It must be okay somewhere....

Jackin' the Tax.. good on ya mate!

The Australian government plans to raise $5.3 billion 
in taxes from the sale of cigarettes through a 12.5% 
annual tax hike every year through 2016. This means 
the price of your average pack of smokes Down Under 
will go up 5 dollars. Supposedly a goodly portion will 
be allocated for cancer related services. Let us hope.
RTS believes this is one of the best ways to curtail the 
use of tobacco, by pricing it "out of reach..." and 
advocates that America adopt greater implementation
of this approach to reduce our own nicotine addiction.

Australian govt to raise 5.3 billion through cigarette taxes

Ghana bans smoking in public to protect non smokers

Ghana enacts ban on smoking in public to protect non smokers from second hand smoke

Only 2% of Big Tobacco settlement money is going to tobacco prevention programs...

While this is not new news, this is important news.
I doubt that America actually knows this is happening- 
from Natural News, Ethan Huff, Staff Writer-
Only 2 % of Big Tobacco settlement money is being used for tobacco prevention programs...

NY Times: Why Do Smokers Smoke?

An article by Eyal Ert and Eldad Yechiam
NY Times Opinion: Why Do Smokers Smoke?

By what authority about smoking do I speak...?

Since I am not a doctor, I am often asked by what 
authority do I speak on issues of tobacco and the 
nicotine addiction. I hear "so what- so you wrote 
a book- why do you think you know more than others?" 
I don't. I can only say that I detailed my experiences 
with the habit...and buried six family members from 
smoking related diseases. Perhaps it is just that I might 
be the first to battle the addiction for forty years, beat 
it and live to tell about it in a book...I would just as 
soon have had six less reasons to tell this story.

Smoking while pregnant...bad for offspring?

CBS reports on Smoking while pregnant...
Article by Michelle Castillo

Smoking while pregnant can lead to behavior issues with offspring

NBC News: E-cigarettes: Are They Safe?

E-Cigarettes are fast becoming many smokers' 
alternative to actually smoking. But, as Dr. Ling 
says in the below NBC report, the marketing of these 
products are way out ahead of the science, especially 
since Big Tobacco is heavily buying into the 
electronic cigarette revolution. It's also a bit creepy 
that so many candy like flavors are available; as this
will appeal to adolescents who want to act grown up.
Not unlike candy cigarettes and bubble gum cigars 
of the 50's and 60's.

Romancing The Smoke does not advocate e-cigarettes
and "vaping" as an alternative to smoking. We feel that
it simply keeps the habit in place through identical 
action. Quitting is quitting. The only alternative to 
not smoking is NOT SMOKING.

Kate Snows' recent report on E-Cigarettes
NBC News: E-Cigarettes- Are They Safe?

The article references a Texas e-cigarette manufacturer 
and mentions that he lost his mother to lung cancer- 
suggesting he's doing this for the benefit of smokers?
I buried six family members who died from smoking 
related illnesses. Nothing about this makes me want 
to come up with another product that mimics smoking.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to ban all tobacco

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will 
ban all smoking and tobacco use during the work 
day beginning next July. UPMC is where my sister 
had the exploratory surgery that revealed she had 
lung cancer and lymphoma. Her story is chronicled
in Romancing The Smoke, Chapter 11. R.I.P Sis...
Can't believe it's been six years....always miss you.

UPMC to ban all tobacco use during work day.

The Fear Factor-Smoking in Australia

Australia is coming on strong with the plain packaging,
creepy graphics and increased taxes on cigarettes... 
and these things appear to be working...
an article from CBS News
Plain cigarette packaging seems to be encouraging smokers to quit

photo: Mark Hanna

markhannaadcritic.wordpress.com

New York Daily News: Why Smoking Can Make You Drink More

This New York Daily News' article points out a 
Baylor College of Medicine study with rats suggests 
that nicotine dulls the response of the body to alcohol, 
which causes the body to want to drink more...
Article: Why Smoking Can Make You Drink More...

Image is by Disney. I apologize in advance and will remove it if needs be...it's so fitting for this article..after all, rats gotta have a place to smoke too, ya know...

