoking of cigarettes or tobacco. Indeed, I quit smoking nearly six months ago, on April 10th. I have smoked no cigarette since; and nor have I had any cravings for one. But this article, written in 2008, delighted the sense, probably because one reads such articles only very rarely these days. Nowadays, cigarette-smoking has become the bête noire of our age. These days, smoking is the root and source of all ill health, from cancer and cardiovascular disease to hair and teeth falling out! People have lost all sense of joie de vivre it seems, especially in the Anglosphere. People have become bores. Absolute joyless bores! Moreover, they see the flaws in others, but forget to look in the mirror and see their own flaws! Exactly what the Bible tells us not to do.
I know that this article is quite old now, but it is still excellent. It is so refreshing to read an article like this about smoking these days. One comes across few such articles in this smoker-unfriendly world we now inhabit. Smoking cigarettes has become the bête noire of our age. It is such a pity. I believe that if done in moderation, there are positives to the enjoyment of a cigarette. Even though medical experts don't know why, it has been found that people who smoke (or have been smokers in the past) are far less likely to suffer from Parkinson's disease. It possibly helps in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, too. But they keep all this very quiet, of course; it doesn't fit in with the dominant narrative: that smoking is the cause of all bad health issues.
I would be the last to advocate smoking to anyone. I am myself an ex-smoker. I had a twenty-a-day habit for most of my adult life. It gave me great pleasure; in fact, I only ever smoked for pleasure; I never smoked out of addiction. I never felt addicted to the habit.
But smoking today has in many ways become a pain: one cannot smoke anywhere in public anymore; cigarettes are so costly; and so many people frown upon the habit. So I decided to quit. I gave up with no problems whatsoever. I have never once had even a craving for a cigarette since. But I still love to see others enjoying a smoke. I also have fond memories of the times in which I did smoke. Those were the more tolerant years.
The article appears in ESQUIRE here.
Enjoy the read! – © Mark Alexander
It appealed to the contrarian in me. Now please, don’t misconstrue my message here: I am NOT advocating the smoking of cigarettes or tobacco. Indeed, I quit smoking nearly six months ago, on April 10th. I have smoked no cigarette since; and nor have I had any cravings for one. But this article, written in 2008, delighted the sense, probably because one reads such articles only very rarely these days. Nowadays, cigarette-smoking has become the bête noire of our age. These days, smoking is the root and source of all ill health, from cancer and cardiovascular disease to hair and teeth falling out! People have lost all sense of joie de vivre it seems, especially in the Anglosphere. People have become bores. Absolute joyless bores! Moreover, they see the flaws in others, but forget to look in the mirror and see their own flaws! Exactly what the Bible tells us not to do.
”Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.” – KJB, Matthew 7, 5I wrote a comment apropos of this great article. It appears under the handle ‘mar5508’. This is it:
I know that this article is quite old now, but it is still excellent. It is so refreshing to read an article like this about smoking these days. One comes across few such articles in this smoker-unfriendly world we now inhabit. Smoking cigarettes has become the bête noire of our age. It is such a pity. I believe that if done in moderation, there are positives to the enjoyment of a cigarette. Even though medical experts don't know why, it has been found that people who smoke (or have been smokers in the past) are far less likely to suffer from Parkinson's disease. It possibly helps in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, too. But they keep all this very quiet, of course; it doesn't fit in with the dominant narrative: that smoking is the cause of all bad health issues.
I would be the last to advocate smoking to anyone. I am myself an ex-smoker. I had a twenty-a-day habit for most of my adult life. It gave me great pleasure; in fact, I only ever smoked for pleasure; I never smoked out of addiction. I never felt addicted to the habit.
But smoking today has in many ways become a pain: one cannot smoke anywhere in public anymore; cigarettes are so costly; and so many people frown upon the habit. So I decided to quit. I gave up with no problems whatsoever. I have never once had even a craving for a cigarette since. But I still love to see others enjoying a smoke. I also have fond memories of the times in which I did smoke. Those were the more tolerant years.
