I was watching the PBS program hosted by Jane Pauly about the news coverage of the JFK assasination. It seemed so weird now seeing the video tape of reporters on TV doing the coverage live on the air while smoking. Don't have to go back 40 years though to remember when all airplanes seats allowed smoking. There was smoking in the balconies of movie theatres. Johny Carson smoked while doing the Tonight Show. When I was in high school, we could smoke at lunch (outside). When I was in college, we could smoke in the classrooms. Sports stadiums? Of course. Maybe elevators were the only place you couldn't smoke. And I'm not positive about that. Now, in the a good portion (if not most of) the US, people can't smoke in bars. A last bastion of smokers. As an ex-smoker, second hand cigarette smoke is pretty bothersome (don't know why it seems to offend ex-smokers even more than non smokers). Recently I was in Asia. There, it seemed like every place I ate, I was surrounded by smokers. Made a lot of meals far less enjoyable. The Asians themselves smoke. Seemed like a majority of the European tourists smoked. Just curious how many of you guys smoke. And the demographics of where the smokers are. In honor of Brother Candle, I figured this would make a good poll. Also, knowing how bad smoking really is, I would be interested in hearing why the smokers still smoke (yeah, yeah....because they enjoy it). Maybe a better question would be why do people START smoking knowing what's known now. Peace, RS
I've smoked occasionally on and off, but I never really did "enjoy" it. I was more of a social smoker -- lighting up in bars and clubs. At my worst, I imagine I went through a half a pack a week. However, I do occasionally smoke now, but down to a couple of cigerettes a week at most. To tell you the truth, it makes me sick to smoke. I have no idea why I would even do it then. So obviously I should stop!
I used to smoke one pack per day. Untill i got runny nose most of time and some time stuffed nose, before doctor told me that i had sinusitis problem and smoking would provoke it and had to reduce gradually, before giving up. I reduced to average one pack every two week. So i am a social smoker today, though i like to smoke more frequent but have no choice. Btw did you have good time in Asia? (Thailand)
A better and healtier alternative to smoking is water pipe (hubble-bubble or Arabic Shishaa) which don't get you addicted while it can bring down your blood pressure after having a streesfull day. (you will also feel kind of hyperness). Does anyone have experince with SHISHAA? if yes, tell me how you had felt?
Seems like a lot of people try and cut back like you. Had gone through periods like that myself. Seems silly looking back now. There were many years in my life I smoked about two packs a day. Youth is amazing. I would drink all night, smoke day and night, and ski four days a week for 6 or so hours a day (smoked a cigarette every time I was on the chair lift...as was very common in those days...along with a joint more times than not. Taking two kinds of smoke into my lungs on a 15 minute chair ride.....how am I alive today?). No problem at the time though. Now I don't smoke at all, and while I could still do the skiing in my head, the body won't comply. And sure as hell I don't have the endurance (maybe wishful thinking, but I think I could work my way back to maybe 70% of where I once was). Now, athletes don't smoke. Maybe that's why they perform better. Part of the conditioning. Wasn't long ago that you would see baseball players smoking in the dugouts. Keith Hernandez comes to mind. He hasn't played since (I think) the late eighties, but that wasn't really all that long ago. His on field smoking was by then uncommon. But I remember when I was a lot younger, It seemed like a ton of the baseball players smoked. And according to what has been written, many of the Yankee greats (sure guys from other teams as well) would drink alchohol right before, and sometimes during a game. Whitey Ford admits to having pitched drunk. Mantle played with a hangover more often than not. (Read the book "Dynasty" for an inside look at the 1950's Yankees). Now the Cigarette companies do anti-smoking campaigns. Amazing how this so common habit has become so frowned upon in the US. (with good reason, but still amazing....look at old newsreels. Everyone smoked). Another thing I remember is the price of smokes. I owned my bar in NY when the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin was first issued. Our vending machine guy was bent out of shape. He thought he would have major expenses putting in new coin changers to accept the dollar coins. I couldn't imagine cigarettes going to a dollar a pack. He assured me they would eventually. Glad I stopped smoking for the savings now. I see cartons of generic brand smokes selling for $20 and more. We used to buy cartons in North Carolina driving to college for I think about $1.15. So a pack was eleven or twelve cents. Now I see they can sell for around $4 or $5 easy. What's the upside? Yeah, had a great time in Thailand. If I were younger and single, I could live there easily. Phuket is amazing. Actually the place I was thinking about when I wrote in the first post in this thread.....I stayed at a hotel where the dining areas were outdoors (covered, but outside). Even so, the cigarette smoke was sometimes overwhelming. Amazing to watch people smoke and eat at the same time. I know I had done it myself 30 years ago. Cigarettes between courses. Sometimes even between bites. Tough habit to quit. Fortunately I found a technique that worked and haven't smoked since 1980. It wasn't easy, but it was easier than the other attempts. Of which there were many. Peace, RS
