THE TELEGRAPH: Addicts cannot simply quit as soon as they enter hospital and the activity gives them some much-needed relief
Labour’s plan to ban smoking on hospital grounds is the epitome of a top-down initiative by a nanny-state government. It’s a great example of politicians having an idea, without actually being involved in the practicalities. They don’t understand how hospitals work because they don’t work in hospitals. This solution is a poor sticking plaster to a nation-wide problem.
When it comes to hospitals, we have to be liberal about smoking out of sheer empathy for the patients – many of whom are at the end of their lives. There’s no doubt that smoking is bad for you, so I’m not suggesting that we should encourage people to do it. But for many patients it’s a lifeline – a practice that brings comfort and relief at times of deep distress.
We also cannot ignore the fact that smoking is first and foremost an addiction – you can’t just give it up when you are admitted to hospital. Walk into any hospital in the country, even in the height of winter when it’s freezing cold, and you will see patients standing outside the main entrance in pyjamas with drip stands and drugs, smoking. Some will be smoking as relief from the stress of the intense hospital environment, some will be socialising and enjoying time together and some will be relishing the feeling of a comforting habit that they’ve enjoyed all their lives. » | Karol Sikora * | Tuesday, November 5, 2024
* Prof Karol Sikora is a leading cancer specialist, who worked as a clinical director in the NHS for more than 25 years.
THE GUARDIAN:
Smoking to be banned outside schools and hospitals in England, but pubs get reprieve: Legislation also includes ban on advertising of vapes and restrictions on flavours, packaging and marketing »
Showing posts with label vaping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vaping. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 05, 2024
Monday, November 04, 2024
England May Not Be ‘Smoke-free’ until 2039, Cancer Charity Warns
THE GUARDIAN: Government plan to reduce smoking rates in danger of falling a decade behind schedule
England will not be “smoke-free” until 2039, missing a key public health target by almost a decade, an analysis has found.
While smoking rates are in decline they are not falling fast enough to realise the government’s ambition of England being smoke-free” by 2030, according to Cancer Research UK (CRUK).
And stark socioeconomic inequalities in smoking – with poorer people much more likely to light up than the well-off – will continue for decades to come, its research shows. » | Denis Campbell, Health policy editor | Monday, November 4, 2024
England will never be, and should never be, smoke-free! Why? Because if it could ever be done, it would be replaced by something far, far worse. These politicians and do-gooders don’t understand ONE BASIC THING about human psychology. It is this: People WILL get their kicks from somehere! If these ill-informed people think that all people are just going to go to work each day, go home, and then go to bed without having any of the pleasures of life, then they are greatly mistaken.
As for cancer, it is a terrible disease. I have known several people who have died from it. They were NOT smokers! Whilst it is true that smoking can cause cancer, especially lung cancer, according to trustworthy sources on the Internet, it is only between 5 and 10% of HEAVY SMOKERS who contract it. Eliminating smoking will not eliminate cancer!
Further, taxing cigarettes to the hilt, thus making them too expensive for people to be able to afford to smoke government-controlled cigarettes only pushes people to buy them on the black market. I am told that the black market for cigarettes in the United Kingdom is thriving! It certainly is in Australia.
Just in case anyone thinks that my opinions are biased because I am myself a smoker, please think again! I quit smoking on April 10th 2022. That is almost two years and seven months ago. I haven’t smoked a cigarette since that day. But I am on the side of smokers because over the years, I have derived untold pleasure from smoking cigarettes. I always smoked out of choice, NOT out of addiction! I have bever been addicted to anything. Not even cigarettes.
I wish these joyless people would just give up their social engineering. They try and say that smoking is now predominantly a working-class habit. TOSH! How many people in the working class can afford to smoke these days? With current prices in the UK, it is only the super-privileged who can afford to smoke. For the less well-off, they must be rolling their own, or something.
By the way, when governments make cigarettes extremely expensive, they are doing something deleterious to the health of smokers. And for one simple reason: Governments have no control over the quality of the cigarettes being illegally imported from Asia and the Far East. In years to come, governments will be finding that the health of smokers will be worse than if they had been smoking legal, quality-controlled cigarettes. This, if anything, will place a burden on the health service in years to come.
