Tuesday, May 11, 2010

My Favorite Cigarette Jingles

Here's a short audio review of some of my favorite cigarette jingles from the 50's, 60's and 70's. Different cigarette brands explored many different musical styles and genres to best advertise their brands, and these clips truly represent a golden age of cigarette marketing. If I left out your favorite jingle, please let me know!

My Favorite Cigarette Jingles by laforet18

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Obama and Smoking


Just recently, it was revealed that a courthouse in Nebraska has, for the last 18 months, exhibited a popular doctored photo of President Obama smoking instead of the required official portrait. I am going to sidestep the issues of the intention of this "joke" and suspicions of racism -- it's above my paygrade. However, I can't help but resent the fact that the mere appearance of a cigarette in one's mouth is now a smear, an insult, a defamation.

That aside, I do have to admit that during the general election, I was surprised that Obama's (former) smoking habit was not more of an issue -- being a cynic, I was constantly awaiting some talking head or other to declare Obama's allegiance to Big Tobacco (In actuality, it's been a rough year and a half for the tobacco industry ever since the FDA took over the regulation of tobacco products).

What's more, Obama has admitted as recently as February that he still sneaks the occasional puff, to little fanfare. And actually, I would argue that his infrequent lapses may in fact be a boon for our nation. You've probably noticed that smokers are generally allowed more breaks on the clock than others -- we have the perfect excuse, after all.

Considering that Obama has the most stressful and time-consuming job imaginable, a smoke break every once in a while may well help him slow down and meditate on his work. Beyond the simple satisfaction of addiction-fulfillment, smoking allows you to pause and reflect in our otherwise busy lives. We should be grateful for that.