Fred died of Lung cancer in 1979, Barney of COPD in 1982
Showing posts with label cigarettes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cigarettes. Show all posts
28 October 2011
02 September 2010
From the coughers to the coffers
From the age of 16 until my late 30s I did my bit to raise the Government’s coffers by smoking at least a pack of cigs a day (at one point nearly two packs). It was only the choice between breathing and smoking that made me reconsider my position (and by hell it was a tough decision!). In all that time did Geoffrey Howe, Nigel Lawson, Kenneth Clarke, The Prince of Greyness, , Badger Lamont or Gordon Brown once thank me for paying more tax while reducing the amount of time I would draw a pension?
A typical Chancellor, note the lack of gratefulness...
Russian counterpart Alexei Kudrin has announced increases in duty on alcohol and cigarettes, However the Telegraph reports that he has acknowledged the sterling, nay, STAKHANOVITE efforts of Russian smokers and barflies!
He is reported to have said that that by smoking a pack, “you are giving more to help solve social problems such as boosting demographics, developing other social services and upholding birth rates. People should understand: Those who drink, those who smoke are doing more to help the state,” he told the Interfax news agency.
Alcohol and cigarette consumption are already extremely high in Russia, where 65 per cent of men smoke and the average Russian consumes 18 litres of alcoholic beverages per year, mainly vodka, according to official statistics.
Duties on cigarettes are among the lowest in Europe, with most brands priced at around 40 roubles (85p) per pack and unfiltered cigarettes selling for much less.
Once again there you have it. Perhaps I should have been awarded at least an MBE for my past services to the Exchequer! Add to that the heroic amounts of alcohol I used to drink, especially while part of the Immigration Service and perhaps it should be upgraded to at least a CBE!
Strange even after the best part of 10 years of not smoking I still think that they float down from heaven on the wings of Cherubim… Until I smell one of the bloody things any way!
A typical Chancellor, note the lack of gratefulness...
Russian counterpart Alexei Kudrin has announced increases in duty on alcohol and cigarettes, However the Telegraph reports that he has acknowledged the sterling, nay, STAKHANOVITE efforts of Russian smokers and barflies!
He is reported to have said that that by smoking a pack, “you are giving more to help solve social problems such as boosting demographics, developing other social services and upholding birth rates. People should understand: Those who drink, those who smoke are doing more to help the state,” he told the Interfax news agency.
Alcohol and cigarette consumption are already extremely high in Russia, where 65 per cent of men smoke and the average Russian consumes 18 litres of alcoholic beverages per year, mainly vodka, according to official statistics.
Duties on cigarettes are among the lowest in Europe, with most brands priced at around 40 roubles (85p) per pack and unfiltered cigarettes selling for much less.
Once again there you have it. Perhaps I should have been awarded at least an MBE for my past services to the Exchequer! Add to that the heroic amounts of alcohol I used to drink, especially while part of the Immigration Service and perhaps it should be upgraded to at least a CBE!
Strange even after the best part of 10 years of not smoking I still think that they float down from heaven on the wings of Cherubim… Until I smell one of the bloody things any way!
10 July 2006
Mad Science (or Perhaps Downright Insane Science)
Etorphine is a relative of Morphine but thousands of times more potent. First synthesised in 1963 it is best known as “Elephant Juice” the drug that can drop a rampaging elephant in a second. The Molecule of the Month website (yes it does exist!) includes this sentence “Scientists at BAT (British American Tobacco) once debated adding it to tobacco as it might create an addictive craving for it”
Etorphine in cigarettes? This must be a joke I thought and I kept on thinking it until I came across this 2003 article from the BMJ journal Tobacco Control Online :
“Working in tobacco control, it is easy to get the impression that the tobacco industry is a united front, with all parties avoiding divisions that might undermine the greater struggle against the "antis". However, tobacco industry documents that have been made public as a result of litigation in the USA reveal ruthless competition as well as intense suspicion about competitors’ activities. This was brought home to us recently when reading a 1977 document on "developments in the scientific field" by Dr Sydney J Green, then British American Tobacco’s (BAT’s) senior scientist for research and development. Green informed his readers about"way-out" developments at BAT including :
"A way-out development is that of compounds (such as etorphine) which are 10,000 times as effective as analgesics [such] as morphine and which are very addictive. It is theoretically possible (if politically unthinkable) to add analytically undetectable quantities of such materials to cigarettes to create brand allegiance. But this thought may suggest the possibility of such compounds occurring naturally."
