These were the words I heard every day of my high school career at the end of our morning announcements from our vice principle, Mr. Maci. At the time, I barely paid notice, due to the fact that I didn't smoke, none of my friends could smoke, and I was too young to legally buy cigarettes (until halfway through my senior year). I started smoking after my boyfriend, Johnny, broke up with me. Johnny was a smoker. He smoked Marlboro Menthols. I cannot tell you the exact reason I started smoking; perhaps the stress of newly being single, perhaps cigarettes reminded me of Johnny (since he was ALWAYS smoking), or maybe so much exposure to second hand smoke just made the switch-over to first hand smoking virtually seamless. I started smoking the same cigarettes that Johnny had, only to soon switch over to Marlboro Lights, and the love affair began.
I started smoking at age nineteen, and for a year I continued to smoke. I worked at a restaurant as a server, which did not make my attempts to quit (which started immediately after I starting smoking) any easier. Everyone, I mean EVERYONE, who works at a restaurant smokes. All I can say is that dealing with the general public at that level is no easy task.
After a year of smoking I finally bit the bullet and quit. I felt healthier and happier without cigarettes. The smell of cigarettes -something I once cherished- now made me grimace in disgust. But when I came home from college after my junior year and started to constantly hang out with a new boyfriend, Steve, an avid smoker. I fell to temptation and started smoking again.
I give you my background of smoking cigarettes to demonstrate how and why I started smoking because as of today, Tuesday September 22, the FDA has placed a ban on flavored cigarettes. I personally have never smoked flavored cigarettes, but I have smoked clove cigarettes on occasion, which are included in the ban. The ban has been put into effect in an effort to curtail America's youth from smoking: "Candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular tobacco users," said Dr. Lawrence R. Deyton, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products in an article posted today at the Huffington Post.
My smoking saga does not include flavored cigarettes (except for an occasional clove now and then), but regardless I am not in favor of the ban. Most of the people I knew in high school who smoked cigarettes smoked Marlboro Reds, which are a much harder cigarette than something flavored like cherries. My thoughts on underage smoking is that if you're gonna do it, you're gonna do it whether the cigarette is flavored or not. As of 2007 (the 2009 survey will not be released until summer 2010), the National Youth Risk behavior survey actually showed a gradual decline in cigarette use by American high schoolers.
To end my personal story, I am currently not smoking cigarettes. My love affair has ended - at least for the time being.
or...
Read about the ban directly from the FDA's website.
3 comments:
I agree that the ban on candy-flavored cigarettes seems silly. If kids want to smoke they are going to find a way to do so no matter the bans. This will only increase the sales of other types of cigarettes, it is not going to stop anyone from smoking. I don't smoke but do not judge others for smoking. I think it is a very personal experience and everyone, like Julia, has their own reasons for smoking. In my opinion, as long as the information of the health risks are out there, people should be able to make their commercials. And mostly, I am entirely sick of the "truth" commercials on television. Enough is enough.
I do agree with the FDA's ban on flavored cigarettes, especially candy flavored. Younger people are the prime target for cigarette companies to market flavored cigarettes to and it does not seem ethical to condone this advertising behavior. Young people do not have the best decision making skills so they do not need to be further targeted.
This is a great example of how a blog post can elicit two different responses in your readers--one for the ban and one against.
I liked your post--the personal becomes universal idea that we will talk about in class plays out well.
Are you planning on continuing to write about smoking? The smoking culture is fascinating because it affects so many things--from regulation to legislation (Michigan has had a number of bills up for vote that would ban cigarette smoking...but so far I don't think any of them have passed.)
Prof. Warner
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