You will have noticed that I have recently posted a few items on smoking cigarettes. You will have also noticed that I am totally against Rishi Sunak’s incremental ban on smoking for young people, therewith making it impossible for people under a certain age ever to buy cigarettes in this country. Of course I am against encouraging young people to start smoking, but I view this ban as absurd, anti-democratic, dictatorial, intrusive, illiberal, and fundamentally anti-Conservative.
Conservatives are supposed to believe in small government. That means to say that a good Conservative government is supposed not to interfere in people’s private lives or at least as little as possible. Conservative governments are certainly not supposed to tell people what they should eat, drink, or whether they can smoke a perfectly legal product, or not.
This stupid, intrusive law, if passed, is even more annoying and absurd, because we are living in a time in which many governments around the world are decriminalizing soft drugs such as cannabis, and many governments are encouraging young people to vape, the encouragement of which I absolutely disagree with. Why? Because we don’t yet know what the long-term health consequences of vaping and e-cigarettes are.
Many governments and authorities try and say that vaping is less injurious to health than the smoking of conventional cigarettes; but is it really? Only time will tell. What we do know, however, is that vaping, with the plethora of flavours on offer, appeal to young people in a way which conventional cigarettes never did or could.
Cigarette-smoking is an acquired habit. You cannot smoke one cigarette, your first, and love it. Usually, one’s first cigarette tastes foul! Not so, it seems, vaping. An apricot-flavoured vape, for example, has instant appeal to many a young person. The fact that these devices often resemble hi-tech devices is an added attraction to our young people who want to look ‘cool’. This is surely why there are so many young people today hooked on vaping. Vaping today is ‘cool’ in a way conventional cigarettes no longer are. (At least for the time being.)
I have never vaped; and nor have I any intention of ever doing so. Nor have I ever partaken of any drugs. Not even the softest of them. I say that with pride, because there was plenty of opportunity even way back when I was a student. I stuck to cigarettes and alcohol. But in moderation.
Even though I defend people’s right to smoke and deplore this ongoing, unrelenting war on tobacco and cigarettes, I am pleased to be able to report that today, October 10th, marks one and a half years since I smoked my last cigarette. My last cigarette was on April 10th, 2022.
As it happens, I haven't had a drink of alcohol since early June this year, either; so, that is four months without a drink too! My liver is surely happier. Living without alcohol has also been easy.
Actually, I didn’t decide to stop drinking alcohol. It happened by accident. It is not necessarily my intention never to drink again. With Christmas coming, I probably will. But I am sure that being without alcohol for several months has done my health good, especially my liver. Interestingly, I haven’t missed alcoholic drinks at all. It’s surprising what one can do without and what one can get used to.
© Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved
Showing posts with label smoking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label smoking. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Monday, October 09, 2023
The HITCH Series | Smoking & Drinking
Related here and here.
Friday, September 22, 2023
Rishi Sunak Considers Banning Cigarettes for Next Generation
THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: Sources say law could gradually increase smoking age to ultimately prevent sales to people born after certain year
Rishi Sunak is considering introducing some of the world’s toughest anti-smoking measures that would in effect ban the next generation from ever being able to buy cigarettes, the Guardian has learned.
Whitehall sources said the prime minister was looking at measures similar to those brought in by New Zealand last December. They involved steadily increasing the legal smoking age so tobacco would end up never being sold to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. » | Pippa Crerar and Rowena Mason | Friday, September 22, 2023
Meddlesome politicians just won’t give up, will they? The war on tobacco and smoking is unrelenting. Talk about a nanny state! This is it! This is a perfect example of one.
In today’s world, it is fine to smoke drugs, snort cocaine — or whatever the hell else people get up to —, but don’t, for God’s sake, light up a cigarette!
I am an ex-smoker, and anyway, at my age, such a law wouldn’t affect me. But I object in the strongest terms to the government, any government of whatever stripe, telling people whether they can smoke a cigarette, or not. Although I no longer smoke — I stopped smoking a year last April — I have fond memories of the years I did smoke, because smoking gave me years of smoking pleasure.
