Cigarettes and Tobacco News

Jul 31, 2006 -- This is the first day of the smoking ban in Beaumont restaurants and bars, and instead of crying into their drinks, smokers might as well think positively.

As the old saying goes, it's also the first day of the rest of their lives.

How well I recall the pleasures associated with lighting up and puffing away during a party or after a good meal, back when we didn't know it was dangerous.

"You don't inhale?" some silly girl once laughed. So what was there to do but try it and choke, then try it again and get hooked? I was 16.

Commercials touting smoking were everywhere. One brand proclaimed it tasted good, like a cigarette should. Another was "the thinking man's cigarette," and yet another encouraged smokers to try its 30-day test.

On TV, a famous comedian, cigar in hand, followed up with, "I tried Camels for 30 days and went back to women."

Another announced he'd given up cigarettes for food, adding, "Now, after making out, I roll over and smoke a turkey."

Oh yes, little did we know, and hilarity prevailed during tobacco's heyday.

Plus, the Platters were enjoying a huge hit song with the romantic "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," which failed to mention it also gets in your hair and your clothes.

But few noticed or cared. As an earlier musical title attested, "Everybody's Doing It, Doing It."

For the longest time, ladies smoked in secret, but around town squares, gentlemen rolled their own or smoked ready-rolls, if they could afford them, at two-bits a pack, and kids could purchase candy cigarettes for a nickel per box.

The only place smoking wasn't allowed was in movie theaters, due to obvious fire hazards. Alert ushers were quick to spot the slightest flicker, and offenders could be fined. But on the screen, motion pictures blossomed with clouds of smoke as film stars emoted through blue hazes.

Army life was no different. In barracks, "butt cans" were a part of the decor, and heaven help recruits who stamped out cigarettes on the floor.

On bivouac, packages of various brands were a part of every food ration, and most every soldier carried a windproof lighter.

"Smoke 'em if you got 'em!" a sergeant would yell, signaling brief water breaks during a sweaty, five-mile-hike huffing and the puffing would begin.

Old habits die hard, and mine continued for many years. But thanks to a former employer who didn't condone tobacco usage, I'm alive today.

He had a standing offer of a $500 bonus to anyone who quit for 12 months.

Who could resist that?

Most certainly, I understand the dilemma smokers face now, especially those who disagree with any kind of smoking ban.

But perhaps it will encourage some to look into their morning mirrors and say goodbye to an "old fiend" and hello to a new friend.