Tuesday 9 February 2010

One last smoking post, then I'll change the subject.

I've just been having a go at Electrofag and I noticed something.

The first thing I noticed with Electrofag, way back when I first bought it, was that the steam wasn't hot like real smoke. You could tell the difference even blindfolded, if you inhaled Electrofag steam or real tobacco smoke. The 'tobacco' flavour, to me, was like readymades which I don't like all that much. 'Cigar' is pretty good, as is 'Virginia'. I think I'll try blending the 'tobacco' in with others to use it up.

What I noticed tonight was something new. I wear glasses (yes, I'm a specky, nerdy, ugly little mongrel and I was even ginger in my youth. Sorry, ladies) so I always blow tobacco smoke away because if it gets stuck under my glasses it will get in my eyes. I was reading, and I didn't blow the Electrofag steam away... and it doesn't affect my eyes at all. Not one bit. It curls around like real smoke, it's cohesive enough to blow smoke rings, but it doesn't sting the eyes.

So if you're a non-smoker and you've been bothered by smoke in your eyes in the past (it's always been a common complaint), you need have no fear of Electrofaggers. At all. The smoke won't linger, won't attach itself to you and won't even affect your eyes. And no, the nicotine content will have no effect on you at all.

I think I'll try the banana flavour again. That one is really weird. I have roast chicken flavour but that's just too weird.

If they can fix the heat problem and get the flavour just right, it'll be perfect. Now, if ASH can be persuaded to stop advertising tobacco to the young and grow one brain amongst themselves, Electrofag could well be the next phase of smoking. It's not quite there yet, it's not going to make me drop the tobacco entirely yet, but it's close.

Okay, I have a DVD called 'Control' about a medic who experiments with a sociopath's mind with (hopefully) dreadful consequences. And a bottle of Spanish red wine, some tobacco, Electrofag and a big bag of Doritos. I think that's all anyone could possibly need. Back in a bit.

14 comments:

Mark Wadsworth said...

Banana?

You have to let some banana skins dry slowly in the sun (e.g. on a windowsill) until they go tiny and hard and black*, then you scrape off the innards with a penknife and crumble it into the tobacco to make a rollie.

That's banana!

* If you don't get the drying conditions exactly right, they either dry too slow and just go mouldy, or dry too fast and stay flat and yellow, there's more luck than skill involved here.

Anonymous said...

Corrugated Soundbite....
Allan Carr knew years ago, that when his "easyway" stop smoking books were selling millions, his opponents were not tobacco companies, but big PHARMA that were trying to compete with cig sales as a viable alternatave to choking yourself.

Corrugated Soundbite said...

Pierrepoint

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't having a go (well I was, but certainly NOT at you). I just think Big Pharma have stepped it up a level, with governments following suit. It's redistribution of wealth at its finest. Personally, I'd actually be happier just paying off a certain amount of duty, but for them, it's not enough. I detect a full blown ban in the offing, with mandatory "treatment" for us at taxpayer's expense. I don't want that. I don't expect anyone else to pay for my habit, but it's the way partisan anti-smokership is headed...

View from the Solent said...

LI, have you tried cognac flavour?

ex smoker said...

It has always been a puzzle to me why clever folk would willingly breathe in harmful fumes but I suppose it's because we're human.
Risk has to be weighed up against pleasure. The alternative is scary. A world full of people all trying to avoid any risk. Human progress would have been stifled if this was the case.
We'd just stay at the bottom of the pond and eat algae.

Pierrepoint said...

Don't worry yourself one bit. You will not be banned, ever!
You provide HMG with around 8 billon pounds per annum.
For that they can prod you and poke you but they know just how much you will take! They would be distraught if you all packed in. Don't you dare stop, your government needs you!

Anonymous said...

I have been using the Banana flavoured liquid for some months now. It is one of the least offensive flavours. Menthol is the other one. Of the tobacco flavours I prefer RY4. It is similar to, but slightly better than Cigar or Virginia. All of the remaining tobacco flavours I have sampled are disgusting. Of course, others may disagree.

Expat Canadian

Leg-iron said...

Mark - dry stuff in the sun? In Aberdeen? I could do it in an incubator in the lab. That might work. Sounds like it's worth a try. It'll certainly improve the usual smell of the place.