I have never tried vaping, and nor will I ever. Vaping just looks silly to me, and in any case, it holds no appeal to me. A person smoking a cigarette can look attractive and sexy; not so someone vaping. Moreover, we still don’t know the long-term health consequences of vaping. We know the health risks of smoking tobacco, but it is my firm belief that anything done in moderation, if it gives one pleasure, is acceptable. Because all things, when done to excess, are dangerous to one’s health.
Politicians go on about smoking, but I will assure you of one thing: they won’t ban the smoking of fine cigars. Why? Because they love smoking a fine cigar themselves. They are such hypocrites!
Even though I no longer smoke, I reserve the right to re-start should I ever wish to do so. And one thing I can assure you: I would never ever vote for any political party that would take a person’s right away to smoke a cigarette. I have an aversion to nanny states
If politicians really want to have a war on something, they can have a war on drugs. Now that would be a good and sensible thing. But they won’t have a war like that, because they know they wouldn’t be able to win it. – © Mark Alexander
Rishi Sunak is considering introducing some of the world’s toughest anti-smoking measures that would in effect ban the next generation from ever being able to buy cigarettes, the Guardian has learned.
Whitehall sources said the prime minister was looking at measures similar to those brought in by New Zealand last December. They involved steadily increasing the legal smoking age so tobacco would end up never being sold to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. » | Pippa Crerar and Rowena Mason | Friday, September 22, 2023
Meddlesome politicians just won’t give up, will they? The war on tobacco and smoking is unrelenting. Talk about a nanny state! This is it! This is a perfect example of one.
In today’s world, it is fine to smoke drugs, snort cocaine — or whatever the hell else people get up to —, but don’t, for God’s sake, light up a cigarette!
I am an ex-smoker, and anyway, at my age, such a law wouldn’t affect me. But I object in the strongest terms to the government, any government of whatever stripe, telling people whether they can smoke a cigarette, or not. Although I no longer smoke — I stopped smoking a year last April — I have fond memories of the years I did smoke, because smoking gave me years of smoking pleasure.
I have never tried vaping, and nor will I ever. Vaping just looks silly to me, and in any case, it holds no appeal to me. A person smoking a cigarette can look attractive and sexy; not so someone vaping. Moreover, we still don’t know the long-term health consequences of vaping. We know the health risks of smoking tobacco, but it is my firm belief that anything done in moderation, if it gives one pleasure, is acceptable. Because all things, when done to excess, are dangerous to one’s health.
Politicians go on about smoking, but I will assure you of one thing: they won’t ban the smoking of fine cigars. Why? Because they love smoking a fine cigar themselves. They are such hypocrites!
Even though I no longer smoke, I reserve the right to re-start should I ever wish to do so. And one thing I can assure you: I would never ever vote for any political party that would take a person’s right away to smoke a cigarette. I have an aversion to nanny states
If politicians really want to have a war on something, they can have a war on drugs. Now that would be a good and sensible thing. But they won’t have a war like that, because they know they wouldn’t be able to win it. – © Mark Alexander
Monday, September 11, 2023
Smoking More Than Doubles Your Risk of Mental Illness: New Study
NEW YORK POST: It’s no secret that smoking cigarettes can ruin your body.
The list of illnesses that smoking causes — heart disease, stroke, diabetes, emphysema, bronchitis and several types of cancer — is long and troubling.
However, most people don’t realize that smoking is also associated with mental illness.
In recent years, studies have suggested that there’s a strong link between the two.
But researchers haven’t been able to decide whether smoking causes mental disorders, or if individuals who already have a mental disorder smoke to ease their symptoms. » | Marc Lallanilla | Monday, September 11, 2023
Here we go again! This is a new one: Now, smoking can make you doolally! Is there a disease or malady known to man which smoking isn’t said to be the cause of? Pointing out the dangers of smoking seems to have been turned from a science into a sport! These killjoys must be asking themselves one simple question each month: Which illness can we come up with this time which we can blame on smoking?
I am myself an ex-smoker, so I no longer have skin in the game; however, it does irritate me when I read these articles, because we are living in a time in which so many people get their kicks from far, far worse and unhealthier habits than the enjoyment of the odd cigarette.
