#125: How to Hide from Your Parents That You Smoke

1) Don't feel bad about yourself. Your parents will still love you even if you smoke, but they won't like it.



2) Keep your cigarettes and lighters hidden. Clean up after smoking a cigarette. Try not to use matches; instead try to get your hands on a lighter. Matches have a distinct scent to them.



3) Try not to smoke inside or immediately outside the house



4) Don't throw away those empty toilet paper rolls! Stuff them with crumpled dryer sheets on one end, and blow the the smoke through there. The sheets will act as a filter for the smoke. Or you can also take a rubber band and put the sheet over one end then put the rubber band over it, and it will have the same effect.



5) SOME OTHER STEPS

Take a walk around the block or smoke at the corner where your parents won't see.

Smoke only when you are out with your friends, or when your parents are 'out of the house.'

Some neighborhoods have houses for sale or lease, don't be stupid and smoke in there, it is illegal and you can go to jail if you get caught.

If you're smoking in a car, crack your windows a few inches and make sure the cigarette is out the window, but behind the mirror. Crank up the heat or AC, depending on the weather, and aim the vents toward the nearest window to keep the smoke outside. Wear a sweatshirt, hood up, while smoking. Be sure to exhale the smoke with a strong whoosh out the open window. After you're done, roll the windows down more, leave the air on, and air out the sweatshirt after removing it, then turn it inside out. Drink Gatorade or Powerade during and after, as it soothes your throat and helps with your breath. Afterward, chew gum and use a small amount of perfume, cologne, or air freshener on your hands. Always wash with hot water and soap as soon as possible. Cruise around for awhile to air out the vehicle, yourself, and other passengers. Don't leave your windows cracked when parked at your house since it's a dead giveaway, unless it is the summer time


6) Eliminate the cigarette odor from yourself before entering the house. Cigarette smoke takes 45 minutes to get off your clothes if you smoke one, every time you smoke another, add 15 minutes.

• Keep a can of cologne or some odor eliminator in your car for convenience.
• Similarly, take a breath mint or chew some gum to get rid of your smoke breath, chocolate also works wonders for smokey breath. If you spray too much though, your parents might get suspicious, if you need to drink to get rid of the smell, don't drink soda or water, drink a dairy product like milk.
• Oranges and orange oil also masks the scent of cigarettes very well. If you can do so convincingly, carry an orange with you as a snack. After smoking, peel and eat the orange, simultaneously covering your fingers and your breath with the scent of oranges. Or wear some rubber gloves, and dispose once you have used them.
• Clean the smell off of your fingers, because parents who have smoked tend to ask to smell your fingers before anything else. Getting rid of the smell can be done with scented soap or rubbing your hands in a clump of grass before entering your home. If they ask why your hands have grass stains, tell them you tripped and fell. De greaser for your hands also works wonders at removing the cigarette smell from your fingers.
• If you don't want your fingers to smell like smoke you should not hold on to the filter when you inhale.
• If your parents say you smell of smoke, tell them either that you were in a smoky place (for example, a bar), at a friend's house whose parents smoke in the house, or that some of your friends smoke. However, your parents might not be happy about those things either, so be careful.
• Smoke clings to hair a lot. Before you need to be in your parents company, try to find a sink, and splash water through your hair. If at all possible, take a shower.

#124: World most expensive Shisha / Hookah sells for $60,000

For the delight of discerning individuals who thinks smoking shisha, is just the perfect way to unwind in an evening, the brand Desvall is offering Desvall Shishas, which are individually crafted into a unique piece of art through a blend of state-of-the-art engineering and traditional craftsmanship. We have also earlier seen some of the exclusive hookah’s like the bespoke Étienne LeRoy, the Porsche Design hookah pipe, especially-made shisha which was part of the late Saddam Hussein’s valuables, but the Desvall Shisha's are meant for connoisseurs

The Desvall shisha truly embodies Sweden’s critically acclaimed artisanal heritage with the use of hand-shaped ceramics, pioneering use of metal and leather working techniques, as well as the exquisite and rare reindeer antler carvings of the indigenous Sami people.

Interestingly, in the pursuit of the artistically perfect shisha, Desvall have developed several limited edition designs including the most expensive shisha that sells for staggering $60,000.

Crystal Gold Edition Desvall Shisha
Price: $60,000
With gold plated body material, exquisite 24ct gold details along with hand-crafted white leather, the Crystal Gold edition is the most expensive shisha from the house of Desvall, which represents the ultimate blend of technological precision and handmade tradition. Further, its hand-cut glass vase material has been hand-blown by Orrefors in Sweden.

