ode to djarum (they're going to ban flavored tobacco, ya heard?)

[Jason]

so i basically lived on djarum blacks all through college, and i've smoked them on and off, here and there, ever since. then i hear congress is calling for a ban on flavored tobacco. they figure fruity flavors attract the kids. i'm not even going to start up a rant about how ridiculous the whole notion seems to me.

instead, here's my ode to djarum. i stopped by my local cigar shop the other day, and i bought myself a pack. just one pack, you say? yes, one. prices are so crazy whackass out of control, that a single pack costs nearly eight dollars. i love 'em, but i'm not in love with 'em. anyway, since i bought the pack, i've been smoking one per day. just one. savoring every last tantalizing second of every last succulent drag. it's my way of saying, "hey, thanks djarum. you're tasty, and i've enjoyed you over the years."

and as a final send off, i'm re-posting an old piece of writing that i'm pretty sure got tossed up in one of the old "tw artists" threads years ago. if you love cloves, share your love. for that matter, if you love any kind of flavored tobacco, share your love.

here's mine.

a sweet crackling ember just inches from my mouth
it's been too long since a djarum black has graced these lips
and i'll take a clove over a cigarette any day
rochester winters come flooding back
black cloves
blue hands
blue lips
we were too young and too stubborn to come in from the cold
but it was that chill that made us feel alive
seeing our breath
swirls of smoke and steam that rose upward endlessly
most of our thoughts were exhaled out into those icy, white clouds
heading off to forever to be remembered who knows when
thoughts were built to be airborne though
and we sure let them fly
but not a word was spoken between drag after drag
the sweet taste
the cool air making us shiver ever so slightly now and again
what was there to think about?
what needed to be said?
a beautiful night, with some stars and a bench to perch on
everything was as it should be
and the cloves, they were just fitting in
interlocking with the whole simple scene
completing the puzzle of all puzzles

[kthx]

Lol, how can the government ban flavored tobacco, that is by far the stupidest thing I have ever heard in my life. They still sell Big League Chew. This is just yet another example of the government stepping far beyond their authority to try to implement something they shouldn't control. The government wants everyone to quit smoking but the government also gets a like.. 30% tax on all cigarette sales so they actually get paid off of it also.

Anyways, I don't smoke flavored tobacco except for maybe some pomegranate or mixed fruit in my hookah, but that is about all.

[DoTheFandango]

80-90% of smokers start before they are 18. I know I started smoking (and have since quit) thanks to things like Swisher Sweets and Al Capone, which were like smoking candy.

The fact that they are banning this is absurd for so many fucking reasons, but I see why.

[kthx]

I started when I was 17 and quit this year when I am 24.

I think the people who are going to be the most pissed off about this is going to be people who smoke flavored blunts, the weed kind.

But im guessing that they aren't going to consider mint a flavor since menthols are a way of life, also flavored zig-zags aren't going to be banned, and they will just sell swisha sweet flavors as wraps instead of having tobacco in them.

Anyways.. flavors of tobacco didn't make me want to start smoking, this seems targeted against homosexuals and women. I still remember my first pack of cigarettes I bought at the store, I had eaten a few shrooms and was coming down, I felt nice and mellow and decided I wanted a cigarette now that the visuals were slowly disappearing. I went to a store where the lady knew me because I got gas there all the time, or got cokes/chips etc and I walked up to the counter and got a pack of Marlboro Reds. The lady looked at me a second, smiled, and I had bought my first pack of cigarettes ever. Good times.

[Xog]

Does "Flavored Tobacco" also refer to shisha?

[Bioture]

what about hookah?

[Xog]

what about hookah?

refer to post before you containing words such as: shisha, to, tobacco, what, flavored, refer, about, does, and also.

[Jason]

i haven't been able to track down a definitive new article that itemizes just what exactly is being considered. at this point, i know cloves and things like flavored blunts and what not are going bye bye.

something tells me hookah related products might be exempt as they are a specialized market that is somewhat removed from the mass advertising big tobacco utilizes.

[Xog]

i haven't been able to track down a definitive new article that itemizes just what exactly is being considered. at this point, i know cloves and things like flavored blunts and what not are going bye bye.

something tells me hookah related products might be exempt as they are a specialized market that is somewhat removed from the mass advertising big tobacco utilizes.

especially since it is a middle eastern tradition

[Jason]

yes, but we're talking about sales within the united states. it's likely regulation will leave room for use for the purposes of religious ritual and what have you.

you might see your average new age hipster hookah bar shut down, though.

[Xog]

yes, but we're talking about sales within the united states.

correct, and i buy flavored shisha from the cigar shop a few blocks away every couple months for my hookah (not american brand, which i think may be your point)

[Jason]

yeah, i do the same. i don't think you'll see any issues. but i'm not an expert. i'm just using common sense. and we all know how far that'll get you when you're dealing with the united states government.

[Squeezer]

so long as they don't touch black and milds I'm cool

first they came for the swishers, but there were other blunt wraps, so I said nothing.
then they came for the sheesha, but I didn't smoke hooka, so I said nothing.
then they came for snuff, but I don't really dip, so I said nothing.
then they came for the light cigarettes, but I'm not a fag that needs lights, so I said nothing.
then they came for cloves, but I never liked the way they tasted anyway, so I said nothing.
then they came for the black and milds and there was no one left to speak up.

[kthx]

Meh, I will just go to Mexico and smuggle in flavored tobacco and sell it for a ton.