We are living in a time in which many governments have either legalized soft drugs or are in the process of doing so; yet nobody speaks of the dangers of those habits. I am not a father, and at this age I am very unlikely ever to become one, however, were I to have a son, I would prefer him to enjoy the odd cigarette than a joint. As unhealthy as cigarettes can be, especially if over-indulged in, they don’t bend the mind.
As an ex-educator, I was appalled last week to learn that there are now children as young as 10 years of age going to school in the US high on marijuana! Now that truly is a worry! Not whether or not an older man enjoys the odd cigarette.
Moreover, look at the opioid addiction in America (and in other countries)! It is a disgrace that this problem has been allowed to grow out of control. Governments control the smoking of tobacco to a ridiculous extent, yet they do little to control the abuse of other substances. In fact, they are now actively encouraging their use!
Moreover, by hitting the smokers of tobacco so hard, governments have created a huge problem among young people because so many of them have taken to vaping, the long-term health consequences of which we don’t yet know.
Government intervention invariably exacerbates such problems. Governments should start to try and control the important things and allow adults to make up their own minds about where they get their kicks. Try not to kill all the joys of life; otherwise, life will cease to be worth living. Indeed, so restricted have things become that we are nearly there already! – © Mark Alexander
The list of illnesses that smoking causes — heart disease, stroke, diabetes, emphysema, bronchitis and several types of cancer — is long and troubling.
However, most people don’t realize that smoking is also associated with mental illness.
In recent years, studies have suggested that there’s a strong link between the two.
But researchers haven’t been able to decide whether smoking causes mental disorders, or if individuals who already have a mental disorder smoke to ease their symptoms. » | Marc Lallanilla | Monday, September 11, 2023
Here we go again! This is a new one: Now, smoking can make you doolally! Is there a disease or malady known to man which smoking isn’t said to be the cause of? Pointing out the dangers of smoking seems to have been turned from a science into a sport! These killjoys must be asking themselves one simple question each month: Which illness can we come up with this time which we can blame on smoking?
I am myself an ex-smoker, so I no longer have skin in the game; however, it does irritate me when I read these articles, because we are living in a time in which so many people get their kicks from far, far worse and unhealthier habits than the enjoyment of the odd cigarette.
We are living in a time in which many governments have either legalized soft drugs or are in the process of doing so; yet nobody speaks of the dangers of those habits. I am not a father, and at this age I am very unlikely ever to become one, however, were I to have a son, I would prefer him to enjoy the odd cigarette than a joint. As unhealthy as cigarettes can be, especially if over-indulged in, they don’t bend the mind.
As an ex-educator, I was appalled last week to learn that there are now children as young as 10 years of age going to school in the US high on marijuana! Now that truly is a worry! Not whether or not an older man enjoys the odd cigarette.
Moreover, look at the opioid addiction in America (and in other countries)! It is a disgrace that this problem has been allowed to grow out of control. Governments control the smoking of tobacco to a ridiculous extent, yet they do little to control the abuse of other substances. In fact, they are now actively encouraging their use!
Moreover, by hitting the smokers of tobacco so hard, governments have created a huge problem among young people because so many of them have taken to vaping, the long-term health consequences of which we don’t yet know.
Government intervention invariably exacerbates such problems. Governments should start to try and control the important things and allow adults to make up their own minds about where they get their kicks. Try not to kill all the joys of life; otherwise, life will cease to be worth living. Indeed, so restricted have things become that we are nearly there already! – © Mark Alexander
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
‘Poison in Every Puff’ Among Warnings to Be Printed on Canadian Cigarettes
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Tobacco companies must soon label individual cigarettes sold in the country with a health warning, in what Canada is calling a global first.
The final wording of six separate warnings that will be printed directly on individual cigarettes in Canada. | Health Canada
TORONTO — “Poison in every puff.” “Cigarettes cause impotence.” “Tobacco smoke harms children.”
Those are the warnings that smokers in Canada will soon find on every single cigarette they light, as the country sets into motion a plan requiring tobacco companies to print health warnings directly onto cigarette filters.
