Travel Tip: Singapore and Smokes

I meant to mention this yesterday, but... If you're planning to visit Singapore, don't bother trying to bring in any duty-free cigarettes (purchased innocently enough at the international lobby of your point of departure). Yesterday when I went through customs I said that I had nothing to declare. I honestly thought I was telling the truth--I mean, that's what "duty-free" is, right? Wrong. At least in Singapore. They found the smokes that I'd made no effort to conceal. They weren't heavy-handed about it, or anything. In fact everyone was quite friendly about it (I imagine it happens a lot here). Still, I had to pay 70 Singapore dollars duty on a carton of smokes that I'd already paid 2300 yen for. Ouch. "Still cheaper than smoking in Canada." That's what I keep telling myself...

Smokers should also take note that Singapore is about the unfriendliest place I've been to for indulging your habit. It's occurred to me that a couple of whacks across the ass with a cane for illegal smoking might make for an interesting blog post. I'd probably have a hard time explaining it to my family and employers, though...

I'm My Own Lab Rat

I've just spent a few minutes skimming a rather long-ish article entitled Is Pornography the New Tobacco? I may or may not decide to pick it apart in detail at some later date. Some general observations on the topic:

The title of the article should be giveaway enough that it's not much more than moralizing dressed up as "social science" (which, to my mind, is merely moralizing of a different sort). As a smoker I don't believe there's anything inherently "evil" about my habit. At the same time, as a reasonably intelligent person (depending on whom you ask), I'm not so foolish as to deny that smoking is bad for my health. I don't want my daughter to smoke because I want her to live a long and healthy life. I try to make sure that she never sees me doing it, but I somehow doubt I'll derive much comfort from this if she someday decides to start smoking anyway. I should also say that, as far as I'm concerned, tobacco companies are lying scumbags who would say or do anything to get me or you to buy their products. Really though, in this, they are no different than any other "business," so singling them out seems a bit ridiculous to me. I would never blame Big Tobacco for my addiction. Some may revel in admitting their helplessness and stupidity to the world (usually in the form of lawsuits, etc.); I rather enjoy being the master of my own fortune (good or bad).

Is it reasonable to compare tobacco and pornography? The harmful effects of smoking have been scientifically proven, as have the addictive qualities of tobacco. I can personally attest that tobacco is addictive, and my own experience has shown me that there's a good chance that a lingering cold and/or cough, shortness of breath, etc. is probably directly connected to my smoking. But, unless I'm blowing my smoke in your face, that's my business. There is no conclusive evidence one way or the other about the effects of pornography, however one might personally feel about it. I myself have, at different moments in my life, viewed pornography countless times, and I can say at least this much: when my plane lands after a 12-hour flight, it's not an internet connection I'm looking for--I want a bloody smoke, and no (hypothetical) number of beckoning, naked women (on video!) is going to come between me and "my precious." It's ridiculous even to attempt comparing tobacco and pornography in physical terms. I would add that, as far as I'm concerned, indulging in either one is nobody else's business. (I shouldn't need to, but I will, offer the following caveat regarding porn: legally consenting adults only--anything else is criminal).

The main point of the above-linked article seems, though, to be that viewing pornography, like smoking tobacco in bygone years, is these days socially acceptable to a general public who are as yet unaware of its possible dangers. But really, what kind of argument is this? It's not like sex (or "pornography") suddenly appeared on the scene like crack cocaine or something. Should we deny the existence of Greek urns, the Kama Sutra, etc.?

Honestly, I only skimmed the article, but it seems to be saying "tobacco is bad, so pornography might be bad." This seems to me a highly flawed form of argument.

Thank You for Smoking!

There was an interesting little nugget last week on the website of The Mainichi Daily News, discussing the benefits of raising taxes on cigarettes.

The government can expect to make an extra 9 trillion yen in tax revenue over the next 10 years by raising the price of cigarettes to 1,000 yen a pack, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced Wednesday.

"Many people won't be able to give up, even if they want to, so raising the price will lead to an increase in tax income," said a representative of the ministry's research team.

[...] The currently-planned price increase to 500 yen is predicted to make an extra 4 trillion yen in tax over the next 10 years.

I found it interesting that, in an announcement about tax increases on cigarettes, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (!) is looking only at the bottom line. How much money can we rake in? There is no discussion of the dangers of smoking, the cost to society, and the usual crap. In fact the single quote in the article suggests that they actually want people to continue smoking!

Amazing...

Does This Sound Like Bullshit?

Doctors at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro (England) are apparently refusing to set John Nuttall's broken ankle unless he quits smoking.

"I want to warn other smokers. We have paid our National Insurance stamps all our lives and now we are being shut out of the NHS."

A spokesman for the hospital trust said: "Smoking has a very big influence on the outcome of this type of surgery and the healing process would be hindered significantly."

According to the article, Mr. Nuttall has been prescribed daily doses of morphine to cope with the "constant pain from the grating of the broken bones against each other."

Sooo... smoking can affect the outcome of an operation on one's ankle? It's cheaper to give a guy morphine every day than to fix his fucking ankle? I want to be clear about this: we're talking about someone's fucking ankle, right?

Sounds like bullshit to me...