Nana- Sure I have experience with shishaa. I have one right here at home. I've always preferred the Arabian style bar too. No chairs, no tables- just mattresses and pillows on the floor where you get your food, drinks & shishaa. For Westerners curious about what exactly is it they're smoking in the shishaa (Arabian hookah, water filtered), it's a mix of tobacco, molasses & fruit or mint flavorings. My theory about heavy smokers is that smoking is psychological compensation for lack of pleasure in one's life. I used to smoke one and a half packs a day when I was an IDF soldier. I hated my life, it was day after day of wake up,do shit you hate all day- with breaks for really bad food, go to bed. No pleasure anywhere in there, so might as well chain smoke. I wanted to die anyways, so why not? Made perfect sense at the time.
I worked as a bartender. The absolute worst part of the job was the cigarette smoke. I would see kids come into the bar that I knew had to have fake IDs. They looked so young. But so many of them smoked. All I could think was these kids are either stupid or suicidal. I see old people smoke, and I know they just can't break the disgusting habit. But when young people, especially American kids that are taught in school the dangers of smoking, I am amazed. I can understand hard drug use more than tobacco use. (No, I do not condone drug use). But drugs are known to provide feelings of euphoria, or whatever. Cigarettes only produce a craving and a stench. I could never kiss a guy that smokes. Total turn off. MT
Pretty much as I would have expected...so far the poll shows that less than a third of the Americans smoke, while a majority of non- Americans smoke. I am actually a little surprised that the percentage of Americans that smoke is as high as it seems by the limited sampling of the poll. Maybe traders smoke more than the average population. Wonder what the real statistics are. Different locations within the US vary widely. I lived in Las Vegas for a while, and it seemed like everyone smoked. Yet years earlier, I was a broker in Boulder. The office had 40 brokers. At that time, you could smoke at your desk if you wanted. Out of 40 brokers then (mid '80s), only two smoked. Healthier town I guess. Then again, compared to Las Vegas, pretty much any place would be. When I was in Las Vegas, one of the Circus Circus (now Mandalay) properties; Silver City Casino went smokeless for a while. The experiment failed. I know there are no smoking tables in the casinos now for 21 and the other "seated" table games. I have not been there in about five years or so. Are there non-smoking dice tables yet? Could a sports book exist without cigar smokers? Peace, RS
Hey guys (and the relatively few gals of ET)...just posting to get this to the top again. I was hoping for a bigger sampling in the poll. How is it possible that more people responded to what kinds of illegal drugs they prefer than to a subject like this, that truly affects non smokers (second hand smoke). I have seen heroin addicts laying on the sidewalks of NYC, but they never affected me. Yet I have had meals ruined by people with cigarettes (or worse, cigars) smoking at the next table in a restaurant. It seems from the limited response to the poll so far that American's smoke less than non-Americans. I am curious if in other parts of the world there are the kinds of anti-smoking campaigns we have here. Even the cigarette companies themselves, while advertising their products in print; on television they run "smoking is dangerous" ads. In the last few days I have seen one ad (can't remember which tobacco company is running it) that says "There ARE NO SAFE CIGARETTES". While I haven't been paying that much attention, I guess their meaning is that low tar, or "light" cigarettes are no safer than regular cigarettes. So you guys in Europe, Asia, South America, Middle East, and wherever else....are there any "don't smoke" campaigns like we have here in the US? What about Canada? Mexico? (Are there any traders in Mexico???) Peace, RS
Well, even though I occasionally smoke, it still annoys me when someone else lights up while I'm enjoying some fresh air. There is nothing worse than taking a nice beautiful stroll through Central Park only to have the guy or lady in front of you light one up and have the smoke slam right into your nose and mouth.