The labels will appear in English and French, Canada’s official languages, and are intended to blunt the allure of smoking among young people, adults looking to quit and those addicted to nicotine, the government said on Wednesday.
Canada is a global leader in targeting tobacco use through health hazard labels. Graphic illustrations of some of the health outcomes of smoking, such as images of cancerous tumors or decaying teeth, have appeared on cigarette boxes in Canada since 2001, when it became the first country to feature depictions of serious smoking-related illnesses on packaging. It was also the first country to ban smoking on its domestic flights, followed by international flights on Canadian airlines in 1994.
Smoking is on the decline in Canada, and the country’s health services aim to reduce it even further. Currently, 10.2 percent of people over age 15 smoke cigarettes, and the government’s goal is to reduce that to less than 5 percent by 2035.
Within the next year, smokers will begin to see the new labels printed on their individual cigarettes, as well as an updated warning label on cigarette boxes. » | Vjosa Isai | Wednesday, May 31, 2023
This is totally over-the-top legislation! As if smokers don't already know that smoking can harm their health. They've been preached to for long enough.
But really, does this legislation make a whole lot of sense when the smoking of cannabis has already been legalised in the country? So clearly, you can smoke a joint without the authorities getting their knickers in a twist, but don't, for God's sake, get the idea of lighting a plain old-fashioned cigarette! The world is truly going crazy. (And I write as a non-smoker. I haven't smoked a cigarette since April 10th 2022.) Reading about nonsense legislation like this is enough to drive one to start smoking again. Just for the sheer hell of it. – © Mark Alexander
TORONTO — “Poison in every puff.” “Cigarettes cause impotence.” “Tobacco smoke harms children.”
Those are the warnings that smokers in Canada will soon find on every single cigarette they light, as the country sets into motion a plan requiring tobacco companies to print health warnings directly onto cigarette filters.
The labels will appear in English and French, Canada’s official languages, and are intended to blunt the allure of smoking among young people, adults looking to quit and those addicted to nicotine, the government said on Wednesday.
Canada is a global leader in targeting tobacco use through health hazard labels. Graphic illustrations of some of the health outcomes of smoking, such as images of cancerous tumors or decaying teeth, have appeared on cigarette boxes in Canada since 2001, when it became the first country to feature depictions of serious smoking-related illnesses on packaging. It was also the first country to ban smoking on its domestic flights, followed by international flights on Canadian airlines in 1994.
Smoking is on the decline in Canada, and the country’s health services aim to reduce it even further. Currently, 10.2 percent of people over age 15 smoke cigarettes, and the government’s goal is to reduce that to less than 5 percent by 2035.
Within the next year, smokers will begin to see the new labels printed on their individual cigarettes, as well as an updated warning label on cigarette boxes. » | Vjosa Isai | Wednesday, May 31, 2023
This is totally over-the-top legislation! As if smokers don't already know that smoking can harm their health. They've been preached to for long enough.
But really, does this legislation make a whole lot of sense when the smoking of cannabis has already been legalised in the country? So clearly, you can smoke a joint without the authorities getting their knickers in a twist, but don't, for God's sake, get the idea of lighting a plain old-fashioned cigarette! The world is truly going crazy. (And I write as a non-smoker. I haven't smoked a cigarette since April 10th 2022.) Reading about nonsense legislation like this is enough to drive one to start smoking again. Just for the sheer hell of it. – © Mark Alexander
Thursday, May 25, 2023
The State of Smoking in India
Oct 10, 2018 | The State of Smoking is designed to provide a snapshot of progress, challenges, and circumstances facing smokers as they struggle to quit and as we work to end smoking worldwide. We’ve examined the tobacco control environment, trends, and key data points in 13 countries and provided profiles for each (9 are also translated into native languages). We hope that the State of Smoking provides useful information to all those interested in smoking cessation, harm reduction, and ultimately ending smoking worldwide within our generation.
The State of Smoking country profiles include limited data from the Foundation’s 2018 Global Survey and other sources. Note: tax, price, and population data change regularly. The below information is based on the latest available data. Additional content and expanded country profiles will be provided in conjunction with a series of in-country symposia which we plan to host in the coming months. Please contact us if you would like to receive more information on these upcoming events.