Fitter, Happier

For the past couple of weeks my daughter had been acting like a mean-spirited, spoiled little brat. Then, during dinner yesterday, as I was yelling at her for what seemed like the hundredth time that day for I-can't-remember-what, she stopped me dead in my tracks with the following earnest, deeply troubled words: "Daddy, why don't you smoke a cigarette? It's OK, you know." Ouch. Out of the mouths of babes...

What a miserable prick I've been the past couple of weeks, especially to my little girl, but to my wife as well. Damn the day I lit a cigarette. Tonight after work I formally apologized to my daughter for being mean to her lately. When I asked what I could do to make it up to her, she told me I should come home from work early more often so that we could go to the park before it gets dark. Easy to please. My wife is another story...

Anger management classes are not really an option, but clearly I'll have to tame some of the "ill-effects" of a smoke-free life. Reader suggestions are welcome (but please, comments of the type "once a prick, always a prick", aside from stating the too-obvious, are not really helpful...).

Plan A: Tomorrow at 6am I will wake up and go for a brisk 30 minute walk, and possibly I'll even run a bit (if I don't keel over in agony too quickly). I will do this every day. Soon I will become a lean, mean sex machine, and I will wonder what ever possessed me to smoke those vile cigarettes. My wife will be happy to have such a non-smoking hunk o' manhood for a husband. My daughter will be happy that I don't throw out my back when I carry her to bed. I will be happy because, well, dammit, life will be good and we will be happy and healthy...

Fitter, happier, more productive, comfortable...

Ultra Light

Damn, I could really use a smoke right now. Quitting smoking sucks. I'll stick with it, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. In fact, I wouldn't recommend starting, either.

Cigarette?

Apparently, just as I've completed my 7th smoke-free week, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has launched an "anti-smoking wonder pill". Pfizer is the same company that developed Viagra (er, so I've just read). I wonder if anyone is taking both medications...? Surely you can see the joke potential here. Umm, assuming that you've ever smoked and..., oh, never mind...

We must stem the tide...

...of all these damned foreigners coming here to smoke! [Via Japan Probe]



I know, I know, I'm trying to get away from YouTube a bit, but this is just so... appropriate.

Tags: Japan : quitting smoking

I'm Lovin' It...

Well, I have to say that, after two weeks without so much as a drag on a smoke, I feel completely brain-dead. Seriously. I go online and end up staring at this blog for hours wondering what to write (YouTube and link-trolling just aren't cutting it any more). It doesn't help much that I have to spend several hours a week in a class with equally brain-dead Japanese university students; nor that I'm expected to keep up with the latest brain-dead TEFL theories written by brain-dead foreigners like me whose students, at the end of the day, suck just as much at English as mine do. (The difference being, I suppose, that I'm quite willing to admit that my students are shit and don't see any point wasting time and paper on 'make-work' projects defending their shittiness and their complete apathy toward English specifically and anything remotely interesting generally. I swear Nietzsche must have been thinking about the Japanese when pondering "the last Man".)

Anyway, to celebrate my new smoke-free life my lovely wife thought it might be fun for me to take my daughter to one of those "vintage" photo studios and have our portrait done. The picture you're looking at is the result of our little foray. I think I may have gained a bit of weight since I quit smoking. What do you think?

Tags: quitting smoking : teaching english : Japan : bad combinations

On the sixth day...

... he still had no fucking cigarettes.

Tags: quitting smoking : torture : crimes against humanity

Funny... I never felt important...

I've mentioned here before that I'm a smoker. In fact, I've been smoking about a pack a day for over 30 years. Well, today is my daughter's fourth birthday, and I thought that along with the usual cake and presents I'd give her something special. Yep, that's right. As of today I am no longer a smoker. Now I realize all too well that that's much easier said than done (having given it a go countless times before). I guess the difference this time is that the stakes seem higher and time is running out. If I'm going to quit, I have to do it now. If I want to play with my daughter for more than a few more years, I have to quit now. Hell, if I want to see grandchildren, I'd bloody better do it now.

So, for the next while at least, it's nicotine patches and sucking on candies for me. No doubt those around me will have to put up with more crankiness than usual. Please bear with me. I'm on a mission...

Tags: tobacco : quitting smoking

Smokin' Fool

Yes, I'm a smoker. I've tried many times to give up cigarettes, but I can't do it. I'm weak. I'm a slave to an evil, filthy habit. Living in Japan, it's even more difficult to quit, because Japan is, well, smoker's heaven! A pack of smokes costs just 320 yen (about 3-4 dollars, depending on where you live), and that's after a recent tax hike, which resulted in Japan Tobacco, the world's third largest cigarette company, recording a 60 percent rise in profits in the most recent quarter. Of course the government (like all governments) pays careful lip service to educating people about the dangers of smoking, but the fact is that smokes are a major money cow for governments. Heh, the Japanese government is actually the biggest shareholder in Japan Tobacco (it holds 67.77 percent of issued stock).
Anyway, the Japanese are nothing if not polite, so I've included a couple of nifty graphics from a series sponsored by Japan Tobacco on smoking etiquette. [Very odd. I originally had a link to the Japan Tobacco site here, but just after posting this it went down...]