The Humble and Deadly Cigarette

Summary

Podcast Summary: Stuff You Should Know – "The Humble and Deadly Cigarette"

Episode Details:

• Title: The Humble and Deadly Cigarette
• Release Date: July 29, 2025
• Hosts: Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant
• Production: iHeartPodcasts

---

1. Introduction to Cigarettes

Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant delve into the intricate history and impact of cigarettes, separating the object from the associated health issues and societal perceptions. They aim to explore the cigarette not just as a smoking habit but as a meticulously engineered product with a profound influence on society.

Notable Quote:

Josh Clark (04:04): "If we're curious enough, we'll go look it up."

---

2. Historical Origins

The conversation begins with the origins of the cigarette, tracing its roots back to early 16th-century Spain. Initially a luxury item among the wealthy, cigarettes evolved from cigar stubs left by those who could not afford full cigars. This adaptation made smoking more accessible to the masses.

Notable Quotes:

Chuck Bryant (02:30): "I commissioned this one because I was like, you know, What? Let's just do one on the cigarette itself."

Chuck Bryant (03:33): "The cigarette was born in Spain in the early 16th century."

---

3. Manufacturing and Engineering

The hosts discuss the evolution of cigarette manufacturing, highlighting key innovations that transformed cigarettes into mass-produced commodities. The invention of the cigarette rolling machine by James Bonsack in the late 19th century exponentially increased production capabilities.

Notable Quotes:

Josh Clark (04:02): "A standard cigarette is about 84 millimeters long and sold in packs of 20."

Chuck Bryant (13:45): "Philip Morris was one of the people who brought it to London and made it kind of like a fancy thing."

---

4. Social Impact and Marketing

Cigarettes played a significant role in societal norms, especially during wartime. Their association with soldiers provided a sense of comfort, leading to widespread adoption post-war. Marketing strategies aggressively targeted specific demographics, including women and African Americans, through tailored advertisements and product placements.

Notable Quotes:

Chuck Bryant (10:14): "French and British soldiers discovered them during the Napoleonic Wars and brought them home, making cigarettes more mainstream."

Josh Clark (22:54): "Marlboro was originally launched as a women's cigarette known as 'Mild as May.'"

---

5. Health Implications and Regulations

The conversation shifts to the mounting evidence linking cigarettes to severe health issues. From early warnings in the 18th century to the groundbreaking Surgeon General's report in 1964, the recognition of smoking-related dangers has significantly influenced public perception and regulations. The introduction of filtered cigarettes in the 1950s was a strategic move to mitigate public backlash, despite minimal actual health benefits.

Notable Quotes:

Josh Clark (28:05): "By the 1950s, studies began to conclusively link smoking to lung cancer and other diseases."

Chuck Bryant (29:03): "In 1970, advertising on TV and radio was banned, marking the beginning of significant regulatory changes."

---

6. Modern Perspectives and Decline in Smoking

The hosts examine the decline in smoking rates over the decades, attributing it to increased awareness, stringent regulations, and societal shifts. Despite these efforts, challenges such as targeted marketing towards specific communities and the rise of alternative nicotine products like vaping continue to shape the landscape.

Notable Quotes:

Josh Clark (30:10): "By 2023, smoking rates in the U.S. had dwindled to just 11% of adults."

Chuck Bryant (41:55): "Menthol cigarettes, heavily marketed towards African Americans, remain a significant hurdle in reducing smoking rates."

---

7. Conclusion

Josh and Chuck wrap up their exploration by reflecting on the complex legacy of cigarettes. They acknowledge the multifaceted efforts that led to the decline in smoking but also recognize the ongoing battles against targeted marketing and the resurgence of nicotine consumption through vaping.

Notable Quote:

Chuck Bryant (52:59): "Philip Morris raked in almost $36 billion in 2023, showing that while smoking rates have declined, the industry's grip remains substantial."

---

Key Takeaways:

• Historical Evolution: Cigarettes transitioned from luxury items to mass-produced goods through strategic adaptations and technological advancements.

• Marketing Prowess: Aggressive and targeted marketing strategies significantly influenced smoking norms across different demographics.

