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On cigarettes

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Re: On cigarettes

#21

Post by Waterluvian »

zabzonk wrote: post #20
Waterluvian wrote: post #16

Despite having never smoked a single cigarette in my life, I have an intensely strong reaction to a very specific brand. Early in high school I met my first crush, and one summer learned that she liked me back. She was my first everything. And the scent of a lot of that teenage exploration was the awful but sweet smell of her parents’ basement, stained with that brand of cigarette. I have no clue what brand it is. Bu…

> I have no clue what brand it is You must have clue! If there is one thing tobacco companies are brilliant at it is branding. Why else would I have smoked Marlboro (and I am English) for all those sad, sad years.

I’m sure I could just ask someone the next time I detect it. To be honest, I’m afraid to. I don’t want the power to portal myself there on demand.

Re: On cigarettes

#22

Post by sandcat_ »

I find the reduction in smoking cigarettes fascinating at a societal level, in a similar way to a few other topics: toxoplasma gondii, widespread use of SSRIs. Probably some others I'm not recalling.

This must have had an effect, beyond health. Surely? It's hard to research because it gets crowded out (understandably) by all the negatives from smoking and all the improvements to health from the reduction of it.

But nicotine does have an effect on the mind. Certainly some positives (concentration, I believe) and I'm sure some negatives too. So the idea that a society would, over the course of a few decades, quite sharply reduce it's use of a particular drug surely must have had some interesting knock-on effects.

I've heard some people wonder if the rise of ADHD diagnoses could be related. That in the past all the ADHD folks would smoke and self-medicate, without even realizing. I have no idea if that's true.

Re: On cigarettes

#23

Post by awakeasleep »

Smoking doesn't actually look cool, but you might need to have quit before to really see it- smokers are sucking on something that's essentially unpleasant to relieve the discomfort of the first pangs of withdrawal.

If you can put yourself back in that moment with honesty, and remember the hope and inevitable disappointment that this will be a 'good cigarette' ... lol that is not cool

Re: On cigarettes

#24

Post by koolba »

shon wrote: post #6

When I was a 20-something big-4 consultant traveling weeks on end for work, I took up smoking for exactly the reasons you suggest. I had nothing to do in my down time and knew nobody, but I could sit in hotel bar with a smoke and strangers would trail over. Yep, I’m old enough to have been working when you could still smoke in hotel bars. In Monaco you could order a pack of Marlboro Reds at your dinner table back in…

Some of us are old enough to remember smoking sections on planes. (And yes it works out exactly as bad as you’d expect it … great way to past time on a transatlantic flight though!)

Re: On cigarettes

#25

Post by zabzonk »

chriscrisby wrote: post #19

I smoked for 20 years, loved every minute of it and looked cool as hell

I did about the same, until my GF said "it's them or me". Haven't touched one in over 30 years, thank god.

To anyone out there that does smoke - stop. You will improve your health, your finances, and you won't smell (well, no more than you would otherwise). And you probably don't look much like James Dean anyway.

Re: On cigarettes

#26

Post by gobdovan »

GenerWork wrote: post #3

This reminds me of the "It looks just as stupid when you do it" anti-smoking poster[0], which was meant to dissuade smoking, but actually goes kind of hard. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/PropagandaPosters/comments/1suta15/...

I'd like to imagine that the creator heard the 'Einstein zebra puzzle' (the puzzle about different nationalities having different pets and smoking different brands of cigarettes) and just made the pets have different nationalities and smoking the cigarettes directly.

Re: On cigarettes

#27

Post by Swizec »

sandcat_ wrote: post #22

I find the reduction in smoking cigarettes fascinating at a societal level, in a similar way to a few other topics: toxoplasma gondii, widespread use of SSRIs. Probably some others I'm not recalling. This must have had an effect, beyond health. Surely? It's hard to research because it gets crowded out (understandably) by all the negatives from smoking and all the improvements to health from the reduction of it. But n…

> This must have had an effect, beyond health. Surely?

Watch old music videos and TV or movies, everyone looks so old! You’ll have 30 year olds running around looking 50.

Then you look at modern media and think “Wow look at that 30 year old baby” and the person is pushing 50. Everyone looks so young these days! Cigarettes age your skin super fast.

Re: On cigarettes

#28

Post by gobdovan »

Gigachad wrote: post #4

Have to wonder what in todays world could replicate the social aspect of smoking. Something that gets people to step away from their work for a moment, keeps your hands busy and phone away and encourages people to talk to each other.

I heard people with dogs claiming similar effects.

Re: On cigarettes

#29

Post by sorum »

GenerWork wrote: post #3

This reminds me of the "It looks just as stupid when you do it" anti-smoking poster[0], which was meant to dissuade smoking, but actually goes kind of hard. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/PropagandaPosters/comments/1suta15/...

You're underselling this poster. It goes hard AF.

Racking my brain if there's another poster that unintentionally goes as hard as this one.

Re: On cigarettes

#30

Post by mingus88 »

Swizec wrote: post #27
sandcat_ wrote: post #22

I find the reduction in smoking cigarettes fascinating at a societal level, in a similar way to a few other topics: toxoplasma gondii, widespread use of SSRIs. Probably some others I'm not recalling. This must have had an effect, beyond health. Surely? It's hard to research because it gets crowded out (understandably) by all the negatives from smoking and all the improvements to health from the reduction of it. But n…

> This must have had an effect, beyond health. Surely? Watch old music videos and TV or movies, everyone looks so old! You’ll have 30 year olds running around looking 50. Then you look at modern media and think “Wow look at that 30 year old baby” and the person is pushing 50. Everyone looks so young these days! Cigarettes age your skin super fast.

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