Moreover, it is stupid to encourage vaping as a replacement of smoking. In the not-too-distant future, they will find that vaping is more injurious to health than smoking cigarettes. Governments need to meddle less in people’s lifestyle choices, they need to stop sweating the little things. Instead, they need to concentrate on the important things. That is what proper governments should do. – © Mark Alexander
Disposable vapes ban could push some users back to smoking, ministers told: Defra report warns there could be ‘health disbenefits’ with 29% of vapers reverting or relapsing to cigarettes »
'Pack of Cigs and a Bic Lighter': Why Are Celebs Glamorising Smoking Again? »
England will not be “smoke-free” until 2039, missing a key public health target by almost a decade, an analysis has found.
While smoking rates are in decline they are not falling fast enough to realise the government’s ambition of England being smoke-free” by 2030, according to Cancer Research UK (CRUK).
And stark socioeconomic inequalities in smoking – with poorer people much more likely to light up than the well-off – will continue for decades to come, its research shows. » | Denis Campbell, Health policy editor | Monday, November 4, 2024
England will never be, and should never be, smoke-free! Why? Because if it could ever be done, it would be replaced by something far, far worse. These politicians and do-gooders don’t understand ONE BASIC THING about human psychology. It is this: People WILL get their kicks from somehere! If these ill-informed people think that all people are just going to go to work each day, go home, and then go to bed without having any of the pleasures of life, then they are greatly mistaken.
As for cancer, it is a terrible disease. I have known several people who have died from it. They were NOT smokers! Whilst it is true that smoking can cause cancer, especially lung cancer, according to trustworthy sources on the Internet, it is only between 5 and 10% of HEAVY SMOKERS who contract it. Eliminating smoking will not eliminate cancer!
Further, taxing cigarettes to the hilt, thus making them too expensive for people to be able to afford to smoke government-controlled cigarettes only pushes people to buy them on the black market. I am told that the black market for cigarettes in the United Kingdom is thriving! It certainly is in Australia.
Just in case anyone thinks that my opinions are biased because I am myself a smoker, please think again! I quit smoking on April 10th 2022. That is almost two years and seven months ago. I haven’t smoked a cigarette since that day. But I am on the side of smokers because over the years, I have derived untold pleasure from smoking cigarettes. I always smoked out of choice, NOT out of addiction! I have bever been addicted to anything. Not even cigarettes.
I wish these joyless people would just give up their social engineering. They try and say that smoking is now predominantly a working-class habit. TOSH! How many people in the working class can afford to smoke these days? With current prices in the UK, it is only the super-privileged who can afford to smoke. For the less well-off, they must be rolling their own, or something.
By the way, when governments make cigarettes extremely expensive, they are doing something deleterious to the health of smokers. And for one simple reason: Governments have no control over the quality of the cigarettes being illegally imported from Asia and the Far East. In years to come, governments will be finding that the health of smokers will be worse than if they had been smoking legal, quality-controlled cigarettes. This, if anything, will place a burden on the health service in years to come.
Moreover, it is stupid to encourage vaping as a replacement of smoking. In the not-too-distant future, they will find that vaping is more injurious to health than smoking cigarettes. Governments need to meddle less in people’s lifestyle choices, they need to stop sweating the little things. Instead, they need to concentrate on the important things. That is what proper governments should do. – © Mark Alexander
Disposable vapes ban could push some users back to smoking, ministers told: Defra report warns there could be ‘health disbenefits’ with 29% of vapers reverting or relapsing to cigarettes »
'Pack of Cigs and a Bic Lighter': Why Are Celebs Glamorising Smoking Again? »
Thursday, October 03, 2024
Sharp Rise in Vaping among Young Adult Non-smokers
BBC: The number of adults in England to have started vaping despite never having been regular smokers has reached one million, scientists estimate.
This is a sharp increase on 2020, with disposable vapes having been available since 2021. The rise is driven mostly by young adults - with about one out of every seven 18-24-year-olds who never regularly smoked now using e-cigarettes. While some may have benefited by taking up vapes instead of traditional cigarettes - the trend could be worrying, experts say. » | Smitha Mundasad, Health reporter, BBC News | Thursday, October 3, 2024
Is vaping bad for you and how are the rules changing?: he number of adults and young people using e-cigarettes and vapes has increased as smoking rates have fallen. »
It serves the silly fools right! They have waged an unrelenting war on smoking cigarettes for years, and now we have this vaping problem instead!
