There are 65 + million smokers in the United States.

Why not offer an option that will keep your smoking customers coming back rather than merely telling them they can’t smoke while driving?  Let them know its the tobacco odor you are trying to eliminate not the smoker.

Were constantly telling our children not do things but are we giving them options to replace that which we preach against with something positive? No one wants to constantly hear what they cannot do; they would prefer to hear what they can do as an alternative.

SmokeScents is the perfect solution. They satisfy a smokers need for the aroma and flavor of tobacco without infringing on the rights of non-smokers.

It is rumored this tool has been reintroduced in Washington D.C.!

“Tobacco smoke leaves a residue on fabrics, fibers and surfaces of vehicles, which emits odors that many people find unpleasant,” said Larry De Shon, executive vice president of operations for Avis Budget Group. “In fact, we receive more customer requests for smoke-free vehicles than any other ’special request.’ This new policy is designed to ensure that we are enhancing the comfort of our customers, which is a top priority at Avis and Budget.”

To ensure compliance with the new smoke-free policy, Avis and Budget have established new inspection processes and will assess customers a cleaning fee if the vehicle is returned with tobacco odor or residue. In addition, the Company has instituted a smoke-free policy for all employees and contractors who drive its vehicles.

“When a vehicle must be cleaned of tobacco smoke odor and residue, the process takes considerably longer and requires the vehicle to be removed from the rental fleet until it is odor-free,” said Mr. De Shon. “With this new policy, we encourage customers to refrain from smoking in or near the vehicle at all times.”

There is evidence that tobacco was first grown over 5000 years ago. Native to the Americas it stayed there until the era of the great explorers. Columbus is credited with introducing tobacco to Europe in the mid 15th Century. Who introduced it to Britain is disputed, Sir Walter Raleigh, Robert Grenville and Sir Francis Drake are likely candidates all being travellers to the New World in the late 16th Century. However Raleigh is undoubtedly the man who first introduced tobacco to the court of Queen Elizabeth 1st.

Origins and the rise of smoking

The next two to three hundred years saw an increase in popularity of tobacco smoking among the general public until what can be considered as its heyday, the first half of the 20th century. During this time it was not without enemies.His Holiness Pope Clement VIII, threatened excommunication to anyone who smoked in a holy place, In Russia it was declared a deadly sin by Michael Feodorovich, the first Romanov Czar. Punishments were brutal and severe, slitting of the lips or a terrible and sometimes fatal flogging. In countries like Turkey, Persia and India, the death penalty was seen as the only cure for the evils of smoking tobacco.

In England things were somewhat more ambivalent. King James 1st published a dissertation proclaiming tobacco “an invention of Satan”. However he was soon to change his mind and nationalised the growing tobacco industry in England and reduced tobacco taxes (which were around even then).

The true heyday was yet to come:-

War Years

The war years (both the first and second world wars) actively encouraged cigarette smoking, rationing of cigarettes for the troops was introduced. Speaking to people who had relatives or friends who took part in the First World War they tell of soldiers who smoked to avoid the stench of the trenches.

Later in the Second World War serving soldiers, sailors and airman received a free allowance of cigarettes; they were even flown out to them when serving overseas. A neighbour of mine, who was enlisted in the second world war, tells this story of early recruitment days, one of his first experiences was a lecture from his regiments Chief Medical Officer who gave this advice to the young recruits “Your mother has probably told you to stay away from smoking drinking and loose women” well you are in a different world now, smoking makes you happy and relaxed, drinking makes you forget many of the horrors you encounter and loose women well… (not too PC).

Hollywood

Hollywood in the 1940’s and 50’s managed to make smoking “cool”. In old black and white films everyone seems to be smoking. Who can forget the images of popular actors like Bogart and Robert Mitchum, who never seemed to be seen without a cigarette drooping from their lips. Hollywood can also take a lot of responsibility for the growth in the number of women who took up smoking during that period. It was seen as very sophisticated and beautiful young women everywhere were seen coolly lighting cigarettes. The ultimate in sophistication was those scenes where handsome young men would light two cigarettes at once then hand one to their beautiful companion.

The Decline of Smoking

As early as 1858 fears about the effects on smoking on health were first raised in The Lancet.

Despite the claims of the immensely rich Tobacco Industry that smoking was harmless and even healthy the 1950’s saw the tide turning.

In 1950 an article was published in the British Medical Journal claiming a link between lung cancer and smoking. In the 1960’s the US Surgeon General declared that smoking causes lung cancer, the UK banned cigarette ads on television and the US imposed health warnings on cigarette packaging.

The next thirty years saw many changes:

- Advertising of tobacco within the media was virtually eradicated.