The article appears in ESQUIRE here.
Enjoy the read! – © Mark Alexander
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Nicotine’s Effects on the Brain & Body & How to Quit Smoking or Vaping | Huberman Lab Podcast #90
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Monday, August 29, 2022
Holy Smoke
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Sexy or What ?
For your information, it is four months to the day, today, since I smoked my last cigarette. No relapses, no cravings. I’m just tobacco-free. It’s good to see a man such as Colin Farrell enjoying a cigarette, though, all the same. I am NOT going to turn into a typical ‘reformed smoker’, an ‘anti-smoker’, just because I have myself kicked the habit. Such people have always annoyed me greatly. In my opinion, life is short. We must all get our kicks where we can. And if those kicks come from smoking a few cigarettes, then so be it. Enjoy! – © Mark Alexander
Sunday, July 10, 2022
Tobacco-free: Today Marks Three Months Since I Smoked My Last Cigarette
I would just like to inform you, my followers and visitors, that today, to the date, marks three months since I smoked my last cigarette.
I am happy to inform you that the transition from being a smoker to being a non-smoker has been totally pain-free. I have given up without any problems or cravings; moreover, I have had no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. None!
Do I still find smoking fascinating? Yes! Yes, I still do. But it is nothing more than that: a fascination. I love to see a photo of a man smoking a cigarette; but I do not myself need to smoke one.
Hsve there been any downsides to quitting? Not really! Other than possibly relinquishing some pleasure. But on a positive note, I have already saved a great deal of money, not having to buy cigarettes.
I still find smoking fascinating and sexy. Nothing comes close to it. There truly is something about a handsome person who smokes a cigarette, especially a man. However, we now find ourselves living in puritanical times. It will not always be thus; times and moods will return to sanity. People will find out that smoking is not as bad as what will replace it for pleaure. In years to come, the loony bins will be full!
I have no doubt in my mind at all that times will change. Smoking cigarettes will surely become salonfähig and acceptable in polite society again, especially when people eventually realize that there are other 'pleasures' far more harmful than smoking cigarettes. But we haven’t got there yet. Watch this space!
© Mark Alexander
Sunday, July 10, 2022
I am happy to inform you that the transition from being a smoker to being a non-smoker has been totally pain-free. I have given up without any problems or cravings; moreover, I have had no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. None!
Do I still find smoking fascinating? Yes! Yes, I still do. But it is nothing more than that: a fascination. I love to see a photo of a man smoking a cigarette; but I do not myself need to smoke one.
Hsve there been any downsides to quitting? Not really! Other than possibly relinquishing some pleasure. But on a positive note, I have already saved a great deal of money, not having to buy cigarettes.
I still find smoking fascinating and sexy. Nothing comes close to it. There truly is something about a handsome person who smokes a cigarette, especially a man. However, we now find ourselves living in puritanical times. It will not always be thus; times and moods will return to sanity. People will find out that smoking is not as bad as what will replace it for pleaure. In years to come, the loony bins will be full!
I have no doubt in my mind at all that times will change. Smoking cigarettes will surely become salonfähig and acceptable in polite society again, especially when people eventually realize that there are other 'pleasures' far more harmful than smoking cigarettes. But we haven’t got there yet. Watch this space!
© Mark Alexander
Sunday, July 10, 2022
Saturday, July 09, 2022
How Hot Is This?
Real, Normal, Masculine, Handsome Man
Friday, July 08, 2022
Monday, July 04, 2022
Vape Haze – The Thriving Black Market of Vaping | Four Corners | ABC News
What a surprise! Vaping has become a problem in Australia, especially for young people. Well I never!
Politicians of every stripe, but particularly left-wing politicians, are engaged in social engineering; they are trying to change people’s preferences and habits, and in so doing are causing distortions in the marketplace and are engaging in social engineering. Sometimes things are better left alone. the vowel of your choice—leave things alone?