The State of Smoking country profiles include limited data from the Foundation’s 2018 Global Survey and other sources. Note: tax, price, and population data change regularly. The below information is based on the latest available data. Additional content and expanded country profiles will be provided in conjunction with a series of in-country symposia which we plan to host in the coming months. Please contact us if you would like to receive more information on these upcoming events.
Monday, May 22, 2023
”Smoking Kills”
Although I no longer smoke, I remember these cigarettes, smoked on celebratory occasions, as being a damn good smoke. They also make a statement. This is what the colourful, quality cigarettes look like.
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Le cœur du bonheur
Sunday, May 07, 2023
Smoking* a Cigarette in the UK Has Almost Become an Act of Rebellion!
Tuesday, April 11, 2023
Smokers in England to Be Offered Vaping Kits to Help Them Quit Cigarettes
THE GUARDIAN: ‘Swap to stop’ scheme comes despite increasing alarm about rise in young people vaping
One in five of all smokers in England will be offered vape starter kits. Photograph: Nicholas.T Ansell/PA
Ministers are to urge 1 million smokers to swap cigarettes for vapes, despite increasing alarm about the rise in young people vaping.
Under the new “swap to stop” scheme, vape starter kits will be offered to almost one in five of all smokers in England as part of the government’s “smoke free” drive.
Pregnant women will also be offered up to £400 to stop smoking and a consultation will be launched on introducing mandatory advice on quitting smoking to be placed in cigarette packs.
The scheme comes on top of plans to crack down on the illegal sale of e-cigarettes to under-18s. A survey by Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) found that vaping among 11- to 17-year-olds has increased from 3.3% in 2021 to 7% last year. » | Matthew Weaver | Tuesday, April 11, 2023
This is a ridiculous and irresponsible idea! The long-term consequences of vaping are not yet known; and they will not be known for very many years to come, either.
The war on smoking is unrelenting. You will surely have noticed that the war is on cigarette-smoking. Cigar-smoking is never mentioned. That’s because so many politicians/parliamentarians love love to smoke cigars. So they won’t want to wage war on cigar-smoking. It’s too close to home! The hypocrites!
“Javed Khan said smoking should be banned in outdoor spaces such as beer gardens, outside cafes and on beaches.”
Have you ever heard anything more ridiculous?
Now, they are going after tobacco-smokers. But wait just a little longer! You can bet your bottom dollar that when that when the war on cigarette-smoking has been won, they will go after drinkers of alcohol. We all know that the drinking of alcohol is anathema to Islam.
Martin Niemöller’s words are pertinent and were prophetic:
“First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
I so wish that stupid politicians would stop targeting smokers. We expect this sort of nonsense from left-wingers, but not from conservative governments. Left-wing governments are given to regulation of people’s behaviour; right-wingers are supposed to prize individual free choice.
On a personal note, I am pleased to be able to report that on April 10th, just yesterday, it was the first anniversary of my giving up smoking. I smoked my last three cigarettes on April 10th 2022. I have not smoked a cigarette since. I am pleased to be able to say, with confidence, that I have kicked the habit.
Please note, though, that my achievement has not turned me into a rabid anti-smoker. Even though I no longer smoke, I am happy for other people to enjoy a cigarette. I remember the pleasure I had from cigarettes; so I have no intention to depriving others that pleasure. I am not a killjoy.
All Rights Reserved
© Mark Alexander
Ministers are to urge 1 million smokers to swap cigarettes for vapes, despite increasing alarm about the rise in young people vaping.
Under the new “swap to stop” scheme, vape starter kits will be offered to almost one in five of all smokers in England as part of the government’s “smoke free” drive.
Pregnant women will also be offered up to £400 to stop smoking and a consultation will be launched on introducing mandatory advice on quitting smoking to be placed in cigarette packs.
The scheme comes on top of plans to crack down on the illegal sale of e-cigarettes to under-18s. A survey by Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) found that vaping among 11- to 17-year-olds has increased from 3.3% in 2021 to 7% last year. » | Matthew Weaver | Tuesday, April 11, 2023
This is a ridiculous and irresponsible idea! The long-term consequences of vaping are not yet known; and they will not be known for very many years to come, either.
