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No smoking all day is a big deal for many Muslims in the Middle East. One year I was living in Cairo during Ramadan, and each day when it got close to the sunse

No smoking all day is a big deal for many Muslims in the Middle East. One year I was living in Cairo during Ramadan, and each day when it got close to the sunset call to prayer (which heralds the end of the fast), it seemed like all the cab drivers had cigarettes in hand, waiting eagerly to light up.

thuridas 3y ago
It is a shame that it didn't lead them to stop smoking
- kjellsbells 3y ago
  Humans are hilariously fallible. I find it interesting that , somehow, preparing for Lent, a time to eat simply and consider the elevation of your soul, became Mardi Gras, an excuse to let it all rip.
  - atchoo 3y ago
    Hah, I didn't know that. It's like Pancake Day in the UK. Traditionally the time to use up sugar/milk/eggs before lent but turns into everyone buying extra to pig out on. To think we could have got Mardi Gras instead.
- H8crilA 3y ago
  People underappreciate how addictive nicotine is. I've been an addict for 15 years and I quit so many times, sometimes for longer than a year. The new smoking inventions only make it worse because they allow for much much higher dosages. I've seen teens smoking what amounts to 10 packs a day worth of nicotine. And they didn't have to chain smoke for 12 hours to achieve that.
  - girishso 3y ago
    What new smoking inventions? Genuinely interested.
    - dividedbyzero 3y ago
      Vaping probably. Depending on the jurisdiction people can get extremely high-nicotine liquids, or ingredients to mix such liquids at home.
    - ylere 3y ago
      Nicotine Vapes - Look at the effective dosage of JUULs capsules for example [0]. This combined with the ease of use, the removal of the (unpleasant) smoke, increased social acceptance (often indoors too) and a huge advertising campaign deliberately targeting teens [1] created a lot of new smokers/nicotine addicts (and converted some) that smoke more often and at much higher dosages. [0] https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/01/416371/juul-delivers-substantially-more-nicotine-previous-generation-e-cigs-and https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/01/416371/juul-delivers-subst... The research found that blood nicotine concentrations in the JUUL group (136.4 ng/ml) was eight times higher than e-cigs group (17.1 ng/ml) and 5.2 times higher than cigarettes (26.1 ng/ml). [1] https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/emerging-tobacco-products/behind-explosive-growth-juul https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/emerging-toba...
    - agentwiggles 3y ago
      Vaping, I assume. I admit with some shame that after over a decade off cigarettes, I'm currently re-addicted to nicotine via vaping. Over the past 10 years or so, I would buy a pack of smokes every once in a while (like, maybe once a year), and enjoy smoking at a party or concert or whatever. I never had trouble stopping after a few and would usually throw the rest of the pack away, it was honestly just too inconvenient to keep up an addiction (not to mention that unless I was _really_ drinking, I would be all too keenly aware that, well, cigarettes are nasty). Last time I was on vacation, and might have bought a pack of cigarettes, I decided "hey, why not try a Juul instead," and, the rest is history. While I'm overall in favor of vapes and think that they're a valuable cessation device, the problem, for me, is that it's all to easy to vape while I work in my home office - no smell, no fire, etc. I think that makes it a lot easier to continually dose nicotine and really settle into addiction. Also, while I'm sure they're safer than cigarettes, I still have doubts that they're safe, and I can't help but think of the attitudes that used to prevail with regards to tobacco back in the 40s and 50s when I hear folks talking about how totally OK for your body vaping is.
  - sterlind 3y ago
    aww that's scary. I managed to quit smoking years ago (I only smoked for less than a year anyway), then quit vaping, then used nicotine lozenges for an embarrassingly long amount of time (4+ years?) until quitting cold-turkey at the start of this year. do you think I'll relapse? I don't usually get cravings anymore but I'm scared it'll happen.
    - anigbrowl 3y ago
      No probably not. If you don't usually get cravings and you haven't smoked in over 4 years you're probably fine. A good check is to note how you react when you smell someone's cigarette on the street.
  - anigbrowl 3y ago
    Same story here. Chantix (varenicline) somehow magically eliminated the carvings permanently (13 years and I haven't wanted nicotine again, though I still have nostalgia for the act of smoking). It has heavy side effects, still worth it.
wyclif 3y ago
Oh yeah, that's a thing. And try catching a cab in Jerusalem during Ramadan. All the cab drivers are Muslim and you'd better have an alternate means of transportation.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

