Smoking is... good?

[Russ]

One of my friend has a hookah :) I agree they are nice to smoke from, very smooth. He had some flavoured tobacco with it, apple and blackcurrent hehe, was nice. But now it just sits in a cupboard somewhere in his house, hes too lazy to fill it with water and buy some gauzes for it :(

 

[Bo]

Russ: Do you need to go to Iran to do that? I went to a restaurant last night where we smoked sheesha (middle eastern tobacco) from hookahs. And I live in Australia, not Iran. tongue

They have those in Canada too. I'd think that Adam could do the same thing in Amsterdam.

ye I was checking around and there is even a store in Holland which sells these things _http://www.waterpijpen.nl/index1.html
no need to go to Iran

thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Russ]

Rolling papers

On the back of my packet of American Spirit rolling tobacco, it has a table which shows that different thickness of cigerette you roll can affect the tar/nicotine amount. But also it has different tar/nicotine values for what type of rolling paper you use.

Here is the table, as best I can reproduce it:

format: | Paper: type A | Type B
Thin/0.4g/5.2mm dia | Tar: 8 Nic: 0.7 | Tar: 12 Nic: 1
Thick/0.75g/7.2mm dia | Tar: 15 Nic: 1.3 | Tar: 19 Nic: 1.6

As you can see the paper makes quite a bit of difference to the amount of tar. At the moment I am using Rizla blue kingsize slim, and usually I smoke half and leave it and smoke the rest later. But I found out that this paper is type B, so I am getting quite a bit of tar and nicotine.

Taken from http://www.gallaher-group.com/products/other.asp :

The smoke yields are shown in the form of a matrix. Two weights of tobacco – 400 mg and 750 mg, are used, together with two types of rolling paper. These papers are referred to as Paper ‘A’ and Paper ‘B’. Paper ‘A’ has a greater porosity than Paper ‘B’ which means that more air is drawn in during smoking, which has the effect of reducing tar and nicotine yields. The smoke yields shown on pack are therefore those that have been measured under laboratory conditions. However, as no two smokers will make or smoke a hand rolled product in the same way, the smoke yields will vary from those shown on pack.
____________________________

So I am on the look out for some perforated paper, there doesn't seem to be any in my local supermarket though :( I did buy some Rizla quite a while ago which had a white packet, and that was perforated. It made smoking roll ups very similar to smoking a normal cigerette (and would keep burning if you left it). What I would like is some king size versions of this paper - does anyone have any recomendations, and know where to get some in the UK?

Thanks for reading.

 

[kenlee]

'Outside a major tobacco company,'

Here’s a cigarette ad that just came out. It’s interesting how this overt propaganda about the “horrors of smoking” is juxtaposed with what may be a more insidious covert message that speaks directly to the subconscious.fears of the masses. Note how the crowd all look up in unison (at the end) and then all drop. Keeping in mind that one of the agency team who designed this ad is named ‘Crispin Porter,’ it might very well refer to some horrific event in past history that had people looking skyward (such as, the social memory of cyclic cometary impacts and/or of 911) and then juxtaposing that fear onto the Powers That Be agenda to stop people frpm thinking (er, um, er, I meant to say to stop people from smoking).

http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/4199925-1.html

The American Legacy Foundation's national anti-smoking "Truth" campaign launches a new spot, titled "1200," tomorrow. Longtime agency team Havas' Arnold and Maxxcom's Crispin Porter + Bogusky created the ad.

It opens with shots of hundreds of youths, each with a number on his or her shirt. Gathered "outside a major tobacco company," the teenagers simultaneously collapse "dead" onto the pavement. One kid is left standing, holding up a sign that reads, "Tobacco kills 1,200 people a day." The commercial will air in 30- and 60-second versions on MTV, BET, the WB and Fox, among others.

Here’s the advertisement (it might take a little time to download):
_http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/8kqVJvKiE3o/

 

[Cyre2067]

'Outside a major tobacco company,'

Yeah seen that one before. I hate those truth commercials. Very little truth in them.

