A New Year's Resolution To Quit

Have you resolved yourself to quit smoking to begin this new year?

Dr. Cheryl Healton of the American Legacy Foundation has some tips to help ensure that you can Become an EX, and the CDC can also help guide you in the right direction.

Battling The Brands

Why do you think it is that Big Tobacco has spent enormous amounts of money and fought so hard against the placement of graphic health warnings on cigarette packages? Here's a very informative video from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) that explains why.

Addict A Friend

Wanna give a good friend that constant nicotine itch? How does non-stop "reminders" over the next 48-hours sound? Try it out. It's just a taste of how tobacco addiction likes to roll.


Addict-A-Friend_:15 from Ben Dveirin on Vimeo.
Check out Venomicity - Addict a Friend, to learn more.

The Impact of Tobacco Cultivation

Like I've said many times before, nothing good EVER comes from a nicotine addiction.

Not only does using tobacco or smoking cigarettes hurt yourself and others around you, but there are many often underreported health consequences a nicotine addiction causes.


The impacts of tobacco cultivation from Sandy Campbell on Vimeo.

Thanks Big Tobacco

When we talk about Big Tobacco, or any other corporate entity, it extremely important to keep in mind that people, like you, your friends and neighbors, are the driving force behind any corporate veil. Those corporations cannot function without the help and support of people just like you and me.

So, I can't help but wonder why people will still continue to work for a corporation when it's a known fact that their products are killing us? I wonder how someone can face their friends and neighbors when they know that what they're doing is enabling their addiction, ruining their health, and hastening their deaths?

Think about it. If you work for the tobacco industry, have you ever considered that your job could be endangering your soul? Is your job really that important?


Source: Dewitt-Piatt Bi-County Health Department

Face The Facts

A parent's smoking, and their attitudes about smoking, are key influences in predicting whether their children and other young people will start and continue to smoke.


Kids do what you do from HSC on Vimeo and Face the Facts, New Zealand.

Born Free From Nicotine

You know me. I throw this shit in your face when I see you, cause I got something to say.

If you were born free from nicotine, why become a slave to it and enrich the corporate powers that want you to become addicted? Yes, you do want to live for tomorrow.

Enjoy a long and healthy life without cigarettes. Spit that shit out and remain free to be the beautiful, creative, independent, and happy young person that you were meant to be.


ALLY KAT. from Zoe Munlyn on Vimeo.

Kill The Addiction Monster

The nicotine addiction monster is on the loose, does it own you? Don't be his host until you're toast. Make an effort to quit smoking today.


Source: Venomocity.com

Nicotine Dependence

Is a nicotine addiction an acceptable excuse for not to trying to quit? Watch Amber's story.


Nicotine Dependence from Amber Bigwood on Vimeo.

Get On The Right Track

If you've finally decided to attempt to quit smoking, then you're going to need the support of others dedicated to keeping you on the right track. Quitting smoking is never easy. Don't try to go it alone, contact your local quitline at 1-800-QUIT NOW or 1-800-784-8669.


King Jacks || Right Place Wrong Time No Reason from Kristof Deak on Vimeo.

We All Pay The Price

If you're a parent who smokes, how likely is it that your children will be affected? There's more than just you paying the price for your nicotine addiction.


Source: We All Pay The Price

Warning Labels Serve A Purpose

If you dismiss the Surgeon General's warning about cigarette smoking, don't be so surprised later down the road when you finally experience the consequences of your addiction.

Persuasive Communication

What's my motivation? The psychology found behind convincing smokers to quit smoking.

Are You Following The Herd?

Is someone trying to convince you to smoke? The most successful people in this world are the ones who look before they leap, have the ability to think for themselves, and don't always follow the herd.


Source: The No Smoking Day Charity

Secondhand Smoke Kills

Secondhand smoke will turn even the most peaceful person into a raging monster if you choose to inconsiderately blow smoke into his/her face. Be careful where you light up.

Image Source: Picture is Unrelated

A Message From Big Tobacco

Five of the largest tobacco companies joined together in August to protect their corporate right to freedom of speech in a lawsuit to block the FDA from requiring graphic warning labels on cigarettes that show the health consequences of smoking. Just recently, Federal District Court Judge Richard Leon gave them their wish, deciding that such warnings infringe on the First Amendment rights of tobacco companies.

Of course, tobacco companies are well aware that studies have shown that graphic warning labels are far more effective than the text warning labels that have been on cigarette packages for the past 25 years. Indeed, a picture is worth a thousand words, and tobacco companies don’t want the public to get the picture.


Big Tobacco's Victory Press Conference from Zina Saunders on Vimeo.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm sure that the only thing you're smoking on Thanksgiving is the turkey.

But if not, a holiday is the worst time to consider quitting smoking cold turkey. As a matter of fact, quitting cold turkey isn't ever advisable. On the other hand though, watching Cold Turkey on this Thanksgiving holiday is almost always advisable. Enjoy!


The full film can be viewed online at YouTube.

Ask Your Pharmacist

Where do people go when they have an immediate healthcare question or concern?

To the local pharmacy of course. A pharmacist is the most readily and easily-accessible healthcare provider. A pharmacist is available to everyone, can be visited anytime without an appointment, and without any costs for consultation. Pharmacists can do more than just fill prescription medications. Pharmacists have the education and training necessary to provide many other medical and educational healthcare services, including smoking cessation skills.

Pharmacists can give you all of the information you'll need to become a successful quitter, provide any non-prescription medications you may need, follow-up with you to provide encouragement and support, and point you in the right direction for even more help to quit. Not many people are aware of this, but just a brief intervention by a pharmacist has been shown to increase attempts to quit smoking by 30%. They can make a difference.