• Health Awareness: Decades of research and regulatory actions have successfully reduced smoking rates, though challenges persist.

• Industry Resilience: The tobacco industry's ability to adapt and innovate continues to pose challenges to public health initiatives.

---

Closing Thoughts: "The Humble and Deadly Cigarette" offers a comprehensive look into the cigarette's role in society, from its origins to its current standing amidst evolving public health landscapes. Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant provide insightful analysis, enriched with historical context and critical examination of ongoing challenges in combating smoking.

---

Note: Quotes are attributed to speakers with their respective timestamps for reference.

Transcript

[Host 1]

This is an I Heart podcast.

[Josh Clark]

Living with a rare autoimmune condition comes with challenges but also incredible strength. Especially for those living with conditions like myasthenia gravis or mg, and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, otherwise known as cidp, finding empowerment in the community is critical. Untold Stories. Life with a Severe Autoimmune Condition, a Ruby Studio production and in partnership with Argenics, explores people discovering strength in the most unexpected places. Listen to untold Stories on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Chuck Bryant]

You know, Lowe's knows that taking on more projects should be rewarding, and that's why loyalty members get more every day with rewards for every home or business purchase. Plus shop weekly member deals and get access to free standard shipping. So what are you waiting for? Join my Lowe's Rewards for Free Today loyalty program subject to terms and conditions. Details@lowe's.com Terms subject to change.

[Host 1]

Welcome to Stuff youf Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio.

[Josh Clark]

Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh. And there's Chuck. And Jerry's here, too. And we're just smoking. Smoking. Feel all right. Just keep on Token. And this is Submachine.

[Chuck Bryant]

Boston. Yeah. Okay.

[Josh Clark]

Yep, that's right.

[Chuck Bryant]

I was in my head. I was getting there. I thought you were gonna go with smoking in the boys room.

[Josh Clark]

No, I always thought that was just kind of lame.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, that was a remake, you know, Motley Crue covered it.

[Josh Clark]

I don't remember who did the original. Do you?

[Chuck Bryant]

No, I don't remember.

[Josh Clark]

You don't need to email in and tell us. That's all right. If we're curious enough, we'll go look it up.

[Chuck Bryant]

Or you can feel free.

[Josh Clark]

Okay.

[Chuck Bryant]

Can't tell someone not to email now.

[Josh Clark]

I do want to know. I'm going to look while you talk.

[Chuck Bryant]

Well, I think you should wait for the email. Maybe the writer of that song is listening.

[Josh Clark]

Brownsville Station.

[Chuck Bryant]

Okay. There you go.

[Josh Clark]

I never in a million years would have come with that because I've never heard those two words together as a band name.

[Chuck Bryant]

Well, you've never taken a train there, then.

[Josh Clark]

Have you ever heard of Brownsville Station?

[Chuck Bryant]

Just when I took a train to Brownsville Station.

[Josh Clark]

That's gross. I think I know what you're talking about.

[Chuck Bryant]

Oh, God. All right, let's get off this and get on something even grosser, which is cigarettes.

[Josh Clark]

Nice.

[Chuck Bryant]

And this was from our pal Julia. And I just sort of. I commissioned this one because I was like, you know, What? Let's just do one on the cigarette itself. Not like smoking and not the lawsuits and all that stuff or lung cancer, but just on the thing, the object. And Julia sent us an article called the Cigarette Itself, appropriately titled. And I learned a lot in this one. Chiefly that the cigarette was born in Spain in the early 16th century, when cigar smokers. Cigars were around. And it was sort of a luxury item for the wealthy at the time because they were, you know, hand rolled and imported from Mexico and South America. But when they would, you know, stub out that last, you know, half inch of a cigar or whatever, people that didn't have as much money would come along, grab that thing and take out the tobacco, you know, grind it up and pick it apart a little bit and wrap it in paper and smoke it. And that was a little cigar or a cigarillo.

[Josh Clark]

Isn't that amazing?

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah. I mean, I never thought about the word cigarette being a play on cigar.

[Josh Clark]

Oh, really?

