Cloves

L1feOnM4rs · 02-13-2007, 04:55 PM

I've never been much of a smoker. In fact, up until this week I'd smoked a grand total of about 3 cigarettes in my life. I'm 19 and I've never bought a pack, not even for the novelty of it. Well, that is I had never bought a pack up until yesterday. For whatever reason I decided to stop into my friendly college coffee shop and buy a pack of cigarettes. Not just any ordinary cigarettes mind you. I bought a pack of Djarum BLACKs. Outside of the cafe, I excitedly unwrapped the black box - my first pack of cigarettes - like a little kid opening a long awaited gift. I am now fascinated, enamored even, with my new discovery. Each clove is colored solid black, with a thin gold ring around the filter and "Djarum BLACK" printed in little silver letters. The cloves are the same size as a regular cigarette but they feel heavier, more substantial. The filter is saturated with a sweetly spiced (natural!) flavoring. Every time you take a drag, little bits of clove mixed with the tobacco ignite, creating a cool crackling sound. The smoke is thick and smells good, as far as cigarette smoke goes. So yeah, I'm pretty excited to start polluting my poor little lungs. I never liked the idea of smoking too much, in general its always seemed kind of pointless to me. There is a sort of chic to it sometimes, depending on who's smoking them, but I never really had any desire to. But these cloves are just so damn sexy. I know I sound like a pretentious hipster-goth boy, but I just feel like there's a totally different dynamic going on here than with Marlboros or whatever, mostly just because they're colored black and not white, but still. They're like the cigarettes you smoke when you're in a Parisian cafe drinking absinthe and talking about Rimbaud, or engaging in some other cool activity that is enhanced by the presence of cigarettes. It may be superficial and stereotypical to view cigarettes as some kind of cool fashion statement, but hey, I can't help it. If anyone else is equally in love with these marvelous black death sticks, please, share your thoughts!

maggot · 02-13-2007, 05:16 PM

Please... Don't speak about smoking to me.

It has caused bad things in my life.

And I'm getting more and more tempted to try them, which I hate, because it would render me a Hypocrite.

Kraven de Sade · 02-13-2007, 05:53 PM

I smoke Djarum Specials once in a while. Once in a great while. It was summer the last time I had one.

Vyusher · 02-13-2007, 06:24 PM

I love the smell of cigarette smoke but I can't stand the taste of the things, so I just bum them off others and let them bun in my hand or on my lip without actively smoking, it's the strangest thing. Menthols and (more rarely) cloves are the only things I will rarely actively smoke.
Aside from Shisha in hookahs. Day-amn, do I love Shisha.
Damn it. My gypsy blood is aflame. Now I have to go smoke, and I'm out of tobacco and the hookah's all the way upstairs.
I hope you trip over a fire-hydrant.
(joking, of course, but I this really did make me want coconut tobacco for some reason)

Clockwork · 02-13-2007, 11:17 PM

I'm torn, really.

I haven't smoked yet, and I have enough sense to know the harm they cause. That's not to say I won't go my whole life without trying it, of course. I guess if no addiction is formed, that's fine...

Maybe I'll give those a shot when I do, though. Something classy or (as far as cigs go) wholesome.

L1feOnM4rs · 02-14-2007, 09:09 AM

Wow, I buy one pack of cloves and the next thing I know I've tempted at least three people on these boards into smoking. I feel like Dorian Gray, a former innocent who now corrupts all he touches, pulling them into a life of decadent hedonism. Well that might be a bit of an exaggeration (with a touch of self aggrandizement.) Clockwork, I'd recommend you try ONE, just so you can have had the experience of smoking, since it'll happen sooner or later. You might as well try now (assuming you're of reasonable, though perhaps not legal age.) I mean, I wouldn't try heroin just so I could "know what its like," but I think it makes sense to experiment with minor vices like cigs. This way you can see if its for you, and if it isn't, at least you'll know what you're up against.

Miss_Hazie_Lane · 02-14-2007, 09:30 AM

I smoke cloves, and I think they're a perfectly good vice considering I eat extraordinarilly healthfully, excersice, and do pretty much every other good thing I can for my body, also I'm an ex nail biter and they help with my oral fixation

emeraldlonewoulf · 02-16-2007, 12:35 AM

Good Lord. Please listen to a smoker of seven years. Please, Please, please, I am begging you don't start! I started that way too, just a cigarette once in a while, maybe a pack of flavored camels, or djarum, or a nice cigar. I didn't start until after i turned 18. I stayed that way for almost two years. I don't have a normally addictive personality.

