Yahoo: Japan's Smoking Rate Drops Below 20% for First Time

The tides are turning for 
Tobacco in Japan. This 
article on Yahoo shows 
that once one of the most 
prolific smoking nations, 
Japan's smoking rate has 
dropped below 20% for the 
first time since 1964, when
they started tracking these 
statistics.
Yahoo: Japan's Smoking Rate Drops to New Low...

Hyperallergic.com: The Design Battle to Sell and to Stop Smoking...an exhibition at Yale

Allison Meier writes: "In terms 

of breadth and controversy two 

20^th century advertising campaigns 

are almost unrivaled: the drive to 

sell cigarettes and the backlash to 

get people to stop smoking. 

Selling Smoke: Tobacco Advertising 

and Anti-smoking Campaigns at the 

Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney 

Medical Library at Yale University 

presents these dual crusades side-by-side."

Hyperallergic.com-The Design Battle to Sell and to Stop Smoking

Courtesy the William Van Duyn Tobacco Advertisement Collection, Yale

CEASE SB: Santa Barbara Tobacco Prevention

CEASE, Coalition Engaged 
in a Smoke Free Effort is a 
mighty force working to 
diminish the presence of 
tobacco in Santa Barbara 
County...I joined them 
earlier this year. They are 
doing great things in the 
push to make Santa Barbara 
smokefree...
CEASE SB: Santa Barbara Tobacco Prevention

Thank you to www.bilssphotooftheday.com

CBS News: Outrageous Vintage Cigarette Ads

From the collection of the 
Stanford School of Medicine
assembled by CBSNews.com 
Senior Producer David Morgan
CBSnews.com: Outrageous Vintage Cigarette Ads

Upworthy: 9 ways Tobacco Companies Make Cigarettes More Addictive...

From our mighty friends 
at The Campaign for 
Tobacco Free Kids
www.Tobaccofreekids.org
This is one scary graphic 
from Upworthy....click on 
link for full size...
www.upworthy.com-tobacco companies have made 9 changes to cigarettes and they're all scary bad?

Center for Tobacco Control blog post: "Super-high" Nicotine Youth Appealing Electronic Cigarette Flavors

From Dr. Stanton Glantz, 
Phd and the Center for 
Tobacco Control Research 
and Education, from their 
blog- the findings from 
Maya ben-Efraim and 
Robert Jackler. Dr. Jackler 
was also the subject of the 
7/27 RTS post, with his 
Lecture on Tobacco's 
Insidious Marketing History.
Thank you to CEASE for 
bringing this to our attention.
tobacco.ucsf.edu/“super-high” nicotine youth appealing electronic cigarette flavors

Farmer's Market or Candy Store?

Market Watch: Ten Countries Where People Smoke The Most...

Shared through FB by 
our friends at the 
Campaign for Tobacco 
Free Kids comes this 
thought provoking 
slideshow from Market 
Watch about the Ten 
Countries that Smoke 
the Most...
Marketwatch: Ten Countries Where People Smoke The Most

Photo: Victor Drachevia AFP/Getty Images

Dr. Robert Jackler's lecture on Tobacco's Insidious Marketing History

Dr. Robert Jackler of the Stanford
University School of Medicine
presents this riveting story about 
Big Tobacco. This video tracks 
the nefarious marketing efforts 
of the Tobacco Industry to get 
the world, especially teenagers, 
hooked on cigarettes. They came 
after them as young as possible.  
I discuss my own surreal nicotine
experience in Chapter One of 
Romancing The Smoke. 
Dr. Jackler's lecture is a stunning 
cautionary tale. 
Get 'em Young and Train em Right!- Tobacco Industry Targeting of Teens

The Guardian: Is Vaping a Cure for Smoking or a New Hazard?

