missing 10-stick packs

CHECK OUT YOUR ENVIRONMENT BEFORE YOU SMOKE FROM JULY ONWARDS!

there are places where smoking will be banned.
starting from coffee-shops. and hawker centres will have an allocated 10% space where you are allowed to smoke. eventually, pubs and bars also will end up with a no-smoking policy.

this reminds me of the time the small packs (compact little boxes with 10 sticks a pack) were no longer sold. THEY say, "we want to discourage young people from smoking by making the small packs no longer available. the big packs are more worthwhile as well."

i should tell my boss, "i want to discourage the company from spending on additional costs like reimbursements for transport so i shall no longer cover events or go for interviews."

BULL.SHIT.

do THEY seriously think people who used to smoke from a 10-stick pack will be likely to stop smoking altogether than to start smoking from 20-stick packs? it's like saying a person who drinks a 330ml can of beer a day will not turn to a one-pint when there are no more 330ml cans available.

and is it really more worthwhile?

cigarettes start tasting 'airy', vacuous, after 2-3 days, once a pack is opened. for me, i can sometimes tolerate 5-days old cigarettes. that's the MAX i can compromise on. unless you seal it in an air-tight container to prevent it from turning 'soft', going 'lao-hong'. which means you carry a snug tupperware with you everywhere you go with cigarettes. damn cool, i tell you.

i know this person who used to smoke only fresh cigarettes, meaning one-day old cigarettes... meaning he finishes his pack on the same day.

so, NO. THEY ARE *NOT* MORE WORTHWHILE.

because it takes the same amount of time to ruin or spoil a 20-pack as a 10-pack.

what happens?

we smoke MORE. so we can finish the entire damn pack before it spoils. or it will be like, discarding double, or triple of what we used to pay into the drain.

i used to smoke 10 sticks in 2-4 days. depending on how disciplined or how well i ration.

when they did away with the small packs, i started smoking 20 sticks in 2-4 days. that's DOUBLE.

of course, these days i smoke a lot less... but because i convince myself it's ok to trash half-smoked cigarettes rather than burning my lungs out. and i convince myself 10-days old cigarettes still taste ok if i keep it in an airtight container.

so YES, i am resentful of THEM limiting the places for us to indulge when THEY are the ones who fed the addiction in the first place.

cannot imagine drinking without smoking. *shudder*

i had considered chewing gum to replace smoking. but we know how that goes...