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Doesn’t Anyone Have a Light? |
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| Smokers fear the inevitable. They know the day is coming, but when will the forces strike? Illegalization of cigarettes is in only a matter of time. As the years pass by, social opposition, media coverage of the health risks as well as government regulation and taxation have all increased. Cigarettes used to indicate one’s social superiority. Now, astute non-smokers see the habit as classless. We are becoming more concerned with staying fit, saving the environment, eating healthy and fearing anything “bad” for you. Playing it smart (or acting like you do) is the new wave of cool. And thanks to advancements in anti-smoking products like chewing gums, patches and pills there’s more help in quitting than ever before. Society has asked its members, why smoke cigarettes? For those who continue to puff away in 2008, preparation is underway to deal with the challenges smokers will face by 2020, as the habit becomes less and less in vogue. These challenges (institutionalized division, high prices and negative reactions from non-users) will be similar to the ones confronted by booze drinkers of the 1920s or weed tokers of today. The best way to combat this ostracization is by the formation of a subculture – one in which members relate to and look out for each other. Already, smokers have assembled these exclusive groups that shamelessly enjoy fixing their addiction with fellow social butterflies. These congregations – which consist of at least one person having a light – include the cubicle dwellers under skyscraper scaffolding or the intoxicated patrons outside of crowded bars. By 2020, these congregations will be forced to find a new home. Businesses and local levels of government have sought out to protect the public health rights of non-smokers. In doing so, in New York City you find more and more ‘No-Smoking’ signs outside buildings, parks, etc. and bar employees are asking smokers to walk down the block. As smoking continues to be pushed out of the public, could American cities go as far as Geneva, Switzerland has by banning all public smoking? What would this mean for the life of a smoker? Without anywhere to light up, the only secure place one can smoke in freedom will be an individual’s home away from peer antagonism, disgust and law enforcement. Alternatively, ‘underground,’ possibly sophisticated, but most likely seedy “smoke-easys” will emerge in major cities. Fellow smokers will find refuge in these establishments, which will operate similarly to the ones masquerading as Egyptian hookah lounges today. Karma Hookah Lounge in the East Village section of Manhattan entices a patron’s curiosity with black tinted windows, leading you inside a cloudy yet swanky lounge with packs of Camel Lights sold at the bar and hookahs for rent in the back. However, ask even the most habitual smokers and they’d tell you they’d rather not spend an entire night sitting in a cloud of tar, or in laymen’s terms, their own sh*t. A major contribution to the subculture’s exclusiveness by 2020 will be a lack of new smokers joining the clan. To young people in the United States (once the tobacco companies’ most important demographic for growth), cigarettes are just not as cool as they once were. Reason why: we’ve entered an Age of Sophisticated Rebellion. No longer does smoking determine the stratification system at high schools, now it’s having the latest Sidekick or how many friends on your MySpace and Facebook pages. In this era of Attention Deficit Disorder, we are drawn to rapid change fueled by the advent of Internet surfing, video games and mobile communication. Cigarettes just don’t provide the instant gratification kids are used to – say like pharmaceutical drugs in a parent’s medicine cabinet offer. Contrary to smoking cigarettes, “pharmies” covertly, inexpensively and instantaneously provide a form of rebellion, wilder and easier than cigarettes ever could. But for those already hooked on nicotine in 2020, there will be new ways to enjoy and obtain cigarettes. As our cultural landscape stifles any opportunity for cigarette innovation, the tobacco companies have turned their backs on product development in the United States. Instead, they have eyed poorer nations around the globe where cigarette smoking doesn’t have a stigma attached to it. As a result, it’s hard to believe a magically smoke-less cigarette will ever appear in the U.S. market, as most people would hope for. Rather, in response to our growing desire to be eco-friendly, natural smoking with fewer chemicals and more herbs will gain in popularity. Today, almost every company marketing a product is jumping on the “green” bandwagon and cigarette brands will have to do the same in order to survive. American Spirit “Natural” cigarettes have put their stamp on the industry because smokers feel like they are inhaling something “organic” even though they are no better for your lungs. Additionally, traditional rolling tobacco could become more visible as “rolling your own” is a financially efficient solution to the rising costs of packs and cartons. Of course, as cigarette life creeps underground, the door will always be open for the Black Market to get involved. The vendors would greatly welcome another addictive product to their line of goods. Yet, only the members of the surviving smokers subculture will know a guy who knows another guy who knows a girl who can get you a pack of Newports.
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| © 2008 Glen Nigel Straub |