- Health warnings on cigarette packs was made more obvious and introduced in many more countries.

- Smoking on public transport came under attack and many countries started to introduce bans.

- A ban on smoking in restaurants, public buildings and places was starting to grow support. In fact in 1994 MacDonalds banned smoking in all of its restaurants.

- In the US nicotine is declared addictive and pronounced a drug.

- The Tobacco Industry was coming under increasing attacks and lawsuits, by Governments and the general public were successfully prosecuted.

From 2000 there has been increasing attacks on smoking

- The British Medical Association claimed there was no safe level of environmental smoke.

- In 2003 New York City bans all smoking in public spaces.

- In Britain, Ireland introduces a ban on smoking in all enclosed public places, including restaurants, pubs and clubs from 31 March 2004.

- Scotland joins the banning of smoking in all enclosed public places in 2006

- In 2007 England catches up with the other UK countries and announces a smoking ban in bars and restaurants.

In 2008 we have reached the situation where much of the civilised world successfully operate smoking bans in varying degrees of severity. The wheel seems to have turned full circle, back to the attempted controls of the 15 & 16th centuries only the punishments are not so extreme.

Here is the rundown on the smoking rules in European countries.

Austria
The Austrian republic is one of Europe’s last refuges for smokers; it is still resisting the smoking bans in effect in other EU countries. However, the state-run railways OeBB have been non-smoking from September 1, 2007. Austria’s Health Minister Andrea Kdolsky is considering introducing smoking rules in restaurants and cafes. A 2005 law that forbids smoking in public places (but specifically excludes cafes and restaurants) would be reinforced from January 1, 2008 to require larger restaurants to split their dining areas 50-50 between smoking and non-smoking sections. Smaller eateries would have to decide whether they were smoking or non-smoking establishments and put up a sign declaring their choice.

Germany
As of September 1, 2007, smoking is banned in public places in all of Germany. But local laws regulate smoking in restaurants and cafes in their own jurisdiction, so you will see some differences in how the law is carried out by each German state.German trains and train stations however, have banned smoking entirely. Some of the larger train stations have special smoking rooms available for those who need their nicotine fix before or after their smoke-free voyage.

Ireland
In 2004, Ireland became the first country in the world to impose an outright ban on smoking in workplaces. Irish legislation makes it an offence to smoke in workplaces, which effectively bans smoking in pubs and restaurants.

Italy
An official ban on smoking in all enclosed public places was imposed in Italy on January 10, 2005. This law obliges restaurants, bars, offices and factories to prohibit tobacco use on their premises unless they are able to provide special sealed off rooms with smoke extractors. Because few retailers were able to fulfill this condition, it is now practically impossible to smoke in any public place. A fine of up to 2,000 Euros could be levied on businesses which fail to comply with this law. And smokers may be fined up to 275 Euros which can be doubled if a smoker lights up in front of children or pregnant women.

Finland
Except in designated smoking zones, smoking is not permitted indoors in public buildings and other places open to the public. Smoking zones are not available in facilities for children and other persons under eighteen. Smoking is also prohibited on trains, trams, buses or aircraft, schools and other educational institutions, offices and other places of work.

France
Since February 1, 2007 smoking was banned in workplaces and other public buildings and will expand in 2008 to include cafes, restaurants and bars. Many restaurants have already become smoke-free or offer non-smoking sections.

The Netherlands
On January 1, 2004, cigarettes were banned from many public places including railway stations, trains, toilets and offices.

Norway
A national ban was imposed on smoking in restaurants, bars and cafes from June 1, 2004

Sweden
Since May, 2005 smoking has been prohibited in all bars and restaurants. Establishments wanting to allow smoking are required to have a closed-off section with specially-designed ventilation, where no food or drink can be served.

United Kingdom
Smoking is banned in nearly all enclosed public spaces - including bars, restaurants and workplaces. The ban came into effect in England on July 1, 2006. Scotland introduced a ban in March 2006, followed by Wales and Northern Ireland in April 2007.

Terri Fogarty is a non-smoker and an inveterate European Traveler. She authors the Blog site http://www.europeupclose.com offering advice, news and destination information on Europe.

Smoking bans are ridiculous. Period. If this were 1989 instead of 2009, next to nobody would have a problem with smoking in public. And in fact, almost nobody did until 1993, when the EPA declared that “secondhand smoke,” a term unheard of by most of us until 1990 or so, was declared to be a “Class A Carcinogen.” The terms “secondhand smoke,” “passive smoking” and “Environmental Tobacco Smoke” were coined by two groups of people:

A) Those offended by the smell of smoke, and

B) those angered because either they or a loved one became sick due to a “smoking-related” illness.