Gold Edition Shisha
Gold Edition Desvall Shisha
Described as the choice of modern emperors, this kingly gold-on gold shisha boasts 24-carat gold plated body and ring, with the central ring completely embellished with Swarovski crystals. While the white handcrafted leather completes its kingly look.
Black Edition Shisha 
Complimented by a 24ct, gold plated ring adorned with Swarovski crystals, this edition features a stunning metallic black tower. The pipe has been crafted from the finest hand-sewn black leather.

Chrome Edition Shisha

With chrome plating over the whole body as well on the central ring, this seamless masterpiece also boasts a ring wreathed with Swarovski crystals. And, its regal look is completed by supple, handcrafted white leather.

Notably, the Devall Shisha can also be customized to a buyer’s taste and specification, following a one-to-one meeting at their convenience. And, it’ll cost a total of $100,000 to craft that one limited edition piece.

#123: Hangover Relievers

What Does Relieve Hangovers

The only real cure for a hangover is time. If no more alcohol is consumed, hangover symptoms should subside between eight and 24 hours. There are some things that can be done to relieve some of the most severe symptoms.

• Water or Sports Drinks - The dehydration effects of alcohol causes some of the most discomfort associated with hangovers -- headache, dizziness, and light headedness. The quickest way to relieve those symptoms is to drink lots of water. Sports drinks, such as Gatorade, will not only relieve dehydration, but also replace needed electrolytes.

• Painkillers - Aspirin and ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin) may reduce hangover headache and muscle pain, but should not be used if you are experiencing abdominal pain or nausea. The medications themselves are gastric irritants and can compound gastrointestinal hangover symptoms. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) should not be taken during a hangover because alcohol metabolism enhances acetaminophen's toxicity. Also, ibuprofen taken when dehydrated can sometimes cause kidney dysfunction especially in persons with poor kidney function.

• Eggs - Because eggs contain cysteine, which breaks down acetaldehyde in the body, eating eggs the morning after a drinking binge could help remove the hangover-causing alcohol metobolite toxin from the body.

• Bananas - Alcohol, like any diuretic, depletes the body of potassium. Eating bananas, or other fruit high in potassium, while having hangover symptoms can replenish the potassium and lost electrolytes. Sports drinks typically are good sources of potassium.

• Bouillon Soup - If you can't handle the idea of eating anything solid while experiencing severe hangover symptoms, try some bouillon soup. It also can help replace salt and potassium lost during a drinking binge.

• Fruit or Fruit Juice - Consuming fruit or fruit juice while hungover can increase energy, replaces vitamins and nutrients and has been shown to speed up the body's process of getting rid of toxins. Fruits and fruit juices therefore can help decrease the intensity of hangover symptoms.

The Bottom Line on Hangovers

Drinking as much water as possible over the course of the evening and before you go to bed will relieve a great deal of the hangover symptoms caused by dehydration. But only time will cure the hangover symptoms caused by the alcohol poisoning effects of excessive drinking.

#122: Bollywood Smokers: Ajay Devgan

The Omkara star, Ajay Devgan is also a chain smoker. He has been fined for smoking in public a few times but that does not seem to deter our man here.

#121: Pipe Buying Myths

Myth: 'Buy a cheap pipe for your first one, so you haven't lost much if you decide you don't like it.'

Reality: Buying an inexpensive pipe as your first pipe is probably a recipe for disaster. While there are well made, inexpensive pipes available, without some experience in what to look for, you are likely to buy a pipe with some serious mechanical problems, which will give you a devil of a time as you try to learn to smoke a pipe.

Myth: Pipes are fashion accessories.

Reality: Pipes are pipes. They are fashioned to smoke tobacco in, not to be an accompaniment to your jacket or tie. They are not shoes or cuff-links. You should buy pipes because you like them, not because they match some outfit you own.

Myth: The shape of your face should determine the type/size of pipe you buy.

Reality: You should buy pipes that you enjoy looking at, holding, and smoking. Who really cares if your face is 'tall and lean' and you prefer squat, fat-bowled pipes. It would be a shame to limit your pipe horizons for such a silly reason.

Myth: Meerschaum pipes are for 'experienced' smokers.