So, if your pharmacist hasn't discussed your smoking status with you just yet, why pass up an opportunity to talk with this valuable professional resource for help in quiting smoking? Stop by your local pharmacy and initiate a conversation yourself.

You just may be glad you did.

The Beauty Of Youth

When the rest of the world is spending gazillions of dollars each day on products designed to make them look younger, why would you want to throw away the valuable beauty of your own youth so quickly by smoking? It's the one thing everyone wants. Keep it as long as you can.

Smoking speeds up the normal aging process of your skin, contributing to wrinkles. These skin changes may occur after only 10 years of smoking. The more cigarettes you smoke and the longer you smoke, the more skin wrinkling you're likely to have — even though the early skin damage from smoking may be hard for you to see.

The nicotine in cigarettes causes narrowing of the blood vessels in the outermost layers of your skin. This impairs blood flow to your skin. With less blood flow, your skin doesn't get as much oxygen and important nutrients, such as vitamin A. Many of the more than 4,000 chemicals found in tobacco smoke also damage collagen and elastin, which are fibers that give your skin its strength and elasticity.

As a result, your skin begins to sag and wrinkle prematurely because of smoking, making you look much older than your actual age, and much less desirable. Who wants that?


Anti-Smoking Advert-QUIT from Sophie Anderson on Vimeo.
Medical information via Lowell Dale, MD at MayoClinic.com

The Great American Smokeout

Americans from across the country have made plans to quit smoking as part of the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout today. My congratulations and best wishes to everyone who decided to take that first step towards your goal of becoming nicotine free.

If you can quit for just one day, you can better imagine quitting forever. But, don't just take my word for it. See what President Obama, a former smoker himself, has to say about the Importance of the Great American Smokeout.


Source: The White House Blog

Smoking Kills

People still don't get, so let me reiterate. SMOKING KILLS!

When someone offers you a cigarette, it's not because they have your best interests at heart. They're doing it in order to satisfy their own sinister agenda.

Don't allow them, or a nicotine addiction, to choke the life out of you. Capiche?

[Link remove by source]

Catherine's Story

Just how addictive is nicotine? Ask Catherine.


Source: Truth and the American Legacy Foundation

Helping Veterans Quit Smoking

Win the war against the ravages of nicotine addiction. Healthcare experts at your local Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) are reaching out to help veterans quit smoking.

On Veterans Day, consider becoming a part of this month's Great American Smokeout. On November 17th, make it a plan to quit smoking just for that one day, and visit your local VAMC for all the support and services you've earned through proudly serving your country.

Filtered | A Short Film

Following up from my July post, Tony Lee has completed his short film task, and released Filtered, which follows Randy, an uninvolved recent divorcée, as he journeys on a quest for a cigarette after his landlord has given him the ultimatum: Mow the lawn or be evicted.

In this short film, Randy will meet a variety of characters along the way who throw their own, unique, wrench into Randy's long road to getting a smoke, inadvertently convincing him that smoking isn't worth the expense.


Filtered from Tony Lee on Vimeo.

The Smoking Gun

As Inspector Callahan might say, I know what you're thinking. "Is it time for me to quit smoking? That gun can't be fully loaded and not everyone dies. Maybe I can beat the odds."

Well, to tell you the truth, in all of the clouded smoking statistics being reported, I kind of lost track myself. But being as smoking is one of the most lethal weapons known to mankind, and would shorten your life considerably, you've got to ask yourself just one question:

Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?


"Gun" from Dennis Farris on Vimeo.

Get The Led Out For This Year's GASO

As you've probably heard by now, cigarettes contain all types of chemicals, carcinogens, radioactive materials, and even heavy metals. So, for this year's Great American Smokeout (GASO), I'm asking that you incorporate one more heavy metal into your routine - Led.



Many smokers don't know this, but Led Zeppelin's "I Can't Quit You Baby" was rumored to be sung as a treatment for a nicotine addiction.

That's right, smokers love their cigarettes, and many of them can't quit their addiction cold turkey, even when they know that smoking will mess up a happy home, and possibly make you mistreat your only child with second hand smoke.

Now, I realize that stopping cold turkey could leave you moaning and groaning, so I'm also asking you to put your cigarette down, like Robert Plant sings, just for a while (one day).

Why? Because most successes in life don't occur in just one single instance.

Success in anything takes a series of what I call "baby steps" to accomplish. For example, it takes baby steps to attain a college degree, it takes baby steps to master a trade, it takes baby steps to become a winning athlete, and so it often takes baby steps to finally give up smoking. With each step achieved, your goal becomes a little easier.

The first "baby step" towards quitting smoking altogether is to prepare yourself mentally, and choose a date when you'll begin. Take that first step and choose to "start" to quit smoking on November 17th, during the GASO. Call your local quitline for free guidance and support.

Trust me. Little by little, your chance for complete success improves by leaps and bounds.

The Smoke Eater

Those crazy Canadians. They're always one step ahead of the U.S. in the hard-fought battle against nicotine addiction. Leave it up to them to convince people to quit smoking by creating innovative ways of getting smokers to think outside of the box.

Well, or perhaps in this one instance, of thinking "inside the box".


Source: Quitters Unite

How Low Will They Go?

Hey, how can I afford to live in my gated community if you don't smoke? Who's going to pay for my new Mercedes this year? My kids need to go to the best private schools like the other Big Tobacco executive's kids, don't they? And what about my vacation in Aruba?

I'll have you know that it takes a lot money to keep up appearances. It's nothing personal little people, but something or someone has to be sacrificed in order to pay for my lifestyle, and it's not going to be my bank account or my children.


Anti Smoking PSA from Chemical Effects on Vimeo.