This is in itself questionable, to say the least. Let’s suppose 65-year-old John Doe weighs 300 pounds. He also eats 4 Big Macs every week. His exercise consists of getting up off the couch to grab a beer out of the refrigerator. He also happens to smoke a pack of cigarettes every day. Now let’s suppose poor John drops dead of a heart attack. Smoking will automatically be recorded as the cause of his myocardial infarction and be added to the supposed 500,000 annual deaths allegedly attributed to smoking. In addition to this scenario, the Center For Disease Control pulls these numbers out of a computer. They are estimates that are pulled out of someone’s backside, and carry no proof whatsoever. In reality, the number of deaths directly caused by smoking is probably less than half of what is claimed.

Here’s another little tidbit of information: While it’s true that 87% of lung cancer cases will be found in smokers (or former smokers), the CDC fails to inform the public that less than 10% of smokers will ever GET the disease. In fact, a 75-year-old woman who smokes three packs (that’s 60 cigarettes) a day for a period of 55 years has about a 15% chance of developing lung cancer within the next ten years. This also means that she has an 85% of NOT developing the disease! There are approximately 55 million smokers in the United States alone, and only 150,000 or so will die from lung cancer each year. I’m not claiming that smoking doesn’t carry health risks. Certainly it does. People who indulge increase their chances for emphysema, COPD, and heart problems, but the assumption that everyone who smokes will go to an early grave is simply not true. There are plenty of people in nursing homes who were around before movies had sound who still smoke like chimneys. Of course now, they’re thrown outside, which brings me to my second and most important point.

It is utterly preposterous to the point of being insulting to the intelligence to believe that a minuscule trace of smoke emanating from a 70 millimeter stick of tobacco and paper will somehow travel several feet across a room, enter another person’s bloodstream, attach itself to his/her lung, and begin a malignant growth or clog his/her arteries. Let’s be honest here. The former Surgeon General is an idiot. He claimed that a mere 30 SECONDS of exposure to someone smoking could cause an instant heart attack! This would be synonymous with claiming that if someone drinks a Pepsi too fast and belches in a diabetics direction, the innocent party will go into a high blood-sugar coma.

“Secondhand smoke” is hundreds and even thousands of times less concentrated than the direct smoke that a smoker ingests. An average sixth-grader should be able to determine that if it takes several decades for a smoker to experience ill effects from his/her habit, then it would require thousands of years; rather CENTURIES, for a nonsmoker to render the same damage. Why people can’t fathom this is beyond me. Not to mention, I pose a question: Why aren’t millions of people who grew up in the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, when smoking was very prevalent, either dead, hooked up to respirators, or have had four or five bypass surgeries by now? Those in opposition love to use this analogy: Smoking sections in restaurants are like having urinating sections in swimming pools. They are shooting themselves in the foot with that argument, because they are right. Allow me to explain: A swimming pool contains thousands of gallons of water. Let’s suppose 15 or 20 people are too lazy to get out and use the restroom. A typical urine stream is about 12 ounces. If 20 people relieved themselves in the pool, that’s 240 ounces of urine DILUTED by thousands of gallons of water. I’m not advocating the use of swimming pools as toilets, but the point is that if nobody SAW the act of urinating, it would go unnoticed.

Similarly, for decades, nobody cared whether or not anyone smoked in public. That is, until the government and media planted it into their minds that it was a health hazard. I believe the big pharmaceutical companies are behind this, for they stand to reap huge profits from the sale of smoking-cessation drugs. The EPA lied by changing the definition of just what a “Class A Carcinogen” was in order to include ETS on their list. They also ignored research that showed no link to disease. As a matter of fact, the whole Report was ruled invalid in 1998 by Federal Judge Willam Osteen. They used junk science to obtain their results. Meanwhile, politicians’ pockets were filled with funding from Anti-Tobacco groups and today the bans continue unabated. At first, smokers were thrown outside from restaurants, public transportation, and workplaces. This has now been extended to bars, hotel chains, and even OUTDOOR places such as sports stadiums, theme parks, beaches, and in some cases, if you happen to live in the People’s Republic of California, SIDEWALKS. Never in my wildest dreams when I began smoking in 1975 did I ever think that those who smoke would one day be treated like criminals.