Nobody in his right mind would advocate smoking, but the FACT remains that we do not live in Utopia. People will seek out their pleasures regardless of what stupid, controlling governments might wish. IDIOTIC WESTERN GOVERNMENTS have created this vaping problem because they have PUSHED vaping as a healthier alternative to cigarette smoking. IT ISN’T! If they had left things alone, smoking rates were declining significantly anyway. But now, because of their stupid policies, vaping rates have increased significantly. VAPING IS EXTREMEMELY UNHEALTHY. Probably unhealthier than smoking cigarettes. Further, behaviour patterns in the States show us that many people who now vape move on to cigarette smoking as they mature. Vaping is, after all, more appealing to the young. Mature people prefer cigarette smoking.
Best not to vape and best not to smoke, but if you have to choose, I would say smoking is a far better option. Make smoking cool again! It makes sense. – © Mark Alexander
This is a sharp increase on 2020, with disposable vapes having been available since 2021. The rise is driven mostly by young adults - with about one out of every seven 18-24-year-olds who never regularly smoked now using e-cigarettes. While some may have benefited by taking up vapes instead of traditional cigarettes - the trend could be worrying, experts say. » | Smitha Mundasad, Health reporter, BBC News | Thursday, October 3, 2024
Is vaping bad for you and how are the rules changing?: he number of adults and young people using e-cigarettes and vapes has increased as smoking rates have fallen. »
It serves the silly fools right! They have waged an unrelenting war on smoking cigarettes for years, and now we have this vaping problem instead!
Nobody in his right mind would advocate smoking, but the FACT remains that we do not live in Utopia. People will seek out their pleasures regardless of what stupid, controlling governments might wish. IDIOTIC WESTERN GOVERNMENTS have created this vaping problem because they have PUSHED vaping as a healthier alternative to cigarette smoking. IT ISN’T! If they had left things alone, smoking rates were declining significantly anyway. But now, because of their stupid policies, vaping rates have increased significantly. VAPING IS EXTREMEMELY UNHEALTHY. Probably unhealthier than smoking cigarettes. Further, behaviour patterns in the States show us that many people who now vape move on to cigarette smoking as they mature. Vaping is, after all, more appealing to the young. Mature people prefer cigarette smoking.
Best not to vape and best not to smoke, but if you have to choose, I would say smoking is a far better option. Make smoking cool again! It makes sense. – © Mark Alexander
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
How to Quit Vaping
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Millions of Americans use e-cigarettes. There’s little research into how to help them stop.
By his junior year of college, Zach Arledge had already tried to quit vaping about half a dozen times. But with each attempt, he found himself reflexively reaching for his Juul within a day.
So when he decided to try again, Mr. Arledge wanted to be prepared. He waited until winter break, when he’d have more free time, and took a week off work. He bought sugary cereals to help kick his cravings, and melatonin in case he had trouble sleeping.
He drew 72 squares onto paper, each one representing an hour of his first three days without nicotine. He marked them off as the hours ticked by, checking off a chunk when he woke up. Those first days, Mr. Arledge felt detached from his body, unable to focus on anything. He chewed on chopsticks and stayed in front of the TV, trying to distract himself.
The nicotine in vapes can be highly addictive, and can raise blood sugar, heart rate and blood pressure, among other health risks. And while some people turn to vaping to stop smoking cigarettes, e-cigarettes can contain substances that also pose health risks.
Despite the popularity of vapes — more than 8 million Americans were current e-cigarette users in 2018, according to federal health data — there is little established guidance to help people like Mr. Arledge quit. Many of the recommendations that do exist come from tobacco cessation efforts, not research into vaping specifically. » | Dani Blum | Wednesday, July 10, 2024
By his junior year of college, Zach Arledge had already tried to quit vaping about half a dozen times. But with each attempt, he found himself reflexively reaching for his Juul within a day.
So when he decided to try again, Mr. Arledge wanted to be prepared. He waited until winter break, when he’d have more free time, and took a week off work. He bought sugary cereals to help kick his cravings, and melatonin in case he had trouble sleeping.
He drew 72 squares onto paper, each one representing an hour of his first three days without nicotine. He marked them off as the hours ticked by, checking off a chunk when he woke up. Those first days, Mr. Arledge felt detached from his body, unable to focus on anything. He chewed on chopsticks and stayed in front of the TV, trying to distract himself.