November Is COPD Awareness Month

Did you know that COPD is the third leading cause of death in the U.S.? Did you also know that 12 million Americans have been diagnosed with COPD, while an estimated 12 million more have it, but have not been diagnosed? If you don’t, that’s part of the problem!

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis – can be prevented and is treatable, but only if people know about it. Smoking is the leading cause of COPD, and many long-term smokers aren't aware they have it.

So, it's no coincidence that November is both Lung Cancer Awareness Month and COPD Awareness Month. Lung cancer and COPD are two of the leading causes of death in America – and also among the most preventable and under-appreciated.

This November, the American Lung Association is shining a spotlight on these two deadly diseases, and what’s being done to reduce their burden on American lives and that of their loved ones. They've created two new pages on their website that are now dedicated to raising awareness about COPD and lung cancer year round.

Visit the American Lung Association COPD Awareness website to see if you're at risk.

What Is A Quitline?

A quitline is a FREE tobacco cessation service available through a toll-free telephone number, and is staffed by counselors trained specifically to help smokers quit.

Telephone quitlines deliver information, advice, support, and referrals to tobacco users — regardless of their geographic location, race/ethnicity, or economic status — in all U.S. states. Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW and you will automatically be transferred to the free quitline servicing the area in which you live.

This program was developed in collaboration with and is sponsored by the states and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 1-800-QUIT-NOW provides free cessation assistance and resource information to all U.S. tobacco users.

It's difficult trying to quit smoking alone. Why not use the free resources available to you, and enlist the support of others who want to help you succeed? Good luck!


Source: SmokeFree.gov

A Scary Halloween Scenario

You being tricked into smoking is the tobacco industry's greatest treat.

Are You Up To The Challenge?

Notice how this smoker never lets go of that cigarette, no matter the extent of the toll being taken on his body. Nobody deserves such a vicious beating.

So, you know what I say? Drop that cigarette and defend yourself!


Source: SmokeFree

The Cain Report

You know something dear anti-smoking advocates? I couldn't make this stuff up.

I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it myself. See what Stephen Colbert has to say about one of our Republican presidential contenders bizarrely using cigarette smoking in a campaign ad.


Hat tip to Smoke Free Life.

Leroy's Story

Leroy works along side of the Canadian Cancer Society, in it's Manitoba division. Here he shares his experiences with the consequences of smoking with students of all ages.


CCS Promo from Quinn Merkeley on Vimeo.

SOS Project Prevent

Big Tobacco is not your friend. To stop smoking in its tracks - stand up to Big Tobacco - it all starts with you. It’s the power of one plus one that adds up to a lot more... you’re going to see the proof and BE the proof on November 11th.

Pledge to participate online at SOSProjectPrevent.com.


Source: SOS: Stamp Out Smoking

Wouldn't It Be Easier To Quit?

What's it going to take to get you to realize that it's time to quit smoking?


Source: Clear Way Minnesota

The Riddler (Frank Gorshin)

Riddle: There are three men in a boat with a pack of cigarettes and no matches. How did they manage to smoke?

The Riddler, portrayed by Frank Gorshin, was one of my favorite characters from the 1960's television show, Batman, which I watched regularly as a kid.

Unlike Batman's other enemies, The Riddler was a cerebral criminal. He was obsessed with riddles and word games, and commits his crimes in order to try to flaunt his intellectual superiority over Batman.

The Riddler's criminal modus operandi is so deeply ingrained into his personality that he is virtually powerless to stop himself from acting it out. He cannot simply kill his opponents when he has the upper hand; he has to put them in a deathtrap to see if he can devise a life and death intellectual challenge that the hero cannot possibly solve and escape. Only the Caped Crusader and his Boy Wonder were able to solve his riddles.

There were other actors who portrayed The Riddler after Frank Gorshin, but in my opinion he perfected the role, being nominated for an Emmy for his performance. But Frank wasn't only an excellent and prolific actor, he was also an accomplished singer, dancer, and one of my favorite impressionists, appearing on The Dean Martin Show, The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and numerous Las Vegas performances.

Unfortunately, there was one riddle that no one could ever answer. Why wouldn't Frank quit smoking? Frank was a chain-smoker for many years, unable to kick his nicotine addiction even after it led him to contracting emphysema in his late years, and eventually lung cancer. Frank was luckier than most cigarette chain-smokers though, reaching an age of seventy-two before finally succumbing to his condition, and leaving the world a little less entertaining.

Don't fall victim to The Riddler's own deathtrap. Make a serious effort to save your life before it's too late, and stop smoking today. 1-800-QUITNOW (1-800-784-8669/TTY 1-800-332-8615)

Answer: They threw one cigarette overboard and the boat became a cigarette lighter.

Image Source: Batman Wiki: The Riddler

We Did Everything We Could

Did you do everything you could to prevent this scene from recurring?


Source: We All Pay The Price

It's Your Money, Don't Burn It

Make them sweet. Make them cheap. Make them pretty. Make them move off the shelves.

It’s no secret that tobacco companies spend more money on advertising in areas with larger African American populations. They spend millions a year in advertising with hip hop and celebrities. They’ve been doing it for more than 30 years.

They also know that, if they can get you hooked with stuff that looks and tastes like candy, there’s a good chance they’ll have customers for life. Don't get played.

Learn the facts at - Don't Burn It and Oppose Underhanded Tobacco Tactics.


Don't Burn It TV Spot from HealthyBoston on Vimeo.

Has Your Kid Kicked The Habit?

The can't quit smoking until you do.

What Would You Do?

If you knew what smoking quickly did to you on the outside, as what is does to you on the inside of your body, what would you do? Think about it.


Anti Smoke with Jeff from Jeff L. on Vimeo.

Medical Marijuana And Big Tobacco

According to a report by Anthony York, Los Angeles Times -

"The state's largest doctor group is calling for legalization of marijuana, even as it pronounces cannabis to be of questionable medical value.

