June 19th: Health and Wellness Show: The Truth About Tobacco with Richard White

[Seaniebawn]

Great show, I liked the story about the second hand drinking during the prohibition era , just goes to show that, that type of thinking isn't too creative
the same thing rolled through the ages, no wonder nothing ever changes.

 

[Nienna]

This was a terrific show! Lots of great research done that verifies, not only that smoking is good for one, but how there is no real research done by the anti-smoking gang. Thanks for the show - and Tiffany, you did great!

 

[Magpie]

Great show guys!! We really enjoyed listening to it. Some of the talking points are very digestible for our daughter too. (She sometimes gets questioned about isn't smoking bad for you?!?) And while we don't encourage her to exhaust herself arguing with those that can't be moved, I know that hearing this show will help her when E.V.E.R.Y.O.N.E. and their mother grills her about smoking.
Just a general question: how young should children be "allowed" to smoke? I live in the US and here, I believe, it's still 18 to Buy them, but I was wondering if any other forum parents have teenagers that they let smoke when they are with them.
I didn't smoke until I went to college, but I was raised in a strict no smoking household.

Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong if a kid smokes. I think they would have to be old enough to have developed some responsibility in their own decision making. But that's in an ideal world. I do think it could be potentially dangerous in the US though, since we live among psycho-fascists and authoritarian followers. Anyone who had a gripe with a parent who allowed their child to smoke (or even just a staunch, self righteous anti-smoker) could use it as an excuse to call child protective services and possibly take the child away. There was just an article on SOTT where CPS was involved with removing a child from their family because they thought one of the parents smoked too much (there may have been some other factors too, but this seemed to be the driving force). So, probably better to just wait until the child figures they really want to smoke and hides it from you.

Haha- oh dear- I'm not sure I want to give her the hiding option. We encourage open dialogue. But, sigh, I know she will hide things. I think all kids do to some extent.
I completely agree with you that there are people who will blow it completely up and I have no doubt that there are people who would call social services.
And I agree with the responsibility assessment- and just to be clear: for the record, I'm Not sending my daughter into her room with matches, ciggys, and an ash tray, saying : best of luck honey- don't come out until they're gone!... That is absolutely not what I'll doing-
The question really centers around a smoking household versus a non smoking one. I grew up in a home where cigarettes where demonized. No one smoked. At all. And they were very vocal about how terrible it was. I was wondering specifically-for those of you who grew up in a smoking household, do you feel like it made you become a smoker sooner? Or did your parents not want you to smoke even though they did? Or did they have a conversation with you about: this is why we smoke, this is what we smoke and here's why you should not smoke conventional cigarettes, etc? Was there any dialogue between the child and parents regarding that to smoke or not to smoke decision?

Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong if a kid smokes. I think they would have to be old enough to have developed some responsibility in their own decision making. But that's in an ideal world. I do think it could be potentially dangerous in the US though, since we live among psycho-fascists and authoritarian followers. Anyone who had a gripe with a parent who allowed their child to smoke (or even just a staunch, self righteous anti-smoker) could use it as an excuse to call child protective services and possibly take the child away. There was just an article on SOTT where CPS was involved with removing a child from their family because they thought one of the parents smoked too much (there may have been some other factors too, but this seemed to be the driving force). So, probably better to just wait until the child figures they really want to smoke and hides it from you.

I agree, however, it's also technically illegal in the US for a minor to buy, receive, or possess tobacco. So, I don't know how old your daughter is Magpie, but do take heed of the laws where you are and stay safe in that regard. I doubt anyone would be going to jail, but CPS does reach for these kinds of things as justification for their actions, and there are also a lot of authoritarian followers who really enjoy calling the authorities on people...

The laws vary by state. Where we live, the retailer actually gets in a lot more trouble than the minor. If your under 18, it's a 25 dollar fine if you Buy them. But the store gets fined very steeply. And the law is very vague about what they can do if the minor has them on their person. It almost depends more on where you are and if you have a lighter.
But I agree and we do follow those laws where we live. There's no sense in calling undo attention to ourselves.
Interestingly, from the laws I have read, there's nothing that says a minor cannot smoke a cigarette provided they did not purchase it. But it's one of those very gray areas and I'm not a lawyer. And I'm certainly not about to test those theories.
Thank you both for your constructive advice.
I think if plague/collapse, etc was on our doorstep, then some of those roles go out the window, but until that moment, she can wait a few more years. It's not going to kill her

 

[Beau]

I was wondering specifically-for those of you who grew up in a smoking household, do you feel like it made you become a smoker sooner? Or did your parents not want you to smoke even though they did? Or did they have a conversation with you about: this is why we smoke, this is what we smoke and here's why you should not smoke conventional cigarettes, etc? Was there any dialogue between the child and parents regarding that to smoke or not to smoke decision?