The war on smoking is unrelenting. You will surely have noticed that the war is on cigarette-smoking. Cigar-smoking is never mentioned. That’s because so many politicians/parliamentarians love love to smoke cigars. So they won’t want to wage war on cigar-smoking. It’s too close to home! The hypocrites!
“Javed Khan said smoking should be banned in outdoor spaces such as beer gardens, outside cafes and on beaches.”
Have you ever heard anything more ridiculous?
Now, they are going after tobacco-smokers. But wait just a little longer! You can bet your bottom dollar that when that when the war on cigarette-smoking has been won, they will go after drinkers of alcohol. We all know that the drinking of alcohol is anathema to Islam.
Martin Niemöller’s words are pertinent and were prophetic:
“First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
I so wish that stupid politicians would stop targeting smokers. We expect this sort of nonsense from left-wingers, but not from conservative governments. Left-wing governments are given to regulation of people’s behaviour; right-wingers are supposed to prize individual free choice.
On a personal note, I am pleased to be able to report that on April 10th, just yesterday, it was the first anniversary of my giving up smoking. I smoked my last three cigarettes on April 10th 2022. I have not smoked a cigarette since. I am pleased to be able to say, with confidence, that I have kicked the habit.
Please note, though, that my achievement has not turned me into a rabid anti-smoker. Even though I no longer smoke, I am happy for other people to enjoy a cigarette. I remember the pleasure I had from cigarettes; so I have no intention to depriving others that pleasure. I am not a killjoy.
All Rights Reserved
© Mark Alexander
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Chris Snowden on the Ever-growing Nanny State | Reupload
Friday, December 02, 2022
Secrets of Longevity May Lie in Long-lived Smokers, a ‘Biologically Distinct’ Group with Extraordinary Gene Variants
THE WASHINGTON POST: Jeanne Calment, the French doyenne believed to be oldest person in the world when she died at the extreme age of 122, was known for three things: her quick wit, her fondness for bicycling around the small city where she grew up -- and the fact that she was a daily smoker.
Before her death in 1997, Calment was often asked the secret to her good health. She would respond with a laugh and describe how she would frequently consume two pounds of chocolate a week, drank generous amounts of port wine and became a smoker at age 21.
At a time when public health messages emphasize just how important it is to carefully balance diets and fitness regimes in order to live long lives, Calment is a reminder of that no matter what we do there may always be a part of our health that is beyond our control.
In an intriguing study published this week [Sept. 2015], researchers delved into the genetic makeup of long-lived smokers like Calment and found that their survival may be due to an innate resilience they were born with. » | Ariana Eunjung Cha | Thursday, September 10, 2015
We know it can kill us: Why people still smoke »
Thursday, November 17, 2022
New Zealand Implements Smoking Ban | 10 News First
Jacinda Ardern has got tyrannical tendencies. The silly woman should be stopped. (I speak as an ex-smoker.) Apparently, Ardern used to enjoy cannabis! That says it all. – © Mark Alexander
New Zealand smoking rates fall to lowest on record, but vaping on the rise: Overall smoking rate falls to 8% as country pursues goal of becoming smoke-free by 2025, but many may be switching to vaping instead »
I’m all for New Zealand giving tobacco a kicking – but don’t criminalise smoking: Making substances illegal has never worked, simply because it fails to address the reasons why people use them »
Thursday, November 10, 2022
Smoking Is Back in Candy-coloured Disguise - and a Whole New Generation Is Addicted
THE GUARDIAN: Tobacco companies are pouring money into e-cigarettes and making them attractive to teens. Why is nobody stopping them?
Elf Bar disposable e-cigarette products in a shop display in the US. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
The modern sweet shop has long removed from its window the screw-top glass jars full of gobstoppers and lemon sherbets that used to tempt kids to spend their pocket money on the way home from school. Instead, there is an array of slim boxes in a rainbow of bright colours. “Banana ice”, “pink lemonade”, “blueberry sour raspberry”, “cotton candy ice”, they are labelled.