First of all, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a conventional cigarette as long as one’s smoking is kept within limits and it is done in moderation. I have smoked for most of my adult life; though I have given up now. (With ease, I hasten to add.) Smoking is not an addiction; rather, it is a habit.
They try and say that nicotine is “the most addictive substance known to man”. TOSH! POPPYCOCK! NONSENSE! Nicotine is hardly addictive at all! It is only addictive if you let it be so. I smoked twenty cigarettes a day for most of my adult life and when I gave up, I suffered no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. Not one! Nor have I had any cravings since giving up. (It will be three months on July 10th since giving up.)
Smoking has become the bête noire of our day; but it is actually a very pleasurable habit. The secret is not letting it control you. Many things can become addictive if you allow them to become so: chocolate, alcohol, sugary foods, gambling, and many other things besides. Self-control and self-discipline are called for.
Governments have been pushing vaping as an alternative to smoking for several years. I find this totally and utterly irresponsible, because we do not know the long-term effects of the habit. Fact is, too, they are very appealing to young people, because they are often high-tech, and because they can be purchased in all sorts of weird and wonderful flavours. So these young people are becoming dependent on them and they are convincing themselves that they are addicted to nicotine. Young people are young are often impressionable, weak-willed, and lacking in discipline.
What needs to be done is for governments to put pressure on the cigarette manufacturers to take the crap out of real cigarettes. Make them take out all those nasty chemicals, make them manufacture safer real cigarettes; and governments should bring the price of real cigarettes right down by taking all that excessive tax off them.
Don’t get me wrong. I am all for bringing down the incidence of smoking; but it should be done by education and gentle persuasion. Social engineering is not only wrong; it is also very dangerous. Because people will get their kicks in life, one way or another. Take one pleasure away from them and they will find another pleasure to replace the one taken away. Moreover, that pleasure denied to people may well turn out in the long-run to be far less injurious to health than the new-fangled habit used to replace it.
Further, while we are on the subjects of smoking and vaping. Smoking a cigarette can look extremely sexy when done by an attractive person. That’s why they have been used to good effect in movies/films over the decades to make handsome actors and beautiful actresses look sexy. Vaping will never be used to replace cigarettes for this purpose. It just doesn’t have that allure. There is hardly anything about vaping which increases one’s sex appeal. Forget it! When I have seen people vaping, cloud-chasing, they look as though there’s a locomotive ahead! Furthermore, putting a hard piece of plastic onto one’s lips is hardly a sensual experience. – © Mark Alexander
Monday, June 27, 2022
The Thriving Black Market of Vaping | Four Corners
Jun 27, 2022 • Vaping was hailed as a new way to quit smoking. But now there are serious concerns it’s hooking a new generation on nicotine.
An investigation by Four Corners has found there is a thriving black market, fueled by rising demand among young people and a failure to police the rules.
We delve into the fierce battle about the harms of vaping, in what’s become a multi-billion-dollar global industry.
Vaping advocates claim any harms caused by e-cigarettes pale in comparison to the dangers of smoking - and that vaping can be an effective quit tool.
But public health experts say there’s limited evidence they help to quit smoking, and warn that vaping poses a significant long-term public health risk.
This is total and utter MADNESS! Why don’t these meddlesome politicians–idiots all!–leave things alone?
Smoking rates were coming down anyway. These e-cigarettes are unproven. We know not the long-term consequences of vaping, because people haven’t been vaping for long enough yet; so, we have incomplete data on the habit/addiction.
One thing I know for sure: Vaping has been made to look cool to young people, especially to techy types. But the fact of the matter is that this habit is bound to appeal to very young people, because they can get their fix of nicotine with all manner of flavours, such as apricot, peach, strawberry, raspberry and all types of other attractive flavours to young people. So, do you think that these would not appeal to school kids? For sure they will: they will be far more appealing to young people than normal cigarettes would be, because in order to start smoking normal cigarettes, one must acquire a taste for them, which often times, nay usually, is most unappealing at the start of one’s smoking ‘career’. In other words, in order to become a smoker, one has to persevere. This is surely not the case with e-cigarettes.