I grew up in a smoking household. Aside from experimenting in my adolescent years, mostly due to "doing what I knew I shouldn't do", I never became a smoker. I wasn't told not to do it specifically by my parents, and they certainly didn't sit me down and talk to me about why they smoke or why I shouldn't. But I'm pretty sure us kids knew that if our parents found out we were smoking, we'd get in trouble. And that was the allure of doing it on the sly, rebelling against authority. You don't seem to be handling smoking in a similar fashion, so I don't think your child would be as attracted to smoking as a form of rebellion. It can be a choice unweighted by emotions, which is good IMO.

 

[Magpie]

Interesting. Thank you for the insight. That makes a lot of sense. And it's frightening in a way. I know for me growing up-cigarettes were so demonized, I never even Dreamed of doing anything with hard drugs. If my daughter knows cigarettes are okay- will she jump right past them into something dreadful to "get our attention"?
The rebellion concept is never a pleasant one for parents to contemplate. I think the best we can do is keep open dialogue, maintain a good relationship into those teen years, and realize that ultimately her choices will be her own. I suppose.
Anyone have any good book ideas on teenagers, maintaining those relationships, etc? We've read NF, and several of Gabor Mate's. He gives helpful strategies for parenting. Any others out there that folks have found really helpful?

 

[SummerLite]

I'll be listening to the show soon, sounds very interesting and a big eye opener .

I grew up in a smoking household. I watched the tv ads that listed the horrible diseases caused by smoking and begged my parents to quit saying they'd get cancer. At 16 I secretly started smoking. I hid this because my mother was dying of lung cancer and she made me promise I'd never smoke. This set the stage for many fearful years of believing I was destroying my health, would get cancer or heart disease since I continued to smoke. Years later, after moving away from home, I discovered the area I grew up in was a cluster area for cancers. The culprit being radon gas. My mom thought there might be something in the water that was causing so much illness. We'd never heard of radon.

I started reading the Seth books and this helped tremendously in alleviating my fears about smoking. He said that the most harmful thing about smoking was the negative, mental beliefs people had about it and are promoted. A big clue for me in how our thoughts affect our health. But I still thought it a bad thing to do.

Before coming here, I was involved in a group, system of study, that "demonized" smoking and any other addictive habits. These programs where said to be implanted and used by negative aliens to suppress our higher self. Purity of the body was stressed. And so, the scourge of smoking continued for me. I lived with, I'll never make the grade to that higher self, free from the manipulation of "negatives", keeping my vibration low. :( Interestingly, I had a dream where the leader of that group, in all their purity and light, caught me smoking. I felt very shamed. Before I was discovered in my atrocious cigarette smoking by this person, they had been conducting a ritual surrounded by candles.

When I came here, a tremendous burden was lifted from me about smoking! Very, very liberating, I can't tell you what a relief this was. So thanks to all for that. Organic, chemical free tobacco is the only thing for me. Smoking those horrible cigarettes with all the chemicals IS bad for your health I believe. I asked someone recently, why doesn't the government put regulations on all these chemicals put in cigs. if they're so concerned about our health? Of course they don't give a dam about any such thing.

So this is my cigarette story.

 

[theos]

Richard White was a great guest and it was a fun show. Thanks, everyone.

And Gaby, I never put myself in the category of having an accent though I surely do. How ethnocentric of me!

I always thought smoking was cool from a young age. I remember being about 12 years old and my friends and I would snatch half smoked cigarettes from ashtrays or even the street (yuck!). When I was 14, my mother noticed me looking rapturously at her friend while she smoked and they dared me to smoke an entire cigarette. I did and enjoyed it. I tried to smoke when starting college but ended up with pluerisy which scared me so I quit. It wasn't until my mid 30's that I went whole hog and never turned back.

I think that smoking for teens is okay, but in this social climate one has to be extraordinarily careful. A smoking kid should have the maturity not to blab to friends and other adults that they are actually given permission to smoke by their parents.

 

[Mr.Cyan]

Thanks for the great show guys :)! much appreciated - though i could not catch it live, I really enjoyed listening to the show and all the facts discussed and presented. Really looking forward to reading his book now !

 

[Gaby]

The show was excellent! I realized Richard White's fb page had only 150 or something likes this morning. Perhaps we can help with that. If you enjoyed the show, like his page! :)

https://www.facebook.com/smokescreens?fref=ts

 

[Voyageur]

Caught the show yesterday - really enjoyed listening to Richard White and the interactions between you folks.