[Chuck Bryant]

Like a tiny cigar, like. Cause I always heard cigarillo. But like a kitchenette, a cigarette is just like the same sort of version of that.

[Josh Clark]

Ironically, I never thought of a kitchenette as a small version of a kitchen.

[Chuck Bryant]

Come on.

[Josh Clark]

So, Chuck, let's just hold our horses here. Before we go any further into the history, let's give a few basics about the cigarette.

[Chuck Bryant]

Great.

[Josh Clark]

So they're about 84 millimeters long, a standard cigarette. And for reference, that's about the length of a cigarette. They're sold in packs of 20. And if you really want to get technical about a cigarette, next time you're at a party and you're bombing one from somebody or castigating somebody for smoking, even better, you can say that a cigarette is also technically known as a heated tobacco product.

[Chuck Bryant]

That's right. As we'll see, a Camel first started putting them in packs of 20, and I could not find out if. I think they did that to match the number of matches in a matchbook, which is 20.

[Josh Clark]

Oh, really?

[Chuck Bryant]

I'm pretty sure that's the story.

[Josh Clark]

I wish somebody would have told the hot dog makers that. Cause, you know, you get the buns of eight or six, pack of eight, hot dogs and buns of six. I can never keep up these days with witches.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, that. That just still doesn't make any sense at all. But yeah, I'm pretty sure that they put it in a pack of 20 eventually to match the matches in a matchbook. But that may also be apocryphal. Who knows?

[Josh Clark]

That's a good one, though.

[Chuck Bryant]

What cigarettes are for is to deliver nicotine to your body, which is a feel good chemical that is naturally occurring in tobacco. And the whole point is to, with a pipe, cigar or cigarette or anything like that in e cig is to get you that nicotine, to get you addicted to it, to eventually kill you from it.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, it's crazy, but that's essentially the point. And I think before the advent of mass produced cigarettes, maybe you had lesser chance of developing all sorts of hideous cancers and other diseases. But even if that's not true, or even if it is true, it doesn't matter because we live in the age of mass produced cigarettes. And these things are exquisitely engineered products that so much time and money and effort has gone into and so much research that most of what we know about cigarettes, what cigarettes do to the human body, how addictive they are, comes from the research the tobacco companies did over the decades that they kept that eventually had to be handed over to the state attorneys general and who sued them back in the 90s.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, it's crazy how it all panned out. If you're looking at and Julia kind of breaks it down with the white end and the brown end. But there are plenty of cigarettes that are white through and through, meaning the filter end is the same color, but the tobacco end is a filler of cut tobacco leaves. And then plenty of additives, I think. How many did they admit?

[Josh Clark]

599.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, they wanted to get to 600 so bad, but they finally in 1994 released their additives and it was a list 599 long, which is crazy to think about.

[Josh Clark]

I think they had 600. But some very sharp eyed tobacco lobbyist was like, you got arsenic in here twice.

[Chuck Bryant]

So it says cut tobacco leaves. It's held in a porous wrapped paper that is sealed by an adhesive. And if you'll look closely, there is a printed. There's printed information on that paper that you're also smoking and you're going to be burning when you're smoking. That tobacco, that paper, those additives, that ink, that adhesive and everything. And the smoke that comes out, and these are words I did not know. The smoke that comes just from a burning cigarette sitting there is called sidestream smoke. The stuff that you inhale is called mainstream smoke.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, the mainstream smoke comes out of the filter and you draw through the filter and the smoke that comes out, that's the mainstream smoke. The filter, as we'll see, it does something a little bit here or there, but not really. It's essentially to Give smokers the illusion that they're preventing some sort of harm to themselves when they actually aren't. Another illusion is that these. These cigarette butts, which are the most littered item in the entire world. I saw something like 4.1 trillion cigarette butts are littered, not thrown away, littered every year around the world. And a common misconception among smokers is that they're biodegradable. They're not. They're photodegradable, not biodegradable, which is a real problem because they kind of. Well, they litter all over the place. And they're a type of plastic.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah. Those filters are cellulose, acetate. And there are companies that put charcoal in there. Cause charcoal's a great filter, generally, naturally. But there aren't any studies that show that charcoal in a filter helps at all as far as, like, health outcomes or anything like that. There are two paper wraps on the filter, and there's a plug wrap around the actual filter. And then there is. If it's a brown filter, there's the brown. It's called tipping paper around the plug wrap. And that is also sealed up so that, you know, you don't want that smoke coming out of the side of the filter.

