Smoke, smoke, smoke those cigarettes! (Update)
I thought I was cute. I really did, even with no teeth in my mouth rolling up to the counter asking the sales lady for a large pack of smoking tobacco.
I had decided that rolling my own cigarettes was cheaper than buying cigarettes. Cigarettes had gotten so expensive and since I had to buy them by the cartons due to the fact I can not get out everyday, I decided I would begin rolling my own.
The sales lady put a box of Tops and a six ounce can of Bugler on the counter and I choose the six ounce can of Bugler. After thinking for a moment and flashing my best Denzel Washington smile, “Give me another one” I said. “That will be $24” she said plus tax.
That was before I got $40 more in my retirement check and before tobacco went up to cover the health care of more children.
Last week I rolled into the store still looking cute knowing I had beaten the system by rolling my own cigarettes, “Let me have two six ounce cans of Bugler smoking tobacco” and putting on my best smile, “Please”. “That will be $64 plus tax” she said. She must have seen the new expression on my face. “They’ve gone up.” she said. I could not believe she was talking to me. “Hello? Sir?” I was speechless! I could not muster up anything to say while struggling to put my favorite expression on my face. I was numb! Dumb numb! Somehow I managed to pay her and went outside to wait for my bus to take me home. “Have a nice day” she cheered. “Your mama!” I muttered. Damm!!
As always,
BB
P.S. African/American Van Jones does not sound as kool as he thinks he is calling his boss by his name as Barack Obama. This happened this afternoon on The Ed Schultz Show. He sounded as if he were going out of his way to say Barack Obama as many times as he could during his segment. In my opinion, Van Jones is displaying that “Hard to get along with” arrogance and he is, so far, Special Administrator of Green Jobs in the administration. I wish him well.
(Update)
Double Down on Smoking
by UCRJames
Sat Apr 25, 2009 at 05:06:12 AM
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/4/25/724319/-Double-Down-on-Smoking
Excerpt: (Human beings! What will we do without them?)
I am sitting in bed with some Actinite next to me, and it smells like fresh mountain air in here. You don’t know what you are missing if you have polluted air and haven’t experienced this. See my previous diary if you are curious.
It gets me thinking about smokers and how they really suffer to keep their habit. To have your mouth taste like an ashtray and turn your lungs from pink to a dark brown color. What are they thinking?
I have managed to get one smoker to quit and I think I will go after some more. They say a financial motivation is good to help people stop. A little potential embarrassment will help as well…
And a comment: (Smokers. The un-sung heroes of the Stimulus Bill?)
Leave 'Em Alone..... (1+ / 0-)
..and be damn glad America's nicotine-addicted punching bags are still out there to prey upon with billions of dollars of new taxes each year. We were already at the point years ago where this country's financial future depended upon smokers' continued indulgence of their nicotine fix. With each passing month and each subsequent "sin tax" increase, America's mortgage on tobacco grows that much more.
At some point a choice is gonna have to be made by the antismoking bullies. They got an excellent racket going by punching smokers in the guts and stealing their lunch money every day on the playground. Is their bully/superiority complex so insatiable that they're willing to shoot the golden goose and push smokers to actually quit being government's ATM machine? And if so, then what?
by Mark27 on Sat Apr 25, 2009 at 05:19:31 AM PDT
And another comment .(Ouch!)
Are you aware... (1+ / 0-)
...that 70% of smokers who die are nagged to death?
In other words, nagging, challenging, cajoling, shaming, embarrassing, harassing, and otherwise sticking one's schnozz into someone else's business because you don't like it won't help them at all. Not a bit. No amount of the above will get an alcoholic to sober up; it just makes it worse by increasing anxiety and providing an excuse to drink more. Similarly, bedeviling smokers generally increases anxiety, resulting in increased smoking.
