Smoke that cigarette

[Dizz]

This was done by Tex Williams in the 40s. He eventually died of lung cancer. Anyway I heard this song the other day and it was a riot. Kinda hints at what they knew about tobacco back then. (btw, I got this on tobacco.org)

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke!(That Cigarette)

Now I'm a fellow with a heart of gold

And the ways of a gentleman I've been told

Kind-of-a-guy that wouldn't even harm a flea

But if me and a certain character met

The guy that invented that cigarette

I'd murder that son-of-a gun in the first degree

It ain't cuz I don't smoke 'em myself

and i don't reckon that it'll hinder your health

I smoked 'em all my life and I ain't dead yet

But nicotine slaves are all the same

at a pettin' party or a poker game

Everything gotta stop while they have a cigarette

CHORUS

Smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette

Puff, puff, puff until you smoke yourself to death.

Tell St. Peter at the Golden Gate

That you hate to make him wait,

But you just gotta have another cigarette.

In a game of chance the other night

Old dame fortune was good and right

The kings and queens they kept on comin' around

Aw, I was hittin' em good and bettin' 'em high

But my bluff didn't work on a certain guy

He kept callin' and layin' his money down

See, he'd raise me then I'd raise him

and I'd say to him buddy ya gotta sink or swim

Finally called me but didn't raise the bet!

--Hmmph! I said Aces Full Pal -- I got you!

He said, "I'll pay up in a minute or two

But right now, i just gotta have another cigarette."

CHORUS

Now the other night I had a date

with the cutest little gal in any state

A high-bred, uptown, fancy little dame

She said she loved me and it seemd to me

That things were sorta like they oughtta be

So hand in hand we strolled down lovers lane

She was a long way from a chunk of ice

And our pettin' party was goin' real nice

And I got an idea I might have been there yet

So I give her a kiss and a little squeeze

Then she said, "Travis, Excuse me Please

But I just gotta have a cigarette."

CHORUS

[libertine]

I hate to admit that I remember that song. Used to have request stations when I was a MUCH younger person and for awhile that song was requested at least once a day. You're right...if they knew it then, what took so long to sound the alarm about tobacco?

[abbey]

flopstock wrote: MoneyHow very true, although the UK has banned all advertising of tobacco products, it does'nt exactly scream out loud the dangers that it does to your health!

Maybe they should use the big billboards that used to advertise cigarettes to show the real damage that smoking does to your health.

It's highly unlikely when they get such massive revenues from us smokers

[gimli3]

Smoking is dangerous.

People enjoy Risk.

Nuff said!

:-5

[Accountable]

Too bad the war on drugs people don't use the same tactics as we do for cigs and alcohol: It's legal to use it, but here's thousands of reasons you shouldn't. If they used the same tactics with drugs, we'd have room to keep harmful criminals in prison.

[buttercup]

hmph people die of lung cancer & have never had a cigarette in thier life

i enjoy it, leave us smokers alone, gets off soapbox

[minks]

buttercup wrote: hmph people die of lung cancer & have never had a cigarette in thier life

i enjoy it, leave us smokers alone, gets off soapbox


Hmmm the radio station here had an interesting stat this morning, folks exposed to 2nd hand smoke had 50% less incidents of allergies.... go figure.

[valerie]

There not only was the song... a common name for cigarettes in that era

was "coffin nails". They knew.



And you can get lung cancer without smoking, there's different types.

Oat cell sarcoma, squamous cell sarcoma, etc. but why multiply your

chances exponentially if you don't have to?!?!?:(

[pina]

buttercup wrote: hmph people die of lung cancer & have never had a cigarette in thier life

i enjoy it, leave us smokers alone, gets off soapbox




I agree Butter...... It is less harmful to others than drink and drugs.

[theia]

pina wrote: I agree Butter...... It is less harmful to others than drink and drugs.




Well I have to have my two pennies worth (or £4.85). I agree, Pina.

[Jives]

pina wrote: It is less harmful to others than drink and drugs.


In what way, Pina? My father is dead from smoking. He lived his last years as a virtual zombie, unable to even cross the room without panting. Sitting down in the shower. He was once an outdoorsman, but the backpacking trips he and I loved to take together ended the day he got emphysema.

At the end, I have the wonderful memory of what his face looked like, as the incredible pain of the massive heart attack killed him in my arms.

Then there's my bride. I looked 34 years to find her, the woman I instantly loved. Every night she cries herself to sleep because she can't quit. She's tried it all, pills, patches, hypnonsis, you name it. But nicotine is more addictive than crack.

As the years have passed, I've watched her face sink and sag. The patches under her eyes darken to black, giving her the appearance of a living skeleton, aging her decades beyond her years.

Every morning, I have to listen to her small body as it's wracked by hacking coughs. She wastes away while I watch.

My son, too, smokes. He learned it from his mother and now he too is doomed to an early, untimely and painful death.

Worse yet, he smokes in front of my little grand-daughters, who will most likely take it up when they are older, emulating their father.