The nicotine in vapes can be highly addictive, and can raise blood sugar, heart rate and blood pressure, among other health risks. And while some people turn to vaping to stop smoking cigarettes, e-cigarettes can contain substances that also pose health risks.
Despite the popularity of vapes — more than 8 million Americans were current e-cigarette users in 2018, according to federal health data — there is little established guidance to help people like Mr. Arledge quit. Many of the recommendations that do exist come from tobacco cessation efforts, not research into vaping specifically. » | Dani Blum | Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Saturday, February 03, 2024
Vape Ban, Smoking Ban: Rishi Sunak's "Nanny State" | The New Statesman Podcast
The mere idea of having a smoking ban for an adult is OUTRAGEOUS! Kick Sunak OUT of OFFICE NOW!
By the way: Maybe Sunak’s daughters will one day fall in love with, and marry, smokers. What a delightful, delicious thought! – © Mark Alexander
Thursday, October 12, 2023
Some Thoughts on Vaping
I recently wrote a short essay on smoking and drinking. In it, I pointed out that I had been smoke-free for a full year and a half. I also pointed out that I disagreed with vaping being touted as a healthier alternative to smoking, pointing out that we know far too little about the habit yet to be able to tell.
This sad article on the BBC website today about a young 12-year old girl with lung damage helps prove my point.
In my experience as a person qualified in education, I would say that it is irresponsible to encourage this habit, especially among the young. Our young have been encouraged to take up the vaping habit because of the unrelenting war on smoking, cigarettes and tobacco. I stand by my words: vaping should not be encouraged, at least not at this time and at least not until we have many more years of experience with it. Originally, vaping was put forward as a way to help smokers to quit. And for that purpose, vapes should have been made available only on prescription. But vaping is no longer simply a means of giving up smoking; it is now an alternative to smoking, a habit to which young people have quickly been drawn.
It goes without saying that smoking is an unhealthy habit. Therefore, I have no problem with our government or the medical profession educating people on the dangers of habit. But that is as far as it should go. Cigarettes should not be made so expensive that they become unaffordable for anyone except for the superrich. In doing that, it makes the pleasurable habit affordable only for the privileged few. Ironically, it also make the habit more attractive! After all, if everyone could drive a Bentley, they would soon lose their appeal.
Whenever governments get involved, they screw things up. Governments should adopt a hands-off approach, being satisfied that they are doing all they can to inform people of the dangers. It is precisely because governments have been meddling that we now face the huge problem of so many of our young people being addicted to e-cigarettes and vaping! Do-gooders rarely do good; usually, they achieve the opposite.
© Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved
Philip Morris lobbying to stop WHO ‘attack’ on vapes and similar products: Exclusive: Leaked email shows firm behind Marlboro cigarettes critical of global ‘prohibitionist’ agenda »
This sad article on the BBC website today about a young 12-year old girl with lung damage helps prove my point.
In my experience as a person qualified in education, I would say that it is irresponsible to encourage this habit, especially among the young. Our young have been encouraged to take up the vaping habit because of the unrelenting war on smoking, cigarettes and tobacco. I stand by my words: vaping should not be encouraged, at least not at this time and at least not until we have many more years of experience with it. Originally, vaping was put forward as a way to help smokers to quit. And for that purpose, vapes should have been made available only on prescription. But vaping is no longer simply a means of giving up smoking; it is now an alternative to smoking, a habit to which young people have quickly been drawn.
It goes without saying that smoking is an unhealthy habit. Therefore, I have no problem with our government or the medical profession educating people on the dangers of habit. But that is as far as it should go. Cigarettes should not be made so expensive that they become unaffordable for anyone except for the superrich. In doing that, it makes the pleasurable habit affordable only for the privileged few. Ironically, it also make the habit more attractive! After all, if everyone could drive a Bentley, they would soon lose their appeal.
Whenever governments get involved, they screw things up. Governments should adopt a hands-off approach, being satisfied that they are doing all they can to inform people of the dangers. It is precisely because governments have been meddling that we now face the huge problem of so many of our young people being addicted to e-cigarettes and vaping! Do-gooders rarely do good; usually, they achieve the opposite.
© Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved
Philip Morris lobbying to stop WHO ‘attack’ on vapes and similar products: Exclusive: Leaked email shows firm behind Marlboro cigarettes critical of global ‘prohibitionist’ agenda »
Tuesday, June 06, 2023
Australia to Ban Recreational Vaping - BBC News
Disposable vapes should be banned to protect children, UK paediatricians say: Single-use e-cigarettes growing in popularity among young people despite unknown health effects and environmental impact »
Why am I not surprised? Governments have created this problem with their relentless war on tobacco and smoking. One can but shake one’s head. – © Mark Alexander
Friday, May 26, 2023
Ministers Face Pressure to Ban Single-use Vapes amid Rising Popularity among Children in UK
THE GUARDIAN: As many as 15% of 11- to 15-year-olds use vapes, experts suggest, with products often packaged in bright colours
The relatively short history of e-cigarettes means there is minimal knowledge about long-term health effects. Photograph: Peter Dazeley/Alamy
Ministers are facing mounting pressure to impose an outright ban on single-use vapes, amid concern about their rising popularity among children and wider worries that officials have minimal grip over a fast-moving sector.
While it is illegal to sell e-cigarettes to under-18s, some experts suggest as many as 15% of 11- to 15-year-olds use vapes, with Rishi Sunak saying this week he was worried that his daughters could be “seduced” by a heavily flavoured product often packaged in bright colours. » | Peter Walker, Deputy political editor | Friday, May 26, 2023
This just goes to prove that the government’s relentless war on smoking is having a deleterious effect on children!
It would have been far better and more sensible if successive governments had simply used infomercials to make the public aware of the dangers of smoking and let the people decide for themselves whether they wish to smoke or not. In fact, that was the original strategy of governments to reduce smoking rates anyway; and, it must be said, that strategy was effective. It brought smoking rates right down over a period of years.
However, governments weren’t satisfied with this softly-softly approach. They have been determined to stub out the smoking of tobacco altogether which, of course, they will never be able to do.
The result has been that they have encouraged people to vape instead. The dangers of vaping are not yet well-understood. But the people in government have pushed ahead with this silly and ridiculous policy anyway.
At first, it was hoped that vaping would be used as a way of transitioning from smoking tobacco to not smoking at all. But it hasn’t turned out that way. Rather, vaping has become in itself a source of kicks for many people, including children. Vapes in multifarious flavours and forms have become particularly attractive even to young children, something which conventional cigarettes never were. The smell and taste of tobacco for children is often very off-putting. It certainly was for me as a child. As a child, I hated being around anyone who smoked cigarettes.
When I studied economics back in the day, one of the very first lessons we were taught was this: Governments should avoid at all costs distorting the market of any product, because the distortions caused by excessive taxes, etc, will often produce far more deleterious results than the use of the product the government is trying to stamp out. Clearly, our politicians haven’t learnt this lesson.
The moral of the story is quite simple: Stop interfering in the marketplace and stop interfering in the lives of the people. Let the people decide what they wish to do for enjoyment. Moreover, one shouldn’t be surprised that children are attracted to vaping when they are available in so many attractive flavours such as apricot, peach, blackcurrant, orange, etc. Make them taste of tobacco and most chidren will run far, far away from them! – © Mark Alexander
Ministers are facing mounting pressure to impose an outright ban on single-use vapes, amid concern about their rising popularity among children and wider worries that officials have minimal grip over a fast-moving sector.
While it is illegal to sell e-cigarettes to under-18s, some experts suggest as many as 15% of 11- to 15-year-olds use vapes, with Rishi Sunak saying this week he was worried that his daughters could be “seduced” by a heavily flavoured product often packaged in bright colours. » | Peter Walker, Deputy political editor | Friday, May 26, 2023
This just goes to prove that the government’s relentless war on smoking is having a deleterious effect on children!
It would have been far better and more sensible if successive governments had simply used infomercials to make the public aware of the dangers of smoking and let the people decide for themselves whether they wish to smoke or not. In fact, that was the original strategy of governments to reduce smoking rates anyway; and, it must be said, that strategy was effective. It brought smoking rates right down over a period of years.
However, governments weren’t satisfied with this softly-softly approach. They have been determined to stub out the smoking of tobacco altogether which, of course, they will never be able to do.
The result has been that they have encouraged people to vape instead. The dangers of vaping are not yet well-understood. But the people in government have pushed ahead with this silly and ridiculous policy anyway.
