Tobacco’s Two Minutes of Hate
March 23, 2015
I’ve never smoked – and don’t advocate taking up the habit – but I can’t help but find the site of huddled, shivering tobacco aficionados lighting up outside their own homes to be a bit strange. Watching the 1979 classic film Alien the other night, I found its most outrageous moment not to be the hand-to-hand combat with an extraterrestrial that bleeds acid, but the site of the crew enjoying their cigarettes while relaxing on the spaceship. I’m not going to make too many predictions about the 22nd century ? one look at some of my recent stock picks is evidence of my disqualification as a forecaster ? but I’m willing to wager that it is more likely that xenomorphs will be popping out of our bellies than workers will be allowed to have a smoking break in a hundred years.
How did smokers go from being ubiquitous to becoming societal pariahs within a generation? When I was a kid ? I’m old but not that old, having been born in the late seventies, when we still had iron horses for travel, moving pictures for entertainment, and The Star Wars Holiday Special for awkward laughs ? I remember candy cigarettes. They took two forms: one a white cylinder hard candy with some red coloring at the end and, the other, cleverer, bubblegum-wrapped version with powdered sugar you could blow out to resemble real smoke. That was just thirty years ago. Can you imagine such a product for kids today? If a ten-year-old were found with candy cigarettes in 2015, family services would pick him up faster than if his parents allowed him to use a plastic swastika as a Frisbee.
Smokers seem to fill this weird niche for the government, both as a tax revenue milk cow and as a villain whipping-boy in ongoing state sponsored research. I enjoy going out to eat without having to get my jacket dry-cleaned afterwards as much as the next guy, but I’m concerned about how quickly tobacco went from being an accepted societal norm to becoming a heavily state-regulated evil vice. It also seems a bit contradictory to me that laws around other drugs are loosening while the rules around tobacco continue to tighten. The militant stigmatization of smokers has an uncomfortable Orwellian quality to it.
Perhaps there is some flaw in human nature that compels us to make once-acceptable personal practices verboten, thinking it is some sick extension of evolution. You may not care about what has happened to smokers over the last two decades since you don’t smoke, know it is an unhealthy practice, and were tired of needing to shower after visiting the local tavern. However, we all have our simple personal vices that help us through the day. It may be a sweet tooth, it could be enjoying a bag of potato chips after a rough day at work, or it might take the form wearing a Klingon mask and leopard skin underwear while watching Star Trek reruns in your parent’s basement. Based on what happened to tobacco, how quickly and easily could any of these practices be made unacceptable next? If, thirty years ago, you had told a smoker partaking in his habit while enjoying an after-dinner drink in his favorite restaurant that – in the not too distant future – he would only be allowed to smoke while freezing outside the restaurant with passersby using their coats to cover their scornful faces in an attempt to avoid his exhaled toxins, do you think he’d have believed you?
Smoke Don’t Get in Your Eyes
MARCH 13, 2015
by PETUNIA WINEGUM
‘Curse Sir Walter Raleigh, he was such a stupid get’, sang John Lennon on ‘I’m So Tired’ in 1968, a reference to the Elizabethan adventurer’s introduction of tobacco to Britain, holding him responsible for every craving for a fag. A bit severe, perhaps, but not without foundation. The discovery of the magical plant by early European colonists in the Americas opened another door of trade to the old world that rapidly began to rival other imported luxuries such as tea and sugar. Not that tobacco wasn’t without its critics from the off, however. James I of England and James VI of Scotland published an incensed rant on the subject of the new stimulant as early as 1604, in similar vein to his more publicised polemic on witchcraft; his disapproval on health grounds resulted in heavy tariffs being imposed on imports of tobacco that have essentially remained ever since. And if you thought banning smoking was something new, bear in mind that Sultan Murad IV outlawed smoking throughout the Ottoman Empire in 1633, a crime punishable by death, no less. I do hope I haven’t provided the anti-smoking lobby with a light bulb after revealing that.
Virginia tobacco plantations provided a fast track to a fortune for enterprising British colonists as, regardless of the odd voice raised against the practice, the smoking of the addictive plant quickly permeated every strata of society back in the Mother Country. Its widespread popularity inevitably saw the price drop, dealing plantation owners such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson a severe economic blow they perceived as a conspiracy on the part of London. As much as taxation on tea gets the credit for lighting the fuse of the American Revolution, it’s feasible to speculate tobacco had as significant a part to play on the road to independence; I wonder if American health fascists have ever considered that possibility?
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Smoking should be banned at home says 68% of the nation
10 Mar 2015
Written by James Lockett
Today smokers across the country are forsaking their daily intake of nicotine in aid of National No Smoking Day. Leading online estate agent eMoov.co.uk has released their latest consumer insight revealing that smoking can not only damage your property?s selling potential, but 68% of the public think smoking in the home with infants should be legally banned.
The research surveyed 2000 adults in England and Wales and asked them whether smoking in the home with an infant present should be banned, as well as if the lingering smells or obvious stains that would put them off buying a property.
With smoking already banned in public venues and a law due to be introduced banning smoking in cars with young children, a smoker?s home is not only their castle, but the last refuge they have in which they can smoke hassle free. However where children are concerned the public seem willing to even give this up, with over two thirds of them believing smoking in the home should be banned if infants are present.
On top of this, the latest insight reveals smoking in your home could not only be detrimental to yours or your children?s health, but also detrimental to the sale of your property and the price you could achieve.
Of the top smells stated that would deter a buyer from a property, it comes as little surprise that the smell of smoke is one of them. A notable 86% of those surveyed stated buying a house from a heavy smoker would impact their decision to buy, or the price they would be willing to pay for the property.
