1963...Before the world knew...

They rarely smoke (anymore) in Philadelphia...

Claudia Vargas of the Inquirer writes
that the mayor of Philadelphia signed 
an executive order to ban smoking in 
Philadelphia parks. Earlier this month,
Mayor Nutter signed two bills that 
greatly restricted the use of electronic 
cigarettes in the workplace and public 
areas. One more major city putting its 
foot down when it comes to the habit...

Philly.com: Mayor Nutter bans smoking in Philly Parks

A Supermodel who didn't smoke...

Our hip "keep you addicted" design....

Really? Really? Click on the pic. 
This convenient packaging looks 
EXACTLY like the Morphine & 
Smack fix kits of the 60's, 70's 
and 80's for well-to-do junkies.

It's tiring that electronic cigarettes are 
masquerading as safe. They keep the 
smoking habit in place and ultimately, 
the user hooked on nicotine...

CBS News: E cigarette bans take effect in New York and Chicago today...

Today, E cigarette users begin 
adhering to similar guidelines 
imposed on tobacco smokers in 
the Windy City and the Big Apple.

Perhaps e cig folks shouldn't have
been so cavalier about flaunting  
their use of the product.

CBS News: E cigarette bans take effect in New York and Chicago today

Providence Journal: Getting Help Quitting Smoking

The current state of affairs of 
smoking in Rhode Island.
Changes for the good, people 
are getting it in the smallest state.
Article by Peter C.T. Elsworth 
and illustration by Tom Murphy
Providence Journal: In Rhode Island, getting help to quit smoking

Batman & Robin waiting for the Bat Signal

Dick Cheney reminisces about the Good Ole Days of Tobacco in the White House...

Ah, the good old days when 
Big Tobacco ran government... 
Article for MLive by Sue Thoms

Dick Cheney recalls free cigarettes, smoking in the White House...

This guy got my vote for Parent of the Year....

New writer strikes up a conversation for Romancing The Smoke...Hava Menthole

My name is Hava Menthole and 
I am new writer for Romancing 
The Smoke. My story:
I am from Eastern bloc country 
where we smoke at age five as 
sign of strength. I accidentally 
light my head on fire at age ten, 
when I try to light 24 cigarettes 
at once for every member of
family. Village children no 
longer allowed to play with me. 
I leave there, come to where 
flavor is. Big fan of Marlboro 
Man. Sad when he die. Who 
round up cows now? Searched 
for Joe Camel for years to hitch 
ride and be cool. Smoked four 
packs/day until new Millennium; 
then quit Smoked Turkey. (One 
of my favorite countries.) Now 
I can breathe and have enough 
air to smell roses, take it
downtown, and cut a rug, 
although rug is good size as is. 
I write about what I know so 
writing about cigarettes to tell 
truth- anyone who smoke crazy.
Not sure if everyone know yet. 
No one talk about it in Las 
Vegas or Indonesia except for
beauty queens and no one listen 
to them anyway. 

In monthly column, stories of
smoking and what it did to all 
the herring in my native land. 
I see dangers of tobacco very 
young as my father smoke so 
much he die two years before 
I was born. 

That what Mama tell me.

Meanwhile I share stories of 
crazy ways people think when 
it comes to cigarettes.

Time to take ridiculous habit 
seriously.

Brookings: Asking the burning question...

This Brookings article by Darshak 
Sanghavi asks the burning (gaping) 
question about e cigarettes...

(If you read this blog, you know my
opinion about this subject...)

Brookings Institute: Do E Cigs help people quit or help them start?

Because it's NEVER too late to quit....

Glad for the chance to share the stories 
of Romancing The Smoke with the 
Tobacco Cessation Program at Cottage 
Hospital in Santa Barbara last night. 
A courageous collection of now
un-smokers with compelling stories.
Thank you to Karima Shamma, MA, 
the program facilitator, for encouraging
these long term ex-smokers that there's 
a great world out there that's smoke free!
Thank you also to Cottage Hospital, 
CEASE, and Sharon Hall, my editor and 
partner, for pointing out to the group the 
distinct differences in my health and 
appearance as a result of giving up 
tobacco. Since I am much healthier than 
I was four years ago, her observations
seemed to spur hope to those who 
have thought that the task of quitting 
was hopeless. It is not.

Because frankly, folks, if I can quit and
remain smoke free...ANYONE can.

Thank you finally to the little "nicotine 
demon" voices in my head that made 
people laugh...because it's clear that 
one needs a sense of humor to get 
over this addiction...now BREATHE!

Because it's time to switch to fresh air...!

