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Author Topic: Single smokes
leaflord
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posted 06 January 2005 08:29 PM      Profile for leaflord     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Near where I live there are plenty of dépanneurs (convenience stores for those outside of la belle province) that will sell you single cigarettes (the going rate is 50 cents a smoke).

This is obviously illegal (a fineable offense), but still practised because the profits probably outweigh the fines.

I think that this is something that should be tolerated, because frankly, if I have a pack of cigarettes I'll smoke a pack of cigarettes, but if I have just two, I'll smoke two and have to think about if its really worth it (putting on coat and boots, etc.) to have another one.

Essentially, laziness, for some, can be a way to cut down on smoking and hopefully quit.

There was, however, a dépanneur near where I used to live that stopped this practise because people kept reporting them and the fines were too much.

I feel that the people who would do something like this are only helping the tobacco companies. If they feel that their actions are helping the fight against smoking, they are seriously misguided and actually helping people stay hooked.

I would prefer the local dep guy make a profit from my vice than big tobacco.

Any thoughts? (and please, lets try and keep it to the issue at hand, I know full well that quitting outright is a better option)


From: Montreal | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
Michelle
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posted 06 January 2005 08:31 PM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I'd be tempted to report them. But that's just me. Maybe it helps adults to cut back, but it also helps kids to start.
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Hailey
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posted 06 January 2005 08:44 PM      Profile for Hailey     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I'd report them.
From: candyland | Registered: Jul 2004  |  IP: Logged
leaflord
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posted 06 January 2005 08:45 PM      Profile for leaflord     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
it also helps kids to start

Not necissarily. Someone who's willing to sell a single smoke to a kid is just as likely to sell them an entire pack.

A store that sells single smokes is not inherently immoral. Just because they are willing to break a beuraucratic regulation (only in packs), doesn't mean they are willing to break a moral one (don't sell to kids).


From: Montreal | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
Michelle
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posted 06 January 2005 08:47 PM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The point is, kids can't afford full packs as easily as they can afford the "kiddie packs" and single smokes.
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
leaflord
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posted 06 January 2005 09:01 PM      Profile for leaflord     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I'm 27. Sometimes, just before payday, I find myself with just a few bucks in my pocket. At the same time, I'm sure there are plenty of 14-year-olds with $50/$60 in their pocket from mommy and daddy. Age is not the biggest indicator of someone's economic capacity.
From: Montreal | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
lagatta
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posted 06 January 2005 09:38 PM      Profile for lagatta     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The dépanneurs near me also sell single smokes. I've never seen anyone who looked remotely underage trying to buy them. More down-and-out adults. I'd never report them. Hate moralism about such things, in terms of consenting adults.

I have refused to buy cigarettes for teens. No lecture, just pretend to be too busy.


From: Se non ora, quando? | Registered: Apr 2002  |  IP: Logged
Reality. Bites.
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posted 06 January 2005 10:55 PM      Profile for Reality. Bites.        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
If the sales are to adults, I can't see any reason to prohibit them. If they're to minors, that's another matter entirely.
From: Gone for good | Registered: Aug 2004  |  IP: Logged
Mr. Magoo
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posted 07 January 2005 12:19 AM      Profile for Mr. Magoo   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
On a similar topic, has anyone noticed the "mini-mickeys" available at the LCBO (and possibly elsewhere)?

It's about a half the size of a regular "mickey" (a 13oz bottle), and is proportionally priced. That way, if all you have is about $5.75, you can still enjoy some hard liquor. I can't, for the life of me, see too many adults stopping by the LCBO to pick up a 7oz bottle of Bacardi for the big dinner party. Like "Honey, make sure you pick up the teeny tiny bottle... the cheap one that could only possibly get a kid drunk. The one that's about the price of a burger and fries combo".


From: ø¤°`°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°°¤ø, | Registered: Dec 2002  |  IP: Logged
Fidel
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posted 07 January 2005 03:07 AM      Profile for Fidel     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Maybe the ski bums'd prefer a little nip before attempting to break their necks ?. ha ha A little toddy with some ginger ale on the hill before apres ski ?. A friend was run over by another skier last year who just missed her little guy, too. She'll be going under the knife for to correct a bone misalignment. The bozo didn't even stop.
From: Viva La Revolución | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
peppermint
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posted 07 January 2005 03:49 AM      Profile for peppermint     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I remember in high school, the school bus would stop at a convenience store ( also a bus stop) and half the students would run in to buy cigarettes because they sold singles. To be fair, this was around six months after they raised the legal age to buy cigarettes from 16 to 19 in NF.

As for the person who said if they have a pack of cigarettes they're more likely to smoke them:

Maybe my defense against chocolate would help? Whenever I have too much chocolate in the house, most of it gets hidden in the freezer and my innate laziness overrides the urge for chocolate.


From: Korea | Registered: Oct 2004  |  IP: Logged
Reality. Bites.
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posted 07 January 2005 08:49 AM      Profile for Reality. Bites.        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
But frozen cigarettes burn just as easily as regular ones.

Maybe if you put them in a bag and froze the bag in a block of ice.


From: Gone for good | Registered: Aug 2004  |  IP: Logged
dee
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posted 07 January 2005 10:28 AM      Profile for dee     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
As an underaged teen I used to buy cigarettes for a quarter from the arcade in my hometown. So did lots of my friends. I can definately see how individual cigarettes would help people start smoking. A friend of mine one told me that if I really wanted one cigarette after trying to quit than it should be worth it to me to pay the (then) seven dollars for the pack, take one out, and throw the rest in the garbage before I could get them home and change my mind about tossing them. That seemed reasonable to me. At seven bucks per smoke you had to really want one in order to get one.

As for the small liquor bottles at the LCBO, I confess that I buy them occasionally. I usually drink beer or wine and it takes forever for me to finish a bottle of the hard stuff. I might buy a small bottle if I have an occasional craving for some cocktail or another.


From: pleasant, unemotional conversation aids digestion | Registered: Jul 2001  |  IP: Logged
paxamillion
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posted 07 January 2005 10:37 AM      Profile for paxamillion   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by dee:
As for the small liquor bottles at the LCBO, I confess that I buy them occasionally. I usually drink beer or wine and it takes forever for me to finish a bottle of the hard stuff. I might buy a small bottle if I have an occasional craving for some cocktail or another.

Drunks on their way to a terrible death drink mouthwash, after shave and other products with a high alcohol content. These small bottles strike me as another option for them.


From: the process of recovery | Registered: Jul 2002  |  IP: Logged
lagatta
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posted 07 January 2005 10:40 AM      Profile for lagatta     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I also occasionally buy those small bottles of "fort" as one says here, to flavour tortes and fruit salads or make a caffé corretto (spiked coffee).

I suspect that the inebriated skiier would have consumed considerably more than one of those "half-mickey" bottles ...

But yes, pax, i doubt people who might buy a small bottle like that once or twice a year is the manufacturer's target clientele!

[ 07 January 2005: Message edited by: lagatta ]


From: Se non ora, quando? | Registered: Apr 2002  |  IP: Logged

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