Trustees of the California Medical Assn., which represents more than 35,000 physicians statewide, adopted the position at their annual meeting in Anaheim late Friday. It is the first major medical association in the nation to urge legalization of the drug, according to a group spokeswoman, who said the larger membership was notified Saturday."

And before anyone could even say "Holy Smokes!", the rumor mill has it that Big Tobacco has already capitalized on this news and is prepared for the opportunity to be THE leader in this lucrative field, should medical marijuana sales become legalized federally. But, don't just take my word for it, see their purported advertisement for yourself -

Image Source: worldtraveler666 at Worth1000.com

My Sixth Sense About Smoking

People often ask me why I continue to devote so much of my time and energy operating this anti-smoking blog? They figure that people are already fully aware of the consequences and dangers of a nicotine addiction, so there's really nothing that I can do to keep them from making foolish choices. But, I disagree.

What people don't understand about me, is that I have a sixth sense about these things, and I see things that they refuse to see. I've been able to see these things ever since I was a young boy, watching my parents smoke themselves to death. It scares the crap out of me.

So, maybe if I share what I see, some people will come to believe what I have to say.

[Turn Up The Volume]


I See Dead Smokers from Studio Sixty on Vimeo.

Dear Prudence: I'm Dating a Chimney!

Should a non-smoker become involved with a smoker? I think you know my opinion, but here's some good advice on manners and morals from someone considered less blunt.

Source: Slate | Dear Prudence

How Addictive Is Nicotine?

It's truly amazing what a smoker will do in order to get that next fix.


Smoking is Addictive from Tuna Erlat on Vimeo.

Thank You For Not Sucking

Hey, I'm all for whatever works for you in communicating your position on smoking.


Thank You For Not Sucking from Meg Williams on Vimeo
Courtesy of Tobacco Free Amarillo and the New Mexico Department of Health

Don't Be Fooled By A Pretty Face

Being pretty doesn't always mean being smarter.

Choose your friends wisely. It's always in your own best interests to take some time, and think about the consequences of your actions, before you make any life-altering decision.


TOBACCO (2011) from Itaru Kinoshita on Vimeo.

Smoking Is A Drug Addiction

But, don't just take my word for it. Meet your local drug dealer.

Smoking Kills

It's not always about you. If you're going to be a militant smoker, be considerate and give a little thought to what you're doing before you do it.


Don't Smoke! from Cuyle Carvin on Vimeo.

Smoke Break

Take a break from smoking. Because if you don't give it up, neither will she.


Smoke Break from Andrew Lee on Vimeo.

Cigarettes Are Radioactive

According to an ABC News report, scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles, reviewed 27 previously unanalyzed tobacco company documents and found that tobacco companies knew that cigarettes contained radioactive Polonium-210 as early as 1959, and did nothing about it.

Dr. John Spangler, a professor of family medicine at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, said when smokers inhale, the radioactive particles damage the tissue on the surface of the lungs, creating "hot spots" of damage. When combined with other cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco, Spangler said the damage from radiation is potent.

More importantly, according to the same report, Polonium's radioactive particles also don't simply vanish when cigarette smoke blows away. Spangler said smokers may not realize how long this radiation can linger in their homes. "Some of these radiation particles hang around for decades and decades," Spangler said. "You're emitting radiation when you smoke, and your family, your dog, your cat are all inhaling that radiation. How many smokers want to expose their child to radiation?"

According to another anti-smoking advocate, Megan Yarbrough -

However, today’s headlines actually drill home a far more important point — our society has a very short memory. Nearly the exact same story hit the stands in 2008 after the publication of a study by Mayo Clinic and Stanford University.

And - I'd like to add my opinion to the mix in stating that perhaps other people knew about the radioactivity of cigarettes even before 2008, and as far back as the 1980s. But no one was listening back then either. Like Megan says, we tend to have short memories.

What do I mean?

I could be wrong, but I'd like to think that perhaps the rock group, The Firm, knew that they were being poisoned from all of the secondhand smoke they inhaled while playing at their various gigs, and tried to warn others about the dangers.

But, don't just take my word for it. Here's video of them explaining their unfortunate medical condition to fans at one of their concerts -

Whatever Happened To The Malboro Men?

Three men who appeared in Marlboro advertisements - Wayne McLaren, David McLean and Dick Hammer - died of lung cancer, thus earning Marlboro cigarettes, specifically Marlboro Reds, the nickname "Cowboy killers".


The Marlboro Men from Julio Montas on Vimeo.

There's A Better Life

According to the St. Albert Gazette, a Health Canada survey that was conducted in 2010 and released in mid-September shows that 17 per cent of Alberta teens aged 15 to 17 smoked. That’s up five per cent from the previous year, when 12 per cent of Albertan teens said they smoked cigarettes.

The Canadian Tobacco Use survey also showed Albertan youths bucked the national trend, where only 12 per cent of teens 15 to 17 years old admitted to being smokers.

When these teens were asked why there was an increase in teen smoking, they could only rationalize their reasons. But, if you ask me, it's because of peer pressure and because they chose to hang around other smokers.

Well young ladies, take it from someone who's been around the block and experienced the negative consequences of smoking firsthand. There is something you CAN do about it. Trust me, you just need to get out of that place! You'll lead a better life if you change your friends and start hanging around non-smokers. You only have to try.

But, don't just take my word for it, listen to these animal's opinions about smoking.



Chas Chandler, a founding member and bass player for The Animals, and long-term smoker, didn't get out of that place. He died at the age of 57 from a ruptured aortic aneurysm.

No Good Comes From A Bad Habit

It's not only the tobacco industry eying you with bad intentions and trying to get you to smoke. What does it take for you to learn that no good ever comes from smoking?