[Josh Clark]

Right.

[Chuck Bryant]

You want it going into your mouth. And then that filter is also treated. They changed the ph on that filter to purposefully turn it brown as you smoke. So you look and you see, man, look at all that brown stuff that's not getting into my lungs.

[Josh Clark]

It fooled me for 20 years. Up until a couple days ago, I had no idea that that was the case.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, just one of the dirty tricks that cigarette manufacturers use and still use.

[Josh Clark]

That's nuts. So let's go back to the cigarillo, shall we?

[Chuck Bryant]

Let's do it.

[Josh Clark]

So the cigarillo, I think you said it was the early 16th century. So the early 1500s. Right. After the age of discovery kicked off. Right. And it took all the way to the late 1700s before it really started to spread outward into Italy and Portugal, which are not that far away. Apparently, people didn't think that much of the cigarillo by then. But as Europe started to go to war with itself, the cigarillo kind of hitchhiked to the fronts and was like, hey, what do you guys think about me? Pretty great, huh?

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, I mean, it's crazy. The rise of the cigarette is tied directly to the various wars over the years. And the fact that soldiers wanted to smoke it was, you know, helped calm their nerves. I think it was a comfort piece when you're, I bet, a Cigarette. And kids don't ever try it. Don't ever even try it. But I bet when you're at war, sitting in a foxhole in miserable conditions, I bet that cigarette is one of the few pleasures that comes your way, you know? Yeah, I bet that's a great cigarette to smoke.

[Josh Clark]

I would think so too. Yeah.

[Chuck Bryant]

So anyway, French and British soldiers discovered them in the early 1800s during the Napoleonic Wars. And this is where the French came up with the word cigarette instead of cigarillo. And the Crimean War, around the middle of the century came along, a new generation of British and French soldiers got these cigarettes with that pretty harsh Turkish tobacco. They said, we love this stuff. They brought it home. And there was a tobacconist named Philip Morris that had a shop on Bond street in 1847 where he was selling cigars and tobacco products. And he was like, I'm going to start making cigarettes.

[Josh Clark]

So, yeah, okay, so Philip Morris, the Philip Morris Company, one of the largest producers of cigarettes in the entire world, is directly related to Philip Morris. It's not just like a. Like a shout out or something like that?

[Chuck Bryant]

Oh, I never looked that up. But I just assumed that it was. Eventually became the big company.

[Josh Clark]

I mean, it would make sense because a lot of these companies did grow out or were consolidated by larger companies, a lot of the original cigarette companies. So it's entirely possible, for sure. But regardless, he was one of the people who brought it to London and made it kind of like a. A fancy thing. Which is really surprising because, Chuck, in America, it went a totally different way. When it really became a thing in the United States, as we'll see, it became associated essentially with juvenile delinquents. At first it was not a fancy, like Bond street type thing to do. It was kids playing craps rather than going to school or smoking cigarettes too.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, ne' er do wells.

[Josh Clark]

Yes, ne' er do wells.

[Chuck Bryant]

So at Philip Morris's Bond street tobacco store, they started making their own cigarettes. They were not mass produced, obviously. He had people hand rolling just like they did with cigars, but they were pretty good. They would get out. They would pump out like three or four a minute, which is pretty fast. They were pretty expensive as a result. And a couple of things happened that really made cigarettes way more widespread. One was the invention of a rolling machine, like a machine that could pump out eventually like 250,000 a day for a company. And the American cigarette, which used a combination sometimes of Turkish tobacco or sometimes just straight up American tobacco, that was a lot less harsh and more palatable For, I guess, American appetites smooth, mild.

[Josh Clark]

So, yeah, there's a guy named James Duke who was a Durham, North Carolina, tobacco air. And I think I remember correctly when we went to Durham for our show recently. I think both times they have like a big Duke stencil on a. Like a smokestack at some place.

