Bought cigarettes yesterday, that was interesting

I smoked the last of the u.s. cigarettes yesterday. Went to a shop to buy more and found out that restrictions have made it difficult.  I asked for any brand of menthol and was advised that I must ask for a brand.  I told her I don't know the names of the brands.  She handed me a printed list but I couldn't tell by the names if they were menthol or not and she told me she is not allowed to advise me or recommend anything.  Then she whispered to look for the word green.  Ended up with Berkeley Superkings green and it felt like a drug deal.

Not a smoker myself, but fairly sure Marlboro menthols are available.

My MIL smokes Silk Cut, which as near as I can tell are kind of ladies' cigarettes.  I think they make menthols, if that helps.

Seriously, though, there must be a Wikipedia page or something with a list of brands, and who makes them.  You can probably find something close to your own brand, just with a different name.

(BTW, be ready to do that for lots of different products.  You'll be amazed at what you thought you couldn't get here, that's just in a different part of the shop, etc.)

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Were you surprised by the packaging?  Have they started doing the horrible looking packages yet?

Katoo, this really made me laugh!!  Hoping you can find a brand you like without having to go underground!

I smoked the last of the u.s. cigarettes yesterday. Went to a shop to buy more and found out that restrictions have made it difficult.  I asked for any brand of menthol and was advised that I must ask for a brand.  I told her I don't know the names of the brands.  She handed me a printed list but I couldn't tell by the names if they were menthol or not and she told me she is not allowed to advise me or recommend anything.  Then she whispered to look for the word green.  Ended up with Berkeley Superkings green and it felt like a drug deal.

Menthols are being phased out, and will be unavailable in 2020, I think. Definitely second the advice to do the Google-Wikipedia tango. Have a first, second and third choice, because with the brandless packaging, the till staff can't find the right packets half the time. I smoke Marlboro Golds, which are everywhere, and still have to do the there-no-not-there-over-yes-there hand signals to direct sometimes.

And now I'm going to high intensity interval training class, where I will regret chainsmoking though four pints the other night. Somebody save me from myself.

Were you surprised by the packaging?  Have they started doing the horrible looking packages yet?

Black pack with picture of diseased lungs.  Big bold letters "Smoking Kills--Quit Now".  Brand name in small print.

I've read that the pack is blackish-green, specifically designed to put people off.

I've read that the pack is blackish-green, specifically designed to put people off.

Yeah, there is a greenish tinge now that you mention it.  Today's pack features woman coughing blood into tissue.

That's so bizarre.  I can't think of any other example of the government forcing a product to be disgusting so it won't sell.  I also think it's a wierd statement from the government that smokers are so hated and powerless that it's okay to do this. 

Can anyone think of anything else the government does that is similar?

That's so bizarre.  I can't think of any other example of the government forcing a product to be disgusting so it won't sell.  I also think it's a wierd statement from the government that smokers are so hated and powerless that it's okay to do this. 

Can anyone think of anything else the government does that is similar?

It is bizarre that they do this, when the huge taxes on cigarettes is a significant share of the NHS budget...

Not the UK, but in India they post photos of people being run over by trains in common areas where people cross the tracks.   

Presumably the sequelae of smoking costs the NHS more than the taxes on cigarette sales bring in.

And now I'm going to high intensity interval training class, where I will regret chainsmoking though four pints the other night. Somebody save me from myself.

If HIIT classes don't make you cut down, I don't know what will! I've never smoked, and always struggle through intervals!

That's so bizarre.  I can't think of any other example of the government forcing a product to be disgusting so it won't sell.  I also think it's a wierd statement from the government that smokers are so hated and powerless that it's okay to do this. 

Can anyone think of anything else the government does that is similar?

Not disgusting, per set, but pretty sure that horrific Public Safety as were standard through the 70s and 80s.  Usually to do with all the ways, as a child, you could be killed stone dead by common, everyday objects or situations.

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the sequelae

Sequelae - Sounds nice, like a tapas dish.....then you look it up and it isn't nice at all.

Sequelae - Sounds nice, like a tapas dish.....then you look it up and it isn't nice at all.

I'm sure the Spanish would make Tapas out of it given the chance. 

Last summer I had pig ear, complete with cartilage.