Sunday Morning Post (V.2; #18) – The Disadvantages of US
One unusual
phenomena of mankind’s experiences may be happening again in the midst of the
Covid-19 crisis. History has shown
multiple examples of times when mankind, confronting a crisis, resorts to using
unconventional means to overcome the disaster.
Or rather the means were previously thought to be unconventional, but
are now getting another consideration for their usefulness in the current
troubles.
Example:
last weekend MCNBC carried a report about 9 different studies testing the
effectiveness of nicotine in expediting the treatment of the Covid-19 virus. Yes,
that’s right, nicotine as in cigarettes AKA that addictive, lethal delivery system
of carcinogens into the human body. The
report emphasized that the studies are ongoing and speculated that people may
be able to use a nicotine patch to treat the virus, but this conclusion has yet
to be made by the scientific community.
Still, we’re
talking about cigarettes, right? The device
which with regular use can lead to lung cancer?
Yes, those cigarettes.
Full
Disclosure: I am a former smoker. I smoked
cigars. I smoked and inhaled…other substances.
(After all, it was the 1970’s!) However,
I never smoked cigarettes. I had a
psychological block about the damned things.
I blame them for giving my father the cancer that killed him.
If the studies
show that, yes, nicotine does offer a viable form of therapeutic treatment for Covid-19,
then it may prove to be another example of mankind having a cure longer then we
had the disease. It would be amazing if
it turned out that, cliched pun intended, the cure was under our very noses the
entire time.
Apparently,
we have yet to learn the full lesson of using marijuana responsibly, i.e., using
it for medicinal and not recreational purposes.
American culture has long outlawed its usage even as medical science was
telling us, “But wait! Look at its benefits.”
Now our cultural thinking has changed to the point where people who need
to use marijuana for their ailments are getting to use it without fear of being
busted by The Man.
Who
knows? A similar breakthrough may yet
happen with nicotine. If it happens,
then fine: develop nicotine as a cure so it does not lead to the old ailments
that have been killing millions for decade.
I am just
grateful that this report did not get back to the White House. Can you just imagine what President Snake Oil
would have done with this piece of Twitter fodder? “Game changer!” “Remarkable cure!” and of
course the classic “Smoke ‘em if your got ‘em!” Although the touting of nicotine would have been
anti-climactic what with previous week’s advice to inject glass cleaner into
one’s veins coming from the Oval Office.
Perhaps the reports did reach the White House, but for once, cooler,
mature heads prevailed.
We’ll end
this week with a video showing, in my humble opinion, the funniest ad campaign
ever broadcast on television. My blog
entry title is a play on the title of the background music behind the images: The
Disadvantages of You. This is sure to
create any number of ear worms:
Finally, a
friendly word of advice from us here at Arteejee: Don’t smoke ‘em, even if you
do got ‘em!
(Thank you
for reading. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom,
wherever you are. I miss you.)
posted by todd gunther | 10:44 AM
6 Comments:
That ad is hilarious! I like the cigarette case with the elastics wrapped around it and the longer cigs sticking out the end!
Having never smoked a cigarette I don't intend to start now.
I'd seen that about the patches being used as a delivery system. They got the idea from the nicotine patches used by those trying to stop smoking. Evidently UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) is one of the groups exploring this concept.
I was not aware you were a smoker; good for you for giving it up. It's bad on the complexion.
Nature works in mysterious ways. Sometimes is might take one disease we have a cure for to knock another one out. Or a vice. How ironic would it be if gin is the cure? That would explain alot at this end.
Do you remember these ads, Debra? There's some other variations on Youtube.
Good thinking Bob.
The studies may prove nicotine's worth yet, Dave. The report came through at a bad time; one week after Lysol was being touted as the game changing cure.
I smoked for a few years after graduate school, Spo. I found it easy to quit once WQ told me suffered from asthma.
Thank you Maddie for your thoughts. I originally thought of crying out in my entry, "Why cigarettes? Why not gin?"
Somehow I forgot this thought when writing the final draft.
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