This article by Jamie Doward 
shows the burgeoning popularity 
of Vaping or Grazing (the new 
term from aficionados) in the 
UK; but RTS opinion is it's a fad 
with which most users will
become bored, while keeping 
the smoking gesture firmly in 
place. And because celebrities 
do it is a reason to do it too? 
Really? Perhaps it may lead 
to Terminal Hipness...
The Guardian: Is Vaping a Smoking Cure or a New Hazard?

NY Times: Hard to watch commercials are making smoking easier to quit?

While I'm not a fan 
of these ads, if they're 
working, that IS the 
point isn't it? Article by 
Andrew Adam Newman
NY Times: Hard to watch commercials are making smoking easier to quit?

This is more my idea of antismoking ads...show the positive...

Metro: Smoking, drinking and drugs down 50% amongst teens...

Is good behavior the new cool...? 
Or is sloppy drunk 
and smelly smoke 
just not "in" anymore...?
Metro.uk: Youthful smoking, drinking and drugs halved in last decade

There was a time that I would have followed her anywhere...

and trip over myself trying 
to light her cigarette... 
I never would have 
quit smoking if she'd 
been around...

Photo courtesy of glamur.otkrovenie.net

LAist: Manhattan Beach Bans Smoking and Vaping in Most Public Places

In California, Carman Tse 
reports on Manhattan Beach's 
smoke free progress, complete 
with the smoke free banner 
floating over the main drag...
MB has one of the strictest laws
about smoking in the state...

LAist: Smoking and Vaping Banned in Manhattan Beach

The Independent.co.uk: Virginia Ironside- My daughter betrayed me over her smoking habit...

The Independent's Virginia 
Ironside blogs that it's no 
easier to get a smoker to quit 
than it is to get a heroin addict 
to stop shooting up... but we 
all knew that, didn't we...?
Her latest answer to a reader's 
letter....
The Independent.co.uk: My daughter betrayed me over her smoking habit....

The Guardian: Test your knowledge of "Smoking in Literature"...

Test your knowledge of 
Smoking in Literature...
This is a hard test; and 
you're not allowed to 
light up while you take it...

The Guardian: Take the "Smoking in Literature" Quiz

NY Times: Jury Awards a Staggering $23 Billion in Florida Smoking Case...wow....

This article by Francis Robles 
shows that the tide is turning 
on Big Tobacco these days... 
smoking isn't  KOOL anymore.
RJ Reynolds may have to 
rethink that merger they 
announced earlier this week...
NY Times: Jury Awards $23 Billion in Florida Smoking Case

Forbes: Adult e-cigarette smokers trying to quit tobacco prefer juvenile flavors

In this article for Forbes 
by Jacob Sullum, a survey 
taken by the E-Cigarette 
Forum show that adults
do, in fact, lean towards 
flavors thought to be of 
interest only to youthful 
smokers. Fruit and Bakery/
Dessert make up almost 
50% of the flavors used 
by smokers aged 18-65.
Below is a sampling of 
flavors offered by one of 
the leading manufacturers. 

Forbes: Survey shows that adults who smoke e-cigarettes supposedly prefer juvenile flavors

My buddy CB is ten days smoke free....

My buddy CB is 
ten days smoke free. 
He says I was an 
influence. I say it's 
the best thing he 
could do for himself.

This is my 600th post for Romancing The Smoke...Op Ed

Op Ed:
Since I published Romancing 
The Smoke: Reflections of a 
Nicotine Addict two years ago, 
I've written the RTS Nicotine 
News, sharing stories, photos 
and history of the world that 
Tobacco has built. This is my 
600th post. I try to keep up 
and even stay ahead of the 
news & changes so I can bring 
them to my readers, sometimes 
before major media outlets can 
disseminate the information.
While I crack jokes about it, 
(my black lung humor)
I take it as seriously anyone 
following the story. 

Any international panel that
addresses the travails of tobacco 
and nicotine addiction will find 
my point of view and inclusion 
no detriment to the dialog or the
smoke-free cause.

