ANTI-SMOKING CONSPIRACY

I'm on day 31 of our cruise.  Only 22 days left.  Since I boarded, I've now and then looked for an opportunity to smoke a cigar or pipe.  Frankly, I had  essentially stopped smoking them years ago, but kept the humidor and other accoutrements.  I brought along three cigars on the Regent Seven Seas Explorer Cruise late last year,  gave one away, and smoked two.  The Explorer had one of those dandy smoking rooms where cigars are sold and drinks served.  Very nice.

With that pleasant experience, I thought, okay, I will have 53 days on the next cruise.  One final time before I give everything away.  I brought three pipes and a few cigars.  No lighter because the airline industry hates them and makes it difficult.  No pipe tobacco because I never got around to buying a packet.

All authorities these days, the Seabourn Odyssey and Australia most particularly, have conspired to prevent me from smoking.  Mind you, they are doing the right thing.  Smoking should be permanently banned.

On my flight from Honolulu I searched and searched and saw no pipe tobacco available.  Duty Free for example had nothing.  Later, it turned out that just a short walk away from the Marriott in Sydney was a tobacco store, so the final day before we boarded, I succeeded.  Really expensive.  $35 for the tiny amount of tobacco, and $10 for the lighter, with fuel.

I have this smoking bag I can carry, as shown in the following photos.

Note the pipe tobacco has a required Australian message to warn you about the dangers of smoking.

So what about the Seabourn conspiracy efforts?  There is only one smoking area for pipes and cigars at one end of the aft on deck 7 with a couple of tables.  There is a second outside spot, aft on deck 9 for cigarettes only.  You cannot smoke anywhere else, including your own veranda.

So a couple weeks ago one afternoon I took my bag with Glenmorangie on rocks to the appropriate area.  Only one table was not in the hot sun.  Two people were eating there. Failure #1.

Failure #2:  we were in port, and I had some time, so I again walked over with my bag and some cognac.  There was a large sign.  Bunkering in process.  NO SMOKING.  They were fueling the ship with bunker fuel oil.  That went on ALL DAY.

Failure #3:  one afternoon I had a Cragganmore on rocks with me, but all the tables were in the hot sun.

Failure #4:  In Savusavu I tried again, but fueling closed the smoking area.

Failure #5:  I went yesterday and the only two tables were occupied by smokers.  Whole lot of other tables, but they were in open sunlight.  Worse, walking through one door the ship lurches and a door crushed my right hand.  Nothing broken, but huge black areas.

The thing with a cruise when the ship is moving is that it is dangerous to walk around.  All doors are large and heavy, and wind gusts can cause accidents.  Walking the stairs can be another hazard.  Now, with the covid outbreak, we have abandoned attending stage shows and lectures, plus don't eat indoors.  So those of you reading this at home can feel smugly reassured that traveling seems exciting, but comes with an assortment of problems, and is expensive.

Haven't written about tobacco in some time.  Here are some worthy points.

• Smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body.
• Remains as the leading cause of preventable death.
• More than 16 million Americans are thusly affected today.
• Second-hand smoke exposure contributes to around 41,000 deaths to nonsmokers annually.
• Tobacco industry continues to spend billions/year on marketing.
• Costs the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars/year.
• In 2020, 12.5% of U.S. adults (31 million) smoked cigarettes:  14% men and 11% women.
• Each day 1600 youths try their first cigarette.
• Smoking rates in the U.S. dropped by half from 1965 to 2006, and in 2018 was down to 14%.

About world statistics. (The darker red the worse.)

• In 2014 20% of the world's population, over one billion, smoked cigarettes.
• In 2014, China produced and consumed more than 30% of the world cigarettes.
• Annual Cigarette Consumption in 2016/person.
• #1      Andorra  6398
• #2      Luxembourg  6331
• #3      Belarus  2911
• #9      Russia  2295
• #14    China 2043
• #31    South Korea  1667
• #32    Germany  1599
• #33    Japan  1583
• #52    Israel  1281
• #68    USA  1017
• #74    Australia  917
• #126  Brazil  334
• #130  Mexico  327
• #172  Peru  98
• #176  India  89
• World-wide average is 1,083 cigarettes/person above the age of 14.
• In 2019 the number of smokers rose to 1.1 billion, which caused 7.7 million deaths.  One in five deaths in males worldwide.  While smokers/capita have declined, the increasing world population means that more and more tobacco is being sold.

In 2020, 3.5% of all adults smoked cigars, and 1.5% of smokers favor pipes. 

• Cigar and pipe smokers argue that their health isn't at risk because they only smoke one or two a day and DON'T inhale.  True, but risk of cancer increases relative to nonsmokers.
• One large cigar contains as much tobacco as an entire pack of cigarettes.
• In Sweden, as many as 25% of adult males smoke a pipe.

Some history.

• I remember in the 1950s when a pack of cigarettes cost only 25 cents.  Apparently stayed low into the 60s.  The tobacco industry had doctors endorsing smoking.  They are the fossil fuel industry of today.

• 
  In 1965, 42% of adults smoked.  Some countries worse than others.  I dreaded catching a flight from Honolulu to Tokyo, for you almost couldn't breathe for the smoke.
• This adult percentage has today dropped to 14% in the U.S, but still kills half a million/year.

• 
  The average cost of a pack of cigarettes in the U.S. is now over $6, including taxes, ranging from $5 in Missouri to over $10 in New York.  Of course taxes are the reason, ranging from 24% to 50%.  But the medical costs will further get you.

Finally, affordability.  Still not bad in the USA.

So will I continue to overcome the conspiracy against me?  Of course, I still have three weeks to prevail.  

The cruise goes on, so we continue to eat.  Lunch at the aft.  A very large salad, with tidbits of pasta and meats, with usually champagne and rosé wine.

There is something mesmerizing about just sitting here and watching the ship chug along.

Otherwise, we still pretty much keep to ourselves in our cabin.  Including dinner.  We watched Moonfall.

A preposterous film starring Halle Berry, directed by Roland Emmerich.  I wouldn't pay to see it.  Rotten Tomatoes:  35%/70%.  I also learned that I could get You Tube, Netflix and the usual popular links, but would need to pay an extra $700 or so for upgraded WiFi.  I have enough Netflix at home.

I don't know how I accumulated 3228 steps, as I did nothing again yesterday.  We are berthed in Apia, Samoa, and just might take a walk.  However, 90 F with passing showers.

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