Smoking is Bad for your Valuables. from Patrick Burke on Vimeo.

Steve's Message

Think twice before lighting up that cigarette. Surviving cancer is a battle that never ends for certain people. Steve Brayman, a larynx cancer survivor, is one of them. Here's his story.

Addiction, Inc.

Coming soon to a theater near you, the feature documentary ADDICTION INCORPORATED, tells the true story of Victor DeNoble, THE FIRST Big Tobacco whistleblower.

While working as a research scientist at Philip Morris USA tobacco corporation in the early 1980s, DeNoble, a behavioral pharmacologist, discovered an addictive component in smoke. Years later, DeNoble's sensational testimony before Congress contributed greatly to how tobacco products are sold and marketed - and regulated.

Straight Talk on Smoking

If you don't care about your own health and the health of your loved ones, then at least take your fag outside, mate. Otherwise we'll get Grandma on your ass.


Straight Talking - Smoke Free Film from Gino Evans on Vimeo.

Effective Anti-smoking Counseling

The militant nicotine addict could care less how his/her cigarette smoke affects themselves or others around them, and will resist all psychological efforts to quit. However, there is one very effective, real knockout technique has been shown to help even the most militant smoker realize the harm that comes from smoking.


No Smoking Commercial from Nate Adams on Vimeo.

Behind The Smoke

Big Tobacco manipulation, then and now.


Source: Stanford Tobacco TV

Perception Isn't Always Reality

Tobacco companies show you images of what life would be like if you smoked. They tell you tough, hard-working people smoke their cigarettes. That you'll look cool, hip, rebellious. That smoking makes you independent, beautiful and mysterious.

But, truth be told, it's all smoke and mirrors. Perception isn't always reality.


Source: Tobacco Free Florida

Simply Irresistible

One would think that Robert Palmer is singing about a beautiful woman that he's fell in love with, but word in the street is that he was singing about his love of cigarettes.

Robert Palmer, a chain-smoker, died of a heart attack at only fifty-four years of age.

What's Worse?

What's worse than being told that years of cigarette smoking has led to lung cancer?


What's worse TVC from DASSA on Vimeo.

Smoking - It's Not Cool Anywhere

I love this chick. Sometimes, this is the only way to get your point across.


No Smoking-Public Service Message from Fahad Mansoor on Vimeo.

The Smoking Existentialist

Quit smoking. It'll only make you unhappy.


La Temp Entre Chien Et Loup from Anthony Tocchio on Vimeo.

Defense Mechanisms Of The Nicotine Addict

There are various psychological strategies used by nicotine addicts to cope with reality and to maintain their self-image intact. One of them is displacement - the separation of emotion from its real object and redirection of the intense emotion toward someone or something else in order to avoid dealing directly with what is frightening or threatening.

A healthy person will use many different defense mechanisms throughout life. They only become pathological when used persistently and lead to maladaptive behavior that will eventually threaten the physical and/or mental health of the individual.


Source: Project: Rant!

Oxygen Fuels A Fire

You didn't quit smoking cigarettes in time to prevent COPD and now you're required to be on a constant oxygen supplementation. But, better be careful if you continue to smoke.

If you want to prevent an even more horrible death than your pending suffocation, don't smoke while you're wearing an oxygen nasal cannula or you may become a crispy critter.


Quit Now! PSA from Laura Wright on Vimeo.

Dear Me - Ken's Story

"Dear Me: No one can make me quit smoking but me..."


Source: Communities Putting Prevention to Work

Smoking Is Sophisticated

Are you sure you don't want to give up that cigarette now?

Source: Poorly Dressed

Are You Carrying A Concealed Weapon?

Instead of worrying about someone else who may be carrying a hidden sidearm, you should be more concerned with that "pack" of lethal weapons you're stashing in your own pocket.

Source: Ads of the World and CanStop.org

Smoking Is Not Funny

William Melvin "Bill" Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, musician - and long-term smoker.



Hick's nicotine addiction, love of smoking, and occasional attempts to quit became a recurring theme in his act throughout his later years. A chain-smoker, Hick's died of pancreatic cancer in 1994 at the young age of 32. It was a tragic loss of a great entertainer.

Cigarette smoking is one of the biggest risk factors for developing pancreatic cancer.

Terry's Story

Your actions speak louder than words, and make an impact on those around you. Whether you think so or not, and either for good or for bad, you lead your children by example.

If you want you to leave a legacy that you're proud of, please don't smoke in front of your children or other young and impressionable loved ones. Set a good example and quit smoking.


Terry's Story from preventionspeaks on Vimeo and Prevention Speaks

Tobacco Marketing Strategy

According to Counterbalance, the tobacco industry spends an average of $37 MILLION PER DAY to promote their products. Tobacco ads in gas stations and convenience stores are sometimes posted at four feet tall, eye level for a 10-year-old child, and tobacco products are still promoted near schools, playgrounds, and parks.

Take action. It's time to take tobacco ads out of places they don't belong.


ydoyouthink? Tobacco Marketing from Motiv Films on Vimeo and ydoyouthink.com

Don't Go Off The Deep End | Get Some Help

Before you go overboard with your nicotine addiction, why not get some help from others who've been in the same boat as you? Deep-six your cigarettes before it's too late.

Why Are Children So Facinated With Smoking?

Because smoking has been normalized by the motion picture industry.


Source: CreateMedia and Smoke Free Movies

Smoking - It'll Put You Down Under

Are you into L&M S&M? If you aren't, then why do you continue to hurt yourself by smoking?

Smokies - It's What's For Breakfast

According to Shot's: NPR's Health Blog -

In two studies published today online in the journal Cancer, Joshua Muscat and colleagues found that smokers who have their first cigarette 30 to 60 minutes after waking up have a small increase in their chances of getting cancer than people who wait longer.