thuridas 3y ago

It is a shame that it didn't lead them to stop smoking

kjellsbells 3y ago
Humans are hilariously fallible. I find it interesting that , somehow, preparing for Lent, a time to eat simply and consider the elevation of your soul, became Mardi Gras, an excuse to let it all rip.
- atchoo 3y ago
  Hah, I didn't know that. It's like Pancake Day in the UK. Traditionally the time to use up sugar/milk/eggs before lent but turns into everyone buying extra to pig out on. To think we could have got Mardi Gras instead.
H8crilA 3y ago
People underappreciate how addictive nicotine is. I've been an addict for 15 years and I quit so many times, sometimes for longer than a year. The new smoking inventions only make it worse because they allow for much much higher dosages. I've seen teens smoking what amounts to 10 packs a day worth of nicotine. And they didn't have to chain smoke for 12 hours to achieve that.
- girishso 3y ago
  What new smoking inventions? Genuinely interested.
  - dividedbyzero 3y ago
    Vaping probably. Depending on the jurisdiction people can get extremely high-nicotine liquids, or ingredients to mix such liquids at home.
  - ylere 3y ago
    Nicotine Vapes - Look at the effective dosage of JUULs capsules for example [0]. This combined with the ease of use, the removal of the (unpleasant) smoke, increased social acceptance (often indoors too) and a huge advertising campaign deliberately targeting teens [1] created a lot of new smokers/nicotine addicts (and converted some) that smoke more often and at much higher dosages. [0] https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/01/416371/juul-delivers-substantially-more-nicotine-previous-generation-e-cigs-and https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/01/416371/juul-delivers-subst... The research found that blood nicotine concentrations in the JUUL group (136.4 ng/ml) was eight times higher than e-cigs group (17.1 ng/ml) and 5.2 times higher than cigarettes (26.1 ng/ml). [1] https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/emerging-tobacco-products/behind-explosive-growth-juul https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/emerging-toba...
  - agentwiggles 3y ago
    Vaping, I assume. I admit with some shame that after over a decade off cigarettes, I'm currently re-addicted to nicotine via vaping. Over the past 10 years or so, I would buy a pack of smokes every once in a while (like, maybe once a year), and enjoy smoking at a party or concert or whatever. I never had trouble stopping after a few and would usually throw the rest of the pack away, it was honestly just too inconvenient to keep up an addiction (not to mention that unless I was _really_ drinking, I would be all too keenly aware that, well, cigarettes are nasty). Last time I was on vacation, and might have bought a pack of cigarettes, I decided "hey, why not try a Juul instead," and, the rest is history. While I'm overall in favor of vapes and think that they're a valuable cessation device, the problem, for me, is that it's all to easy to vape while I work in my home office - no smell, no fire, etc. I think that makes it a lot easier to continually dose nicotine and really settle into addiction. Also, while I'm sure they're safer than cigarettes, I still have doubts that they're safe, and I can't help but think of the attitudes that used to prevail with regards to tobacco back in the 40s and 50s when I hear folks talking about how totally OK for your body vaping is.
- sterlind 3y ago
  aww that's scary. I managed to quit smoking years ago (I only smoked for less than a year anyway), then quit vaping, then used nicotine lozenges for an embarrassingly long amount of time (4+ years?) until quitting cold-turkey at the start of this year. do you think I'll relapse? I don't usually get cravings anymore but I'm scared it'll happen.
  - anigbrowl 3y ago
    No probably not. If you don't usually get cravings and you haven't smoked in over 4 years you're probably fine. A good check is to note how you react when you smell someone's cigarette on the street.
- anigbrowl 3y ago
  Same story here. Chantix (varenicline) somehow magically eliminated the carvings permanently (13 years and I haven't wanted nicotine again, though I still have nostalgia for the act of smoking). It has heavy side effects, still worth it.

wyclif 3y ago

Oh yeah, that's a thing. And try catching a cab in Jerusalem during Ramadan. All the cab drivers are Muslim and you'd better have an alternate means of transportation.

deleted 3y ago
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