It's funny how a major vice can be looked at/viewed/considered with such diverse opinions, yet for the most part, has been portrayed in a (mostly) positive-to-neutral light, with shades of hypocriscy thrown in for good measure.
Now I'm sure you're asking this blogger, "How in the world can smoking be portrayed in positive light? Are you mad?"
Frankly, no. But before I answer part one of the question, let me give you a very brief background dump.
I am a non-smoker, although I did try it when I was a teenager (really smart since I have asthma). Never got addicted, which made it a helluva lot easier to quit. I've had friends who were smokers, and for the most part we got along fine. I've had a few late family members who were smokers, of at least one who passed away from cancer that was related to smoking. I do not push my views on others and although I am somewhat hypersensitive to smoke, that's more due to working in smoke free buildings for the better part of 20 years than anything else.
Now, to elaborate, I am not mad when it comes to tobacco. While I don't smoke, I do have some fond memories of tobacco in my lifetime. For example, my next door neighbor was a hardcore pipe smoker, so I got to know almost instantly whenever he was outdoors. When I used to deliver the morning newspaper, there was an older gentleman who drove down my street smoking a big cigar. He would drive down my street at the exact same time every day, so it was easy to tell whether or not I was running behind with my deliveries.
And like a certain segment of the population, I do enjoy the aroma of a good quality cigar, as well as good quality pipe tobacco. I also feel that when a person smokes a good quality cigar, they give off an aura of self-confidence that can drift into arrogance. Which is why I will sometimes write a scene or two that features my characters smoking quality cigars (usually with Connecticut tobacco, which is a cut above most domestic tobaccos).
I do differentiate between cigars and cigarettes, because for the most part (in my opinion), cigarettes fill a necessary junkie-style fix. Feel the same way about chew as well, And above all, cigars give you better bang for your buck, because you get quality over quantity all the time.
However, there lies the hypocrisy.
One of the ways that all 50 states set their budgets is an over-reliance of the so-called "sin tax", which in this particular case, is heavy taxation on tobacco. In Connecticut, the state minimum for a pack of non-generic/non-Indian cigarettes, after you factor in the various taxes, is roughly $8.75, not including sales tax. So if you're a cigarette smoker in Connecticut, to buy a carton of cigs will cost you roughly a week's salary, which is roughly $100.
To put that in proper perspective, when I started working grunt retail in 1986, the price of a pack of cigarettes was $1.25+tax. When I left grunt retail in 2001, the price per pack was about $2.75+tax and a carton of smokes would run you about $25+tax.
Now, most states have anti-smoking programs, and some, like New York, feature some seriously depressing PSA's to nudge you in the direction of quitting. Problem is, they and everyone else, doesn't really want you to quit. The more smokers that quit, the more the budgetary bottom line gets destroyed. Less smokers equals less taxes collected which equals less revenue. And since most states are purely incapable of performing fiscal restraint (mine is notorious for that), you know that having lots of ex-smokers is a very bad thing. Ex-smokers means raising taxes yet again.
Bottom line: smoking, while not good for your health one bit, is good for your economic well being. And because it's good for your economic well being, you know damn well that states are going to find ways to recruit the younger generation to smoke, thus filling up those financial coffers yet again.
So this realist says, if you're gonna smoke, spend your money on good quality cigars. Less habit forming and it makes you like you got some brain cells in that noggin of yours. Because as you know, quality trumps quantity, and in today's world, quality is the name of the game.
(c) 2015 by G.B. Miller. All Rights Reserved.
My husband smokes. I wish he'd stop! But I've tried every way I can think of to get him to and everyone just says, he has to do it on his own. So it's not gonna happen. I tried it once...my lungs don't like smoke! I can still remember the horrible burning sensation...it felt like they were on fire.
ReplyDeleteI have major sympathy to those spouses such as yourself, who have to put up with/tolerate their better half smoking. And yes, sad to say, he does have to do it on his own.
DeleteI've always had a high threshold of cigarette smoke, dating back to my days as a child with my grandparents. But yes, I do agree with the burning sensation in the lungs. At least for me, I got it from smoking a menthol flavored cigarette (Kool Milds).
I always thought it was interesting how much money states raise from "sin" taxes.
ReplyDeleteAn obscene percentage of the state's budget is made up of the so-called "sin tax", and in our state, that, the gas tax and taxing capital gains of those who live in the Gold Coast (aka Fairfield county, which is a stone's throw away from NY), accounts for roughly 50% of the budget.
DeleteDisgusting really, especially if you factor in that we have mandatory pricing when it comes to booze.