I started working in a restaurant, and that started the downhill slide. I started smoking half a pack a day, just one before work, and a couple at lunch, it was just to help good conversation of course, and insure I got my entire break instead of having to cover other people's tables while THEY were smoking. I got promoted to management. Pack and a half a day.

quit. started, just once in a while, with a cup of espresso, or out around a camp fire in the middle of the desert. worked back up to a pack a day.

quit. started again when I ended up stranded in Northern AZ with no car. Just bought a pack to pass the time and work through some stress. got back up toa pack a day.

quit. went to friends house where everyone smokes, had a couple drinks, and everyone knows how well a cigarette goes with a good drink. back up to a pack a day.

quit. went to work where I do now. graveyard shift conversation begins. want a smoke. just a couple a night, no biggie. back up to a half a pack a day.

quit. I was only smoking about half a pack of Camel Wides ( much tastier than marlboro or other trash, or even reg. camels, hahha) a day and only at work, not at home. I haven't smoked a cigarette in nine days.

I have smoked cloves, fine tobbaco, pipe tobacco, and crap down to liggets. (only bummed from my ex's grandma, during good conversation, of course)

It isn't the nicotine. It is the mental stimulation of good conversation. or a philosphical debate online. or just a period of time in which to "think". It is something to do with your hands, to punctuate statements, or give pause. It is the flavor of good tobacco.

hmmmm.

IF you've just started, next time you light up, smell your fingers.

guess what?

somehow,right now, despite all of the above, I just want a good cigarette.

I wonder if my mother in law left a pack lying around in the livingroom....

badteccy · 02-19-2007, 06:16 PM

Mmmm...Djarum Blacks are bitchin'.

Godslayer Jillian · 02-19-2007, 06:57 PM

http://static.flickr.com/96/238859386_da11e69e2f.jpg

L1feOnM4rs · 02-19-2007, 07:52 PM

way to make fun of that poor old woman, American Cancer Society.

L1feOnM4rs · 02-19-2007, 08:01 PM

And just to play devil's advocate (in reply to Jillian's post)

Smoking Is Very Glamorous

Godslayer Jillian · 02-19-2007, 08:49 PM

I must indeed that that was quite funny, but taking away that cigar would have made him none the less glamorous save for the extent of society's indoctrination of the glamour of smoking.

L1feOnM4rs · 02-19-2007, 09:52 PM

You are right Jillian. I won't deny that its only cool because society tells us it is, but then again, most stuff is that way. Just about anything that appears fashionable to us seems that way because society, or the portion of society we associate with, tells us it is. For example I tend to wear tight fitting black clothes (as many people here do I'm sure) because I think they look good. However, as unique as I may believe myself to be, I must admit that I probably wouldn't be dressing this way if there wasn't some sort of cultural precedent. If there was no Cure, no Bauhaus, no Sisters of Mercy, no Goth, would I still dress the way I do? I doubt it. That said, someone had to start it, someone, or some few people, broke from society and in doing so injected their individual deviance back into society. These are the visionaries, the revolutionaries, the supermen. That said, smoking wasn't necessarily made cool by such people. It was made cool by big tobacco, CEOs, people more concerned with making a buck (or a billion) than with deviance. Still, Ralph Lauren made Polo shirts cool but you don't see me wearing them. Thats because I never identified much with the culture that such shirts appealed to. Cigarettes on the other hand, have been smoked by just about all of my heroes. It's only natural that I'd find something cool about them. Naturally there is freedom and rebellion in refusing to actively conform to this superficial chic, but I find my own kind of freedom in acknowledging the superficiality of smoking (among other things) and choosing to do it anyway. I will find my true deviances elsewhere.

maggot · 02-20-2007, 06:45 AM

Actually, the trend of wearing all black was started earlier. One of the original Anarcho-Punk bands, Crass, only wore black military surplus.

Underwater Ophelia · 02-24-2007, 09:33 AM

Unhealthy or not, I smoke cloves, and I love them. I can't really smoke anything else, because they taste much better than regular cigarettes, and I started on cloves, so smoking anything else is either way too harsh or just yucky.

Lucretia_my_Reflection · 02-24-2007, 03:52 PM

they smell nice but im to scared to touch them

waxwolf · 02-25-2007, 08:19 AM

Mmmmmmm, cloves are delicious. They have more tar than regular cigarettes, though, but the good news about them is that they're "filling". I usually can't have more than one or two a day without feeling ill. I haven't smoked cloves in years, though. A friend of mine used to smoke them all the time, and one day he started coughing up blood, so he stopped, and so did I. I still miss them, though.

Regular cigarettes are a different story. I go in waves...I'll have a period where I smoke a lot, then I have a period where I don't smoke at all. I think it has something to do with PMS...at acertain time of the month, I all of a sudden start craving chocolate and cigarettes. By the way, chocolate and cigarettes are almost as lovely together as martinis and cigarettes...

...Sorry. I'm not being of much help, am I? :blush:

L1feOnM4rs · 02-25-2007, 03:01 PM

Yeah, I have noticed they're really "filling," often I'll have smoked about 2/3 of one and feel its time to put it out, otherwise the buzz turns into nausea. I'm actually pretty certain that the reason your friend coughed up blood is because of the numbing effects of the clove and not because of health risks above and beyond those of regular cigarettes. The cloves are a sort of anesthetic - they numb your throat and consequently temporarily mess up your gag reflex, which can cause bleeding. So it may look scarier, but its not actually a sign of greater damage.