For example: what do they mean by "Tobacco Kills...." how can tobacco kill? Now lung cancer does indeed kill, but perhaps we should look more closely at lung cancer and it's causes.

It's also well known that incidence of lung cancer shot up shortly after tobacco began to be processed and distributed en masse, circa the 1940s. Prior to that lung cancer rates were relatively low, like many other cancers.

If you also look at cancer rates in the last 50 years you see they all shoot up... so what's really going on here? And why the focus on cigarettes....

 

[Mra]

Tobacco choices

Noise, Roll Your Own, all the way! The A.S. cigs suck (the lungs out've you!); I found I had to cut the filters off to get anything from them!

Shane, technically the A.S. 'Original Blend' (yellow pouch in Europe, might be sky blue in the States, not sure), despite saying '100% Additive-Free' on the label, apparently isn't so in terms of being 'organic'. To pass as 'organic', products have to meet certain industry standards, a 'certified guarantee' according to the A.S.-Europe website:

Since October 2005 aficionados who enjoy Natural American Spirit® tobacco can also buy Natural American Spirit® Organic Blend Rolling Tobacco: 100 % organic tobacco. The Natural American Spirit® Organic Rolling Tobacco meets the strict criteria of the US Department of Agriculture for organic farming and is grown without the use of pesticides and artificial fertilisers. Only tobacco such as this may be described as “organic tobacco� .

http://www.americanspirit-info.de/produkte.php?lang=en

From what Monkee and others have explained to me, I think the Original Blend may actually have pesticide/chemical use in its pre-production processes. When it says 'additive-free', it means just that; that nothing was added to the tobacco once it was grown and cultivated. I too had presumed this meant that it was organic: not so! If you compare the paragraph I quoted above to the one that precedes it (via the link above), notice that they do not say that the Original Blend is pesticide/chemical-free, rather that there are no preservatives added to it in the post-production stages.

Right, I'm off to try the Organic stuff out

Ps Couldn't find it for sale in the UK, so I got mine from Germany:

http://www.tabak-brucker.de/shop/themes/kategorie/detail.php?artikelid=196040&source=2

**EDIT:

17th June 2007

From American Spirit's US site:

What is the difference between your regular tobacco and your organic tobacco?

How did you navigate the German site lol. I can get to the checkout, with my American Spirit Organic Tabacco in my basket, when it comes to the section where i must fill in all my personal details i get lost.

I'd like to thank whoever orginally posted this source to this thread, it seems to be the only source of organic tabacco out there(anyone discovered a better alternative?).

Would anyone be able to help me with the ordering process?

I need a sort of translation/explaintion of these German words:

Anrede: Frau Herr (I'm guessing Mr or Mrs)
Vorname: ?
Nachname*: ?
Firma: ?
Strasse/Hausnummer* ?
PLZ*: ?
Ort*: ?
Land: Australien Belgien Costa Rica Deutschland Dänemark Estland Finnland Frankreich Griechenland Großbritannien Irland Island Israel Italien Japan Kroatien Lettland Lichtenstein Litauen Luxemburg Malta Niederlande Norwegen Philippinen Polen Portugal Schweden Schweiz Slowakei Slowenien Spanien Südafrika Tschechische Repuplik Türkei Ungarn Zypern Österreich (which one is england/uk?)
Telefon: K
Fax: K
Email*: K

I wonder how challeing the next section will be if i manage to get past this one.

I recently bought a pouch of American Spirit Orginal Blend, it's funny i had actually quit smoking a 2 days ago and i stumbled on this thread, if i had not done i'd likely still be nicotine sober and i'm not even sure after reading more into this, that it would have been good for me to have quit.

Well i bought a pouch of American Spirit, now i know it's not organic or really considerably better for my health than regular tabacoo. I'm very much hoping i can locate a source of Organic American Spirit or that someone can help me order through means of this website.