At first, it was hoped that vaping would be used as a way of transitioning from smoking tobacco to not smoking at all. But it hasn’t turned out that way. Rather, vaping has become in itself a source of kicks for many people, including children. Vapes in multifarious flavours and forms have become particularly attractive even to young children, something which conventional cigarettes never were. The smell and taste of tobacco for children is often very off-putting. It certainly was for me as a child. As a child, I hated being around anyone who smoked cigarettes.
When I studied economics back in the day, one of the very first lessons we were taught was this: Governments should avoid at all costs distorting the market of any product, because the distortions caused by excessive taxes, etc, will often produce far more deleterious results than the use of the product the government is trying to stamp out. Clearly, our politicians haven’t learnt this lesson.
The moral of the story is quite simple: Stop interfering in the marketplace and stop interfering in the lives of the people. Let the people decide what they wish to do for enjoyment. Moreover, one shouldn’t be surprised that children are attracted to vaping when they are available in so many attractive flavours such as apricot, peach, blackcurrant, orange, etc. Make them taste of tobacco and most chidren will run far, far away from them! – © Mark Alexander
Tuesday, May 02, 2023
Australien: Verkauf von E-Zigaretten nur noch in Apotheken
READ IN ENGLISH:
Australia Aims to ‘Stamp Out’ Vaping With Sweeping Regulations: The proposal would ban all single-use, disposable vapes, halt the importation of nonprescription vapes and restrict certain flavors, colors and ingredients. »
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Chris Snowden on the Ever-growing Nanny State | Reupload
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, September 21, 2022
Nicotine’s Effects on the Brain & Body & How to Quit Smoking or Vaping | Huberman Lab Podcast #90
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
Friday, June 24, 2022
US Bans All Products from Leading Vaping Company Juul - BBC News
Jun 24, 2022 • The US is banning the sale of all products sold by Juul, one of the country's top e-cigarette companies.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it did not have enough data to be sure that marketing the firm's products was "appropriate for the protection of public health".
Juul said it would challenge the move, which comes after other recent anti-smoking efforts by the FDA, including plans to reduce the amount of addictive nicotine allowed in cigarettes.
Bring the price of real cigarettes down. Most of the price is tax anyway. Make sure the quality of the cigarettes is much improved (especially by banning dangerous chemicals put in them unnecessarily) and let people smoke in moderation. Stop being so meddlesome.
I am very much against the war on smoking, and I am also against my government promoting vaping when they don't know the long-term consequences of the new habit.
Everything is bad for health when done to excess: eating, drinking, smoking, etc. But it is ironic that at the very time the authorities are turning the screws on smokers, they are relaxing laws on soft drugs like marijuana and cannabis.
Let people have a little fun and pleasure. They will anyway, whether the authorities like it or not. If smoking were banned tomorrow, people would find other ways of getting their kicks; and those ways might well turn out to be more injurious to health than smoking ever has been. We shall never live in Utopia; Utopia is unachievable.
Please note that I write this as an ex-smoker. – © Mark Alexander
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it did not have enough data to be sure that marketing the firm's products was "appropriate for the protection of public health".
Juul said it would challenge the move, which comes after other recent anti-smoking efforts by the FDA, including plans to reduce the amount of addictive nicotine allowed in cigarettes.
Bring the price of real cigarettes down. Most of the price is tax anyway. Make sure the quality of the cigarettes is much improved (especially by banning dangerous chemicals put in them unnecessarily) and let people smoke in moderation. Stop being so meddlesome.
I am very much against the war on smoking, and I am also against my government promoting vaping when they don't know the long-term consequences of the new habit.
Everything is bad for health when done to excess: eating, drinking, smoking, etc. But it is ironic that at the very time the authorities are turning the screws on smokers, they are relaxing laws on soft drugs like marijuana and cannabis.
Let people have a little fun and pleasure. They will anyway, whether the authorities like it or not. If smoking were banned tomorrow, people would find other ways of getting their kicks; and those ways might well turn out to be more injurious to health than smoking ever has been. We shall never live in Utopia; Utopia is unachievable.
Please note that I write this as an ex-smoker. – © Mark Alexander
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
E-cigarettes : Welcome Back, Big Tobacco - The Fifth Estate
Oct 22, 2016 • Big Tobacco is trying clean up its image, moving into the booming e-cigarette business which continuing to peddle the deadly tobacco products. This has left public health officials in Canada, the U.K. and the US.