England backs down on "Plain Packaging" of cigarettes

In a conflict that suggests that Britain is not quite ready 
to stand up to Big Tobacco, the UK Government has 
decided to wait to see how the plain packaging program 
fares in Australia before it decides to enact their own 
such policy. Not much of a stomach for scary graphics, 
I guess. This link is from Medical News Today...

England decides to wait on "Plain Packaging" program for cigarette packs

An article from the Milken Institute Review... "The War on Smoking..."

This article by Brad Edmondson tells how Big Tobacco 
has all but forsaken the American smoker for the 
Indonesian, Indian, and Asian marketplaces. There 
they promote smoking as the proper fashion accessory 
(and habit) for the successful modern independent woman-something the industry used as a marketing 
ploy in the U.S. during the 40's and 70's by employing 
movie stars and the feminist movement.  The markets 
they are going after, like China, smoked  2.3 trillion 
cigarettes- 8 times what the US consumed in 2009. 
This article was published in the Milken Institute 
Review, Fourth Quarter 2012.
The War on Smoking Round Two: Women in the Developing World by Brad Edmondson

New law in Australia is changing how the country tastes tobacco

Australia's new law that requires graphic warnings
on cigarette packs and tobacco products appears 
to be changing the taste of the product, according 
to the consumer. The country's aggressive anti-tobacco
stance is leading the way; and the psychological change
from known brand to less attractive packaging is said 
to be having an impact...or are they just saying that...?
Read what the New York Times has to say about this...
Graphic labeling is "changing" the taste of cigarettes in Australia

Jamaica gets six months to post "No Smoking" signs...

I suspect that there's a joke somewhere in this-
but I don't quite know yet how it goes...
do you think they have enough time to find the signs...?
Then again, Jamaicans are often teased about their 
smoking practices...
Jamaican business owners have six months to post "no smoking" signs

The only anti-smoking memoir of its kind- Romancing The Smoke

There are numerous books and pamphlets that 
discuss the medical aspects of smoking. This is 
the only memoir that shares the direct experience- 
Romancing The Smoke: Reflections of a Nicotine 
Addict, written and illustrated by John Aaron...
it's the book about smoking that tells it like it really is...


Romancing The Smoke Amazon Page; Paperback and Kindle

Homeless smoking rates are four times the national average...

In the 90's, R.J. Reynolds had a smoking program 
for the homeless called "Project SCUM", which 
stood for Sub Culture Urban Marketing. Homeless
people spend more money on cigarettes, money 
they don't have, than almost any other demographic.
Big Tobacco exploits these folks who are easy targets.
This stunning US News and World Report feature
underlines the growing epidemic of smoking amongst 
the homeless... 
RJ Reynolds launched a smoking project in the 90's, targeting the homeless. They called it "SCUM"

Auburn University campus to become smoke free...!

Borne from a student's letter to the 
University President in 2010, Auburn
University (Alabama) begins a campus-
wide smoking ban August 24 of this year.
Congratulations to one more major university
that has decided that smoke free is the way to be...!
Auburn U. smoking ban...

Fewer teens are taking up smoking in the US

According to this MSN article, the cycle 
of young smokers replacing old smokers 
is breaking in the US. Numbers of teens 
beginning to smoke are down from the 
early 2000s. Increased prices and less 
places to smoke are considered the causes 
of this decrease...
MSN Money: Fewer young people are taking up cigarettes in the US

Teenage Smoking is still on the rise in Australia...

While the number of young smokers in Australia 
is decreasing, the amount the average young person 
smokes is on the increase. The average price of a 
pack is now $16. These articles address the youth 
anti-smoking problems and strategies of a country 
that's using the tax on cigarettes to increase revenues 
for the anti-smoking fight and to price as many smokers
as they can out of the market....they will increase to
$20/pack by next year....
Teenage smoking is on the rise in Australia...

2005 Australian anti-smoking campaign focused on looks and smell of the young smoker...

In NZ, amongst the young, smoking is becoming very uncool...

In New Zealand, graphic, gruesome anti-smoking ads 
have little or no effect on teenagers and young adults-
probably because they see far weirder horrors in their 
daily video games.  Violence and gore is a norm.

