Cigarettes are GOOD for you

Yesterday's gasp is tomorrow's ho-hum and things move continually in and out of style — acceptance too.
Take the young in their swanky watering holes, downing quarts of the hard liquor the rest of us took a lifetime to kick, convinced at last it was bad for us.
Ot the magazine ad for St. Germaine's Delice Du Sureau, a liquor billed as "the new absinthe." It shows a sepia-tinted 1890s photo of two young women faced away from the camera in filmy garments that would be decent in an ancient Rome kind of way, but for the two absolute peep-show windows in the back, exposing the twin peaches of their bare bottoms. Also, each girl has an arm draped around the other's waist in such a way that her fingers ever so lightly dent the tender flesh of her friend's derrière.
Now I'm a member of the generation that threw away its own undergarments, donned body paint and kicked over every sacred cow it could find, but this picture shocked me to my Reeboks - though I frankly thought I COULDN'T be shocked anymore with the way the young dress today, the girls in tops the size of potholders, the girls and guys alike in beltlines worn so low the bones flanking their bellies jut like tiny Mount Rushmores.
You can see this picture for yourself, either by getting the June issue of Vanity Fair or by following the link to my blog Exit Only, directions below, but let's get back to the way trends change - so much that you come to wonder if there's ANYTHING once banished that isn't later welcomed back and celebrated.
This Delice Du Sureau likens itself to absinthe, a commodity that perfectly illustrates this principle: In the past everyone loved it. Then it was banned. Everyone loved it over here. Then it was banned over there.
A powerful brew made of wormwood, anise and fennel, it was THE drink of choice among all kinds of 19th century "artistes." I'm talkin' about fun-lovin' guys like Charlie-the-Chuckles Baudelaire. Crazy Vinny Van-Gogh-Gogh. Polly-Wolly-Doodle Verlaine. And of course my own personal hero, Oscar the Wilde Man, that rock-star of an author who took America by storm when he came here in the 1880s in his ankle-length greatcoat with the green fur trim.
Oscar himself said absinthe made him feel as though tulips were sprouting from his lips. Others claimed it gave them a "lucid drunk."
But many others lined up against it, like several giants of 19th century art who depicted its evil effects: See Degas's "The Absinthe Drinker" in which a hatted lady in a bar sits staring stupidly at nothing. See Maignan's "Green Muse," in which a cruelly grinning fairy in lime chiffon squeezes the temples of a tortured-looking poet.
One outraged citizen wrote that it makes "a ferocious beast of man, a martyr of woman, and a degenerate of the infant." (Wait, the infant?!) And one of Emile Zola's novels has reports of an absinthe drinker who stripped himself naked in the street and died doing the polka.
But surely there are worse ways to die. I know I fell down doing the polka at Charlie Potzka's girl's wedding and Charlie fell too and the two of us were having a wonderful time.
Anyway, now tolerance for the stuff is "in" and absinthe must be back on the OK Today list because you can buy it again in the States, and also your Delice Du Sureau and even your shocking pictures too.
God knows what's next. Maybe the revelation that that — wo, hey! — tobacco's actually GOOD for you!

Cigarette machines may be banned

Cigarette vending machines and packets of 10 could be outlawed under government plans aimed at preventing children and young people smoking.

The plans, which include banning branding and logos, apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Similar plans have been unveiled in Scotland.

Smokers' lobby group Forest said there was "no evidence" to show the plans would to cut smoking in young people.

Meanwhile, a new TV advert campaign is targeting parents who smoke.

The adverts warn that children of smokers are three times more likely to take up the habit than those of non-smokers.

Under current pricing, a packet of 10 cigarettes cost about £3, compared to nearly £6 for 20.

Last week the Scottish Government announced a range of proposals to restrict tobacco sales in Scotland - including a ban in shops from displaying cigarettes in "pride of place" on their shelves.

On the latest consultation document, Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said it was vital to take away temptation from children.

"Protecting children from smoking is a government priority and taking away temptation is one way to do this," she said.

"If banning brightly coloured packets, removing cigarettes from display and removing the cheap option of a pack of 10 helps save lives, then that is what we should do, but we want to hear everyone's views first."