My entire little family, everyone I love in the world...annihilated by the death sticks.

Okay..now tell me again how it's not as harmful.

[Jives]

The sign in Albuquerque reads :

352,416 dead of smoking so far this year.

That's the equivalent of 7 Vietnams every year. If you smoke and think it's no big deal, you are in denial.

To all the smokers on these boards: You are dead right now, you just don't know it yet. I'll miss you all.

[pina]

I'm really SORRY Jives about your family it must be awful to watch.

I wasn't saying that it's not harmful to smoke, what I was getting at is that it mostly harms oneself, passive smoking doesn't happen as often as a drunk will run someone over in their car or stab or shoot someone

Or a drug addict will mug someone for money or break into houses or rob stores to pay for their addiction.

[theia]

And I too would say I'm sorry, Jives, for the distress smoking has and is causing you and your family.

But what isn't always appreciated is that we are ALL addicted to something be it money, power, sex, approval, work, control...the list is endless. It's part of the human condition. And each and every addiction adversely affects not only the individual but others around her/him. But because the effects of smoking are more easily visible, smokers seem to have become the repository for blame and criticism within society. And, quite humanly and quite naturally, we defend ourselves and/or stick together. But our addiction is no worse, nor indeed better, than anyone else's.

[Accountable]

I come from a family of smokers. Some of us quit; some of us haven't. A smoker needs 2 things to quit:

1. The desire to quit.

2. The belief that one can quit.

Neither of these things can possibly come from the outside. Smoking is a behavior. The addiction is not. Lots of steps involved in smoking, especially if there are none in the house. One possible scenario of many:



1. Get dressed.

2. Find the keys.

3. Walk to the car.

4. Enter the car.

5. Start the car.

6. Leave the house.

7. Drive to the store (numerous substeps involved here).

8. Park the car.

9. Get out of the car.

10. Enter the store.

11. Approach the cashier.

12. Take a breath of sweet, clean, nicotine-free air.

13. Ask for a pack of cigarettes.

14. Pay for the cigarettes (possible substeps here).

15. Exit the store.

16. Tamp the pack (we used to call it 'pack' but I'm trying to avoid confusion).

17. Open the pack (several substeps here).

18. Remove a cigarette.

19. Place the cigarette in the mouth.

20. Find fire (undoubtedly many substeps involved).

21. Light the cigarette.



Every one of these steps and substeps involved a decision toward behavior. Each of these decisions is an opportunity to behave differently.

Smoking is a decision to behave. Stopping smoking is likewise a decision to behave. It's not an easy decision, but the responsibility lies completely and absolutely with the individual - no one else.

[abbey]

Mr Ives, sometimes i want to come over there and hug you so tight X

[Wolverine]

buttercup wrote: hmph people die of lung cancer & have never had a cigarette in thier life

i enjoy it, leave us smokers alone, gets off soapbox
HERE, HERE!!!!!

Amen sister!

[buttercup]

i dident say it wasent harmful, its my choice to smoke, im aware of the dangers, i do not try to make people feel guilty for the choices they make in life

[LWR VENTURES]

hmph people die of lung cancer & have never had a cigarette in thier life
LMAO! People die after being struck by cars as well. Tell me, do you play in the road? Sorry! But these type of excuses just crack me up. Got a love the smokers. When did guilt become a bad thing? Don't mean to pick on you buttercup. Its just that I too have lost, and are loosing, family members to smoking.

[Jives]

So your point is....? Go ahead and do dangerous, proven-deadly behaviors because we all die anyway?

What you are advocating is Russian roulette. Are you seriously promoting taking extra risks in life? Uneccessry and avoidable risks? Why not put a few extra bullets in the gun? Why not play on the freeway?

I'll tell you why, because life is precious, and when you learn that you have very little time left, you're going to want more.

Look at it this way. Smoking won't kill you right away. It won't be until you are in the prime of life, with a wonderful career, a family, a nice home, maybe even a swimming pool and a boat...that's about the time that the doctor will see a spot on your lung.

Then they'll get out the industrial scossors, cut your chest open, break your ribs and cut out a few pieces of your lungs. It will hurt a lot. And girls, forget about a bikini after that.

Or maybe it'll be cancer of the throat, or the lips, or the tongue.

Or emphysema. You'll have to sit down in the shower because standing up will be too much work for your oxygen-poor blood. Using a remote control will wear you out. No more swimming, picnicing, driving cars, golf, tennis, running, frisbee....nothing but sitting still, puffing hard to breathe.

Then, when your poor heart can't pump the blood fast enough anymore, will come the massive heart attack. They say it feels like a 250 lb. man swinging a 20 lb. sledgehammer into your chest with all his might. The pain will be unbearable. No leaving this world quietly for you. You'll go out screaming.

I'm sorry your cousin died. But smoking increases the odds that you'll die astronomically. Go ahead and point to an 86-year old smoker. For every one you point out (and you'll have to look hard, because they're very rare), I'll point out 250,000 dead ones that died under 50 years of age.

You're in denial, and I'm not talking about a river in Africa.