It is interesting to note that now China is the biggest producer of tobacco in the world. They also have the largest population. It would be much more useful for Chinese farmers to brow bamboo. It is a crop that can grow in much of China. It doesn’t need fertilizers and pesticides and does not drain the soil. Rather it helps to hold the top soil together and to improve water retention. Bamboo can be a cash crop. It is also a source of nutrition. Bamboo charcoal can be used as a fuel, a fertilizer and a water filter. Bamboo vinegar can be used as a medicine and as a green cleaning substance that does not posion water supplies.

The same is true of Sub-Sharan Africa and northern South America. Bamboo is one of the ideal crops that could be grown instead of tobacco. Bamboo benefits communities financially and practically. It is also a major source of carbon recycling for the atmosphere. Bamboo is good for communities and good for nature. In short, it is the opposite of tobacco.

It is a sign of the growing strength of the anti-tobacco movement that an ever increasing portion of the general public is ignorant of the proper care of cigars.  Why just last week I had a woman come in looking to know what the best refrigerator was for her husbands’ collection of cigars.

She was rather surprised when I told her that if she was looking for a cigar related gift for her husband, that a refrigerator was of no use whatsoever! I had to sit down and explain to her what a humidor was – she had never heard of them – and how they controlled the humidity and temperature of cigars.

To her credit, she was vaguely aware of the need to control the ambient temperature surrounding the cigars – but was not aware that keeping the tobacco too cold would inhibit the aging process and adversely affect the taste of the product.

Thankfully I was able to set her straight, and she took home to her husband a nice humidor to use for his collection.  I shudder to think what would have happened if she had gone to a Wal-Mart for advice, rather than visiting my store.

It is up to tobaccos experts like us to keep cigar smokers informed even as the knowledge of the general populace about our hobby declines.  While I admire efforts to keep kids from taking up smoking, it is a shame to see adult practitioners of the practice disparaged by their peers.

After trying the usual methods of nicotine patches and cold turkey, which by the way is not something I would recommend, I came across electronic cigarettes. There were many brands but with the use of this Vapor King coupon code I found a brand that helped cut out cigarettes for good as well as save me money. The bonus with e cigarettes is that I am reducing the strength of nicotine in the e cigs and will be without the need for nicotine in the coming months.

That\’s become more of a problem of late though.  

An example might be in order.  I often give health conscious friends a bottle of wine as a wine gift since chocolate, coffee and other more healthy gifts are often consumed in such large quantities that they are no longer healthy any more.

It turns out that the health benefits of red wine may have been greatly overstated.  Much of the research has been called into question after a researcher at the University of Connecticut was found to be lying and fabricating his data.

It\’s unfortunate and brings up a good reminder that quality research is not a given.  We need to provide solid University and Government funding to researchers in the health niche to get their best effort!

My hobby is green interior design. In other words I’m trying to turn the interior of my house into a more environmentally friendly space. By doing so I have improved the air quality, I have reduced my consumption of precious resources such as water and electricity, and I have cut down my household bills. I really like that green interior design benefits both me and the environment.

So far I have changed all my incandescent light bulbs for energy saving compact fluorescent light bulbs. I have also added a few LED lights with solar panels in the garden. I have put in a low flow shower unit into the bathroom to reduce the water used for washing by half. I have also put insulation in my loft space.

My latest challenge has been to install a good programmable thermostat. After much deliberation I opted for the Lux Products TX9000TS. It is a device that lets me choose the times and settings for each day of the week. I have now matched my schedule with the heating / cooling of the house. My Lux Products TX9000TS thermostat also pre-heats or pre-cools the house so I always get home from work to a comfortable environment. The device also tells me when to change the filters so the HVAC is always running at its most efficient.

I’m now eagerly anticipating a reduction in my heating and cooling bills instead of pining for a cigarette.

You do not think about it when you are buying a pack or two at a time but it adds up quick. I surprised me greatly when I found out just how much I was spending. I was so socked when my consultant suggested I file for bankruptcy and stay on my tight budget we planned.

Luckily I went home and researched my options. I researched government and creditor programs and found nothing that would work with me. Finally, I searched what is an IVA? and found all the answers I was looking for. In just a few clicks I was able to get myself back on track financially.

When I turned 14 she said she was going to quit, but I found her smoking in the basement. It upset me not because she was smoking, but because she lied to me. The shock of smelling that tobacco smoke again nearly gave me whiplash.

Now I cannot make decisions for my mother. She has been a smoker since the age of 15, and the habit is hard to break. But I am glad that she decided to stop smoking around her kids (including me) and my dad. The courtesy and honesty about her smoking is good. Hopefully she may decide to quit smoking all together rather than just cut down on the cigarettes. At least she thought about the rest of us when it comes to the smoking issue.

There are all sorts of aids to quiting smoking. Some obviously more effective than others. In my opinion, focussing on the giving up part is the wrong way to look at things. Rather than trying to deny yourself something which you associate with pleasure and relaxation, wouldn’t it be better to associate smoking with danger, ill-health, smelliness, dirtiness and being a waste of money. Then it hopefully becomes easier to put cigarettes out of your life.

Moreover, most people choose to give up smoking to improve their health. I know I did. It got the stage where I realized I was no longer a young man and that my lifestyle would, sooner or later, catch up with me. It definitely took me a few goes to give up cigarettes for good. But having the occasional relapse, while not ideal is better than never giving up at all.

Think about how much you spend on cigarettes in a month, or over 3 months. Why not look through some juicer reviews and pick out a machine that you can use to introduce into your system lots of health giving nutrients?

Giving up smoking is about reducing the damage that you do to your body. Juicing and taking exercise are two positive steps that you can take to increase your level of overall health.

I recently went to Thailand for a holiday. I’ve been several times before. You always used to be able to smoke in hotel rooms, in bars and restaurants. Just about anywhere. In Bangkok they have now put in place rules banning smoking in public places. If you break the rules you face a 2,000 Thai Baht fine. This is a welcome development as Bangkok is already a heavily polluted city.

I took a plane down to Koh Samui. I stayed in a hotel in Chaweng Town. I was expecting the same rules to apply in the south of Thailand as they do in the capital. It was not the case. As with so many laws passed by the central government in Thailand, for one reason or another they are only applied selectively. Obviously tourist locations in Koh Samui don’t see the value in enforcing a non-smoking rule, so they ignore it. And they are allowed to ignore it.

I suppose this is to be expected in the ‘Land of the Free’. What this anecdote highlights is the growing gap between developed and developing countries in their fight to reduce smoker numbers. Without a firm political will and a culture of respecting and upholding the law initiatives to stop smoking are bound to have only limited success. I suspect that the developing world will be the main source of revenue for the tobacco companies in the future.