Pierrepoint - you don't like it. That's no problem. I do like it, I assessed the risks and decided they were worth it. Electrofag has close to zero risk for almost the same effect, so I use that too. If Electrofag reaches the point where it really is just the same, I'll switch entirely to the no-risk method.

Until then, as Corrugated Soundbite said, I'll decide what risks I personally take.

There is no risk to anyone else. Second hand smoke is a scam. Third hand smoke is a laughable scam. You'll get far, far more exposure to any of those chemicals they list if you have an open fire, a chimenea or a barbecue. In fact, the carcinogens associated with a barbecue would scare you to death if you knew them all. The list of horrible diseases available on the NHS has not been fully disclosed either. There are things in there you just can't catch outside.

You are exposed to nicotine when you eat potatoes or tomatoes. You will test positive as a smoker after you've eaten them. Even if you've never been anywhere near a smoker.

So yes, I've assessed it and the real risk is much less than advertised. Lung cancer happens but it's still rare, and it's not the sole preserve of tobacco by any means.

I have seen statistical proof that hot showers cause lung cancer. Aerosolising the chemicals added to the water supply means you breathe them in. I shower every day. Why not smoke?

I spent a year working on fractionating oil into carcinogenic components in a radioactive lab. Why not smoke?

Currently I work with some very nasty chemicals and some very deadly bacteria. Why not smoke?

For my personal circumstance, the risk posed by smoking is really the least of my worries. I have assessed that risk. It's no big deal.

Allan Carr's method had a success rate of over 50%. the Pharmers manage just over 1%. They are not a viable alternative and they are not trying to be. Relapsed quitters will try again and boost profits.

It's not an addiction. That is just marketing hype. Those who want to quit will fail as long as they think it's as addictive as heroin. Allan Carr used no drugs and no alternatives. He just talked to people and they stopped.

I don't want to. If the day comes when I do want to, I will just stop. Until then, I like it, it's my risk and nobody else's, and my choice.

As for obsession, well, when ASH leave us alone and there are no more daily attacks on smokers, there'll be no more need for us to constantly defend ourselves. ASH are, in fact, doing more to promote smoking than any tobacco company could wish for.

That's their job.

However, it's time for a change of topic. I'm getting as fed up of the constant barrage of antismoking propaganda as everyone else.

Leg-iron said...

View from the Solent - I haven't tried cognac. I have some absinthe flavour, but since Tesco no longer stock absinthe it just brings back memories of better days.

In fact, best stock up on a range of flavours before those who demand we switch to alternatives to smoking manage to ban the best alternative ever invented.

Leg-iron said...

Expat Canadian - I like the menthol one. You can get menthol filter tips for rollups, and liquorice flavoured rolling papers too. Combining them is... interesting.

I don't remember seeing RY4 listed. I'll look out for it.

Corrugated Soundbite said...

L-I - I've already vented on what what the future may hold ;-) I'll see you in camp.

Snakey said...

"He just talked to people and they stopped."

Sorry to be a pain but that isn't strictly true. If you read http://www.truthwillout.co.uk/ you will discover that Allen Carr used hypnotherapy techniques in his clinics. In his first book he admitted that he quit after hypnotherapy, then had this admission removed in later editions. Allen Carr wasn't as honest as he should have been about this aspect. He too, to some extent, kept the lie of nicotine addiction going even though he admitted that Big Pharma was evil and NRT products were useless. In his books he seemed to take great pleasure in labelling every smoker a drug addict, which is patently untrue. If you look at the amount of money Mr Carr made during his "I will cure the world of smoking" crusade it is obvious why he neglected to inform smokers about the hypnotherapy part of his "cure" ;)

Beware of Geeks bearing GIFs said...

I used to smoke and enjoyed it, but my day job meant that it was hard to have a fag during that time so I never bothered during the day. Had mine in the evening and with a pint. Enjoyed it.

Stopped because I gradually stopped doing the social thing with like-minded friends and gradually was no longer smoking. No withdrawal, no patches, no gum. No regrets.

However, after hearing so much about the Electrofag, I'm quite tempted again using this! Roast chicken flavour - mmmmmm...

JohnRS said...

Shame you chose the banana today. I have to say I had a real honest-to-god chuckle a week or 3 ago when you described walking down the street smoking a roast chicken. Got me some odd glances from nearby folk.

There's something deeply Pythonesque about that statment.

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