My own opinion is that it is HIGHLY IRRESPONSIBLE of politicians to push vaping as a substitute for smoking. No Health Secretary worth his salt would promote these damn things. I know that if I had children, I would be devastated if they took up this habit with unknown consequences.
They have demonized smokers now to such an extent that smokers are not wanted anywhere, leading to loneliness. The fact is there is NOTHING WRONG with the enjoyment of a cigarette as long as one’s smoking is kept in moderation. Everything is bad for one’s health if consumed in high quantities: eating, alcohol, smoking, sugar, etc. Moderation is key.
I have been a lifelong smoker. And how I enjoyed it! For people of my generation, smoking was the normal thing to do for REAL MEN. As a Swiss man stated in a Swiss documentary I have watched on YouTube: Back in the day, he said, if a man didn’t smoke, he was considered to be ein Sonderling, a crank or an eccentric! How times have changed!
They have put the price of cigarettes up so much in this damn country now that the price of a packet—Marlboro Reds were £12.50 when I gave up in early April—is totally out of sync with the pleasure derived from them. (Almost all of that price is tax.) Moreover, one can go nowhere to enjoy a cigarette anymore. People have become absolutely paranoid about second-hand smoke, which I believe is largely nonsense.
On top of that, one cannot go to a café, bar, or restaurant and enjoy a smoke, either. The concept of joie de vivre has been totally lost.
People these days have bees in their bonnets about so many things that are sources of pleasure. Even eating meat or dairy has become a political, rebellious act. Good God! What an age to be living in! Even the government isn’t willing to allow people a few pleasures. The British government, a right-wing government which is supposed to guarantee people maximum freedom to choose their own path in life, has declared that it wants to make Britain smoke-free by 2030. First of all, have they asked the people if they want this to happen? I don’t want it to happen for starters. What? Smoke-free to replace proper cigarettes with crap as seen in this documentary? What a sick joke! Secondly, I know from my life’s experience that should they be able to achieve this goal, it will be replaced with something else far, far worse. (We can see this above in this documentary.) Not to forget that now they're after smokers; soon they'll be after people who enjoy a drop of alcohol. Rest assured: These sick puritans won't rest until they have denied us all the pleasures of life. Think of the late German theologian, Martin Niemöller!
The way forward is for government to encourage people to quit smoking whilst at the same time encouraging the tobacco manufacturers to manufacture higher quality cigarettes, preferably eliminating as many of the harmful chemicals from cigarettes as possible. It can be done. It should be done. Indeed, it must be done.
Governments have talked about employing ‘Loneliness Czars’ to try and combat loneliness. What an idiotic idea that is! Loneliness in society is caused by many factors. Death of a loved one (which I know something about). But also by not being able to go out and mix with people as we were always able to do. Remember the English pub? These days, they resemble kindergartens rather than pubs. You can eat in them as much as you like and you can have a drink. But don't, for God's sake, expect to be able to smoke a cigarette in one! Das Rauchen ist strengstens verboten!
I could go on and on about this sort of thing. There is so much wrong with this damn country now that one has to ask oneself if it is indeed fixable.
Meddlesome politicians please go away. Come back another day. Let people live their lives their way. Live their lives as they see fit. – © Mark Alexander
An investigation by Four Corners has found there is a thriving black market, fueled by rising demand among young people and a failure to police the rules.
We delve into the fierce battle about the harms of vaping, in what’s become a multi-billion-dollar global industry.
Vaping advocates claim any harms caused by e-cigarettes pale in comparison to the dangers of smoking - and that vaping can be an effective quit tool.
But public health experts say there’s limited evidence they help to quit smoking, and warn that vaping poses a significant long-term public health risk.