Nicotine Is Not Your Friend

Nicotine addiction: it's a love/hate relationship. And also an extremely dysfunctional one.


Cold Cold Night from Irvin Duguid on Vimeo.

Nicotine Is More Addictive Than Heroin

Addiction to nicotine is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and abuse, even in the face of negative health consequences. Cigarette smoking produces a rapid distribution of nicotine to the brain, with drug levels peaking within 10 seconds of inhalation.

However, the acute chemical effects of nicotine dissipate quickly, as do the associated feelings of reward, which causes the smoker to continue dosing (inhaling) to maintain the drug’s pleasurable effects and prevent withdrawal. And it's precisely because of it's short duration of action that nicotine is considered more addictive (or at least as addictive) than heroin.

Source: Tobacco Labelling Resource Center

Is Your Child A Replacement?

Other than leading by example, constant vigilance and honest communication with your children is the best way to keep Big Tobacco from making your child a replacement smoker.


Source: Tobacco Free NYS - Hat Tip: The Smoke Screen

Do You Love Swimming?

Keep smoking cigarettes and you'll only be able to enjoy swimming, jet-skiing, surfing, or any other water sports for just a short while.


Source: TheTruth.com

Ghetto Science

You've all heard how smoking can damage your lungs. But, some people won't believe what science is telling them and need to have demonstrable proof. If you're one of those people, then why not conduct your own ghetto science experiment and see for yourself?

Another Victim Of Apathy

Anyone else wondering what sorry-ass person is selling this dumb kid cigarettes and why his parents aren't intervening on his behalf? Another victim of apathy in America.

A day in the life of another youth doomed to nicotine addiction.

[Link removed by source]

Women And Smoking

Seven Deadly Myths, produced in 2000 and hosted by former cover model, entrepreneur and smoking cessation advocate Christy Turlington, is a 17-minute video that explores some of the common myths about smoking and empowers women to become or to stay smoke-free.


Women and Tobacco: Seven Deadly Myths from WRG on Vimeo.

Is All Smoking Bad?

People ask me all of the time, do I hate all kinds of smoking? And just like the last time, I'll have to say no, there are some types of smokin that I love.

There Is No Cure For COPD

Unfortunately, once you've gotten COPD from smoking, you have it for the rest of your shortened life. There is no cure. So, if you don't care enough about yourself and make an effort to quit smoking before it's too late, why would you expect others to show compassion for your predicament?


NHS emphysema - male patient from Timothy Martens on Vimeo.

Lucky Strike

The cigarette made especially for bullying smokers.


Fumer Tue - Ho'Made by homade_films

Secondhand Smoke Kills

Stick up for yourself and fight back against secondhand smokers.

Filtered | A Short Film

I'm not sure when the fully featured film will be available to the public, but this looks like a movie that would appeal to me. Filtered follows Randy, an uninvolved recent divorcée, as he journeys on a quest for a cigarette after his landlord has given him the ultimatum: Mow the lawn or be evicted.

Tony, being a hardcore non-smoker, wanted something challenging to create, and getting into the mind of a smoker seemed like a deem-able task. During the course of writing the short, it became apparent that there was a strong underlining message in it. That message being - if we aren't careful, our addictions can take over and control even the simplest aspects of life.


Filtered | Short Film - Teaser #1 from Tony Lee on Vimeo.

Smoking Kills

I think I just caught a video glimpse of anti-smoking advocate, Ciggy Butzz, "educating" a militant nicotine addict about his fate if he continues smoking. Notice how the smoker doesn't drop the cigarette even after being "counseled".


Smoking Kills from MOVIE&ART on Vimeo.
Related Link: NCIDC Tobacco Prevention

Smoking - It's Just Not Worth The Effort

You already know there's nothing good that comes from smoking. Most smokers suffer considerable health complications from their addiction, and every year, the price goes up.

And now with all of the known health consequences of secondhand and thirdhand smoke, non-smokers are beginning to hate smokers to the point where smokers feel like they need to be protected at all times.

Is smoking really worth this much effort and complication in your life?

Do yourself a BIG favor and take the steps necessary to quit smoking. As almost EVERY former smoker can attest to, you'll feel great and wonder why you didn't quit sooner.

So, why not put out that smoke and shed your armor to-knight?

Source: Very Demotivational Posters

Fighting For Smoke-Free Air

Casino employees are exposed to toxic, tobacco filled air on a daily basis. Unlike most people who are protected in their working environment, casino workers are left behind. They're not included under the protection of government mandates that should exist for all employees.

Here are some personal stories from some of those casino workers about how that secondhand smoke is negatively affecting their health.


Fighting For Air: Secondhand Smoke in Casinos from RPCI Health Behavior-Paul Hage on Vimeo.

Smokers Are Nuts!

These guys at CheezBurger never let me down.

Source: Very Demotivational Posters

Truth in Advertising Fail

Source: FAILBlog.org

Still Waiting For A Smoke-Free Workplace?

There's a lot to be said by saying nothing. Here's a shout-out to my non-smoking friends who are still getting smoked-out at work. Come election time, make sure to ask your legislators why they decided to make smoking a protected status in your state.


Source: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work

Smoking May Stunt Your Growth

They say that smoking may stunt your growth. Is that true? Perhaps, but who knows?

However, the story of the world's shortest man (formerly), Pingping, can attest to the fact that smoking will most-likely lead to a shorter life expectancy.

Just Do It! Stamp Out Cigarettes

Quitting smoking is like a sneaker commercial. Just do it! Stamp out cigarettes today.


Ask To You 2 from Kim dan bee on Vimeo.

Every Butt Hurts

From the city in which cigarettes got their names, comes a PSA about smoking litter.