The jewelled boxes contain Elf bars: disposable e-cigarettes. The rules say they are for adults only. Under-18s are not allowed to buy them, even if they wander in to look at the confectionery that is also for sale in some of these shops. But everyone knows the pretty toys also end up in the hands of children, who may even have learned how to use them from influencers on TikTok.
It’s hugely alarming for the parents of teenage kids who catch a whiff of strawberry in the bedroom. They might in the past not have known that their child was experimenting with a scrounged fag behind the bike sheds after school. Smoking was once so widespread that it would be a rare child who didn’t take a puff at some point, hopefully choking on the fumes and never touching a cigarette again. » | Sarah Boseley | Thursday, November 10, 2022
The Guradian wants to hear from you if you have taken up new vices after turning 60. Click here for more info.
This is what you get when you interfere with the market and when you engage in social engineering.
I would say that it would be far, far better for people to enjoy smoking regular cigarettes (in moderation) than encouraging people to switch to e-cigarettes with all manner of weird and wonderful flavours (which appeal to children) or relaxing laws on cannabis. These killjoys are not very smart, are they? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that if you introduce e-cigarettes onto the market with apricot, peach, strawberry, blackberry, blackcurrant and all sorts of other appealing flavours which mask the nicotine, you are going to introduce a whole new generation of children to the joys of inhalation and exhalation. Smoking in another form, essentially. From vaping, when a little older, many will graduate to the smoking of real cigarettes.
I have no sympathy with these meddlesome killjoys. They have created a whole new generation of smokers-in-the-making. Sometimes, it is better just to leave things alone. Furthermore, by bringing down the number of people who smoke, the authorities have not improved the health of the nation. Not at all! People simply die of other causes. Now, instead of tobacco-related illnesses, people are dying of obesity and sugar-related illnesses such as diabetes. How stupid these politicians are! Don’t these interfering politicians understand that people will get their kicks somehow, one way or another? If they can’t get their kicks from smoking real cigarettes, they’ll get them from other unhealthy habits instead, like weed, sugary drinks, or sugary donuts. Furthermore, we do not yet know the long-term consequences of vaping. They try to say that it is healthier. But is it really? Only time will tell. I despair. – © Mark Alexander
The modern sweet shop has long removed from its window the screw-top glass jars full of gobstoppers and lemon sherbets that used to tempt kids to spend their pocket money on the way home from school. Instead, there is an array of slim boxes in a rainbow of bright colours. “Banana ice”, “pink lemonade”, “blueberry sour raspberry”, “cotton candy ice”, they are labelled.
The jewelled boxes contain Elf bars: disposable e-cigarettes. The rules say they are for adults only. Under-18s are not allowed to buy them, even if they wander in to look at the confectionery that is also for sale in some of these shops. But everyone knows the pretty toys also end up in the hands of children, who may even have learned how to use them from influencers on TikTok.
It’s hugely alarming for the parents of teenage kids who catch a whiff of strawberry in the bedroom. They might in the past not have known that their child was experimenting with a scrounged fag behind the bike sheds after school. Smoking was once so widespread that it would be a rare child who didn’t take a puff at some point, hopefully choking on the fumes and never touching a cigarette again. » | Sarah Boseley | Thursday, November 10, 2022
The Guradian wants to hear from you if you have taken up new vices after turning 60. Click here for more info.
This is what you get when you interfere with the market and when you engage in social engineering.
I would say that it would be far, far better for people to enjoy smoking regular cigarettes (in moderation) than encouraging people to switch to e-cigarettes with all manner of weird and wonderful flavours (which appeal to children) or relaxing laws on cannabis. These killjoys are not very smart, are they? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that if you introduce e-cigarettes onto the market with apricot, peach, strawberry, blackberry, blackcurrant and all sorts of other appealing flavours which mask the nicotine, you are going to introduce a whole new generation of children to the joys of inhalation and exhalation. Smoking in another form, essentially. From vaping, when a little older, many will graduate to the smoking of real cigarettes.
