C. Everett Koop, Ex-Surgeon General Dies

My friends at Southern California Public Radio 
reported this today. Dr. Koop was the first S.G. 
to stand up to the Tobacco companies and reveal
the pulmonary and cancer issues long suspected
connected to cigarettes... 
He was a great man of Medicine and consciousness...
http://www.scpr.org/news/2013/02/25/36114/c-everett-koop-ex-surgeon-general-dies-in-new-hamp/

A little history to quit smoking by....

Commemorating the Academy Awards...
Smoking: Hollywood, Science and 
the Medical Profession...an photo essay 
on Facebook with the ads that got people hooked...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.112662758822159.26779.100002353077973&type=3

How did I quit smoking?

I quit by combining transcendental meditation 
and self-hypnosis to arrive at a place where
cigarettes and smoking got totally in the way 
of clarity... carrot sticks and candy bars helped
to transfer the oral fixation; with deep breathing 
exercises, which I practice daily, the desire to 
smoke has disappeared. I got addicted to fresh air.
If you need to quit, please ask me about some of 
the quirky practices I employed to become smoke free...
I'd love to see you quit too...

Curious Driving Laws in California....

Did you know...
That it's illegal to smoke while driving 
if there's a minor in the car?
Even your own kids....
This is on the Written Driver's Test....
also 
when you see a visually impaired person 
with a white cane or guide dog preparing to 
enter the crosswalk, the rule is that you stop 
before the crosswalk so that the walker can 
hear your car engine...
but what if you're driving a hybrid?
Know these...there will be a test....

Study Shows Drinking Makes It Harder For Women to Quit Smoking

A University of Texas School of Public Health 
study shows that drinking alcohol makes it more 
difficult for women to quit smoking.


















Though this is not funny at all, there's something,
more like fodder for late night comedians, very
darkly humorous about this study. Like...was a 
study really needed to come to this conclusion?
Anyone trying to quit knows that alcohol is the 
ultimate derailer of good intention and conduct.
See the article from Health 24.com...

http://www.health24.com/news/Smoking/1-1250,79467.asp

Thank you Montecito Journal and Tecolote!!!!

Thank you to Richard Mineards' "Miscellany" in the 
Montecito Journal, who was kind enough to include 
the Romancing The Smoke reading at Tecolote in 
the Valentine's Day issue, on the stands now and 
soon @ www.montecitojournal.net (online, pg 29)

Russia to Ban Public Smoking

RTS has been following this story since last October...
now it appears that the country with one of the highest 
per capita rates of smoking will no longer be free to 
puff away in public. Russia's lower house of parliament 
passed the bill 441-1. It is expected to sail through the 
upper house and be signed by President Putin, who is 
big on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The law will go 
into effect June 1. Thank you to MSN for this report.

http://news.msn.com/world/russia-to-ban-smoking-in-public

RTS is available Online....Amazon & Createspace

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/a5q6n9c
Paperback or Kindle Fire...
also in paperback at CreateSpace
http://www.createspace.com/3886655

click...we'll take you there...

The Bloomberg Initiative To Reduce Tobacco Use...

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of NYC has personally 
donated more than $600 million of his fortune since 
2007 to create and sustain antismoking programs 
and fund research around the world. A former nicotine 
addict, he is a most effective ally in the battle to curb tobacco. 
photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters











http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/bloomberg-pledges-220-million-to-global-antismoking-effort/
The Bloomberg Initiative To Reduce Tobacco Use 
is changing the sensibility about the global culture 
of cigarette smoking. Most recent support includes 
funding for research at Johns Hopkins University 
and a vigorous antismoking campaign in Chile. 
The Bloomberg Initiative may be having the most 
significant impact of any program worldwide.

Be Part of the Sequel to Romancing The Smoke...

The sequel to Romancing The Smoke is in full swing 
with additional tales from Nicotine Canyon. We're 
asking you to share your stories about tobacco with us, 
as we would like to include them in the new book.
Everyone's story about their experience with nicotine
is unique; yet it is also familiar to all of us. 

Our goal is to receive from you 99 "Nicotine Tales."
You will be given credit, or can remain anonymous, 
depending upon your preference. Stories may be edited 
for reasons of space. The aim of this is to illustrate how 
tobacco invaded so many lives; and how articulate 
people get when they are asking to relate their experience.
We invite you to post your story HERE... in Comments...

The place where I made friends with cigarettes...

In the Cocktail Lounge, I joined my parents and their 
friends for happy hour.  It is where they introduced me 
to smoking. The tavern was just to the left of the hotel 
sign. I was four at the time. They never carded me. 
Must have looked old enough.

Thank you to Tecolote Books!

Thank you to all of you who joined us on 
Groundhog Day at Tecolote Book Shop 
to hear me read from Romancing The Smoke. 
What a great place to read and to browse 
such a distinctive collection of books. 
Thank you Mary and Penny!

SB Independent Interview- "Nicotine Addict Reflects"

Thank you to the Santa Barbara Independent for 
publishing this interview & to Matt Ketteman 
and Bopha Hul for making this happen!

http://www.independent.com/news/2013/feb/01/nicotine-addict-reflects/

On Groundhog Day, take a mammal to a reading...

If you can't make it to the reading tomorrow, you can pick up the book
on Amazon or CreateSpace
http://www.amazon.com/John-Aaron/e/B008WGVXGY
http://www.createspace.com/3886655