I witnessed and buried seven 
family members from smoking 
related issues. I do not require a 
PhD nor a stoma to be included in 
this conversation. It's time that the 
Medical profession, Big Tobacco, 
and Smoke Free Advocacy took 
time to hear to what I have to say.

I survived my battle with nicotine.
I've lived to tell the tale. That's as 
good a reason as any to listen...

CDC chooses Mother for their Anti-Smoking Campaign

This article by Eric Lindquist
details the different tact the 
CDC is taking in their anti-
smoking campaign, focusing 
on the problems of a mother, 
Amanda Brenden, had with 
her newborn because Amanda 
smoked while pregnant.

Leader Telegram: Mother's anti-smoking message hits home...

Wall Street Journal: American Smokers Still 40 Million Strong...

This article in the WSJ is a 
must read. While smoking 
rates are declining, certain 
demographics and geographics 
are seeing increases. Looks 
like the Tobacco Industry is 
breathing heavily. By Mike 
Esterl, Karishma Mehrotra, 
and Valerie Bauerlein
Wall Street Journal: American Smokers Still 40 million Strong

Huff Post: Great article on the real reason for the Big Tobacco Merger...

Would you prefer Regular...
or Menthol?
article by Alexander C. Kaufman
(what a great name for an author 
to write this article...)
Huff Post: Big Tobacco Merger Desperate Bid to Corner Black Smokers

The Difference between Amateur and Pro....

While playing fullback for varsity 
soccer my senior year, Coach 
Senor Miller caught me smoking 
and suspended me from the team 
for two league games. You know, 
public ridicule and "you let down 
the team" stuff...

On the dirt field, 1970

This guy Jack Wilshere, gets a final 
warning, but nothing's done. Rumor 
is he picked up the two cigarette a 
year habit from Vegas. I don't know 
about him, but it took me 40 years 
to learn my lesson...
Independent UK: Midfielder Jack Wilshere caught smoking again, gets final warning from Arsenal Manager

TIME: Study finds the best way to quit smoking...

This article for TIME by 
Alice Parks, discusses a 
study that finds the 
combination of varenicline
(Chantix) and the nicotine 
patch teams up to promote 
short and long term 
abstinence from nicotine.
Dr. Coenraad Koegelenberg 
of Stellenbosch University, 
Cape Town, S.A. is the lead 
author of these findings.
I am posting this. I do not know
if this is actually the best way 
to stop...but it is getting some 
attention for its success rate.
TIME: Study finds the best way to quit smoking...

More of Frida's wisdom...

Big Tobacco prepares for battle.....#2 and #3 merge to take on #1

...and here are some ways they've 
reached their clientele...

2014 from pg by Laura Stampler

2006

1988

NY Times: Reynolds in Talks to Acquire Lorillard in Merger of Tobacco Rivals

Since this article posted, the 
merger has been okayed.

This article by Michael J. 
De La Merced and Chad Bray
follows tobacco titans #2 
Reynolds American (Camels) 
and #3 Lorillard (Newports);   
as they discuss a potential
$27 billion merger that would
make them more competitive 
towards #1 rival, the Altria 
Group, home of Marlboro. 
Big Tobacco is getting bigger...
NY Times: Reynolds in Talks to Acquire Lorillard in Merger of Tobacco Rivals

The Coloradoan: Effects of Second Hand Smoke on Pets...

This article by Sue Manning 
investigates the specific problems
household pets encounter when 
constantly exposed to second-hand 
smoke...
The Coloradoan: Second-hand smoke harmful to your pets...?

ABC News: Carnival Becomes Latest Line to Ban Smoking on Cabin Balconies

This article by Genevieve Shaw 
Brown via Good Morning America
shows the growing trend of cruise 
lines to ban smoking on cabin 
balconies. It's increasingly 
becoming a smoke free world...
ABC News: Carnival Cruise Lines latest to ban balcony smoking in cabins

How does one know if their body has healed from a smoking addiction?