21% of those asked would disregard a property altogether as a result of the seller being a smoker with 16% stating they would offer less than the asking price, regardless of whether it was a true reflection of the property value.
Perhaps more of a surprise is that those in the lowest age bracket of 16-24 (59%) would be most put off by the smell of smoke when viewing and those aged 25-34 were most likely to disregard a property full stop if the previous owner was a smoker (23%).
Those in the middle age range of 35-44 were the least worried about whether or not the previous owner smoked, with 18% of them not bothered about the smell at all. However they were also the most likely to use it as a bargaining chip with 20% of them stating it as a reason to offer under the asking price.
Geographically those in Cardiff (28%) were most likely to offer less than the asking price as a result of smoking, but it is Southampton that is crowned anti-smoking capital of the UK with 27% of those surveyed on the South coast stating they would not consider buying from a smoker at all.
Founder and CEO of eMoov, Russell Quirk commented ?With regard to smoking being legally banned in the home, it doesn?t surprise me that this aspect of our research has sparked such a reaction. It?s understandable that people will turn to the statute book to ensure that kids? health is protected if they feel that some parents are neglecting to do so.
With house prices in the UK some of the most expensive in the world, savvy buyers are keeping their eye out for any reason to save a penny or two. It doesn?t matter if they are anti-smoking or just trying to keep the cost down, those that choose to allow the lingering aroma of stale smoke in their home leave themselves vulnerable to buyers looking to barter.?
Stop Smoker-Shaming
JANUARY 15, 2015
Jameson Dumaurier
You’re out on a busy sidewalk, and you’re craving a dart. You pull out your pack. That’s when you begin to notice the looks. People are giving you stink eyes as you place that white cylinder of sweet, sweet nicotine in your mouth. You pull out your Bic from your pocket, bring it up to your mouth, and light the end of your cigarette. As you inhale, you’re filled with a pleasant warmness. How long has it been since your last cigarette? Twenty minutes? Almost an hour? It’s been forever, and the relief is enough to send you to the moon.
However, the good vibes are soon killed as a passerby obnoxiously begins coughing in exaggerated hacks and wheezes. “That’s disgusting,” someone says. “Put that out.” “Quit polluting my air.” “Smoking is gross,” someone says without being asked. “You should be ashamed of yourself.” “You stink.”
I became a smoker when I was 16, and I’ve lived with smoker-shaming ever since. I have been the victim of intolerance and discrimination, all because I fail to meet society’s expectations of the perfect pair of lungs. I have been subjected to being called names. Worse, I’ve been denied access to all kinds of places including restaurants, bars, airplanes, schools, and churches. I’ve been told not to come back until I “put out that cigarette,” as if it’s that easy. I’ve been dumped because I’m a smoker. “You’re a really nice guy,” said a long-term girlfriend of mine, “but I can’t get past you smoking.” She told me I had to pick between her and cigarettes, as if that was a choice I could make.
“Just quit,” people say. “Put down the pack.” “Exercise and eat right.” It doesn’t matter how much I work out or what I eat. I can’t stop being a smoker. I have a disorder. This disorder is a disease, a disease for which there is no cure. Some people will provide anecdotes about how they used to be smokers yet they were able to quit. Well, that’s great for you, but that’s not how my body works. It doesn’t matter what I try. I’ve read books, listened to tapes, and tried all kinds of New Age methods to no longer be a smoker. None of them work.
Nobody should ever be ashamed of being a smoker. Being a smoker is not an indication of who you are as a person. It has nothing to do with being healthy or unhealthy. It is no indication of poor life choices or a lack of self-worth. Just because someone doesn’t fit your definition of “healthy” does not mean they deserve the discrimination that so many smokers suffer.
My habit does not conform to modern-day society’s expectations of “sexy.” Being smoke-free is what it’s all about. It’s about shedding that extra pound of cigarettes away and starving yourself until you’re completely smoke-free. It’s about constantly maintaining a set of pink, clean lungs, day after day.
Smoker-shaming hurts smokers. Your words cut deep. We don’t like being called “disgusting,” “unhealthy,” or “stinky” just because we’re carrying a few extra packs. We are berated on a constant basis, and it isn’t fair. Many of us did not choose to be smokers. Some of us became smokers due to depression or anxiety. Many of us chain-smoke as a coping mechanism for the abuse we’ve suffered. It’s a vicious cycle. Even my parents subjected me to their own brand of smoker-shaming. My father would shake his head and tell me how disappointed he was in me. My mother kept trying to send me to programs and camps, telling me how handsome I could be if I could just drop smoking.
My habit does not affect you. If the sight of my habit disgusts you, then simply look away. If the smell of my habit bothers you, then stop breathing. Nobody is forcing you to do that. You, however, are trying to force me with hate speech and passive-aggressive behavior. You force me outside in the cold while the rest of you remain inside in comfort. You don’t let me carpool with you, telling me there isn’t enough space for me and my habit. You sit at least two chairs away from me on the bus or at the movies, saying you’re overwhelmed by my stench, and that you’re afraid of dying from “second-hand smoke.”
Society is more than content to ridicule, ostracize, and discriminate against smokers. Smoker-shaming is prevalent, and it’s time it ends. To this end, I propose a beginning: the beginning of the smoker-acceptance movement. It’s time people learn to stop judging others based on the nature of their habit, the length of their cigarettes, or the size of their packs. We smokers are just as healthy, competent, and sexy as everyone else. It’s time we make our stand.
Thank you for reading. Goodnight… and good luck.