Source: Every Butt Hurts

Smokers Look Sophisticated

Yes, I can see it now. Smokers do look sophisticated.

Source: Fail Blog: Ugliest Tattoos

Ashes to Ashes: A Short Documentary

Nicotine is a very addictive drug. If you don't believe me, just ask Tricia and Chris.


Ashes to Ashes from christopher iuliano on Vimeo.

Would You Date A Smoker?

Would you go out with a smoker? Can you imagine your future with a smoker?


Smoking Not Our Future - Social disapproval from HSC on Vimeo.

Just How Addicitve Is Nicotine?

I just finished reading an engrossing book entitled, From the Holocaust to Hogan's Heroes. It's the autobiography of Robert Clary, the popular actor who played the character, corporal LeBeau, on the 1960s - 1970s television show, Hogan's Heroes.

What I didn't know, and probably a lot of younger people who have seen him on reruns didn't know, was that Robert Clary spent about three years of his teenage life as a concentration camp prisoner during World War II. He was the sole survivor of his entire family who were deported to concentration camps from France, in 1942. Read the book, it's very compelling.

If you know anything about the concentration camps of World War II, you know that they were created to exploit and exterminate Jews, political prisoners, criminals, homosexuals, gypsies, the mentally ill and anyone else the Nazis hated.

If you were lucky enough not to be exterminated immediately upon arrival in camp, then you were expected to work everyday from dawn till dusk while being humiliated, abused, beaten, tortured, starved, and then murdered if you broke a rule or when you couldn't continue to perform your tasks (or even on a whim).

One of the interesting stories Mr. Clary told about being a concentration camp prisoner, that I'd like to share with my readers, was about some fellow prisoners who smoked. According to a paragraph in Chapter Nine, Page 80, in his autobiography -

"Among the inmates there were people who were so hooked on smoking that they would sell their piece of bread in exchange for a few cigarettes. Smoking was more vital to them than food. Like my father, I had never smoked and had never liked it. Therefore, I could not understand these people. I would think, "What are these idiots doing, exchanging their precious rationed bread for a smoke?" We had barely enough food. They were killing themselves."

So, now when someone asks you about the addictive powers of nicotine, you can tell them that it's so addictive that even starving concentration camp prisoners would abandon the one thing keeping them alive, just so they could smoke a cigarette and get their fix.

Don't Be A Smoking Dick

Don't be a inconsiderate smoking dick. If you want to spread your secondhand smoking waste, the etiquette ninjas may just have to shoot you down.


Etiquette Ninjas Ep. 4: "Dicks Who Smoke" from Jim Mahoney on Vimeo.

Celebrate Your Independence From Tobacco

To celebrate Independence Day this 4th of July, here are some inspirational stories from our British friends in Cheshire and Merseyside who've successfully quit or cut down their tobacco intake.

The video was commissioned by heart health charity Heart of Mersey for World No Tobacco Day 2011 to support other smokers and remind them of the positive benefits that quitting smoking can bring.

Celebrate your independence from nicotine this 4th of July by following the lead of our friends across the pond in believing that "Today I Can".


Today I can from Heart of Mersey on Vimeo.

Are You A Replacement Smoker?

I say we applaud the intelligent efforts of The SmokeScreen. They use an usual, but effective, approach to inform our youth about the tobacco industry and the consequences of smoking. According to their website -

The SmokeScreen provides an alternative approach to tobacco education by focusing on the wider issues surrounding tobacco through the use of social marketing materials. This enables young people to explore and clarify their attitudes towards smoking and empower them to make informed decisions about their health related behavior.

The network of people and organizations that assist the availability of tobacco is the overarching theme of The SmokeScreen. This smoking education resource focuses on the role of the tobacco industry, executives, producers, manufacturers and other key players, to show young people the sophisticated supply-chain which allows easy access to tobacco in order to recruit new young “replacement smokers”.

The SmokeScreen intervention also explores influences on smoking uptake, illicit tobacco, social and environmental impact on a global scale. This alternative content for tobacco education provides a more engaging method to communicate the wider societal issues associated with smoking with children and young people.

The SmokeScreen @ Leicester College from The SmokeScreen on Vimeo.

Smoking "Blows" Figuratively

I know that you're angry with the tobacco industry for fooling you into becoming a nicotine addict while you were young and impressionable.

I know that you're angry with them because smoking is wreaking havoc on your relationship, and that you're afraid for you and your family's health and welfare.

I know that you're angry with them because you've become addicted, and are now half panic-stricken because you feel like you just cannot quit smoking.

I know that you want to get back at the bastards for ruining your life, but smoking "blows" figuratively, not literally, my friends. You don't have to get all "explosive" and blow things out of proportion like this woman in order to even things up with the people profiting from your terrible addiction.

You can easily beat these demons by never starting smoking, or by quitting ASAP. Simply put, the tobacco industry will cease to exist without your money. That's the smart way to beat them.

And you don't have to go it alone. There are many people like yourself who will help you kick the habit, and with the added support of state-sponsored cessation programs - you can quit smoking.

Don't Waste Your Life Smoking

Nothing good comes from a nicotine addiction. Why not spend that time, energy, and money on other things that make your life more healthy, wealthy, and enjoyable?

Like these smart kids already know, these (conservative) statistics don't lie.


Source: Tobacco, It's A Waste

Who Really Controls The Tobacco Industry?

If you're anything like me, you might have asked yourself - "How in this world could one human being intentionally push addiction, sickness, and early death to another fellow human being without any feelings of shame, guilt or remorse?" Well, I think that I may have found the answer to my question.

It's only logical that you'd have to be from out of this world to do such genocidal things to each other. Of course, no human being could commit such horrors.



