Poll: Does Anyone Smoke Cigarettes Anymore?

[harley]

One thing that has to have some kind of impact, if even small among young smokers is the age restrictions. In California it used to be you had to be 18 to smoke, now you have to be 21. That should slow some down some of the younger smokers.

This is only my opinion, but I doubt that has had any impact at all. Anybody that wants cigarettes can get them. Similar to booze or pot. Although I guess it's a tiny bit harder now than it was when you could buy them out of machines.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I used to visit Asia a lot for business during my W@#k#$g years. It is so prolific there, at least the places I visited. But I think they smoke for different reasons than we do. Asia, specifically China and Korea where my experience stems from at least. Cigarettes are (or were) very cheap there. Koreans especially I noticed are very sociable people and cigarettes are a way they can share what they have very economically while engaging in other sociable activities (Drinking). I noticed they were always giving each other cigarettes whenever the opportunity arose.

 

[scrabbler1]

Reading this thread I feel so grateful for our modern (nearly) smoke-free world. Oh, the memories of air travel with the magic cardboard sign that kept all the smoke aft of a certain row and the sound of two dozen simultaneous lighter strikes at the sound of the first "ding" after takeoff. I recall a restaurant with a no-smoking table , and establishments with no-smoking sections that "floated," meaning if you didn't smoke they took the ashtray off your table. I grew up in a high school with a smoking block, and I also got away with not having a smoking permit.

Late in my career I described to one of the young people at the office how things used to be. They were in complete disbelief. "You mean you could smoke in the office?!"

Back in the 1990s, when our state and local legislatures were debating having places such as restaurants go smoke-free, I came across a cartoon which I mailed to all of my state and local elected leaders. It showed two adjacent tables in a restaurant with one table's patrons smoking and the other table's patrons not smoking. In between the tables were a pair of signs with arrows pointing to each table. Toward the smoker's table, the sign read, "Smoking Section," while toward the non-smoker's table, the sign read, "Second-hand smoking section." In my letter to each leader, I asked them to please get rid of this farce permitted under current law. They did.

 

[mpeirce]

Reading this thread I feel so grateful for our modern (nearly) smoke-free world.

Not just tobacco smoke, but wood or coal smoke from fireplaces. And horse manure on every street.

You don't have to go back too far for all this to be true (150 years?) - and frankly, a nice scented tobacco might be a nice improvement over the other odors.

 

[REWahoo]

And horse manure on every street.

Just had a flashback to an old country & western song: "She Was the Stable-Keeper's Daughter and Every Horseman Knew Her".

Now back to your regularly scheduled program...

 

[mountainsoft]

I have never smoked a day in my life, though I was exposed to my share of second hand smoke as a kid. It seemed everyone smoked back then, my parents, aunts, uncles, and most of my cousins smoked cigarettes, and my grandfather smoked a pipe.

I have zero interest in smoking cigars, cigarettes, pipes, weed, or vaping. My dad died of smoking related cancers. My uncle died of lung cancer. My step-mom died of lung cancer. My father-in-law died of emphysema from smoking. I could go on, but that's enough evidence for me.

I love to travel but I purposely avoid going anyplace where smoking may be more common.

 

[JoeWras]

And horse manure on every street.

We need to reference The Midwest Family Road Trip thread. There was some discussion about going to Mackinac Island. Lots of fun! No cars. Bikes and horses.

Even though they have a near army of picker-uppers, even so it is easy to step in a pile. Gives you a very slight appreciation for the problem.

Fortunately, they don't make the islanders burn coal.

 

[jim584672]

I remember in the 80s my office had a literal cloud layer of smoke from all the smokers. I have seen the damage from smoking in my family members. Never smoked myself.

 

[joeea]

Never have, and never will smoke anything.

I got enough second hand smoke from my parents, and later my workplace, to last me the rest of my life. Thank goodness those days are over.

Smoking is one disgusting habit I have been able to avoid. I pity those who haven't been able to avoid it.

 

[Amethyst]

Made me think of my Dad, who loved smelly puns. He would also draw the word POOP as a big-eyed face with stick-out ears (one P was backward, of course).

The things that made me what I am today....

Just had a flashback to an old country & western song: "She Was the Stable-Keeper's Daughter and Every Horseman Knew Her".

.

 

[omni550]

I used to visit Asia a lot for business during my W@#k#$g years. It is so prolific there, at least the places I visited. But I think they smoke for different reasons than we do. Asia, specifically China and Korea where my experience stems from at least. Cigarettes are (or were) very cheap there. Koreans especially I noticed are very sociable people and cigarettes are a way they can share what they have very economically while engaging in other sociable activities (Drinking). I noticed they were always giving each other cigarettes whenever the opportunity arose.

I went to Korea in 1988 on a work trip to train about 20 of their engineers in a 5-day class. The training room had a large conference table with about 5-6 small plates scattered about with individual cigarettes piled high on them. (These cigs were company-provided and kept replenished).

Yes, the room was smoke-laden.

omni

 

[Sojourner]

There's no upside to smoking cigarettes. I mean it doesn't make you feel particularly happy, or relaxed, or excited or anything, the way other legalized drugs might do (alcohol, weed (almost legal), etc). And they do put signs to warn the uninformed how dangerous it is like warnings on cigarette labels, ordinances banning smoking in all sorts of areas including multi-complex apartments, etc. Strange we can still buy this stuff.

Yeah, I always wondered exactly what was so alluring about smoking cigarettes that it would make people go out of their way multiple (even dozens of) times per day just to take a few puffs. I once asked a smoker friend of mine why it was so critically important for him to have cigarette before getting in a car for a 1 hour drive somewhere, and he said something like "It just relaxes me." And I remember thinking, "Well, taking a shot of vodka would relax me, but I don't seek to do it 20 times per day."

