http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/smoking/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-08-02-2012/ Sexy men smoke. It’s a fact. James Dean, Jon Hamm, Humphrey Bogart and Shane Warne (feel free to add to this list).  So it’s a great pity that smoking will also eventually make them stupid. Or so says new research from the UK that has drawn a link between rapid brain decline and men who are long term smokers. Here’s the skinny from Reuters: The study used a group of men with an average age of 56 when they had their first cognitive assessment. The study used six assessments of smoking status over 25 years and three cognitive assessments over 10 years, and found that smokers showed a cognitive decline as fast as non-smokers 10 years older than them The study also found that women smokers are spared the effect on their brain because they generally smoke a lot less. Hmmm, we’re not sure about this one. What do you Punchers make of it? And if you’re a male smoker, does this kind of study put you off? Post your thoughts on this and anything else that’s on your mind below. Oh, and happy Wednesday. The week gets good from here. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-08-02-2012/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-08-02-2012/#item7703 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Federal Government has recently attacked British American Tobacco for using the image of a Kangaroo on its cigarette packages overseas. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon labelled it as “un-Australian” and demanded that the tobacco companies “get [their] hands off our icon”. The government is indignant and says that the sale of cigarettes has nothing to do with Australia. Unfortunately that is not entirely true. Almost $150 million of Australian tax dollars are currently invested in tobacco companies like Phillip Morris and British American Tobacco through the Future Fund. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-government-should-give-up-the-smokes/ The Federal Government has recently attacked British American Tobacco for using the image of a Kangaroo on its cigarette packages overseas. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon labelled it as “un-Australian” and demanded that the tobacco companies “get [their] hands off our icon”. The government is indignant and says that the sale of cigarettes has nothing to do with Australia. Unfortunately that is not entirely true. Almost $150 million of Australian tax dollars are currently invested in tobacco companies like Phillip Morris and British American Tobacco through the Future Fund. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-government-should-give-up-the-smokes/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-government-should-give-up-the-smokes/#item7596 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Federal Government has recently attacked British American Tobacco for using the image of a Kangaroo on its cigarette packages overseas. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon labelled it as “un-Australian” and demanded that the tobacco companies “get [their] hands off our icon”. The government is indignant and says that the sale of cigarettes has nothing to do with Australia. Unfortunately that is not entirely true. Almost $150 million of Australian tax dollars are currently invested in tobacco companies like Phillip Morris and British American Tobacco through the Future Fund. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/everyone-loves-a-quitter/ Cigarette /sıgə’rєt/ n. a pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end and a fool at the other. The good thing about writing about smoking is that for once I don’t have to watch my words. Nothing I say could possibly offend smokers more than the government’s shock tactics and cigarette packets themselves. Those of the self-poisoning persuasion are the one section of society you can tear to pieces with impunity. They’ve been told a million times they’re not wanted. I imagine they’re so stressed out by the merciless attack that they need a cigarette. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/everyone-loves-a-quitter/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/everyone-loves-a-quitter/#item7481 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Federal Government has recently attacked British American Tobacco for using the image of a Kangaroo on its cigarette packages overseas. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon labelled it as “un-Australian” and demanded that the tobacco companies “get [their] hands off our icon”. The government is indignant and says that the sale of cigarettes has nothing to do with Australia. Unfortunately that is not entirely true. Almost $150 million of Australian tax dollars are currently invested in tobacco companies like Phillip Morris and British American Tobacco through the Future Fund. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/smoke-til-you-drop-but-leave-the-taxpayer-out-of-it/ Many smokers and, at a guess, pretty much every cufflink-wearing executive from the big tobacco companies have a habit of posturing as macho libertarians. They argue that cigarettes are a legal product, smoking is a matter of choice, and that when it comes to telling us how we can live our lives, the nanny state can go stick it in its pipe and smoke it. This is all fine, up to a point. And that point is when smokers get sick and automatically assume that it is the job of the health system – that is, the taxpayers – to step in and cover the cost of their collapsed lungs, clogged arteries and triple bypasses. It is a logically inconsistent position and, frankly, quite a pathetic one. If smokers and the tobacco industry are going to be hairy-chested about the manner in which they live their life, they should also be held to account for the manner of their death. I write that not as some clean-living puritan, but one of those poor sad dills who has become addicted to this stupid drug, but who is now happily (and hopefully) in the final stages of a victorious battle against nicotine, setting aside last week’s beer-fuelled regression at the office Christmas party. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/smoke-til-you-drop-but-leave-the-taxpayer-out-of-it/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/smoke-til-you-drop-but-leave-the-taxpayer-out-of-it/#item7360 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Federal Government has recently attacked British American Tobacco for using the image of a Kangaroo on its cigarette packages overseas. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon labelled it as “un-Australian” and demanded that the tobacco companies “get [their] hands off our icon”. The government is indignant and says that the sale of cigarettes has nothing to do with Australia. Unfortunately that is not entirely true. Almost $150 million of Australian tax dollars are currently invested in tobacco companies like Phillip Morris and British American Tobacco through the Future Fund. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Im-absolutely-fuming-about-smoking-hypocrisy/ Out of nowhere, my friend Robyn contracted pneumonia this week and ended up in hospital, gasping for breath and coughing her lungs up. It was a scary sight, seeing this dynamic, strong chick totally debilitated and struggling for oxygen. “Anyone who’s thinking about taking up smoking should get a little dose of pneumonia,” she said with a wheeze. “I can’t believe anyone would voluntarily do this to their bodies by sucking on cigarettes.” I toyed with fags at about 16. It was glamour that got me in: the silky silver packaging and swirling royal blue font of the Stirling Special Mild brand. Most of my friends were into it too. My, how we thought we looked urbane and adult – maybe even old enough to buy drinks at the bar of the local Curramulka Hotel. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Im-absolutely-fuming-about-smoking-hypocrisy/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Im-absolutely-fuming-about-smoking-hypocrisy/#item7133 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Federal Government has recently attacked British American Tobacco for using the image of a Kangaroo on its cigarette packages overseas. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon labelled it as “un-Australian” and demanded that the tobacco companies “get [their] hands off our icon”. The government is indignant and says that the sale of cigarettes has nothing to do with Australia. Unfortunately that is not entirely true. Almost $150 million of Australian tax dollars are currently invested in tobacco companies like Phillip Morris and British American Tobacco through the Future Fund. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-difficulties-of-giving-up-on-quiting-smoking/ They say quitting smoking is hard, but I’ve learnt the real truth. It’s not just the quitting that’s difficult (although it is), starting up again is bloody hard too. I’m not just doing this for attention; this is not a cry for help nor is it part of any quarter-life - well, a little closer to third-life - crisis. Truth be told I always enjoyed smoking and I never wanted to give it up in the first place. I started engaging in smoking when I was sixteen. I say “engaging” because I was really pretending to inhale smoke whilst holding it in my mouth before blowing it out like a clandestine burp. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-difficulties-of-giving-up-on-quiting-smoking/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-difficulties-of-giving-up-on-quiting-smoking/#item6413 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Federal Government has recently attacked British American Tobacco for using the image of a Kangaroo on its cigarette packages overseas. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon labelled it as “un-Australian” and demanded that the tobacco companies “get [their] hands off our icon”. The government is indignant and says that the sale of cigarettes has nothing to do with Australia. Unfortunately that is not entirely true. Almost $150 million of Australian tax dollars are currently invested in tobacco companies like Phillip Morris and British American Tobacco through the Future Fund. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/faqs-is-plain-packaging-bad-for-your-health/ What is the cigarette plain packaging legislation? From July 2012 the Australian Government plans to prohibit all brand logos, fonts, colours and promotional wording on cigarette packaging.  Cigarettes will come in olive green boxes displaying prominent safety warnings and the name of the brand and variant printed in standard size, font and position. Why is Labor taking on Big Tobacco? They are the only target left that is less popular than Julia Gillard.  Does plain packaging infringe on freedom of choice? Studies have shown most smokers cannot distinguish between brands in blind trials and the perceived differences are often an artefact of subtle cues in the colour, logos and design on the packaging.  Nevertheless, tobacco companies spend millions of dollars perfecting the positive associations evoked by cigarette packaging and consumers have a right to have their free choices subconsciously influenced by them. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/faqs-is-plain-packaging-bad-for-your-health/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/faqs-is-plain-packaging-bad-for-your-health/#item6193 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Federal Government has recently attacked British American Tobacco for using the image of a Kangaroo on its cigarette packages overseas. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon labelled it as “un-Australian” and demanded that the tobacco companies “get [their] hands off our icon”. The government is indignant and says that the sale of cigarettes has nothing to do with Australia. Unfortunately that is not entirely true. Almost $150 million of Australian tax dollars are currently invested in tobacco companies like Phillip Morris and British American Tobacco through the Future Fund. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/even-smokers-have-a-wheezy-laugh-at-tobacco-campaign/ In the gruesome final scene of Martin Scorcese’s remake of Cape Fear, the sadistic murderer Max Cady has been bashed with a plank, burned with lighter fluid, thrown off the side of a houseboat and is finally drowning in a river. As he sinks into the water he starts speaking in tongues, struggling to keep his mouth above the waterline as he shouts random free-form gibberish before finally drowning. I was reminded of this scene while listening to a woman from a cigarette company on the radio this week as she put forward the tobacco industry’s arguments, if you can call them that, against plain packaging. Despite having a long-standing fondness for the gaspers, and a firm belief that adults should be free to do whatever they like, I don’t ever think I have heard such nonsense in my life. This industry, which in essence is in the death business, is itself in its death throes. As it sinks further into the abyss it is thrashing about spouting nonsense in defence of its right to sell demonstrably deadly products. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/even-smokers-have-a-wheezy-laugh-at-tobacco-campaign/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/even-smokers-have-a-wheezy-laugh-at-tobacco-campaign/#item6094 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Federal Government has recently attacked British American Tobacco for using the image of a Kangaroo on its cigarette packages overseas. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon labelled it as “un-Australian” and demanded that the tobacco companies “get [their] hands off our icon”. The government is indignant and says that the sale of cigarettes has nothing to do with Australia. Unfortunately that is not entirely true. Almost $150 million of Australian tax dollars are currently invested in tobacco companies like Phillip Morris and British American Tobacco through the Future Fund. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/whos-afraid-of-the-big-bad-nanny-state/ Plug the word nanny into the website of free market think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), and you would be forgiven for thinking that they were an au pair agency.  No less than 190 opinion pieces, articles, press releases and reports use the word. IPA’s nanny obsession reaches fever pitch in 2011, with IPA spokesmen Tim Wilson and Chris Berg whipping off articles condemning the nanny state quicker than you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. And now Big Tobacco has jumped on the nanny state bandwagon with the launch of its plain packaging attack campaign NoNannyState. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/whos-afraid-of-the-big-bad-nanny-state/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/whos-afraid-of-the-big-bad-nanny-state/#item6079 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Federal Government has recently attacked British American Tobacco for using the image of a Kangaroo on its cigarette packages overseas. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon labelled it as “un-Australian” and demanded that the tobacco companies “get [their] hands off our icon”. The government is indignant and says that the sale of cigarettes has nothing to do with Australia. Unfortunately that is not entirely true. Almost $150 million of Australian tax dollars are currently invested in tobacco companies like Phillip Morris and British American Tobacco through the Future Fund. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/smokers-deserve-the-right-to-die-with-dignity/ The tobacco industry’s campaign against plain packaging is at last a cause worthy enough for me to believe in. As a smoker myself it is very important to me that if I am going to be killed slowly it should at least be by someone I know and trust. Indeed, it does not reflect well on the euthanasia lobby that it is strangely silent on this particular aspect of dying with dignity. Fundamentally this is a debate about choosing the manner of your own death. Some people choose to hurl themselves off the Gap, Ben Elton chooses to do it on live television and smokers choose to do it by gradually annihilating their lungs. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/smokers-deserve-the-right-to-die-with-dignity/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/smokers-deserve-the-right-to-die-with-dignity/#item5857 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The Federal Government has recently attacked British American Tobacco for using the image of a Kangaroo on its cigarette packages overseas. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon labelled it as “un-Australian” and demanded that the tobacco companies “get [their] hands off our icon”. The government is indignant and says that the sale of cigarettes has nothing to do with Australia. Unfortunately that is not entirely true. Almost $150 million of Australian tax dollars are currently invested in tobacco companies like Phillip Morris and British American Tobacco through the Future Fund.