Five million Canadians still smoke. Could e-cigarettes help wean them over to a safer nicotine delivery device? Many ex-smokers say 'yes.' E-cigarettes are their salvation.
Health Canada is on the cusp of deciding how e-cigarettes should be regulated. Mark Kelly heads to England -- a country that has taken bold steps in embracing the e-cigarette as a safer alternative. Will Canada? And what will this mean for our e-cigarette industry?
Until now, e-cigarettes with nicotine have not been endorsed by Health Canada. And that's kept Big Tobacco out of the Canadian market. Will new regulations open the doors for a tarred industry to join in the e-cigarette revolution?
Government of Canada: Vaping product regulations »
Five million Canadians still smoke. Could e-cigarettes help wean them over to a safer nicotine delivery device? Many ex-smokers say 'yes.' E-cigarettes are their salvation.
Health Canada is on the cusp of deciding how e-cigarettes should be regulated. Mark Kelly heads to England -- a country that has taken bold steps in embracing the e-cigarette as a safer alternative. Will Canada? And what will this mean for our e-cigarette industry?
Until now, e-cigarettes with nicotine have not been endorsed by Health Canada. And that's kept Big Tobacco out of the Canadian market. Will new regulations open the doors for a tarred industry to join in the e-cigarette revolution?
Government of Canada: Vaping product regulations »
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Die Zukunft des Rauchens – wie schädlich sind E Zigaretten wirklich? | Einstein | SRF Wissen
I smoked my last cigarette on April 10th. I had been a smoker for many years. I used to enjoy smoking a lot. I can honestly say that I smoked out of pleasure, not out of addiction. (Only the few believe me when I say that; but it happens to be true.) I smoked exactly twenty cigarettes a day for most of my adult life.
Truthfully, I don't miss smoking at all. I have given up because I wanted to do so and because it has become a very expensive habit. I therefore started asking myself if I was really getting enough pleasure from the cigarettes I smoked by comparison with the amount of money I was spending on them. Clearly, I wasn't.
Furthermore, smoking today has become such a hassle: one cannot smoke anywhere indoors in public. Not even in friends' homes. The only place left to smoke is in one's own home. I have never smoked in the street. It wasn't the "done thing" when I was growing up, so I never got used to doing that. (It sounds a little old-fashioned, I know; but that's how it was back in the day.)
The biggest problem for me of not smoking is weight gain. That happens not so much because one eats that much more, though that can happen because smoking is an appetite suppressant, but it also happens because smoking increases one's metabolism. So after giving up the habit, the metabolism slows down.
E-cigarettes have never appealed to me. In any case, I have no intention, or desire, to rid myself of one habit only to replace it with another. Further, I don't trust e-cigarettes. Scientists can say all manner of things about them being safer, but the fact of the matter is clear to me: Nobody knows the long-term cpnequences of vaping. And for one simple reason: We haven't got long-term data on the habit.
I hope my new-found smoke-free existence lasts. – © Mark
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Commentary: I Don’t Defend Using Cigarettes or Tobacco. I Defend the Individual Freedom to Use Them.
THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE: The once-glorified cigarette graced the silver screen and could be seen in almost every magazine. Lucky Strike advertisements were as American as apple pie. Joe Camel was a four-legged hero and probably more popular than Spuds MacKenzie. Who didn’t want to look as cool as James Dean with a cigarette between their lips? On the battlefield, a cigarette provided tranquility even if just for a moment. Taking a few drags in a foxhole on a French battlefield while German soldiers were heard yelling or reloading was a little reminder of home.
For decades, cigarettes were a normal part of life. People smoked in every setting. From dinner parties, at the office, on airplanes or in the kitchen after a long day. It was normal and accepted. Then we started learning about the negative health implications. Americans became aware smoking cigarettes can have long-term negative effects on our bodies. We learned a lot of about nicotine and its addictiveness. Cancer was then linked to tobacco use. Long-term cigarette or cigar smoking could cause lung cancer. As people became aware, folks changed their behavior. Tobacco use, naturally, started to decline. » | Jess Nuñez | Wednesday, November 25, 2020
As far as I am concerned, the problem of obesity, as brought out in this German documentary started at around the time that the authorities and do-gooders started waging a war on cigarette-smoking and smokers.
I am going to stick my neck out here and state that there is a DIRECT CORRELATION between the decrease in the use of tobacco and the increase in obesity and the incidence of type-2 diabetes. When people smoked cigarettes more, both obesity and type-2 diabetes were far less prevalent in society.
