“And all this post-racism is killing me/I heard some hipsters saying ‘nigga’ real liberally/I know, some your best friends is niggas/Nigga, please…” —Detroit rapper Denmark Vessey's new song is about Gwyneth Paltrow. (No, it's mostly about smoking cigarettes. But Gwyneth Paltrow should definitely listen to it. It's really good.)
"Current heavy smokers are at three times greater risk for major depression compared to former heavy smokers, according to a study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research. Although the link between smoking and depression is well-documented, the results support the causal hypothesis regarding smoking and depression rather than simply the 'shared-vulnerability' hypothesis."
"But even that process takes a back seat to the Smoker’s Delight, served at Todd Thrasher’s bar PX in Alexandria, Va. Mr. Thrasher takes three or four different kinds of tobacco, steeps them in hot water for five minutes, strains it, adds sugar and reduces the mixture. He mixes a few drops of this with bourbon, honey syrup and lemon juice." —I do something very similar to this, except I have a bourbon and smoke a cigarette. But, you know, either way.
Herman Cain's chief of staff Mark Block has made a new campaign ad.
Just kidding. Actually, that's a new video from Detroit rapper and producer Quelle Chris, whose album Shotgun & Sleek Rifle comes out next week. The first single from album, "Symbolic (Basquiat)" came out a few weeks ago. And it's good, but not as good as its B-side, "Shotguns" (sort of a title track to the album, I guess) which features Chris's friend and frequent collaborator Danny Brown and long-toiling Long Island MC Roc Marciano.
"Smokers are less likely to be obese. And the declining use of cigarettes across the country — due to both tightening pocketbooks and new laws (thanks, Mayor Bloomberg) — accounts for a bigger increase in the obesity rate in the U.S. than any other factor, according to paper authors Charles L. Baum and Shin-Yi Chou, who have both written with some frequency on the economics of obesity."
"People who smoke within the first half hour of waking up are 79 percent more likely to have lung cancer than people who wait at least an hour after waking up to smoke, according to new research published in the journal Cancer. People who smoke first thing after waking up also have a 59 percent higher risk of head and neck cancers, compared to people who wait a bit before smoking, according to the research. And researchers also found that the chances of developing cancer based on the time of the day of the first smoke were independent of other smoking habits." —A study has found that if you [...]
Welcome to my nightmare: "Hundreds of bars, restaurants and stores across Minnesota are running out of beer and alcohol and others may soon run out of cigarettes — a subtle and largely unforeseen consequence of a state government shutdown. In the days leading up to the shutdown, thousands of outlets scrambled to renew their state-issued liquor purchasing cards. Many of them did not make it. Now, with no end in sight to the shutdown, they face a summer of fast-dwindling alcohol supplies and a bottom line that looks increasingly bleak…. Come Labor Day, cigarette smokers will be in the same bind." [Via]
“It’s interesting to keep in mind, if you smoke cigarettes, the lung cancer risk doesn’t go up for 30 years. And that’s a really powerful carcinogen. A lot of things don’t show up for several decades.” —Some doctor, in an article which is actually about how artificial sweeteners will kill you with the cancer, but I don't care about that right now. My takeaway is: thirty years! I can smoke for another four years and get away scot-free! Time to go celebrate with a cigarette. It's not going to hurt me any!
"Researchers report in the journal Tobacco Control that nicotine gum and nicotine patches designed to help smokers quit aren’t any more effective than going cold turkey when it comes to keeping smokers off cigarettes for longer than a few months," but they are very nice to have if you're going to be trapped on a plane for more than a few hours. In related news, a British government committee has suggested that "abstaining from alcohol at least twice a week would help people's health," which, whatever, I'm not a scientist so what do I know, but the fact is abstaining from alcohol even once a week results [...]
"Nicotine causes changes in gene regulation that enhance the brain's subsequent response to cocaine. The finding, in mice, provides the first clear evidence for a molecular mechanism supporting the idea of 'gateway drugs'…. In a study published today in Science Translational Medicine, the team shows that, in mice at least, nicotine causes epigenetic changes–long-lasting changes in the control of gene expression–that subsequently boost the response to cocaine."
"Wrapping cigarettes in plain packaging and banning the sale of colourful, branded packs could help to reduce tobacco consumption among smokers, especially young women who smoke, a study has found."
"Wealthy people and adults ages 25 to 44 aren't deterred by cigarette taxes, continuing to light up despite the climbing price of a pack, a new Canadian study finds."
Will recycled cigarette butts help repair our crumbling infrastructure? Sure, why the hell not.
If you want to quit smoking maybe you should try stabbing yourself with tiny needles.
Pretty soon you won't even be allowed to smoke on your fire escape. It's like the mayor wants you to quit or something.
Lately I have been thinking a lot about death. The triggering event, appropriately, involved cigarettes; the store in which I attempted to procure a new pack only had my brand in soft pack. I mean, yes, I could have gotten 100s, but I always feel like I am done smoking 100s before the cigarette itself is finished and then there's that awkward moment where you stand there self-consciously smoking a cigarette in which you are no longer interested and the cigarette itself feels bad because it's not its fault that they made it longer than the normal cigarette and what kind of cigarette wants to be smoked by someone [...]
Daily smoking is a risk factor "for repeat episodes of depression." OR MAYBE IT IS A WAY OF COPING WITH REPEAT EPISODES OF DEPRESSION! Did you ever think of that, study? Grrr.
"Loneliness is a profound factor for cancer and death; it's on par with cigarette smoking. Social engagement is very important." —Ohio State University scientist Dr Lei Cao discusses a new study which shows that hanging out with lots of different people "may keep people slimmer than spending hours on a treadmill." The study was conducted on mice, but whatever, I'm totally buying in. Who wants to meet for drinks tonight?
Photo by Creatista, via Shutterstock
“We’re not talking about the smell of Indian food. It’s carcinogens.” —New York City journalist "Jane" complains about the odor of cigarette smoke emanating from the apartment next door to her "1,000-square-foot one-bedroom condo in a posh Upper East Side doorman building."