How does one know if their body 
has healed from a smoking addiction?
How long does it take? Does it happen; 
or at some point is it just too late?
I did two tests recently to see if I had, 
in fact, recovered from an almost
four decade addiction to tobacco.
While these tests were not scientific,
they still pointed out the difference
between quitting completely and 
the respiratory issues one faces by 
continuing to smoke.

First, I used to be the lead singer 
in a band that played Desperado 
by the Eagles and Wicked World 
by Chris Isaak. I always struggled 
with hitting the high notes of those 
songs, sometimes trashing them 
completely. Recently I reattempted 
these songs, sailing right up to those 
notes and nailing them more cleanly
than I ever did while I was smoking
and singing with the band...

...then yesterday, I attempted to swim 
two lengths underwater- a distance 
of 90 feet. While I smoked, I was 
barely able to do a single length. 
This time, I did the test with enough 
air to make the second turn. This feat 
is some sort of accomplishment, 
especially for someone who, less 
than four years ago, was experiencing 
respiratory failure.  I'm breathing a 
whole lot easier now. Please share 
this story with friends, as there was 
a time that I never would have 
believed that quitting would change
my health the way it did. Just quit.
It doesn't hurt. Get addicted to the 
taste of fresh air. It's fantastic...

Washington Post: 1 in 5 teens smoke hookahs; half think it's healthful...

This article for the Post by 
Rachel Feltman backs up 
my RTS post from earlier 
this week about young folks
defending smoking as possessing
the ability to create "healthful calm..."
There's a tremendous amount of 
misinformation about tobacco
being fed to impressionable minds...

Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

Washington Post: 1 in 5 teens smoke hookahs; half think it's healthful...

Frida Kahlo painted her reality...

Frida living the life...

Today's Weird Tobacco PIcture...

Thanks to Jill Woodruff Manos 

for sharing Paulo Vergueiro's post 

(I think this is the number of 

cigarettes I smoked in my lifetime...)

Wengin Chen

Raise your hands. Give up. You're surrounded...

Recently spent ten days on a team 
project where all but one of us smoke. 
I have not been around any heavy 
smoking since I quit four years ago.
Until now. The habit has become 
more civilized in recent years. It 
tiptoes now where it used to bluster.
It was a great anthropological 
observation on the changes about 
smoking in the 21st century. I was 
regaled on the benefits of tobacco, 
its spiritual significance in rituals, 
its importance in the social fabric 
of communication & camaraderie, 
and its "medicinal benefits of 
calming the soul." I heard people 
beseech me to believe they were 
going to quit soon-just not today. 

For all their excuses and denials, 
I came to the hard realization that 
even after four years without a 
cigarette, I was the most tobacco 
obsessed person I know.  Had I 
turned this obsession into a passion?
That made me think about this 
blog and my anti-smoking persona. 
I suppose that it comes with the territory 
(anyone can find themselves focusing 
about that which they can not ever 
have again… drugs, tobacco, alcohol, 
donuts)…
I am no different than anyone else...

I saw, in them, the hold smoking had 
on me. The RTS Lame Excuses can 
be found on page 58 of the book.
(what's yours?) I had my share before 
I finally got a grip. I sat with the team 
one evening as they smoked to see 
if tobacco still had an impact on me.

It only succeeded in making my eyes 
burn. There appeared no siren to tell 
me to return- only the stark realization 
that quitting did truly save my life. I 
would not be here today had I not quit 
exactly when I did. The blessed thing 
is the temptation is completely gone.

And all this is why I'll keep finding the 
Nicotine Tales. Tobacco stories from
everywhere. I track them. The world is 
full of them. My job is to keep finding 
them for you…and to encourage you 
to be smoke free…and keep laughing...

Anne Arundel Medical Center adopts "no Tobacco Use" policy amongst employees...

