So it was finals week and I forgot to place my cigarette order in time to not run out. Plus, of course, I smoked twice as much creating those endless final papers. Consequently, I found myself visiting the corner store where the cost is twice as much as well. You see, I live in Chicago, and the taxes on smokers, yes smokers not cigarettes, is close to $3.00 per pack, if not more. The corner store had a deal on Camels that week-only $6.00 per pack. Oh boy! Camels are not my normal brand, American Spirits are, but the corner store gets $8.50 per pack for those. I used to smoke Marlboro, but I switched ten years ago when I discovered all the chemicals used in the processing.
I quickly remembered when I lit the first Camel, took three puffs and it was gone! That’s the most immediate difference between American Spirit Cigarettes and Camels, or any other standard brand, but since Camels is the one I smoked for two days, they are the ones targeted for this comparison. Plus, since cigarettes cost so much these days, the fact that standard brands like Camels disappear so quickly is cause for great discontent, and discourse.
Since the majority of smokers purchase the standard brands, such as Camels or Marlboros or Kools, I’m sure most smokers (and there are still a few of us left out there) don’t realize they smoke twice as much in comparison to smoking an all natural cigarette, such as American Spirits. The naturals cost more for a reason. It’s no secret how many chemicals go into tobacco processing, but in case you don’t know, or have forgotten, let me list a few that are ingested with every puff. There are over 400, but the ones that convinced me to switch to American Spirits were: Benzene, used as a solvent in fuel; Formaldehyde, used to preserve dead bodies; Ammonia(used to flavor?), found in dry cleaner fluids; and Acetone, yes, that’s nail polish remover.
Now, I’m not making the claim that American Spirits, which are 100% chemical free, are not just as “hazardous to your health,” as Camel cigarettes, but I have to think that not ingesting benzene, formaldehyde and ammonia along with the tar and nicotine has got to be a better alternative. Moreover, when you add into the equation that because there are so many chemical additives, Camels (and other standard brands) burn quicker thereby forcing you to smoke more, it only makes sense that smoking a chemical free cigarette is better for your lungs.
Let’s go back to my two days of smoking Camels waiting for my American Spirit order to arrive. Mind you, I’m in the middle of finals, writing endless papers and class presentations, so I’m already smoking more. As a writer, I tend to light a cigarette when I’m stumped on word choice or story or character development, and those two days were no different. I’d get stumped, light a Camel, take a puff or two, get the word, set the Camel down to type the word, and go back for the cigarette that was-gone. In comparison, when I light an American Spirit cigarette, I can perform this same activity, two or three times before the cigarette is gone. Consequently, in the two days waiting for my order, when I would have normally smoked two packs American Spirit cigarettes, I ended up buying four packs of Camels.
Not only did this expedition into the standard brand cigarette world take its toll on my pocketbook, it also wreaked havoc with my lungs, my head and my lips. By the time the American Spirits arrived, I was coughing up globs of Camels’ chemicals, carried a splitting headache for the two days, and had cracked and burning lips. In the end, if you must smoke, my suggestion is to try all natural brands such as American Spirits cigarettes as opposed to the chemical laden standard brands such as Camels. Save your dollars and your body, even if it is only a little. Every little bit of good helps when you’re doing something bad.