Smokers are now regarded as child abusers if they so much as even think about lighting up in the presence of young ones. We are told we stink. We are ridiculed. In short, we are hated. Children in schools are being taught to not only despise tobacco, but also those who use it. Famous historical figures such as Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt are now having smoking materials airbrushed away from photos in school textbooks. Try to find a copy of Abbey Road where Paul McCartney is still holding a cigarette. This is social engineering, and has absolutely nothing to do with “public health.” Sharing a room with a smoker is about as life-threatening as an earthquake in India would be to someone standing in a cornfield in Nebraska. The goal here is to denormalize smoking. It’s wrong. Common sense has taken a backseat to hysteria. It’s time for the brainwashing unseen since Hitler became Chancellor of Germany to come to an end. Smokers and nonsmokers co-existed in peaceful harmony for decades. The current bans are nothing short of Fascism, and I don’t know about you, but I’d like the America I once knew to be returned. How about it?

Smoking helps soothe anxiety, suppress unwanted emotions, and dumb down the pain of living. It’s all to do with the nicotine receptors in the brain and the resultant pleasant hormones like dopamine that are produced.

So is roughly 30% of the world going to go raving mad? What is going to happen with all these smoking bans? As well as not getting their nicotine fix, smokers are reacting indignantly - like one smoker huffed on TV, “When you want to do something and you can’t do it, it makes you mad.”

Take wild and wonderful Scotland, one of the latest countries to toe the line with some pretty severe smoke bans.

Will Scotland now be overrun by mad Scotsmen (and women) in nicotine withdrawal mode? Somehow a mad Scotsman conjures up a worse picture than a mad Australian for example - something to do with what, if anything, is worn under a kilt - and racing across the moors, bagpipes all a-akimbo, yelling “och aye, I’d kill a grouse wi’ me sporran for a wee bit ‘o baccy.”

This is all nonsense of course, because firstly the Scots are still allowed to roam the moors in modest states of dress, looking for grouse… and smoking. It’s only the pubs and clubs that this malarkey is controlling - so far. Watch out grouse! But in some countries, there are extremes where towns have bus stops, beaches, parks and doorways as smoke free zones.

And secondly, if you’re a smoker don’t worry that you might go off your rocker if you can’t smoke. The mood altering effects of smoking are very mild, and after several days the nicotine is out of your brain, so you can focus on re-adjusting your habitual and emotional ties to smoking.

A minority of smokers have a headier reaction, either due to the stronger nicotine receptors in their brain or unresolved mental or emotional problems. For these smokers to quit, it involves a serious re-focusing on alternatives to replace nicotine, but it can be done.

That’s right smokers; re-focus instead of panicking, getting mad or going mad. You can’t beat the smoking bans so grab this opportunity by the horns. It’s now your call to look at some smart new habits to occupy your time and hands and save your money and health - whatever your age or where ever you live.

Quit the nicotine-drug-induced false and fleeting sense of tension release. It’s a poor imitation of the real long term pleasure you can gain from natural means.

Go mad instead on - exercise, join a new club, get a pet, help the community, learn to build a website, take up cooking, design a new tartan, build a boat, wood-carving, juggling, crafts, puzzles, games, travel and a hundred and one other better ways than smoking to soothe your anxiety, control emotions and find the joy of living.

The effects of smoking are grim, and smokers know this, so they are mad to smoke anyway. Any new temporary madness at having to quit at least has a light at the end of the tunnel - and it’s not a Zippo, more like a yippee!

Megan Carter’s website, http://www.quitguide.com is right up-to-date with information to make quitting smoking a breeze. It’s chock full of free tips, article and comprehensive resources, plus there’s a powerful quitting program available. The Quit for Good guaranteed program comes on CDs or MP3 download and includes 3 indispensable bonuses. This is a great way for smokers to do something great for their future.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Megan_Carter

Hailey, Idaho July 12, 2009 Airlines, smokers and non-smokers welcome a new green air friendly tobacco inhaler.

Smoking has been banned on aircraft for over 20 years, yet stress and tension levels associated with flying have increased. SmokeScents, a fire cured tobacco inhaler can now be used on aircraft and other places where smoking is restricted. For the past year, SmokeScents has only been available at select smoke shops, medical clinics and online.

SmokeScents are the size of ChapStick lip balm, and are inhaled through the nose or mouth. They are manufactured in the US from organic green tobacco leaf and essential oils from both the US and Europe and maintain their strength for 3 months or longer.

SmokeScents is registered and trademarked with the USPTO as an Aromatherapy Inhaler for non-medical use and can be used wherever smoking is banned. They are safe to use with any prescription medication, 100% customs compliant and are not under the jurisdiction of the FDA.

Maurice Goulet, the CEO of SmokeScents said “We are bringing Fly Air Friendly back to airline travel. SmokeScents will satisfy a smoker’s need for the aroma and flavor of tobacco without infringing on the rights of non-smokers.”

