02 avril 2008
Why people smoke?
What is the nature of this psychological pleasure? It can be traced to the universal desire for self-expression. None of us ever completely outgrows his childhood. We are constantly hunting for the carefree enjoyment we knew as children. As we grew older, we had to subordinate our pleasures to work and to the necessity for unceasing effort. Smoking, for many of us, then, became a substitute for our early habit of following the whims of the moment; it becomes a legitimate excuse for interrupting work and snatching a moment of pleasure. "You sometimes get tired of working intensely," said an accountant whom we interviewed, "and if you sit back for the length of a cigarette, you feel much fresher afterwards. It's a peculiar thing, but I wouldn't think of just sitting back without cigarettes. I guess a cigarette somehow gives me a good excuse."
Most of us are hungry for rewards. We want to be patted on the back. A cigarette is a reward that we can give ourselves as often as we wish. When we have done anything well, for instance, we can congratulate ourselves with a cigarette, which certifies, in effect, that we have been "good boys." We can promise ourselves: "When I have finished this piece of work, when I have written the last page of my report, I'll deserve a little fun. I'll have a cigarette."
As we have said, to explain the pleasure derived from smoking as taste experience alone, is not sufficient. For one thing, such an explanation leaves out the powerful erotic sensitivity of the oral zone. Oral pleasure is just as fundamental as sexuality and hunger. It functions with full strength from earliest childhood.
A cigarettes not only measures time, but also seems to make time pass more rapidly. That is why waiting periods almost autuomatically stimulate the desire to smoke. But a deeper explanation of this function of smoking is based on the fact that smoking is ersatz activity. Impatience is a common feature of our times, but there are many situations which compel us to be patient. When we are in a hurry, and yet have to wait, a cigarette gives us something to do during that trying interval. The experience of wanting to act, but being unable to do so, is very unpleasant and may even, in extreme cases, cause attacks of nervous anxiety. Cigarettes may then have a psychotherapeutic effect. This helps to explain why soldiers, waiting for the signal to attack, sometimes value a cigarette more than food.
The companionable character of cigarettes is also reflected in the fact that they help us make friends. In many ways, smoking has the same effect drinking has. It helps to break down social barriers.
The mind can concentrate best when all outside stimuli have been excluded. Smoking literally provides a sort of "smoke screen" that helps to shut out distractions. This explains why many people who were interviewed reported that they cannot think or write without a cigarette. They argued that moderate smoking may even stimulate mental alertness. It gives us a focal point for our attention. It also gives our hands something to do; otherwise they might make us self-conscious and interfere with mental activity. On the other hand, our respondents admit that smoking too much may reduce their efficiency.
One shortcoming of our modern culture is the universal lack of adequate relaxation. Many of us not only do not know how to relax, but do not take time to learn. cigarettes helps us to relax because, like music, it is rhythmic. Smoking gives us a legitimate excuse to linger a little longer after meals, to stop work for a few minutes, to sit at home without doing anything that requires effort.
Smoking brings relief. Worry, anxiety, depress us not only psychologically but also physiologically. When a person feels depressed, the rhythm of his breathing becomes upset. A short and shallow breath creates a heavy feeling in the chest. Smoking may relieve mental depression by forcing a rhythmic expansion of the breast and thus restoring the normal pace of breathing. The "weight on the chest" is removed.
This connection between smoking and respiration accounts for the common expression, smoking makes us breath more steadily, and thus calms us down.
31 mars 2008
Hide your cigarettes, Murphy tells stores
Health Minister Mike Murphy is snuffing out tobacco advertising in most New Brunswick stores.
Starting Jan. 1, 2009, non-specialty stores that sell tobacco must hide their smokes under the counter.
But it's not clear if the advertising ban introduced Friday will apply to tobacco sales on First Nations' land.
"We will look at that," said Murphy. "There have been some agreements with First Nations in the past across this country. There are some special requirements there.
"That is a question for aboriginal affairs and intergovernmental affairs."
Traditional forms of tobacco advertising are already banned in Canada.
An Act to Amend the Tobacco Sales Act will prohibit point-of-sale advertising, such as large racks or displays of tobacco products in a store.
"These displays are sometimes referred to as powerwalls," said Murphy.
"cigarettes and other tobacco products will have to be kept in a drawer, under the counter or in another part of the store that cannot be seen by customers."
He said he wants to keep tobacco out of the sight and minds of young, impressionable New Brunswickers.
The province is also banning advertising of tobacco outside a store, which means the end of "cigarettes" signs, he said.
Murphy said he was introducing the ban because tobacco is one of society's biggest threats to good health and is preventable.
New Brunswick has one of the highest smoking rates in Canada.
"It causes lung and other cancers," said Murphy. "It causes circulatory diseases. It causes respiratory diseases."
The legislation introduced Friday will create a new class of businesses called tobacconist shops. These specialty shops will allow tobacco products to be displayed and advertised.
But Murphy said such stores will be strictly regulated and no one under the age of 19 years will be allowed to enter unless accompanied by an adult.
Murphy said there's nothing to stop convenience stores in the province from converting to the new tobacconist shop rules, but it won't be easy.
"They would have to spend a fair amount of money," he said. "A tobacconist is not a convenience store as we know convenience stores in New Brunswick.
"There are regulations that will be brought forward."
For example, such a store would require a separate and distinct entrance, said Murphy.
Fines for violating the new rules will range from $240 to $2,620 for a first offence. A second offence will draw a fine of up to $5,120 and up to 30 days in jail.
Opposition health critic Claude Landry praised the new restrictions.
"We are the province with the second highest rate of cancer in the country," he said.
Landry said more than 57 per cent of New Brunswickers who smoke want to quit and this change will help them.
But he questioned why Murphy is waiting until 2009 when he dissolved regional health authority boards this winter without even waiting for the passage of the new health board legislation.
The Tories are filibustering that bill.
The changes won't come into effect until next year to give business time to adjust, said Murphy.
The health minister said there are no immediate plans to ban smoking in vehicles in which children are passengers.
He said he wouldn't introduce such a ban until there's a public debate on the issue.
"It is certainly something I can assure New Brunswickers is under consideration," said Murphy.
He said he didn't expect the advertising ban to increase the smuggling of cigarettes.