Green’s report followed an earlier memo from Keith D Kilburn to CI Ayres, expressing concern about what BAT’s competitors might be doing in order to create brand allegiance. Kilburn proposed that a regular etorphine dose of as little as 0.2 microgram per day would be sufficient to create an addictive craving for the source. He also claimed that the required delivery per cigarette…would be analytically difficult to measure.
Etorphine is a powerful drug with heroin-like effects, which include respiratory failure in the case of overdose. The dangers of etorphine to humans have been dramatically demonstrated in accidents during veterinary use, as there have been fatal overdoses to veterinarians attempting to dart large unruly animals. As a consequence of these fatalities, veterinarians who are registered to use etorphine must now have an assistant standing by with a dose of an etorphine antagonist in hand.
Very low concentrations of certain psychoactive substances may be sufficient to produce important effects, including addiction. Fortunately, etorphine has become much more readily detectable in recent years than Green and Kilburn suggested was the case in 1977, because forensic toxicologists have put considerable effort into developing highly sensitive detection methods. However, in a world market with minimal regulation of cigarette additives and limited testing capacity outside the industry’s own laboratories, we should remain concerned about what the tobacco industry might be willing to do in order to create "brand allegiance".
I suppose one should never be surprised at such ideas but to consider using Elephant juice to increase brand addiction, even as a wild idea, was sheer and utter madness!It is just as well they never implemented the plan. On the other hand one would probably go down well with a Heroin Cola and an Opium club sandwich…..
Etorphine
Cigarettes
Smoking
Etorphine in cigarettes? This must be a joke I thought and I kept on thinking it until I came across this 2003 article from the BMJ journal Tobacco Control Online :
“Working in tobacco control, it is easy to get the impression that the tobacco industry is a united front, with all parties avoiding divisions that might undermine the greater struggle against the "antis". However, tobacco industry documents that have been made public as a result of litigation in the USA reveal ruthless competition as well as intense suspicion about competitors’ activities. This was brought home to us recently when reading a 1977 document on "developments in the scientific field" by Dr Sydney J Green, then British American Tobacco’s (BAT’s) senior scientist for research and development. Green informed his readers about"way-out" developments at BAT including :
"A way-out development is that of compounds (such as etorphine) which are 10,000 times as effective as analgesics [such] as morphine and which are very addictive. It is theoretically possible (if politically unthinkable) to add analytically undetectable quantities of such materials to cigarettes to create brand allegiance. But this thought may suggest the possibility of such compounds occurring naturally."
Green’s report followed an earlier memo from Keith D Kilburn to CI Ayres, expressing concern about what BAT’s competitors might be doing in order to create brand allegiance. Kilburn proposed that a regular etorphine dose of as little as 0.2 microgram per day would be sufficient to create an addictive craving for the source. He also claimed that the required delivery per cigarette…would be analytically difficult to measure.
Etorphine is a powerful drug with heroin-like effects, which include respiratory failure in the case of overdose. The dangers of etorphine to humans have been dramatically demonstrated in accidents during veterinary use, as there have been fatal overdoses to veterinarians attempting to dart large unruly animals. As a consequence of these fatalities, veterinarians who are registered to use etorphine must now have an assistant standing by with a dose of an etorphine antagonist in hand.
Very low concentrations of certain psychoactive substances may be sufficient to produce important effects, including addiction. Fortunately, etorphine has become much more readily detectable in recent years than Green and Kilburn suggested was the case in 1977, because forensic toxicologists have put considerable effort into developing highly sensitive detection methods. However, in a world market with minimal regulation of cigarette additives and limited testing capacity outside the industry’s own laboratories, we should remain concerned about what the tobacco industry might be willing to do in order to create "brand allegiance".
I suppose one should never be surprised at such ideas but to consider using Elephant juice to increase brand addiction, even as a wild idea, was sheer and utter madness!It is just as well they never implemented the plan. On the other hand one would probably go down well with a Heroin Cola and an Opium club sandwich…..
Etorphine
Cigarettes
Smoking
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