Menthol Cigarettes

“Opposition to Menthol Cigarettes Grows” (Business Day, June 5) misses the point that the effort to prohibit menthol as a flavoring in cigarettes is but the first leap toward a national ban on all cigarettes.

Almost 30 percent of adult smokers prefer menthol products, meaning millions of Americans would suddenly and arbitrarily be denied their preference of cigarette. They would almost assuredly turn to the black market to obtain the product they want.

History makes clear that prohibitions like this do more harm than good. The failed social experiment of alcohol prohibition is a good lesson. There is ample evidence that criminal enterprises and terrorist organizations already find the profit from black market cigarettes easy to generate and conceal. And that’s when the product is legal everywhere, and the only differences in availability are the taxes from one jurisdiction to another.

It is inevitable that this problem will be worsened if an outright ban were put in place.

Depriving thousands of hard-working Americans — mom-and-pop convenience stores, tobacco farmers and everyone else in small companies that support the manufacture of menthol cigarettes — of 30 percent of their business would be disastrous.

Coupled with the fact that the scientific research to date is inconclusive as to whether menthol products are any better or worse than nonmenthol products, it is clear that the advocated ban on menthol cigarettes is misguided and has the very real potential to harm our national and economic security.

Tobacco companies do battle

Two tobacco companies are battling it out at Competition Commission Tribunal hearings.

At issue is access to retail channels.

The tribunal's ruling is likely to affect the cigarette brands that are immediately visible to consumers at retail outlets.

Japan Tobacco International South Africa (JTISA) has accused British American Tobacco South Africa (Batsa) of being involved in conduct aimed at denying its competitors access to various retail channels.

These include hotels, restaurants and cafes.

JTISA manufactures brands that include Winston, Camel and Benson & Hedges.

Batsa's flagship brands include Peter Stuyvesant, Dunhill and Kent.

JTISA lodged a complaint with the Competition Commission in 2003, saying Batsa was the dominant cigarette manufacturer in the country.

Hey Where Are All The Cigarettes?

Toronto - Thanks to a new law, which came into effect over the weekend, cigarettes are no longer visible to customers at stores across Ontario.

The new law requires stores to keep the packages out of view.

“This marketing tool … is a wall of temptation for smokers who have made the decision to quit,” said Joanne Di Nardo, spokeswoman for the Ontario Tobacco-Free Network. “Well-documented research and evidence shows that these retail display stands increase tobacco sales by 12 percent to 28 percent.”

When asked how it has effected sales so far, one store in Toronto told EON, “oh…people just laugh….hasn’t stopped anyone from buying their smokes.”

Other provinces are expected to implement a similiar program

New York smokers buying cigarettes in Pennsylvania

PENNSYLVANIA -- New York smokers are buying lots of cigarettes in Pennsylvania.
"I actually make trips down here once a week or so," said Savona resident Tim Soporowski.
"I always buy my cigarettes in Pennsylvania. Simply because it is a little cheaper," said Big Flats resident Dave Kenyon.
Now it's a lot cheaper, since a new tax raised the price of a pack in New York by $1.25 to some $5, $6 and even $7 a pack.
"It's crazy," Soporowski said.
"We don't like it," said Phyllis Gurnsey, a Campbell resident.
"Taxes on gas and cigarettes are already to the point where they're really affecting the economy. It's too much," Kenyon said.
Cigarettes typically are cheaper in Pennsylvania than in New York. But the new additional tax has more people leaving stores in New York and going into ones in Pennsylvania.
"I am buying mine strictly in Pennsylvania because New York's prices are outrageous," Elkland resident Holly Allen said.
New York State health officials expect the tax will get some smokers to quit. People on the border have other plans.
"Everything is going to kill you someday or another. The air can kill you. People do what they want to do," Soporowski said.
One smoker says the tax actually may deter him from lighting up.
"No, it'll probably force me to quit," said Elmira resident Charles White.
White said the drive to Pennsylvania saps the savings.
It's not worth it with the gas and all. It'll be inefficient," White said.
Others disagree.
"We enjoy the ride down to Pennsylvania. It's nice down here," Gurnsey said.

