Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id OAA04795 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Mon, 29 Oct 2001 14:10:56 GMT Subject: Re: "Smoking" Memes Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001 09:04:39 -0500 x-sender: wsmith1@camail2.harvard.edu x-mailer: Claris Emailer 2.0v3, Claritas Est Veritas From: "Wade T.Smith" <wade_smith@harvard.edu> To: "memetics list" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Message-ID: <20011029140438.AAA27650@camailp.harvard.edu@[128.103.125.215]> Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
On 10/29/01 04:25, Pascal Jouxtel said this-
>I should also say that NS bearers need to have a few S addicts around to
>remind them how wonderful their own life is.
Life is what it is. Death from lung cancer (which is what happened to the
S's around me), is not wonderful, and I didn't need any reminders.
But, I grew up in the america that smoked, and smoked happily and
exploratorily until I was 35, at which point, upon consideration that if
one quits by that age, there is a preponderance of statistical evidence
that one will not succumb to the ravages of a lifetime under the cloud.
(Perhaps parenthetically, I had quit all recreational drug use many years
previously, at the age of 21, after addiction-like tendencies for opium
became recognized, and my first college flunked-out of....)
Also, perhaps parenthetically, I had observed my father quit smoking,
under doctor's advice, and I had no problem smoking my last cigarette
(the last one in the last pack in the last carton) at a quarter to
midnight before my birthday.
Yup, I gained close to 35 pounds within a few months, which I'm still
fighting, so that ain't just stories.
As to what kept me smoking all those years- I still have some pangs of
loss remembering the feel of the full pack in my hand, and lips that
recall the taut cylinder, but, yes, it's mostly tactile things. I have
lost all ability to endure for more than a few moments smoke-filled rooms
or the near presence of a smoker's clothing, and I lobby with what I
think is a gentleness against smoking when those that smoke ask me about
it. But, I also consider the current litigation against the tobacco
companies to be a miscarriage of justice, since I personally did not feel
addicted to tobacco and had no trouble quitting, when I decided to quit,
and do not feel that reparations are required from a manufacturer for
one's self-administration of dangerous materials. Perhaps some collective
monies should be garnered for education and research, but, these are not
victims. But, that's another issue entirely.
- Wade
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