07 juillet 2009
Changes in cigarette prices
A large number of studies have been conducted to estimate demand for cigarettes in many countries.
The estimated price elasticities of demand for cigarettes from those studies vary. But most of the
estimates tend to be less than one, i.e., the demand for cigarettes is price-inelastic. A meta-analysis of
the determinants of cigarette consumption, which analysed results from 48 studies, yielded a weighted
mean price elasticity of demand for cigarettes of -0.4.
The short-term
price elasticity recommended by an expert panel for policy analysis is -0.4 . The long-term elasticity is about 1.5 times the short-term price elasticity. Youth and the poor
tend to be more responsive to changes in cigarette prices. Income, in general, is positively related to
demand for cigarettes. The estimated income elasticity is 0.36, but decreases with time. Restrictions on
smoking in public places and private work sites have significantly reduced demand for cigarettes
30 avril 2009
Smoking Mannerisms
Smoking Mannerisms
Usually the way we smoke is characteristic of our whole personality.
The mannerisms of smokers are innumerable. Some people always have
cigarettes drooping from their mouths. Others let the cigarette jump up
and down in their mouths while they are talking. Men sometimes complain
about the way women smoke: "A lot of women blow out the smoke with a
gust of wind, right into your face. They just puff it at you." Some
men, when they want to appear to be aggressive,
hold their cigarettes with thumb and forefinger so that the glowing end
shows toward the palm of the hand. Often smokers will assume a pose,
because they have found that it fits their personality best, or at
least they think so.
A not too modest glamor girl revealed to us some
of her "smoking secrets": "I think it looks so much better to smoke
with a holder. I studied that very carefully. Don't you think I'm
somewhat of a Latin type? It all really depends on what type you
are.... I always have holders that are long and dark. I think a long
holder is somewhat like a big hat: it's alluring and 'don't dare come
close' at the same time." While every smoker has to go through the
motions of lighting and inhaling the smoke, the way in which these acts
are carried out varies according to his mood. The nervous smoker has a
faster smoking tempo than the relaxed one. The angry smoker blows the
smoke in an aggressive way, almost as if he were trying to blow
somebody down. A smoker who is about to ask for a raise in salary will
press his lips tightly around the cigarette as if to gain courage by
holding it that way. "Smoking Helps Me Think"
The mind can concentrate best when all outside stimuli have been
excluded. Smoking literally provides a sort of "smoke screen" that
helps to shut out distractions.
This explains why many people who were
interviewed reported that they cannot think or write without a
cigarette. They argued that moderate smoking may even stimulate mental
alertness. It gives us a focal point for our attention. It also gives
our hands something to do; otherwise they might make us self-conscious
and interfere with mental activity. On the other hand, our respondents
admit that smoking too much may reduce their efficiency. Cigarettes
Help Us to Relax One shortcoming of our modern culture is the universal
lack of adequate relaxation. Many of us not only do not know how to
relax, but do not take time to learn.
Smoking helps us to relax
because, like music, it is rhythmic. Smoking gives us a legitimate
excuse to linger a little longer after meals, to stop work for a few
minutes, to sit at home without doing anything that requires effort.
Here is a nostalgic comment contributed by a strong defender of
smoking: "After a long day's work, to get home and sit in a chair and
stretch my legs 'way out, and then to sit back and just smoke a
cigarette and think of nothing, just blow the smoke in the air - that's
what I like to do when I've had a pretty tough day."
16 avril 2009
GLAMOR FROM McCLELLAND BARCLAY
The beautiful woman who modeled for artist McClelland Barclay's glamorous Lucky Strike ad pictured below, wasn't Miss America. Atlantic City's famed beauty pageant wasn't held 1928 through 1932, but that didn't stop The American Tobacco Company from taking advantage of the popular contest. This striking advertisement was a "thank you" to American women for helping to make Lucky Strike Cigarettes the US's best selling cigarette in 1931. McClelland Barclay (1891-1943) was a popular illustrator whose paintings of handsome men and gorgeous chiffon-clothed women were often used as the covers of The Saturday Evening Post and The Country Gentleman magazines. This talented artist and naval officer died during World War Two when a Japanese torpedo sank the ship that he was aboard.