Reality: Meerschaum pipes are somewhat more fragile than a briar pipe, and have different physical properties, but that is no reason not to buy one for your first pipe if that is what you desire.

#120: Cigarettes worth £15,000 stolen in Greenland

Raid on Greenland Street shop - Cigarettes worth £15,000 stolen after thieves enter newsagents through tiny rear window

 

THIEVES may have used a child accomplice to break into a Camden Town newsagents opposite a police base.

Officers have told the owner of Greenland News, Aftab Ahmad, that it is unlikely an adult could have squeezed through the tiny basement window of his shop before stealing more than £15,000 worth of cigarettes.

The store in Greenland Street faces the bright blue Met Police base used by the Camden Town and Primrose Hill’s Safer Neighbourhood team (SNT).

Distraught Mr Ahmad said it would take him more than 12 months to recover from the loss after having stocked up on “a year’s worth” of cigarettes ahead of the VAT hike.

Thieves struck in the early hours of Monday morning, scrupulously covering their tracks by removing the store’s security system and washing their footprints with cleaning fluid. 

After entering through the window, they smashed down two doors, before stealing phone cards and cash from the till as well as the cigarettes.

Officers are reviewing CCTV in the street and have warned other shopkeepers to be vigilant after a series of break-ins at stores over the ­festive period including WH Smith in Finchley Road.

Mr Ahmad, who has run the family business for 18 years, said: “I really thought we were safe. The police use the street quite heavily. Their cars are always outside and with all the CCTV and our security I don’t know what more I can do. We have never been broken into before.

“For a small business at the time of a recession, this is going to be really hard for us. I had gone out and bought all these cigarettes because of the change in VAT.”

The police base is only open during the day, having once been the site of a stand-off between charity workers and officers in its previous incarnation as a neighbourhood advice centre before it was closed and reopened by the force in 2005.

Mr Ahmad added: “I think whoever did it must have come into the shop and had a proper look around first. It looks like they used a child to crawl through the window. It’s about 30 centimetres wide. Also if you drove past, I think you would think there would be police next door. They must have known about the opening hours.”

A spokeswoman for Camden Police said: “The SNT base on Greenland Road is manned by Camden and Primrose Hill SNT. It does not have exact opening times, it is open when the SNT are on duty, this means that it is usually open from 10am. Depending on the different shifts of the SNT it could remain open until 10pm or sometimes later.”

#119: ‘Third of South Africa smokes cigarettes’

Cape Town - Many South Africans are heavy smokers, spending at least R400 a month supporting their fix.

The 2012 Health24 Great SA Smoking Survey, sponsored by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, found that more than 50 percent of smokers puff between 11 and 30 cigarettes a day, and that about 33 percent of smokers started smoking at 15 and younger – too young to legally buy ciggies. About 45 percent started between 16 and 19, and two percent started after 30.

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

The survey comes as the national health department proposes a total ban in public areas, and seeks to ban smoking within 10m of any building, walkway, window or door. Picture: Shayne Robinson

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to under-18s, or to smoke in private cars containing children under 12, or in public unless in a specific zone.

Of the 8 262 surveyed – including smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers – 39 percent were active smokers. About 42 percent smoked between 11 and 20 a day while 17 percent smoked between 21 and 30, and about seven percent smoked more than 30.

People who smoked more than 30 a day spent R1 620 a month, those who smoked 16 to 20 a day paid up to R810, and those who smoked 11 to 15 a day paid just over R600.

The survey comes as the national health department proposes a total ban in public areas, and seeks to ban smoking within 10m of any building, walkway, window or door.

The smokers said the pleasurable puff came after day-to-day routines, when stressed or under pressure. About 44 percent said the most satisfying was after meals, a drink or sex, while 27 percent said the first cigarette of the day was the most pleasing.

Thirty-six percent said they “enjoy smoking too much”, 53 percent had tried quitting more than once, and 19 percent had tried up to six times.

Desire for a healthy lifestyle was the main reason for trying to quit, while cost was the second major driver. Pressure from the family, including children, was another factor.

Of those who relapsed, 40 percent blamed people smoking around them, 32 percent craved a cigarette, while others couldn’t handle withdrawal symptoms or enjoyed it “too much”.

More than 90 percent were aware of stringent laws, but only seven percent quit because of them.

National Council Against Smoking director Peter Ucko said more than 44 000 South Africans die from smoking-related illnesses every year. There were fewer smokers than 12 years ago when the legislation was introduced. - Cape Argus