Paul Vernon MD stated that, “Having practiced traditional medicine for over 30 years and recommending SmokeScents to over 200 patients during the last year, I can assure you that SmokeScents work. Unlike electronic cigarettes and other expensive nicotine replacement products, SmokeScents helps smokers relax when they can’t smoke.”

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A college student I know said while she was in Las Vegas she paid $8 for a pack of cigarettes. Another student regularly pays $6 a pack. College students don’t have much money, but they spend a fortune on cigarettes. I guess the ones who are considering quitting are doing so for financial reasons. Hooray for them. Whatever the reason to make them finally quit is a good one.

I almost quit when cigarettes got to 40 cents a pack. I finally kicked the habit when they reached $1. It was 1986 and I wanted to do something special for the Texas Sesquicentennial, when the state celebrated its 150th birthday. I quit on Jan. 5 and it was the smartest thing I have ever done. Smokers don’t realize what slaves they are to cigarettes. They plan every waking moment around smoking, making sure they have enough cigarettes and ways to light them.

I was ready to quit. When I smoked in the car, my wife would cover her face with a handkerchief and crack her window. That was sure discouraging. I remember once when I came home from work and my youngest son ran up to me to give me a hug. I was holding a lighted cigarette and he ran into it. Why I didn’t stop right then puzzles me to this day.

I smoked all kinds of tobacco: cigars, pipes, and foreign brands. I guess at one time or another I smoked every brand of cigarette on the market. Even Delicados, those flat cigarettes from Mexico.

Of course I had tried to quit several times. Once I quit for a year, then bought a pack of cigarettes and smoked all of them one evening. When I was determined to quit, I went to a stop-smoking clinic. It cost $180, which was then the price for six months of cigarettes. I figured I could at least quit for six months to get my money’s worth.

The class had a dozen people in it. It met every night for a week, then once a week for the next three weeks. We saw horrible pictures of smokers’ lungs. Everybody brought a new package of cigarettes with them. The first night we opened them and smoked five cigarettes in a row as fast as possible. I remember that exercise as being an ugly one. The cigarettes got so hot I could hardly put them in my mouth. After smoking the five cigarettes, we threw away the rest of the pack. The physical act of throwing away the cigarettes was an important step toward quitting.

What helped me more than anything was a card that the instructor passed out that first night. It had a simple sentence on it: “The urge to smoke a cigarette will go away whether or not you smoke a cigarette.” It sure worked for me. Every time I had the urge to smoke, I got out that card and read it. Sure enough, within minutes the urge left and soon the urge to smoke went away forever.

When I meet young people who smoke I tell them if they are ready to quit I have a sure cure for them. Most of them apparently aren’t ready to quit. I’m glad I did.

Article Reference: Young Adults Don’t Want To Quit

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LAS VEGAS IS NO PLACE for a former smoker. Years ago, when I returned to a former employer - a prominent Toronto talent agent’s office - I never thought that the second-hand smoke would make me want to light up again. (It was a smoking office, even in 2003). Especially not after being nicotine-free for nearing a decade and a half. Even after that amount of time, I enjoyed the odd cigarette. And I missed the physical act of smoking. Don’t get me wrong. I never enjoyed jonesing for nicotine, or gasping for air was I walked a flight of stairs and a cigarette smoke often nauseated me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the act of lighting up and butting out. Back in the day, I happily puffed away in my cubicle between collection calls and typing reports, or while explaining the details of our company’s requirements for estate settlement.

Looking back, I cannot imagine what work life might have been like for those who did not smoke to spend the day working in a smoking office.

At least I couldn’t until I stepped into the casino of The Excalibur, a castle-shaped hotel that looks like a cheesy Disney knock-off.

Because smoking is permitted in the casinos, which we had to pass through everyday two or three times per day, by the end of day three my sinuses were in overdrive.

In the years after they corralled us into a smoking room and after bi-laws pushed smokers outdoors, I discovered I am allergic to tobacco. Hence the sinus headaches. But that did not stop me from hankering for a smoke. Because nicotine can be absorbed through the skin into the blood stream, it was as if I was smoking anyway, so I plunked down $7.95 USD and tried to enjoy a beer and a cigarette at a jackpot machine.

No dice.

Maybe it was the beer; maybe it was the American brand of smoke. Either way, I crushed the cigarette in the ashtray, downed the beer and headed back to the hotel room to lay down. Suddenly, I was as nauseated as the night I practiced inhaling a large, regular, duMaurier in my parent’s basement when I was 13 years-old.

And it was likely I was the same sickening shade of pale, too.

Article Reference: Lighting Up In Las Vegas

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