When it's explained that the opposite sex will not find 
a smoker visually or aromatically attractive, and that 
will lead to being left out of social circles- this approach 
appears to be working to discourage young smokers.... 
time will tell...now I just read another article that says 
youthful smoking is on the rise in New Zealand. There 
are many sides and opinions to these stories. 
New Zealand's goal is to be smoke free by 2025... 
that's some goal...here's an article from MSN

Young people in NZ don't smoke for fear of being ostracized socially.....

ObamaCare Glitch May be a Break for Smokers

President Obama's Healthcare plan may 
give smokers a break on their insurance
for the first year it's enacted because of a glitch...
read more from Yahoo...

ObamaCare Glitch May Give Smokers a Temporary Break...

If you're having a Nicotine Fit, is there a nearby Nicotine Fitness Club that can help?

Article from the Natural News 3/14/13
What does it actually mean to have a "Nicotine Fit?"

New art by the Author...

"White Man Speak With Bird on Head"
22" x 18" Mixed media

I Now How Why The Caged Smoker Coughs....

There are all sorts of ways that people try to quit 
smoking. While this is amongst the most extreme... 
I understand...shades of Hannibal Lecter  Fox News: Turkish smoker places head in cage so he can't smoke...

E-cigarettes: The Good the Bad and the Smelly...

This article about E-cigarettes presents both 
sides of this argument in-depth in a balanced 
approach to the pros and cons of the product.

Factoids: To use an E-cigarette is to "vape"; 
as in "she is vaping" and those who use 
E-cigarettes are called "vapers..."
These words, just like the product, did not exist 
a few years ago.

BBC Article by William Kremer
E-Cigarettes: Is a smoking alternative being choked by regulation?

Talk about a curve ball served up about tobacco...

Josh Hamilton, the California Angels' slugger, 

has a history of struggling with addictions; and 
it is said that his 2012 slump was because he was 
trying to quit smokeless tobacco, or as they say 
in the big leagues, chaw. This isn't role model stuff.
LA Times Article: Josh Hamilton back on smokeless tobacco?

He suggests that his turnaround this year is because 
he returned to chewing tobacco and is less nervous..
Maybe less nervous, but still really, really disgusting...

This is a lamebrain excuse... that being said...

...last night, Hamilton smacked the game tying 
home run in the ninth inning that led to the Angels 
beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5.

This is not a reason to use this product; and this blog 
does not advocate for any tobacco use in any way.
This is a strange twist on nicotine news...

To a safe and Happy Independence Day...

May you 
celebrate 
a smoke 
free day
even with 
all those 
fireworks!!!

Assert Your Independence from Tobacco!

The Fourth of July marks the first anniversary 
of the publication of Romancing the Smoke: 
Reflections of a Nicotine Addict, one of the only 
true memoirs about the smoking experience and 
its history. Written and illustrated by John Aaron, 
the writer of this blog, it is with thanks to all of 
you who bought the book and talked it up...because 
you made our first year in publication a success! 
It was one tough non tobacco road...

"Ah, humor in the face of adversity- I like that!"
-Sir Lawrence Olivier

Proclaim your Freedom to breathe only fresh air!  
Encourage a loved one to quit today by ordering 
Romancing The Smoke! Take a deep breath...
In paperback or Kindle...
Romancing The Smoke Amazon Page

The link between smoking and weight gain....from Smoke Free Women

Smoke Free Women @Smokefreewomen
brings insight and advice into the connection 
between smoking and weight gain. Sound advice.
The link between smoking and weight gain...

Tax Hike on Cigarettes in Minnesota Takes Effect Today...

It will interesting to see what the actual impact 
of this tax hike will be for Minnesota, who now
has the sixth largest tax on cigarettes in the country.

Taxes on a Pack go up $1.60 today in Minnesota

Cigarette Packs That Talk Back At You????

BBC News reports today that researchers at the
Stirling University in Scotland have developed 
talking cigarette packs that warn a user of the 
danger and recommend positive health practices 
as an alternative...really? The future of the 
anti-smoking campaign...? A recorded version 
of your mom telling you smoking is bad for you...?

BBC: Talking Cigarette Packs?