There’s something to be said for cigarettes. Most of it, of course, is bad. Cigarettes smell awful. The stench lingers and invades long after the cigarette is gone. Cigarettes, of course, also kill people. Lung cancer from a lifetime of smoking (mostly cigarettes, but also pipes) killed my father. It’s kind of amazing that fire from a cigarette left smoldering as he fell asleep didn’t kill him, the way it has so many others.
The anti-smoking messaging I got in school as a kid was effective. But so was a lifetime of popular culture. For as much as smoking disgusts me, I can’t change the fact that it looks cool. Vapes could never.
More importantly, though, cigarettes have a way of forming a connection between strangers. Lighter or matches not working? That’s a solvable problem. Out of cigarettes? Someone will give you one of theirs. There’s no judgement, no expectation of repayment. It’s just a prosocial thing you do. Someday, you might depend on someone else doing the same. I think that’s beautiful, even though the smoking part is gross.
On the whole, society is better off with fewer people smoking. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t lost a little something along the way. Cigars can fuck right off, though.
4% of blood stream loads up with Carbon Monoxide from a single cigarette.
Carbon monoxide gassing of meat products—specifically Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) was developed by the Norwegian meat industry (starting around 1985) and pioneered by researchers like Oddvin Sørheim.
Until Vape’s arrived Nicotine was a few % above placebo in terms of addiction in scientific studies, its why noone got hooked on nicotine gum, patches or inhalators other than identifying psychsomatics.
Vape’s how ever atomise the primary ingredients VG, PG, flavourings and Nicotine.
VG = Vegetable Glycerine, a natural humectant, draws moisture out of cells including bacteria found in the lungs.
Vape’s perhaps best show that the global medical experts still havent cracked the primary health nutshell.
Understandable when most prescribe patented drugs to offload liability from themselves to the drug companies, and rely on corporate lawyers to enshrine claimants with legal red tape.
With this in mind, sharing a smoke is understandable and relatable for those who have smoked.