This is total and utter MADNESS! Why don’t these meddlesome politicians–idiots all!–leave things alone?
Smoking rates were coming down anyway. These e-cigarettes are unproven. We know not the long-term consequences of vaping, because people haven’t been vaping for long enough yet; so, we have incomplete data on the habit/addiction.
One thing I know for sure: Vaping has been made to look cool to young people, especially to techy types. But the fact of the matter is that this habit is bound to appeal to very young people, because they can get their fix of nicotine with all manner of flavours, such as apricot, peach, strawberry, raspberry and all types of other attractive flavours to young people. So, do you think that these would not appeal to school kids? For sure they will: they will be far more appealing to young people than normal cigarettes would be, because in order to start smoking normal cigarettes, one must acquire a taste for them, which often times, nay usually, is most unappealing at the start of one’s smoking ‘career’. In other words, in order to become a smoker, one has to persevere. This is surely not the case with e-cigarettes.
My own opinion is that it is HIGHLY IRRESPONSIBLE of politicians to push vaping as a substitute for smoking. No Health Secretary worth his salt would promote these damn things. I know that if I had children, I would be devastated if they took up this habit with unknown consequences.
They have demonized smokers now to such an extent that smokers are not wanted anywhere, leading to loneliness. The fact is there is NOTHING WRONG with the enjoyment of a cigarette as long as one’s smoking is kept in moderation. Everything is bad for one’s health if consumed in high quantities: eating, alcohol, smoking, sugar, etc. Moderation is key.
I have been a lifelong smoker. And how I enjoyed it! For people of my generation, smoking was the normal thing to do for REAL MEN. As a Swiss man stated in a Swiss documentary I have watched on YouTube: Back in the day, he said, if a man didn’t smoke, he was considered to be ein Sonderling, a crank or an eccentric! How times have changed!
They have put the price of cigarettes up so much in this damn country now that the price of a packet—Marlboro Reds were £12.50 when I gave up in early April—is totally out of sync with the pleasure derived from them. (Almost all of that price is tax.) Moreover, one can go nowhere to enjoy a cigarette anymore. People have become absolutely paranoid about second-hand smoke, which I believe is largely nonsense.
On top of that, one cannot go to a café, bar, or restaurant and enjoy a smoke, either. The concept of joie de vivre has been totally lost.
Nowadays, people recognise the dangers in everything, but recognise the pleasures in nothing. – Mark Alexander, May 27, 2022As I say, I have smoked for most of my adult life. Never out of addiction; only ever out of pleasure. Smoking, in my experience is not an addiction, unless one allows it to be one. Further, I can honestly say that even though I smoked for years, I have never suffered from coughs or phlegm or anything like that. If one looks at a packet of cigarettes these days, one's hair and teeth will surely fall out because of tobacco. To say nothing of one suffering from impotence, cancer, etc. Is there actually a disease known to man that cannot be attributed to the nasty habit of enjoying a puff?
People these days have bees in their bonnets about so many things that are sources of pleasure. Even eating meat or dairy has become a political, rebellious act. Good God! What an age to be living in! Even the government isn’t willing to allow people a few pleasures. The British government, a right-wing government which is supposed to guarantee people maximum freedom to choose their own path in life, has declared that it wants to make Britain smoke-free by 2030. First of all, have they asked the people if they want this to happen? I don’t want it to happen for starters. What? Smoke-free to replace proper cigarettes with crap as seen in this documentary? What a sick joke! Secondly, I know from my life’s experience that should they be able to achieve this goal, it will be replaced with something else far, far worse. (We can see this above in this documentary.) Not to forget that now they're after smokers; soon they'll be after people who enjoy a drop of alcohol. Rest assured: These sick puritans won't rest until they have denied us all the pleasures of life. Think of the late German theologian, Martin Niemöller!
