1250 days without a smoke...

Fresh air is my current addiction...

Imagine that: E-cigarettes are making smoking seem "normal" again...

With all due respect, this has been my 
argument against e-cigarettes since Day One.
"A new concern...NEW...?" Does the Industry 
have to club people over the head with the 
obvious? Cue the sounds of hemming, 
hawing and coughing...we humans are 
kind of slow on the uptake...
article by Michael Hiltzik
LA Times: New concern about e-cigarettes: They make smoking seem 'normal' again

Eric Lawson, Marlboro Man, died of COPD

Eric Lawson, the Marlboro Man from 1978-81, 
died this month of complications from COPD.
He smoked from the age of 14. He was 72.

NBC News: Another Marlboro Man dies from smoking related illness

Because Smoking is Seductive...

Jordan enforcing smoking ban amidst public fury...

The story of Jordan is that of a country 
deeply committed to tobacco with one 
of the highest per capita smoking rates.
Jordan has cheap cigarettes; and not only 
is smoking a sign of manhood, but in some 
households, it is customary for minors to 
light the hookah for their parents' smoke.
The smoking ban, on the books since '08,
is only now being pressed into law in 2014.
ABC News reports on the public fury over
Jordan's enforcement of the smoking ban.
Article by Jamal Halaby.

ABC News: Jordan enforcing smoking ban; causes public fury...

Maybe these stories will help someone you know to quit...

Because it's not about excuses...
it's not about a product switch-
it's about someone leveling with 
themselves about smoking...
it's about taking fresh clean air 
into your lungs from now on...
READ ALL ABOUT IT!
In paperback and Kindle...
Romancing The Smoke: Reflections of a Nicotine Addict- on Amazon

Because you're just a casualty in the Smoking Realm...

Reminiscing the long road: stories
of fallen family members, bellying 
up to the bar at age 4, dodging 
bullets and hooligans for the sake of 
a cigarette and being read last rights 
just because I smoked too much.  

Bearing witness to the battle to undo 
what 400 years of tobacco addiction 
has done. Seeing how the tobacco 
industry has jumped, with both feet, 
into the e-cigarette and cannabis 
marketplaces, they understand 
that while cigarette smoking is 
becoming passé, it's cool to sport 
an e-cig  (aren't we techno-chic?) 
and now it's hip (and legal) to smoke 
weed (dude!) After all, Marlboro 
began its rise to the top as a fashion 
accessory. Big Tobacco is making 
certain that smoking remains an 
entrenched habit. They are counting 
on the relationship they have with 
you to be a "til death do we part". 
With smoking, mostly, death is why 
you part. The Industry is making 
an end run. And there's NO health 
organization or advocacy capable of 
stemming this smoldering tide...like 
a coal mine fire that never goes out...

One Family's habit: 3.2 million cigarettes

Lifetime cigarette consumption-one family

Dad........................642,400
Mom.......................273,750
Uncle Jack.............689,850
Aunt Eleanor..........600,000
Gramps..................328,500 
Chambier (sis).......481,800
Me*........................255,500
# of cigarettes smoked: 3,271,800

give or take a few packs...
my mom lived the longest...
they all died from smoking.

*smoke free; still alive

Phillip Morris and Marijuana now go hand in hand...

Guess it was only a matter of time...
soon to be available in Colorado!
posted by Akoy Ciraulo
Philip Morris introduces Marlboro Marijuana Cigarettes

Some places in Texas, they're just not ready to ban smoking in bars...

Even the Texas legislature hasn't passed a 
comprehensive workplace smoking ban 
even though it's been up for a vote the last 
four sessions. Grand Prairie passed a long 
awaited ban...but it doesn't include bars.
Wonder when...?
Dallas News: Grand Prairie passes partial smoking ban

E-cigarettes- Forget the battle...The War has Begun...

This article by Tom Blackwell shows 
the levels of passion and opinion that 
are rising as a result of electronic cigarettes...
some believe they will help smokers quit; 
others are sure they are another spawn of 
the Demon Tobacco...your call...

National Post: Ban on nicotine-loaded e-cigarettes aggressively enforced while some anti-smoking advocates call for legalization

The Guardian: State of the Anti-tobacco campaign: Nigeria

Article by Akinyemi Williams
Guardian: State of the Anti-Tobacco campaign in Nigeria

What dentists recommend...