Wouldn't you like to read
something about nicotine 
addiction that doesn't badger 
you into quitting when you're 
not quite ready? Fed up with 
that monkey always handing 
you the lighter? Tired of that 
forest fire aroma? Guess what?

Romancing The Smoke can 
prepare you for the big step...
for going smoke free... you 
already know just how 
ridiculous smoking is... 
this book feels your pain...
and laughs at the dark addiction.
You'll be smiling when you get 
smoke free!

Order a Kindle or paperback 
copy of Romancing The Smoke:
Reflections of a Nicotine Addict 
for yourself or a loved one,
head to Amazon and order here:
Amazon: Romancing The Smoke by John Aaron

Happy Earth Day......make it SMOKE FREE! The Lorax speaks for the Trees!!!

Give the planet's air 
a break today...
how about it?

Is the playing field level with the FDA and e cigarettes...? Just heard some news...

Update to this post: I've just read 
some disturbing information that 
shows that the Tobacco Vapor
Electronic Cigarette Association
(TVECA on this blog from now on)
and the FDA have decided to develop
the rules and regulations without 
providing any of the information to 
the public until decisions are made.
This information came to the blog 
today through a highly reputable list 
serve that has its hand on the pulse 
of tobacco policy in the US. We hope 
we're not looking at a painfully relaxed 
approach to what may be a very 
dangerous product in the long term, 
both for health and alternative addiction 
reasons. Stay tuned....
The post from earlier today...
FDA to determine electronic cigarette guidelines
Article: Michael Felderbaum, AP
MSN: For E Cigarettes, the heat is on...

That's not funny, that's tobacco...

I have been asked to speak this 
coming week at the Tobacco 
Cessation program at Cottage 
Hospital in Santa Barbara about 
my take on quitting smoking.
I will sharing some experiences
witha group of folks doing their 
best to become smoke free. I 
decided that I will encourage them 
through the absurdity of tobacco.
Black lung humor is usually good 
for a laugh...

Official name changes in electronic cigarette language

From now on, all people who 
use electronic cigarettes will 
be referred to as either
vapesters  (culture coordination
with hipsters) or vapires, for 
people who use them simply to 
annoy others. These words are 
meant to be used in place of 
vaper.

NY Daily News: Grandmother may be victim of e cigarette explosion

In Manchester, England, a 65 year 
old woman suffered severe burns
perhaps as a result of an e cigarette
mishap. She was in an oxygen tent 
at the time when she was engulfed
in flames. Officials are investigating.
Article by Nina Golgowski
NYDaily News: Grandmother engulfed in flames, possibly from e cigarette

Cover Me I'm Changing Brands-The Nicotine Bait and Switch..

E cigarettes are taking the hit for
the real tobacco smoking habit.

Tech swaggered into the saloon,
and offered EVERYONE a puff. 
They never looked back, except 
to appropriate the old fashioned
macho movie star marketing to 
get everyone into the conversation.
e cigs are glad to stand in for the 
real actor because it's all about 
looking cool rather than doing 
something cool. 

At its best, an e cig takes a real 
cigarette temporarily out of a 
smokers hand. But not for long.

e cigarettes took off, at a time 
when the efforts to curtail  
smoking was stronger than ever 
before. Through plain packaging, 
graphic advertising, public 
smoking bans, sundry laws
and increasing tobacco taxes, 
these tools have created smoker 
as pariah in the western world. 

What was the Tobacco Industry 
to do?

Electronic cigarettes somehow seem 
like an answer to Tobacco's prayer. 
A new nicotine dispensing device. 
Keep feeding them nicotine a new
way, but keep the gesture in place.
Milennials can't get enough of
technology, and e cigarettes, like 
their Droid or IPhone, are their 
very own hand held Ferraris, 
with custom colors, shapes and 
special effects. The vaping industry
has developed the personal e cig to 
reel in "the hip". It's so compelling, 
it's converting people to the gesture, 
who never smoked, but thought it 
looked cool. The psychology of 
addiction keeps the fire in place, 
only this time, eliminated the 
smoke.

But the fact is that so many 
"vapesters" flaunted their public use, 
e cigs also received sweeping bans 
of their use similar to tobacco bans.
But "vape lounges" proliferate.

While e cigarettes hog the spotlight,   
Marlboro Country, is preying on 
youthful dreams with the emphasis 
on being hip. Philip Morris is running
a hipper than thou campaign in Europe.

 












The Industry is also bearing down 
on Indonesia. They're trying to get 
everyone coming and going...

E cigs are just the delivery system 
for the 21st century.

I'm glad I'm not hip anymore.

Romancing The Smoke is what one does once they've quit...