Employers are beginning to adopt
the stance that they will not hire 
anyone who uses tobacco. This 
policy is in the process of being 
enforced at Anne Arundel Medical 
Center in Maryland. Is this policy
unfair? Is this a prejudice that has 
no place in the workplace? 
Or is it the future?
Article by Lorraine Mirabella
Baltimore Sun: Anne Arundel Medical Center will not hire smokers

The Health Site: Indian Union Health Minister encourages Value Added Tax to discourage smoking youth

Countries committed to reducing 
smoking are employing what is 
called a Value Added Tax (VAT) 
to increase the price of a tobacco 
product to make it less accessible 
to youth…India is trying to follow 
Australia's lead as the former sees 
its male smoking rate increase 
dramatically over the last ten years…
The Health Site: Indian Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan encourages VAT to discourage youth smoking

UPMC Employee smoking ban goes into effect

Last year, RTS reported on this 
decision by the Univ. of Pittsburgh 
Medical Center to ban employee 
smoking during work hours. 
It went into effect July 1st.
Pittsburgh Post Gazette: UPMC begins enforcement of smoking ban

obnoxious visual used as an obtuse reference...

Hava Menthole: How they smoke in my country...

I am visiting journalist for this blog.
RTS ask me to write about smoking

in my country today. Am in America 
right now so I do not know what is 
going on this very minute in my home 
country of Nicotinia. Smoking is big 

where I come from. Sign of inwincibility.
Here is photograph of best friend Buttski 

Filtrini last time I see him. He smoke 

only twice a day. For health reasons.

                                               



Below is picture of my girlfriend Salacia 
while on phone to me. She want to leave 
Nicotinia and come to America where 
she hear living is sleazy, fish high jump 
and everyone rich and good looking.
Even Mama and Papa. She very elegant.  

Look how she hold her cigarettes. 
People in my country like breathing
smoke. It's better than the air there. 
Our smokestacks have filters painted
on them. Some buildings have tin foil 
for rooftop. Nicotinia have good sense 
of humor for depressing country...
It why everyone have pack a day habit.
It also why air so bad...sometimes I 
miss my homeland- get all choked up... 

Inspiration for the 4th of July…Heart

Because this is so inspirational…
Kennedy Center Honors Led Zeppelin

Heart does Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven

Happy 4th of July…!

Two years ago today, Romancing The Smoke was published through Createspace and Amazon...

The Wearing of the Red is a stressful job….

At the Vatican...

courtesy of my friend Bill Fischer

They were as cool as it got….

Everybody wanted to be this cool.

Borrowed from my FB friend BJ Liederman's
timeline (ironic that the smokers are still alive…)

Wikipedia: The Anti-Tobacco Movement in Nazi Germany

One of the most startling of revelations…
bet you did not know...

Wikipedia: Anti-tobacco movement in Nazi Germany

It's time to break free...

FREE Kindle Copy of Romancing The Smoke on Independence Day!

The Diplomat: 47% of men smoke in Vietnam...

Kim Megson of the Diplomat 
reports on Vietnam's tobacco 
friendly culture and the problems 
arising for one of the world's 
heaviest tobacco using countries...

"Cheap and available everywhere…"

The Diplomat: Vietnam's Tobacco Problem

Vermont gets tough with no smoking when kids are riding in the car...

Vermont gets even tougher 
on smokers as AP's Wilson 
King's article points out. 
Burlington Free Press: Vermont's anti-smoking law gets even tougher

Proclaim Your Freedom from Tobacco on Independence Day

Take back fresh air on 

Independence Day

 on the 2nd anniversary 

of the publication of 

Romancing The Smoke !

 A FREE Kindle copy 

is there for you on Amazon

for 24 hours on the 4th of July…

You can now breathe easier…

click on the green...

On Amazon: Kindle; Romancing The Smoke: Reflections of a Nicotine Addict

NJ raises the smoking age to 21...

The folks in Gov. Chris Christie's 
state are definitely doing some 
things right...

NJ Senate passes bill raising smoking age to 21

This guy is on fire...

A smoke and mirrors photo 
by photographer Lou Daprile
of the otherworldly cult
character, Flip Cassidy
www.louphotography.com