Oh, and I was wondering, what cigarettes do people smoke besides cloves? I want to try out a regular cigarette (I've never had one sober) so if anyone has a favorite to reccomend I'd appreciate it. Since this is a fashion thread, reccomend only the most fashionable cigs of course. I'm not really sure what "The cool kids" are smoking these days. Some of the hippy kids I know seem to like American Spirits, I guess because they're natural tobbacco and not Phillip Morris (I think.) I still love my Djarum Blacks, but as long as I've taken up the hobby of smoking, I might as well explore a bit. Thanks

waxwolf · 02-25-2007, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L1feOnM4rs

Yeah, I have noticed they're really "filling," often I'll have smoked about 2/3 of one and feel its time to put it out, otherwise the buzz turns into nausea. I'm actually pretty certain that the reason your friend coughed up blood is because of the numbing effects of the clove and not because of health risks above and beyond those of regular cigarettes. The cloves are a sort of anesthetic - they numb your throat and consequently temporarily mess up your gag reflex, which can cause bleeding. So it may look scarier, but its not actually a sign of greater damage.

Oh, and I was wondering, what cigarettes do people smoke besides cloves? I want to try out a regular cigarette (I've never had one sober) so if anyone has a favorite to reccomend I'd appreciate it. Since this is a fashion thread, reccomend only the most fashionable cigs of course. I'm not really sure what "The cool kids" are smoking these days. Some of the hippy kids I know seem to like American Spirits, I guess because they're natural tobbacco and not Phillip Morris (I think.) I still love my Djarum Blacks, but as long as I've taken up the hobby of smoking, I might as well explore a bit. Thanks

I usually smoke Marlboro Lights. I've probably tried virtually every cigarette at least once, unfortunately, and they are my perennial favorite. I personally find American Spirits gross. Nothing is as gross as menthol, in my opinion, though. Bleagh.

I feel vaguely guilty recommending cigarettes. Ah, well. In any case, I always love to be of help... :questioning morality smilie face:

waxwolf · 02-25-2007, 03:28 PM

oh, and thanks for the clove information. Somehow, I hadn't made that connection...I suppose I'll allow myself to have a clove here and there now...:yum:

DevilsMustKnow · 02-25-2007, 03:35 PM

I use to smoke and occasionally smoked cloves. I don't care for the taste much, and the are much more worse than regular cigarettes. I was told once that they have glass in them to make their smoke all vibrant. Having too many of them makes me sick. I don't smoke anymore. I don't want lung cancer.

An Eccentric Cellist · 02-25-2007, 06:09 PM

I was too lazy to read what other people said soooo I may be a little redundant. Anyway, my mother is quitting smoking. Right now she's going through withdrawl, and it's not cool. Her gums bleed, she gets chills, and headaches, she sweats and all that lovely stuff. It's not pretty and I'm the one she bitches to. Randomly she'll say,"Beth..." I look scared, expecting to be yelled/ranted at, "never ever, ever start smoking because this is HELL,"

I'm serious! Do NOT SMOKE! Bad! Get heavily scented candles and incense but don't smoke! PLEASE for your future offspring's sanity!

My mom started because, guess what, she thought it'd make her look sophisticated and sexy. Now she preaches to never do something so stupid.
Smoking ages you horribly physically and aesthetically. My mom is fifty and she has the lungs of a seventy year old. Also now that she's stopped (and for only a week) the bags under her eyes are going away and her skin looks better.

It's your decision but I advise that you don't smoke period.

shelldoo · 03-04-2007, 11:37 AM

I smoke Djarum Blacks. Usually 2 a day, cigs, not packs. I can take them or leave them. I often go a week or so w/o any smoking, then have several days of a couple a day. My husband, however, has a nicotine addiction. If he smokes one cig, he starts regularly smoking, so I guess it depends on the person.

IsolatedReptile · 03-05-2007, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kraven de Sade

I smoke Djarum Specials once in a while. Once in a great while. It was summer the last time I had one.

I used to smoke specials all the time. I'd smoke about three or four in a day (as long as there wasn't much stress). Something about them just tasted much better to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by waxwolf

Regular cigarettes are a different story. I go in waves...I'll have a period where I smoke a lot, then I have a period where I don't smoke at all. I think it has something to do with PMS...at acertain time of the month, I all of a sudden start craving chocolate and cigarettes. By the way, chocolate and cigarettes are almost as lovely together as martinis and cigarettes...

I've noticed that I am much the same way, though I don't have the PMS. It usually follows the levels of stress at work. One week can go very smooth then the next will feel as though Hell had been unleashed in only a few hundred square feet. When that happens, a pack goes by much quicker than I'd ever like to admit.