Unfortunately, smoking is an addiction. And, like other addictions, a smoker will quit when s/he is ready to quit. Quitting smoking saves a lot more than $20 or $40. No one quit because someone gave them a bit of money; they quit because they were ready to quit. They just took the dough.
by SciMathGuy on Sat Apr 25, 2009 at 05:24:23 AM PDT
I had decided that rolling my own cigarettes was cheaper than buying cigarettes. Cigarettes had gotten so expensive and since I had to buy them by the cartons due to the fact I can not get out everyday, I decided I would begin rolling my own.
The sales lady put a box of Tops and a six ounce can of Bugler on the counter and I choose the six ounce can of Bugler. After thinking for a moment and flashing my best Denzel Washington smile, “Give me another one” I said. “That will be $24” she said plus tax.
That was before I got $40 more in my retirement check and before tobacco went up to cover the health care of more children.
Last week I rolled into the store still looking cute knowing I had beaten the system by rolling my own cigarettes, “Let me have two six ounce cans of Bugler smoking tobacco” and putting on my best smile, “Please”. “That will be $64 plus tax” she said. She must have seen the new expression on my face. “They’ve gone up.” she said. I could not believe she was talking to me. “Hello? Sir?” I was speechless! I could not muster up anything to say while struggling to put my favorite expression on my face. I was numb! Dumb numb! Somehow I managed to pay her and went outside to wait for my bus to take me home. “Have a nice day” she cheered. “Your mama!” I muttered. Damm!!
As always,
BB
P.S. African/American Van Jones does not sound as kool as he thinks he is calling his boss by his name as Barack Obama. This happened this afternoon on The Ed Schultz Show. He sounded as if he were going out of his way to say Barack Obama as many times as he could during his segment. In my opinion, Van Jones is displaying that “Hard to get along with” arrogance and he is, so far, Special Administrator of Green Jobs in the administration. I wish him well.
(Update)
Double Down on Smoking
by UCRJames
Sat Apr 25, 2009 at 05:06:12 AM
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/4/25/724319/-Double-Down-on-Smoking
Excerpt: (Human beings! What will we do without them?)
I am sitting in bed with some Actinite next to me, and it smells like fresh mountain air in here. You don’t know what you are missing if you have polluted air and haven’t experienced this. See my previous diary if you are curious.
It gets me thinking about smokers and how they really suffer to keep their habit. To have your mouth taste like an ashtray and turn your lungs from pink to a dark brown color. What are they thinking?
I have managed to get one smoker to quit and I think I will go after some more. They say a financial motivation is good to help people stop. A little potential embarrassment will help as well…
And a comment: (Smokers. The un-sung heroes of the Stimulus Bill?)
Leave 'Em Alone..... (1+ / 0-)
..and be damn glad America's nicotine-addicted punching bags are still out there to prey upon with billions of dollars of new taxes each year. We were already at the point years ago where this country's financial future depended upon smokers' continued indulgence of their nicotine fix. With each passing month and each subsequent "sin tax" increase, America's mortgage on tobacco grows that much more.
At some point a choice is gonna have to be made by the antismoking bullies. They got an excellent racket going by punching smokers in the guts and stealing their lunch money every day on the playground. Is their bully/superiority complex so insatiable that they're willing to shoot the golden goose and push smokers to actually quit being government's ATM machine? And if so, then what?
by Mark27 on Sat Apr 25, 2009 at 05:19:31 AM PDT
And another comment .(Ouch!)
Are you aware... (1+ / 0-)
...that 70% of smokers who die are nagged to death?
In other words, nagging, challenging, cajoling, shaming, embarrassing, harassing, and otherwise sticking one's schnozz into someone else's business because you don't like it won't help them at all. Not a bit. No amount of the above will get an alcoholic to sober up; it just makes it worse by increasing anxiety and providing an excuse to drink more. Similarly, bedeviling smokers generally increases anxiety, resulting in increased smoking.
Unfortunately, smoking is an addiction. And, like other addictions, a smoker will quit when s/he is ready to quit. Quitting smoking saves a lot more than $20 or $40. No one quit because someone gave them a bit of money; they quit because they were ready to quit. They just took the dough.
by SciMathGuy on Sat Apr 25, 2009 at 05:24:23 AM PDT
posted by BB at 7:12 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home