[Chuck Bryant]

Oh, that's funny.

[Josh Clark]

I'm pretty sure. So, smokestack. He. He created W. Duke Sons & Co. In 1883 to start making cigarettes. Sorry, 1881. By 1883, he was making 250,000 a day thanks to the invention of James Bonsack, who created that cigarette rolling machine that you mentioned earlier that could roll 200 cigarettes per minute.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, that's quite an increase from three or four over there on Bond Street. So Duke said, hey, give me a deal. I'll buy a few of those things if you give me a good price on them.

[Josh Clark]

He's like a Ron and.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, exactly. And he said, sure. And he said, all right, I'll use cigarette rollers. You're out of business. And they said, no, you can't hire a machine to do work that humans do. And he said, watch me. And so he put these machines in. All of a sudden, they were a lot cheaper to sell, to make and to sell. They were readily available, and like you said, they were smoother and they got popular, at least with the juveniles. But that would be the first step toward making them a little more mainstream. But it is interesting that they were. I think in 1900, 2% of the market was tobacco. Market was cigarettes. People were still really into chewing tobacco at the time. And dipping snuff.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, people love that kind of stuff. So by the 1890s, though, this was enough of a thing that kids were smoking cigarettes that as early as the 1890s, states started to pass bans on selling cigarettes to miners. Isn't that interesting?

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, I mean, I didn't think they cared about children at all back then, but apparently they were like, hey, this doesn't look good. These kids walking around smoking like they're seven years old.

[Josh Clark]

They're like, what are you doing out of the coal mine?

[Chuck Bryant]

Right, exactly.

[Josh Clark]

Do you want to keep going and talk about where the cigarette really broke out in America, or do you want to take a break first?

[Chuck Bryant]

I think it's break time, buddy.

[Josh Clark]

Okay, we're going to take a break, everybody.

[Chuck Bryant]

We just decided, not a smoke break, just a break.

[Ad Voice]

Life's messy. We're talking spills, stains, pets, and kids. But with anabe, you never have to stress about Messes [e-mail] Discover Annabe Sofas the only fully machine washable sofas inside and out. Starting at just $699. Made with liquid and stain resistant fabrics, that means fewer stains and more peace of mind. Designed for real life, our sofas feature changeable fabric covers allowing you to refresh your style anytime. Need flexibility? Our modular design lets you rearrange your sofa effortlessly. Perfect for cozy apartments or spacious homes. Plus, they're earth friendly and built to last. That's why over 200,000 happy customers have made the switch. Upgrade your space today. Visit washablesofas.com now and bring home a sofa made for life. That's washablesofas.com offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Maria Hinojosa]

When I became a journalist, I was the first Latina in the newsrooms where I worked. I'm Maria Hinojosa. I dreamt of having a place where voices that have been historically sidelined would instead be centered. For over 30 years now, Latino USA has been that place. This is Latino USA, the radio journal of News and Culture. As the longest running Latino news and culture show in the United States, Latino USA delivers the stories that truly matter to all of us. From sharp and deep analysis of the.

[Chuck Bryant]

Most pressing news, they're creating this narrative.

[Host 1]

That immigrants are criminals.

[Josh Clark]

This is about everyone's freedom of speech.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Nobody expected two popes from the American continent to stories about our cultures and our identity.

[Josh Clark]

When you do get a trans character like Emilia Perez, the trans community is.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Going to push back on that colorism.

[Josh Clark]

All of these things that exist in.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Mexican culture and Latino culture. You'll hear from people like Congresswoman Aoc.