Sound dental advice...

Wherein lies the danger of claiming something's harmless that will prove to be toxic...

Time and time again writers, and e-cig advocates 
insist that electronic cigarettes are harmless. This 
will be the biggest mistake these proponents make-
for two reasons...first Big Tobacco has moved in.
They're taking over the e-cigarette Industry fast. 
They know a long term addiction when they see it.
...and two...these products keep the smoking habit 
firmly in place until hipsters get bored with the toys
and go back to the real thing...

or perhaps we should wait quietly for the real truth 
to filter in...

This writer has it completely wrong. Saying it's 
harmless is amongst the most irresponsible 
statements yet. She has no facts to back her up.
It's an unfortunately uneducated opinion. But RTS 
will (almost) always put forth varying viewpoints.
Read for yourself.

Guardian: E-Cigarettes: No smoke without Ire by Lionel Shriver

Film- Blowing Smoke: Fifty Years Later- Surgeon General's Report, 1964

Dr. Alan Blum, of the Univ. of Alabama is the 
creator of this film, and is a staunch advocate 
for tobacco-, smoke- and nicotine-free lifestyles 
and behaviors. He knows more about this stuff 
than just about anyone. This is truly worth 
watching, especially if you are a smoke free 
advocate...

Blowing Smoke: The Lost Legacy of the Surgeon General's Report

Who's your Surgeon General, daddy?

Just in case it was on the tip of your tongue as 
to who is the current Surgeon General, everyone 
knows that Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak, M.D., 
was named to the post and has been the S.G. 
when Dr. Regina Benjamin resigned last July. 

Surgeon General Lushniak is responsible for 
the recent findings.

Wikipedia: Surgeon General of the United States

Creepy Tobacco Factoid (CTF) # 6

The Surgeon General states in his most recent 
findings that at least 5.6 million children will 
grow up to die of tobacco related diseases. 
These two ailments, Diabetes and Colon cancer,
as mentioned in yesterdays post, have joined the 
fray as official dangers to smokers.
My mother would have been 92 today had 
she not had dreadful diabetic complications 
in her seventies stemming from a lifelong 
smoking habit. 
Be aware: She quit two packs a day at age 50-
but it wasn't nearly soon enough.

SB Independent Article: Inside The E-Cigarette Revolution

Articles written by Kelsey Brigger, Tyler Hayden 
and Liz Hoffman for the Independent. At this time 
last year, the SB Independent did an interview with 
me about my efforts to quit and the writing of the
book and the blog Romancing The Smoke. What so 
many are trying to tell others is that vaping is much 
cooler than actually quitting. Really, Altria? The fact 
that vaping is perceived as cool is its first mistake.
My opinion.
photo: Leonardo Patrizia
Santa Barbara Independent Cover Article: Inside the E-Cigarette Revolution

The Surgeon General says Smoking encourages Diabetes and Colon Cancer

Liz Szabo of USA Today reports on the most 
recent findings from the Surgeon General:
even worse than suspected...the charts in this link
are very scary wake up calls...
The Surgeon General's Report on Smoking

So many uses for tobacco- now we can DRINK it!

A new way to ingest tobacco...DRINK it...
Zoe Bain writes for Delish...
Tobacco Cocktails???? Plain creepy....

The Tobacco Muse will seduce you...

Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: drawing by Vania Zouravliov

50 years ago this week, the Surgeon General first warned of the dangers of smoking...

Mike Stobbe of the Associated Press reports in the 
Fort Wayne News Sentinel about the moment that 
Surgeon General Luther Terry first spoke out against 
Tobacco's previously undiscussed dangers and the role 
of responsibility that cigarette manufacturers need to 
play in the health issues caused by smoking. A half 
century later they still aren't listening...

News-Sentinel: 50 years ago this week the Surgeon General spoke out against smoking

If RTS encourages just one smoker to have the resolve to quit in 2014...

...then that one person is the reason the book 
was written... this New Year's Eve/Day promotion
brings the number of FREE Kindle versions of 
Romancing The Smoke we've given away to more 
than 1200 ebooks worldwide! Breathe easier in 2014!
Stay Smoke Free my friends...