 

[Darren]

Tobacco choices

Here's a Babelfish translation of the website:
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=de_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tabak-brucker.de%2Fshop%2Fthemes%2Fkategorie%2Fdetail.php%3Fartikelid%3D196040%26source%3D2

 

[anart]

Tobacco choices

Hi Mra,

Last time you logged on, you deleted all the content of many of your rather relevant posts. Just wondering why you did this - and why you've returned now, posting on this thread as if 'nothing had happened at all'.

 

[Erna]

'Outside a major tobacco company,'

They definately used association in this ad to create a certain emotion.

The first scene reminds one of Hurricane Katrina where they had all the convicts on the bridge with the helicopter flying overhead. They are all dressed the same with numbers, which continues the subliminal impression of that of convicts.

 

[Mra]

Tobacco choices

Hi Mra,

Last time you logged on, you deleted all the content of many of your rather relevant posts. Just wondering why you did this - and why you've returned now, posting on this thread as if 'nothing had happened at all'.

Paranoia lol and other emotional difficulties, sorry about that, additionally i didn't like the perspective i was developing, it was too depressing and negative, general emotional difficulties would probably be the best answer to your question.

I returned now because i just happened to, i'm not all that organised in what i do on the internet, i just drift across, reading or studying anything that interests me at the time.

 

[Mra]

Tobacco choices

Here's a Babelfish translation of the website:
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=de_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tabak-brucker.de%2Fshop%2Fthemes%2Fkategorie%2Fdetail.php%3Fartikelid%3D196040%26source%3D2

Thanks!

 

[Color]

Tobacco choices

Paranoia lol and other emotional difficulties, sorry about that, additionally i didn't like the perspective i was developing, it was too depressing and negative, general emotional difficulties would probably be the best answer to your question.

I returned now because i just happened to, i'm not all that organised in what i do on the internet, i just drift across, reading or studying anything that interests me at the time.

Not sure if it's my place to comment because I didn't read those earlier posts, but it doesn't make sense (to me),
what you said now - about it all... I'm still new here but perceive this forum as a place of interaction which allows everyone,
the person writing and the ones reading to express and ask and learn from it all; that's also a reason why even
threads and posts which are considered to be "noise" or even disinformations are still here,
I'm not aware of any of those been deleted, just properly commented by moderators and other members...

Please correct me if I'm wrong but if I'm not, then I believe one can easily "catch" the practice going on here,
and connect it with reasons why is that so, and also to fallow it, in order to be able to go back and review
and learn from it, and aloud others to do so... I had few "pearls" here as well, as many others, I see it happening all the time,
but there's no point in deleting

all the content of many of your rather relevant posts

,
simple as you can't delete who you are now, or were before...

I guess it was an impulse decision on your part, I see it that way simply because U're "back" now,
but the part which makes no sense to me is your explanation of it all, sorry if wrong but,
I got the impression as if you're saying you're here because it "fits" you for this moment and that's about it.
And it's OK, but what's the purpose of it, if all this I'm saying will also, one day soon, be just post talking with deleted/posts/person,
I mean, I don't get that part, it strikes me numb... There's one good example, here it goes:

After all, websites are like "homes" and if you don't like the people living there, if you don't have anything in common with them, you will certainly want to excuse yourself and visit elsewhere.

And I'm not referring to it in a way of you being in a wrong house, I am NOT.
I quoted this for the purpose of comparing web site and this forum as HOUSE.
If one enters someone's house and, lets say, was offered a chat with a cup of coffee/tea,
and if the conversation goes in the "wrong" direction, cause of any reason,
one doesn't leave and on it's way out breaks all the cups and tea-pot and chairs
and then one day knocks on the same door, without an explanation, saying:
I was in the neighborhood and would love another cup of tea, please...

Maybe it would be a great thing to give a lil "brief" of what happened and I'm sure
lots of forum members here could benefit from your experience, since I'm the first one in line
which can identify with your desire to "delete it all" and "start it fresh"...