[Ad Voice]

I don't want to give them my fear. I'm not going to give them my fear.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Listen to Latino USA as part of the My Cultura Podcast Network. Available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Host 1]

Hi everyone, it's Janae AKA Cheekies from Cheekies and Chill Podcast and I'm launching an all new mini podcast series called Sincerely Janae. Sure, I'm a singer, author, businesswoman and podcaster, but at the end of the day I am human and that's why I'm sharing my ups and downs with you guys. Hi guys. I was sitting here recording episodes of Dear Cheekies and Cheekies and Chill and I just had to take a timeout and purge my thoughts and feelings here on Sincerely Janae because I've been so emotional lately, you guys. Whether I'm in My feels. I've just had a breakthrough with my therapist, or I've just had a really deep conversation with my siblings, or I'm in glam getting ready for an award show. I'm sharing my most intimate thoughts with you on the podcast. You guys know I always keep it real with you guys, but this time I'm taking it to the next level. Listen to Cheeky's and chill on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Josh Clark]

So just like in Europe, Chuck, war helped cigarettes just blow up, basically. In World War I in particular, brought cigarettes to America by introducing it to American troops. And like you said, the men fighting World War I in the trenches were like, we need something. Somebody give us something to smoke. And the US Government was like, that's fine, but cigars are kind of pricey. I don't know if you guys have been to a cigar shop lately. We can't really give all of you cigars all the time. What about these cigarettes that are being made that are pretty cheap? And the men in the trenches said, whatever, we just need to smoke something. So very quickly, a steady, never ending stream of packs of cigarettes started being sent to the boys on the front in Europe. And also, like businesses, individual citizens, the government, they were all paying for it. And they just smoked, smoke smoked out of the trenches in World War I. And when they came back, they were like, you guys, you gotta try these. They're amazing.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah. I mean, it was kind of perfect for a foxhole because it was much quicker than a cigar. Like, you know, you can smoke a cigar for an hour and you didn't have that kind of time. If you just wanted a quick nicotine fix, the cigarette was kind of perfect for wartime. And buddy, did they explode? Camel cigarettes in 1913 sold about a million packs of cigarettes. Or is that a million cigarettes?

[Josh Clark]

A million packs.

[Chuck Bryant]

A million packs of cigarettes. In 1914, they sold 425 million packs. And by 1919, they sold 21 billion packs of cigarettes.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. Which not coincidentally, was after World War I ended and all of those men fighting in World War I came back with pretty healthy little cigarette habits by then.

[Chuck Bryant]

That's an astounding number. And I knew it was going to be a lot, but that kind of jump, I mean, can you imagine the kind of money they were making?

[Josh Clark]

I know. And that's just Camel cigarettes. That's not all cigarettes.

[Chuck Bryant]

That was just one thing.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. Another thing World War I did was kind of change the United States view on life and was like, Okay, a lot of people just died, and maybe we should start thinking of life as a little more valuable and precious and relax a little bit and enjoy ourselves. And one of the. So we'll smoke. Exactly right. One of the upshots of that was that I guess norms and expectations around women really loosened up. And one of the things that women did almost immediately was they started smoking. It became socially acceptable for women to start smoking. And the tobacco companies clapped their hands together and rubbed them and just started drooling at the jowls.

[Chuck Bryant]

Oh, yeah. All of a sudden, they were targeting with advertising campaigns about how glamorous it was, how feminine it was, how independent you were if you were a smoker as a woman. This is also a very fun fact. Philip Morris, the Marlboro cigarette, which I have always associated with, like, cowboy killers. Yeah, like a dude cigarette. Cowboy killers. That. The Marlboro man. And the famous Sunset Boulevard, you know, cutout that was there forever.

[Josh Clark]

And Kramer, don't forget Kramer was the Marlboro man for a minute. That's right. He.

[Chuck Bryant]

But the Marlboro cigarette, I have such a hard time saying that.

[Josh Clark]

It's hard to say.

[Chuck Bryant]

It was launched as a women's cigarette. It was known as mild as May. And I'm not sure when that switched, but that's kind of a fun little.

[Josh Clark]

Fact I vow to pick up. Mild as May is a phrase I'm gonna start using.

[Chuck Bryant]

I like that.

[Josh Clark]

Lucky Strike was also like, hey, rather than reaching for a sweet, which will eventually disappoint your husband, and reach for a Lucky Strike instead, just smoke anytime you have a chocolate craving.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah. And all those accessories that, hey, listen again, kids don't smoke. But I'd be a liar if I didn't say in an old movie when someone took out one of those little slender cigarette cases and popped out a cigarette from that neat row and tapped it on the outside of that metal case. I don't know. That was pretty cool looking to young Chuck.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. I recently read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Have you ever read that? No.