And speaking of smoking, I always found it really astonishing how the smokers at my workplace would step outside for 5 minute "smoke breaks" numerous times throughout the day, and no one ever said a thing about it. Some of these folks certainly spent well over on hour each day outside smoking and socializing with other smokers. And one day I wondered what my employer would say if all the sudden I decided to start taking numerous 5 minute "vodka breaks" throughout the day. "Hey, where's Sojourner?" "Oh, he's outside drinking vodka." "Ahh, OK, cool. I'll catch up with him when he gets back."

 

[JustCurious]

And one day I wondered what my employer would say if all the sudden I decided to start taking numerous 5 minute "vodka breaks" throughout the day. "Hey, where's Sojourner?" "Oh, he's outside drinking vodka." "Ahh, OK, cool. I'll catch up with him when he gets back."

I suppose you know the answer, but I'll bite anyway. The difference is you would become intoxicated after drinking Vodka and therefore unproductive at work.

 

[poppydog]

Mrs PD and me gave up together at the turn of the century, 18.5 years ago. We haven’t touched one since. Toughest thing I ever did.....

 

[DrRoy]

I dabbled a tiny bit as a teenager but have basically never smoked.

 

[Winemaker]

Never smoked a cigarette ever, but I did try a "funny" cigarette and a pipe coming home from 9th basketball practice on different occasions. I didn't like the weed, but loved the pipe, but I have never smoked it since.

 

[O2Bfree]

Yeah, I always wondered exactly what was so alluring about smoking cigarettes that it would make people go out of their way multiple (even dozens of) times per day just to take a few puffs. I once asked a smoker friend of mine why it was so critically important for him to have cigarette before getting in a car for a 1 hour drive somewhere, and he said something like "It just relaxes me." And I remember thinking, "Well, taking a shot of vodka would relax me, but I don't seek to do it 20 times per day."

Nicotine is a tough hook.

https://vapingdaily.com/quitting-effects/nicotine-withdrawal-symptoms-timeline/

"A smoker’s brain works better when on nicotine because nicotine releases extra serotonin and dopamine in their brain. The two chemicals when released in extra quantity than the brain normally does, serve to improve cognitive brain functions such as clear thinking and brain’s power to memorize, etc.

When a smoker quits, the body begins to adjust to normal levels of chemicals, in reaction to which, the smoker feels different withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms begin to appear very soon after the last cigarette. "

Plus, the pleasant sense of relief from withdrawal gets associated with the ceremony of smoking --pulling a smoke out of the pack, the sweet smell of the tobacco, lighting up and taking that first puff, and sharing the experience of the fix with other smokers if they're around.

Quitting can be really tough. When I was trying to quit years ago, my efforts were hampered by the many local stores that sold single cigarettes for a quarter. It was too easy to pop in and get "just one" for a fix, which usually led to another round of "what the heck, might as well buy a pack, it's cheaper". I finally managed to quit using aversion therapy: retraining the brain to associate smoking with something unpleasant.

 

[Amethyst]

My husband is a former smoker, who quit years before we met (otherwise, we never would have met). He says "cigarettes gave you something to do with your hands." This always strikes me as hilarious. What, do nonsmokers do weird things with their hands, or something?

Yeah, I always wondered exactly what was so alluring about smoking cigarettes that it would make people go out of their way multiple (even dozens of) times per day just to take a few puffs. I once asked a smoker friend of mine why it was so critically important for him to have cigarette before getting in a car for a 1 hour drive somewhere, and he said something like "It just relaxes me." And I remember thinking, "Well, taking a shot of vodka would relax me, but I don't seek to do it 20 times per day."

A?

 

[Elbata]

It'll take a few more decades but eventually, our attitudes about eating animals will be what smoking is today.

 

[dtbach]

It'll take a few more decades but eventually, our attitudes about eating animals will be what smoking is today.

Hope "a few more decades" is correct. I should be dead by then. Love me a nice thick New York strip.

 

[harley]

It'll take a few more decades but eventually, our attitudes about eating animals will be what smoking is today.

Or millenia.

In the year 4545
You ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes
You won't find a thing to chew
Nobody's gonna look at you - Zager and Evans

 

[skipro33]

Maybe smoking is what kept this country sane and kicking the habit has had a negative effect. If more people would just step back and light up a butt instead of flipping out over every little thing, maybe the hate would ratchet back a little?

 

[97guns]

Speaking of cigarettes, I’m in Vietnam and we just bought a couple packs of Marlboro for my wife’s cousin, $1.65 usd a pack, couldn’t believe how cheap they were, got my gears turning on how to make a quick hustle

 

[braumeister]

Besides the addictive aspect, I think quite a few smokers keep it up because it helps them keep their weight down.
When I quit, I picked up about 15 pounds pretty quickly.

 

[savory]

In a conversation yesterday with a person who is a wellness director, we were talking about why so many people smoke and what gets some to quit. It was interesting to learn (assuming she was right) that most people did not quite smoking due to health concerns. They quit due to peer pressure. For example, telling your friends you must leave the dinner table to go outside for a smoke was uncomfortable. Or, telling your friends that you smoke when they are so disapproving was also uncomfortable. It works the other way as well.

I am not sure of the best peer pressure message one could give to a smoker. But this concept would suggest watching and listening to people near the end of life is not the most effective way to get people to stop smoking. We did not get to the point of discussing peer pressure solution suggestions. But, perhaps the way to go to get more people to stop smoking.