The way forward is for government to encourage people to quit smoking whilst at the same time encouraging the tobacco manufacturers to manufacture higher quality cigarettes, preferably eliminating as many of the harmful chemicals from cigarettes as possible. It can be done. It should be done. Indeed, it must be done.
Governments have talked about employing ‘Loneliness Czars’ to try and combat loneliness. What an idiotic idea that is! Loneliness in society is caused by many factors. Death of a loved one (which I know something about). But also by not being able to go out and mix with people as we were always able to do. Remember the English pub? These days, they resemble kindergartens rather than pubs. You can eat in them as much as you like and you can have a drink. But don't, for God's sake, expect to be able to smoke a cigarette in one! Das Rauchen ist strengstens verboten!
I could go on and on about this sort of thing. There is so much wrong with this damn country now that one has to ask oneself if it is indeed fixable.
Meddlesome politicians please go away. Come back another day. Let people live their lives their way. Live their lives as they see fit. – © Mark Alexander
Sunday, June 26, 2022
A Priest Having a Pull
Friday, June 24, 2022
A Man Smoking a Cigarette Has That Indescribable Something about Him, That Certain je ne sais quoi
Saturday, June 18, 2022
Smoking Pleasure…
Friday, June 17, 2022
One Cool Dude!
Saturday, June 11, 2022
Canada : The Authorities Have Lost Their Minds!
The Canadian government legalized the smoking of cannabis/marijuana three years ago; yet they are introducing ever more stringent laws against the smoking of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Clearly, these laws are redolent of a Nanny State. How stupid can people get? This means that you can legally get stoned out of your mind, yet enjoying a humble cigarette is becoming ever more difficult. How nonsensical is that? I had always thought that Canadians were smarter than this. Obviously, I was mistaken. – © Mark Alexander
The pros, cons and unknowns of legal cannabis in Canada 3 years later: Legalization has had a positive effect on the justice system, but public health data is lacking, experts say »
Written warning on every cigarette in Canadian world-first: Poison in every puff’ message proposed amid government concern photo warnings on tobacco packages have lost impact »
Friday, June 10, 2022
Smoking Could Be Banned in Beer Gardens
This country is turning into a real Nanny State! Who the hell gives these idiots the right to tell other adults what they can or cannot do for a bit of pleasure in their lives? People at the top take drugs of all sorts; and much else besides. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a cigarette as long as one’s smoking is kept in moderation. It’s like everything else in life, moderation is key.
In my life, whilst working abroad, I worked with many Americans. Almost all of them were smokers, most were pretty slim, and few of them suffered from diabetes. Look at Americans today! Most of them don’t smoke anymore, but very many Americans are obese, and type-2 diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in the States.
I would be the last person to say that smoking is good for anyone’s health. But so aren't many things good for people’s health. Being obese certainly is not good for health. Nor is sugar or alcohol. Nor marijuana, for which laws are being relaxed. The long-term effects of vaping, despite what many governments say, are not yet known.
Please note that I am an ex-smoker, so I no longer have skin in the game. However, I will say this: When I smoked, I only ever smoked for the pleasure it brought me (and it brought me a lot of pleasure); I never smoked out of addiction. Never! Smoking is a habit, not an addiction. I know that to be true, because when I quit the habit, I had no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. And I was a twenty a day smoker for most of my adult life. Were smoking to be an addiction, I would most certainly have had withdrawal symptoms. Nor, by the way, have I had any cravings.
So I say this: Let people smoke! Encourage them not to do so, by all means; but let people decide for themselves. I don’t want to live in a smoke-free Britain, because I am old enough to know that if they manage to stub out the habit altogether, it will be replaced by some other undesirable habit, from which many other undesirable side effects and problems will ensue. We will never be able to live in a Utopia. And as Margaret Thatcher once said: “We probably shouldn’t like it if we could.”
This government is a right-wing Conservative government. Right-wing Conservatives are supposed to believe in consumer choice. So they should live by their principles. For heaven's sake, leave smokers alone! – © Mark Alexander
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