I have no sympathy with these meddlesome killjoys. They have created a whole new generation of smokers-in-the-making. Sometimes, it is better just to leave things alone. Furthermore, by bringing down the number of people who smoke, the authorities have not improved the health of the nation. Not at all! People simply die of other causes. Now, instead of tobacco-related illnesses, people are dying of obesity and sugar-related illnesses such as diabetes. How stupid these politicians are! Don’t these interfering politicians understand that people will get their kicks somehow, one way or another? If they can’t get their kicks from smoking real cigarettes, they’ll get them from other unhealthy habits instead, like weed, sugary drinks, or sugary donuts. Furthermore, we do not yet know the long-term consequences of vaping. They try to say that it is healthier. But is it really? Only time will tell. I despair. – © Mark Alexander
Wednesday, November 02, 2022
A Cool Smoker
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
There’s Something about a Man Who Smokes!
By the way, smoking cigarettes is far less harmful to health than breathing in polluted air whilst walking down the street. And God only knows what the long-term health consequences of vaping are. And don’t get me even started on the legalization of cannabis for pleasure and recreation! If that is to be allowed, then smoking tobacco certainly should be allowed.
By the way, I write this as a non-smoker. I haven’t smoked a cigarette since April 10th, the day after my birthday. That is now more than six months ago.
Do I miss smoking? No, not really. Have I ever had a craving for a cigarette? No, certainly not. But do I have fond memories of the years I used to smoke daily? Certainly. I derived lots and lots of pleasure from cigarettes. I smoked only because I enjoyed smoking. I never was, nor did I ever feel, addicted to tobacco/nicotine.
But we are living in a Puritanical age, especially in the Anglosphere. The concept of joie de vivre is totally alien to most English-speakers. This is the sad reality of life today. – © Mark Alexander
Saturday, October 22, 2022
Denmark’s Delightful Queen
Despite recent controversy, there's no royal more popular than Denmark's chain-smoking queen »
Saturday, October 15, 2022
Holy Smoke!
Holy Smoke! Pope Francis bans sale of cigarettes in Vatican: Pope Francis has issued his personal version of “Thank you for not smoking,” announcing a ban on the sale of cigarettes in the Vatican to go into effect in 2018. »
Sunday, October 09, 2022
Loneliness Is Worse for Your Health Than Smoking Cigarettes
I really, truly believe this. I have never believed that smoking tobacco is as harmful to health as they have made it out to be. Put simply: People have been fed a load of crap!
The devil is in the dose, as it is for everything. Eating and nutrition is essential to life; but if we eat too much, especially certain foods like carbs and sugars, eating is no longer essential to life, but injurious to it.
The old adages, “enjoy everything in moderation” and “a little bit of what you fancy does you good” are important to bear in mind here.
I believe that if we eat nutritious food (and not too much of it), do not overindulge in alcohol, sleep plenty and worry little, a few cigarettes won’t do you too much harm. That is my theory and I am sticking too it.
If you listen to the so-called experts on smoking and tobacco today, you would be forgiven for thinking that enjoying a cigarette is the very worst thing you can do for your health. Smoking has become the bête noire of our age. If you smoke, you will lose all your hair, your teeth will fall out, you will suffer from unhealthy gums (gingivitis), you will probably lose a limb or two and you will cough yourself to death.
I am sure that there are some unfortunate people for whom this scenario might be a reality; and for those people, I feel sorry. But I can assure you that this has not been my experience of smoking. I have smoked twenty cigarettes a day for most of my adult life. Despite this, I have a very full head of very dark hair, a mouthful of teeth, unwrinkled skin, and my eyesight is very good. I have never suffered from a cough either.
Tomorrow is October 10th. It will be six months since I smoked my last cigarette. I have had no cravings since I stopped. However, there is a pleasure missing in my life: the enjoyment of a smoke. For this reason, I am toying with the idea of whether I should take up the habit again. I have yet to decide. I would add that I am sick to death of the bullshit that the medical profession and the politicians feed us re smoking. – © Mark Alexander
Saturday, October 08, 2022
Ungeniert, genießt dieser Mann eine Zigarette. Das sollte normal sein, aber in dieser verkehrten Welt ist es leider nicht mehr so. Machen Sie es doch noch einmal normal sein eine Zigarette qualmen zu können! Es wäre besser als die Alternativen. | Reupload
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