Further, the authorities keep pushing vaping and e-cigarettes as alternatives to smoking real, traditional, combustible cigarettes, yet they have absolutely no reliable data on the long-term health consequences of vaping. This is grossly irresponsible on the part of medical people and governments worldwide.
People have been fed fairy stories, myths and lies about smoking cigarettes. If you listen to what they say about the dangers of smoking, if you dare indulge in the pleasurable habit, you will end up wrinkled, bald, toothless and you'll cough your lungs up! This is all balderdash, of course. I have smoked for most of my adult life and have very few wrinkles, a full mouthful of healthy teeth, a headful of thick, dark hair and I NEVER EVER cough! Moreover, I am not fat and I DO NOT suffer from diabetes. I believe that being a moderate smoker has helped me stay relatively slim and keep diabetes at bay. So, if I wish to do so, I shall continue to smoke real cigarettes despite the nonsense being talked about them. I am as proud to be a smoker as I am to be gay! I make absolutely no excuses for either!
As it happens, I have not smoked a cigarette for about ten days now. I had no intention of giving up smoking—and maybe I haven't long-term—but due to inclement weather, it was too wet to go out and buy cigarettes; so I didn't and did without. I haven't bothered to buy any cigarettes since that time.
Despite having a twenty-a-day habit for most of my adult life, I find it very easy to stop smoking when I wish to do so. Hence, I do not believe thaat smoking is half as addictive as they say it is. In my opinion and experience, smoking cigarettes is a habit rather than an addiction. Smoking is addictive only if one allows it to become so. Personally, all my adult life, I have refused to allow myself to become addicted to anything. When it comes to cigarettes, addiction is a choice: one becomes addicted if one allows oneself to become so. Basta!
At this point, I should add that I find it both maddening and stupid that at the very time that they are clamping down so much on smoking cigarettes, they are relaxing laws on smoking cannabis and other soft drugs. It is maddening because they have made the life of a smoker so difficult and expensive; it is stupid, because they are replacing one habit they say is so unhealthy with an even unhealthier one: smoking cannabis!
I would be the first person to admit that it is far better not to smoke at all. But only if the person doesn't replace smoking cigarettes with a habit which is even unhealthier than smoking cigarettes has ever been.
There is much more I could say about this subject, but for now, I shall leave it at that. – © Mark
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Juul Says Its Focus Was Smokers, but It Targeted Young Nonsmokers
SAN FRANCISCO — In the face of mounting investigations, subpoenas and lawsuits, Juul Labs has insisted that it never marketed or knowingly sold its trendy e-cigarettes and flavored nicotine pods to teenagers.
As youth vaping soared and “juuling” became a high school craze, the company’s top executives have stood firm in their assertion that Juul’s mission has always been to give adult smokers a saferalternative to cigarettes, which play a role in the deaths of 480,000 people in the United States each year.
“We never wanted any non-nicotine user and certainly nobody underage to ever use Juul products,” James Monsees, a co-founder of the company, testified at a congressional hearing in July.
But in reality, the company was never just about helping adult smokers, according to interviews with former executives, employees and investors, along with reviews of legal filings and social media archives. » | Julie Creswell and Sheila Kaplan | Saturday, November 23, 2019
Thursday, October 03, 2019
Lung Damage from Vaping Resembles Chemical Burns, Report Says
The lung damage in some people who have become ill after vaping nicotine or marijuana products resembles a chemical burn, doctors from the Mayo Clinic reported on Wednesday.
Their findings are based on samples of lung tissue from 17 patients around the country whose biopsy specimens were sent to Mayo to be examined under the microscope by experts in lung pathology. Two samples came from patients who died.
“All 17 of our cases show a pattern of injury in the lung that looks like a toxic chemical exposure, a toxic chemical fume exposure, or a chemical burn injury,” said Dr. Brandon T. Larsen, a surgical pathologist at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz. “To be honest, they look like the kind of change you would expect to see in an unfortunate worker in an industrial accident where a big barrel of toxic chemicals spills, and that person is exposed to toxic fumes and there is a chemical burn in the airways.”
The injuries also look like those seen in people exposed to poisons like mustard gas, a chemical weapon used in World War I, he said. » | Denise Grady | Wednesday, October 2, 2019
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