Coffin nail sales at 55 year low |
Cigarette smoking, or at least sales of cigarattes, are on the decline in the US. In fact, last year was the lowest sales since 1951:
The National Association of Attorneys General, relying on Treasury Department data, reported Wednesday that 378 billion cigarettes were sold in the United States last year.
Of course 378 billion cigarettes in the United States alone is no small business. Reasons the article cites for this decline? Increased taxes and no smoking bans in public places.
I started and quit smoking as a teenager, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit not looking back. That nicotine is very, very addictive stuff. Thank goodness I was able to quit cold without resorting to patches or gum. None of this even touches on what smoking does to clothes and living quarters. We go out to the casino once in awhile and we have to wash our coats afterwards.
I’m not bashing smokers — heck, I was one of them once upon a time — I kind of feel for those who don’t want to or can’t quit. It’s an expensive, dirty habit that nobody but other smokers and some ex-smokers even want to be around. If my wife didn’t have asthma I could still see going back all these years later. That’s a bit eerie to admit. Readers thinking of starting smoking, if any exist of you exist? Don’t. I sure hope none of our kids pick up this habit.
The whole Big Tobacco thing could someday be a thing of the past. Probably not in my lifetime. There are at least 378 billions why not in the US alone.
Any smoker readers feeling pushed out into the rain?
Did this post make you go hmm?
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My two older sons (21 and 18) both smoke. I never have. They’re both musicians and I guess it’s part of their image thing. Of course I’ve told them they’re going to ruin their voices, let alone their health. My youngest son has asthma, and one time an attack started for him right after my oldest came back into the house after smoking. My father was a regular smoker — in the house. As a kid I used to work in the tobacco fields in southern Virginia for $1 and hour. It used to make me sick when the nicotene would seep into my skin through my hands, especially on a wet day. I hate tobacco, and hope I don’t die from my years of second-hand exposure.
Comment by Sterling Camden — March 10, 2006 @ 7:45 pm PST