Related Link: Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone, tragically died at 50-years of age from cardiac complications brought on by years of chain-smoking cigarettes.

Is Big Tobacco Still Marketing To Kids?

Another former tobacco industry insider spills the beans, via Colorado's 9News.com.

Related Link: National African American Tobacco Prevention Network

The Best Graphic Health Warning Label

As we all should know by now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally unveiled the nine graphic health warnings required to appear on every pack of cigarettes sold in the United States and in every cigarette advertisement.

I've written about these graphic health warnings labels some time ago, and since it's been announced in every news source available, I didn't think it was worth mentioning again here.

However, I've recently gotten some bogus negative feedback about these labels from either an already addicted militant smoker, some wacko libertarian, or a tobacco company shill who has no problem selling sickness and death for some pocket change. I mean, what other type of mentally-stable person would be against these graphic health warnings?

This was worth mentioning. Why?

Because these same type of caring "human beings" will also try to convince the uninformed, the ignorant, the gullible, the foolish, and especially - the youth of America, that smoking cigarettes is all about that definingly American word - "choice".

But, it's never about choice. It's always about manipulation.

Multiple studies have shown that over 90% of current smokers became addicted to nicotine while they were in their preteen or early teen years, an age WAY BEFORE their brains and minds were fully developed and they were capable of rational decision-making. It's also an age before they were capable of making a legal decision.. or a so-called "choice" to smoke.

The other 10% started smoking while in their late teens or early 20s, an age where they could make "legal" choices, but were still foolish, gullible and susceptible to peer pressure.

Once these youth continued smoking, they became addicted to the added nicotine, which then limited their ability to make the "choice" to quit smoking after they became adults and fully aware of the consequences of long-term smoking.

So, while it's possible that the FDA's graphic health warning labels may not convince most adult nicotine addicts to quit smoking, they should help prevent smoking in many children, keeping them from ever becoming that manipulated puppet dancing on the end of strings controlled by the evil tobacco industry.

Smoking Causes Brain Damage

Researchers Debapriya Ghosh and Dr Anirban Basu from the Indian National Brain Research Center, have found that a compound in tobacco provokes white blood cells in the central nervous system to attack healthy cells, leading to severe neurological damage, which may cause the insatiable desire towards oral fixations often found in smokers.


Moment 85: Ava, Pornstar / Viagra project outtakes from Ministry of Culture on Vimeo.

Regret Won't Cure Cancer

Like I've shown here many times before, every smoker thinks this won't happen to them. But the chances are it will. So, listen to Ken Newman, a smoker for over 50 years, explaining why he wishes he had never lit a cigarette in his lifetime.


Anti-tobacco insert from Fathima Simjee on Vimeo.

Smoking Kills

Mmm, mmm.. there's nothing like "Old Braiswoods" smoked meat.


Smoking Kills from 3rdEyelander Productions on Vimeo.

You Have The Power To Say "NO"

It's easy to say "NO", my ex-wife did it all of the time. Do yourself a big favor and learn to incorporate this simple word when it comes to smoking, like the following youth.

These smart high school students in Western New York, use their unique method of saying "NO" to speak out against the tobacco industry this past World No Tobacco Day.



World No Tobacco Day 2011 from RPCI Health Behavior-Paul Hage on Vimeo.

Never Give Up Giving Up

Quitting is a process. For many, quitting tobacco may be the hardest thing they do in their lifetime. But never give up. Every time you quit smoking, you get a little better at it, until eventually, you accomplish your goal of being smoke free.

Nicotine and Weight Loss

There's a newly published study in the June, 2011 issue of Science, reporting that nicotine decreases food intake and body weight by influencing the hypothalamic melanocortin system and identifies critical molecular and synaptic mechanisms involved in nicotine-induced decreases in appetite -- in mice. Sounds really scientific, huh?

According to the authors -

Smoking decreases appetite, and smokers often report that they smoke to control their weight. Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the anorexic effects of smoking would facilitate the development of novel treatments to help with smoking cessation and to prevent or treat obesity.

Now I don't know about you, but when I read something being hyped in the media as "new and groundbreaking" by scientists who are seeking an "Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the anorexic effects of smoking would facilitate the development of novel treatments to help with smoking cessation and to prevent or treat obesity.", I see behind-the-scenes efforts likely directed at generating pharma profits, instead of any true concern for smokers' health.

I'm also not sure that I automatically accept the authors' premise that nicotine is fully the cause for weight loss in smokers. According to an article published in The Independent -

British and American tobacco companies deliberately added powerful appetite-suppressing chemicals to cigarettes to attract people worried about their weight, according to internal industry documents dating from 1949 to 1999.

The presence of appetite-suppressing chemicals could help explain why smokers who quit often gain weight, according to Swiss researchers in the European Journal of Public Health. They call for stricter rules on tobacco additives amid suggestions that sensitive documents are being removed from databases by the industry to avoid disclosure.

So, like most people sick of the hypocrisy surrounding smoking, I can't help but wonder why scientists aren't directing their efforts towards removing the cause of the problem, instead of devising ways to treat the symptoms. Wouldn't that seem more scientific?

Southern Smokers

Southern smokers - defending their tobacco heritage since 1865.

Source: Very Demotivational Posters

Marketing Cigarettes To Kids Overseas

We're not marketing smoking to kids, we're only "mildly" marketing it to adult skateboarders.

All I Need Is The Air That I Breath

It's almost always, not until later in life, that some smokers realize the damage that smoking cigarettes has taken on their health, and decide to quit. But by then, the irreversible damage has already been done.

It's not that smokers aren't aware of the risks, they just think it won't happen to them. Just ask lead singer and founding member of The Hollies, Allan Clarke. If only he wouldn't have passed on his own needs early in his career, and quit smoking back then.