Romancing The Smoke is what 
people do once they've quit, like 
they had to abandon an old friend.
Cigarettes are NOT your friends.
The psychology of dreaming 
about smoking is elaborate, and
insidious; and succumbing to the 
battle is undoubtedly disastrous. 
There's a book that explains this 
experience and how to follow 
the path to smoke free...
Amazon Author page: Romancing The Smoke by John Aaron

Major tobacco plant closes in Australia

Hooray for Australia! 
Philip Morris closes its 
Australian plant that had 
been in existence for sixty 
years; operations moved to 
S. Korea. This Bloomberg
News article points out that
smoking in the Land Down 
Under continues to decrease
resulting from increased 
taxes, health awareness and 
public smoking bans. Found 
this piece in the Ft. Wayne 
Journal Gazette...

As Australia snuffs smoking, plant closes-article by David Fickling

How they sell Marlboros to youth in China...

I'm told this is for real...

RTS shouts a big thanks to 
Tobacco Prevention in K12 
and Tobacco Free California
for always pointing RTS and 
unsmokers in the right direction

Digital Trends: New study finds that e-cig vapor affects cells similarly to tobacco smoke

Why anyone EVER thought e cig vapor 
is benign is beyond us here at RTS. 
Further research will bear out that the 
effects are similar to tobacco but different. 
But benign? Just what exactly are the 
people touting e cig safety smoking?
Are we going to have to spend decades 
going through the safety argument again?
Those clouds of vapor are not exactly 
packing Vitamin C...
Article by Drew Prindle...
Digital Trends: New study finds e cig vapor affects cells similarly to tobacco smoke

Photo: Marc Buxelle 

Public health professionals ask Ann Arbor City Council to pass outdoor smoking ban

Ann Arbor, Michigan is not letting 
smokers off the hook these days... 
Mlive article by Ryan Stanton
This article is comprehensive and 
addresses the formation and expansion
of the smoke free policy that many 
municipalities are implementing 
these days. My alma mater. Go Blue!
Mlive.com: Ann Arbor pushes outdoor public transit smoking ban

Times of India: E cigarettes the next big smoking poison

The planet is catching on to 
the problems of e cigarettes, 
which are numerous as they 
emerge like a hydra's heads. 
Today, the Times of India published 
the article accessible in the link below...
(P.S. this is RTS's 500th blog post)

Hydra by Velinov

A list of issues (the author's)

1. untested chemicals, rising 
claims of potential toxicity.

2. most still contains nicotine, 
the world's most addictive drug.

3. unregulated product in both 
compounds consumed and the 
consistency and safety of 
paraphernalia.

4. mimics actual smoking too 
closely, keeping the habit 
directly in place.

5. marketing is aimed at most 
impressionable demographic-
youth, and the rebellious, using 
candy like flavors and encouraging 
users to "proclaim your independence."

6. marketing is based on 50's-60's 
tobacco print and television ads,
revitalizing the legacy of untruth 
in advertising...and the products 
are being promoted on tv.

7. Vaping: Worst name for a verb 
denoting an action of the last one 
hundred years of English language.

Times of India: E cigarettes the next big smoking poison

In a local store, I found these products all together...

CEASE- Coalition Engaged in A Smokefree Effort- Santa Barbara County

I attended the monthly meeting of 
CEASE last month for the first time.
It stands for Coalition Engaged in A 
Smokefree Effort. Developed by the 
Santa Barbara County Health Services 
Tobacco Prevention program, it is 
a coalition of individuals, families 
and organizations dedicated to 
protecting the lives and health of 
Santa Barbara Country residents 
from the harmful effects of all 
tobacco, emissions or vapors from 
electronic smoking devices second-
hand smoke and to expose the 
tobacco industry's product marketing.

I look forward to working with CEASE 
to help how I can to encourage a county 
to turn its back on tobacco. 

Thank you Dawn Dunn for the kind 
invitation. 

Please "like" these coalitions on FB...

Facebook Page: CEASE (Adult Coalition)

Facebook Page: COYA-Coalition of Youth Advocate

The Daily Mail: Welsh government seeks to ban indoor e cigarette use....

This article by Lizzie Parry points 
out that Wales is about to become 
the first part of Britain to ban the
use of e cigarettes indoors in public 
places. As the below photo suggests,
e cigarette users have serious 'tudes
about circumventing existing rules 
and regs concerning smoking or 
quasi smoking behavior. So much 
so that look what's happened to laws 
banning e cigs across the western 
world. All because "vapers" or 
vapires, as I call them, had to flaunt
their arrogant conduct.
Stay humble my friends...
Welsh government presses ban on indoor e cigarette use, claims it "normalises" smoking