I lived with a chain smoker for a time and still can't believe I let him smoke in my home. When I had my place painted about 10 years ago, the painter said it reminded him of a haunted house - you could see where all the pictures had been hanging because of the cigarette smoke grime on the walls. :) I am a real hater of cigarette smoke now, but the smell of pipe always seems nice. Cigar smoke reminds me of my grandfather.
ReplyDeleteI lived with a friend who was a chain smoker only when he was bored and had too much time on his hands, and his room had a perpetual blue haze in it.
DeleteI don't hate cig smoke in general, but a lot of those hardcore smokers really make me ill sometimes.
Are cigars less addictive? It seems so. I'm curious now.
ReplyDeleteI don't think so. I know my son used to smoke those cigarillos, but he gave those up (as well as chew) because his "girl friend (complicated) doesn't like it.
DeleteIn some instances, they are definitely cheaper than cigs. Here they top out at $10.05 a pack and you can get a good quality cigar for about the same price and they can last three times as long.
Good point that they don't want you to quit as they will lose tax money. And since my state is one of the big tobacco producers, that's a double whammy.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for those tobacco producing states (mine included as CT tobacco leaf is considered to be one of the best in the country) that need to keep producing to make money, but have to raise taxes in order to balance the budget and fund those anti-smoking campaigns.
DeleteI disagree that government lust for tobacco tax revenues will cause it to encourage more young people to take up smoking. Government coffers are getting gazillions more from gambling revenue so who needs effin' smokers anymore? That's old fashioned, man, and nowhere near as lucrative. The government is promoting gambling these days, not cigarettes.
ReplyDeleteI know the lust of a quick fix is what makes guvt's drool over gambling. However, in some states (not sure about Canada) that lust is tempered by an electorate that would rather pay a "sin tax" than have more gambling since the anti-gambling lobby can pull at the heartstrings better.
DeleteAnd in the case of my state, more gambling is hamstrung by a compact signed a decade and a half ago with the two federally recognized tribes that grant them exclusivity when it comes to casinos
Canada is wide open for gambling and it is all run by the government, except for a few First Nations casinos. The govt does put a certain amount of money into gambling addiction programs, so that keeps the anti-gambling lobby quiet.
DeleteOur state doesn't really put much into gambling addiction beyond the tiny signs that they make the retailer put up in front of the machines. The only time the anti-gambling yaps about gambling is when the state attempts to add new items to either the lottery or introduce keno.
DeleteYears ago I was a militant non-smoker. Then I started smoking for a while. Then I stopped and smokers didn't bother me all that much. Then I became a very heavy smoker. Then I quit cold turkey and haven't smoked for 18 years now. It doesn't bother me too much to smell the smoke now. What I find abhorrent is the smell of stale smoke after the smokers are gone or a smoker who reeks disgustingly of old smoke.
ReplyDeletePipes smell fine as do some cigars, but I've never taken to smoking either.
I have a post on smoking in my "to post someday" queue. Eventually I'll put it up.
But yeah, from the standpoint of taxation, someone would like smokers to keep on smoking just like they don't want alternative fuel cars that don't use a lot of gasoline on the roads. They say one thing but want another.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
I definitely agree with you on both the stale smoke and smokers who reek. Exceptionally nasty.
DeleteI look at it this way: we all have vices that will someday kill us. It boils down to how we accommodate or not accommodate them in the overall picture.
Oh and by the way in regard to the gambling casinos, here in California smoking is prohibited in public places except that casinos are exempt and in those places it's like walking through a fog there is so much smoke. Plenty of government revenue on both accounts generated there.
ReplyDeleteArlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Ours here are pretty much the same, since they're run by two sovereign nations.
DeleteI smoked for awhile until my parents both died of cancer. Since quitting I can't tolerate others smoking near me, it always gives me a migraine n an asthma attack. Yep, asthma was way worse while smoking, now hardly acts up.
ReplyDeleteI paid plenty of tax bucks, but used to go to New Hampshire for cartons to save alot of bux.. Lottery is a big $$ maker in my state of MA also- Yep, budgets need the revenue n folks vote OK punish the addicts-
The problem, when voters vote to punish addicts, they're also voting to punish themselves too.
DeleteAnd you can't forget the new casino that will be opening in a year or two in your state as well.
The smell of cigarettes reminds me of being out on Saturday night in my 20s. Memories! And I love the smell of good quality pipe tobacco. That being said, I wish the smokers I care about would quit. It makes them stink, and I worry about their health.
ReplyDeleteI'll always have fond memories of tobacco smoke, and fortunately, all the people that I care about either don't smoke or quit smoking a very long time ago.
Delete