 

[j0da]

Tobacco choices

I didn't like the perspective i was developing

You mean you didn't like the way you were seen by others? Or you didn't like what YOU have seen about yourself? Or both? Well, you see, Mra - even though you didn't like it, the process was going just fine, where masks and misunderstandings were being stripped and some valuable comments were presented to you.

But you have decided to delete your posts, which in effect made these exchanges if not completely worthless for future readers, then severely abridged, seriously limiting their usefulness. Even if you have benefitted from other's effort of replying to you, you've denied other forum readers these benefits. So, what you have been given - you have wasted, even more so, you have taken from us what didn't belong to you - coherency of these threads. Keep this in mind before posting another non-explanation.

In more reconciling tone I can add that IT'S OK TO BE SEEN AS A MESSED-UP INDIVIDUAL here. I can repeat it for your consideration, Mra - IT'S COMPLETELY OK. Most of us have been mindfu*ked this way or another, what differs US from the usual six-pack Joe is that we admit this sad reality and work hard to repair what was broken. It's not a place where you have to be "cool" and maintain your carefully polished mask of sanity.
Think about that.

 

[Gaby]

Diesel pollution clogs arteries, raises risk of heart disease

From _http://www.newstarget.com/022198.html

Diesel fumes interact with fatty acids found in LDL ("bad") cholesterol to raise the risk of heart disease, according to a study published in the online journal "Genome Biology."

On their own, both diesel fumes and certain fatty acids contained in LDL cholesterol create free radicals in the body. These free radicals damage cells and tissue, leading to the inflammation that can cause cardiovascular disease.

In the new study, researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles found that the combination of diesel and the fats was far more dangerous than either factor separately.

"Their combination creates a dangerous synergy that wreaks cardiovascular havoc far beyond what's caused by the diesel or cholesterol alone," said lead researcher André Nel.

The researchers first combined diesel pollutants with the fatty acids and added them to a culture of cells from the inside of human blood vessels. They found that the mixture activated the genes that promote cellular inflammation.

Then the researchers exposed mice with high cholesterol to diesel particles. In response, many of the same genes were activated in the mice's bodies.

Researchers said that the exact mechanism by which pollution leads to heart disease is still unknown.

"We do know that these particles are coated with chemicals that damage tissue and cause inflammation of the nose and lungs," Nel said. "Vascular inflammation in turn leads to cholesterol deposits and clogged arteries, which can give rise to blood clots and trigger heart attack or stroke."

According to Cathy Ross, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, it has long been known that air pollution increases a person's risk of death from cardiovascular disease. "Anyone with chronic lung disease or coronary heart disease should avoid staying outside for long periods when pollution levels are high," she said.

 

[Gaby]

Clinic offers stop-smoking regimen that scares doctors

Stop-smoking by killing yourself Drug...

FDA Issues Early Communication for Chantix

_http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01749.html

FDA is evaluating postmarketing adverse event reports for Chantix (varenicline), a prescription medicine to help adults stop smoking.

Based on FDA’s request for information from the manufacturer, Pfizer, Inc., the company recently submitted reports to the agency describing suicidal ideation (thoughts). In the wake of a case report citing erratic behavior in an individual who had used Chantix, FDA has also asked the company for any information on additional cases that may be similar in patients who have taken the drug.

FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research is working to complete an analysis of the available information and data. When this analysis is completed, FDA will communicate the conclusions and recommendations to the public.

In the meantime, FDA recommends that health care providers monitor patients taking Chantix for behavior and mood changes. Patients taking Chantix should contact their doctors if they experience behavior or mood changes.

FDA also advises that, due to reports of drowsiness, patients should use caution when driving or operating machinery until they know how using Chantix may affect them.

Full text of the Early Communication about the Ongoing Safety Review can be found at: _http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/early_comm/varenicline.htm.