And at least for now, it's cheaper, too.

One gas station owner in Pennsylvania says more customers have been coming in over the past couple of days. A New York gas station owner says business is down and he expects it'll stay that way.

Mobiles and Cigarettes

Mobiles and Cigarettes refers to the many similarities that I have noticed over this time. Many similarities become obvious as one thinks about the comparison. A phone is compared to the collection of individual cigarettes, the pack and also the matches or lighter.
Topics covered include sociology of cigarette use, social shaping of health scares, industrial structure and political influence, advertising, cultural images, gender and age issues etc.
Phones have replaced cigarettes as the thing people fiddle with
* When nervous, waiting for a to meet or hear from someone, or trying not to look out of place
* They are a distraction from loneliness, insecurity, nervousness
They are used to fill time waiting
* smoking or calling when waiting for the bus
We often have to go outside a building or room to use them.
* We cannot get reception, or, as with cigarettes, we are not allow by explicit or implicit rules to use them indoors.
* The little crowd of smokers and phoners is a common sight. However smokers are united by their activity, phoners separated.
They are displayed in public places
* When put on the table in a pub or café they have brand and model status
* They must be near at hand - for the next call or next smoke.
* A group of smokers all get out their cigarettes packs and put them of the table when the sit down. Phoners do the same thing.
They are associated with certain stereotypes
* The socially successful - the peron everyone wants to know.
* E.g. the sophisticated business person/socialite (advertisers preferred)
* E.g. beautiful people having fun
* Actually used by: many people
* The spotty teenager on the bus
They are used in characteristic ways by different people
* Discretely, hidden in hand, back turned
* Elbow stuck out the side - characteristic of overweight lorry drivers, to use a blatant stereotype!
* If you use two at the same time you probably have a problem.
They are lent and borrowed
* Friends think nothing of letting each other make calls or cigarettes .
* Except when there are hardly any left.
* One person with a phone or pack is enough for a whole group on an outing.
They are seen as antisocial in many public or social contexts
* They both annoy other people around the user.
* There are social codes about when it is appropriate to use
* Those that control social spaces make rules to restrict anti-social behavior, especially banning use, or restricting to certain areas. See below.
They are highly social
* They are an essential part of flirtation
* They are a point to start conversation
* They are used to note phone numbers
Teenagers want them
* Use them to show off/build identity
* They are often one of the few personal possessions of young people.
* Starting smoking and getting a mobile phone, were/are important boundary markers in growing up
* They make/made up a key part of youth culture.
* They can be subversive.
* They are banned in schools (phones), smoke
* Catch 'em young
Their use is banned in many of the same places because of social interference or technical interference, or danger of fire.
* Theatre
* Hospital
* Railway carriages (smoke, phones)
* Petrol stations
* Parliament
They can cause fires - (phones by explosion)
Actually there is no evidence for this with phones, but that does not put off certain 'licensing authorities' from banning them on these grounds, such as in European filling stations.
They have highly disputed health issues.
* There are government studies
* Corporate denials
* Hidden patents and research
* There is a whole range a device to make them 'safer'
* Companies do not like to advertise 'safer' versions as that implies existing versions are dangerous
* Heavy users and children are most at risk
They are dangerous to use when driving
* One takes ones eyes and mind off the road to initiate use, and to hold them
* They both use the in car power socket
* Arkansas has banned smoking in cars with young children
There are important 'class' issues over use
* Different parts of the population prefer different brands
* Nokia - teen, young, more female
* Ericsson - company people, engineers, boring men
* Motorola - more sophisticated
Smaller versions are
* More feminine (packs of cigarettes )
* More discrete
* Are for lighter users (number of cigarettes , battery size, functions)
Gender differentiating in branding and design
They both are associated with small pictures of popular culture
- Logos, cigarettes cards
You go to the newsagent/tobacconist to buy them
They have similar industrial characteristics
* The industries both have huge political lobbies
* They contribute lots of revenue to governments though tax
* The industries are both highly regulated
* The industry is made of multinationals
* The growth markets are in the developing world
* In developing countries tobacco and telecoms have often been state enterprises