[Chuck Bryant]

Was it the Rebecca? The Hitchcock movie? Rebecca?

[Josh Clark]

I think Hitchcock may have made it. Yeah. And that tracks. Cause I think it was written in the early 30s. Have you seen the movie? Was it about a woman who is basically living in the shadow of her husband's first wife?

[Chuck Bryant]

Yes.

[Josh Clark]

So that's the book. But people.

[Chuck Bryant]

Great under undervalued Hitchcock movie, by the way.

[Josh Clark]

It's a great book, too. But people bust out cigarette cases, like, every couple paragraphs in there and offer cigarette and everyone smokes after, after tea and all this stuff. So I, I know exactly what you're talking about. It, it just stuck out to me, I think, I guess as a 21st century person knowing what smoking does, looking at people who are living at a time when they didn't know what smoking did, it's kind of not funny to see. But it's just, it's just bizarre to look back like that.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, I mean there were, I remember in college in Athens, it was always one like classy co ed who like carried her cigarettes in a case and maybe even had one of those little cigarette holder extenders or whatever. Oh yeah, yeah. Because you know, they were like, hey, look at me, I'm different. And you know, I'm an art major so this is what we do.

[Josh Clark]

I'm like friggin Audrey Hepburn here.

[Chuck Bryant]

The other thing that happened was they started putting cigarette lighters in cars In I think 1925, 1926 is when they became standard in cars. A little push button cigarette lighter. So now they're saying like smoke everywhere.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. And it just so happens 1925, 1926 is when the first cars came up basically. So right out of the gate they had cigarette lighters, huh?

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah. And right out of the gate movie stars started smoking on screen, men and women. And started getting deals, started getting sponsorship deals with certain cigarette companies.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, you could get 150 grand plus a year's supply of Lucky Strikes if your smoking was sponsored by Lucky Strike, which I think Joan Crawford, Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, they all had those deals with Lucky Strike. So they would out in public be smoking Lucky Strikes, but during interviews they'd also stop and be like, wow, this Lucky Strike is so mild, smooth or whatever. Like they would talk about it like as if it were, you know, how people try to place ads or they used to. I don't know if they still do in podcasts where suddenly we'd just be talking about a product and it'd take you a second to catch up. That's what they used to do with Lucky Strikes. Yeah.

[Chuck Bryant]

And they're like, they send me a year supply. So they sent me 1,000 packs of cigarettes.

[Josh Clark]

Exactly. It was nuts. So there's just tons of stars smoking. They were literally sponsored by tobacco companies. And even if you weren't, you could still be pitching them in regular ads. And there's a push today to I think retroactively and moving forward give our ratings to movies that have smoking in them, which I hadn't heard of, but I ran across that recently.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, I heard about that. Much different back then. Obviously, by the middle of the 20th century, cigarettes had 81% of the tobacco market. So people really ditched the cha and the snuff for cigarettes, generally speaking. And people, you know, pregnant women were smoking. You smoke in the movie theater, smoke on planes, on buses, in the office. Your doctor would smoke in front of you during an appointment.

[Josh Clark]

People reading the news on TV would be smoking while they were giving you the news.

[Chuck Bryant]

It's crazy when you look back at old, like TV show either, not just episodes, but like Dick Cavett show and stuff like that. Just like everybody was smoking all the time.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. I mean, there were ads that were doctors recommending a certain kind of cigarette because they were smoother, they made you cough less or something like that. It was just absolutely crazy. But eventually people started getting hip to the idea that these things might kind of be bad for us. I think as far back as the 1760s, there was a doctor named John Hill who wrote Cautions against the Immoderate Use of Snuff because he'd noticed that people who were using snuff tobacco, which is exactly what it sounds like. It's powdered tobacco, you sniff like it's a bump of cocaine. But they were. He had observed navel nasal swellings and excrescences in snuff users. And he said, what even is that? It's I think, puffy pussy lumps in their noses. And he's like, I think those are probably cancerous. And this is back in the 1760s.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah. So that's super early on. In 1900, they finally put like tobacco extract. They did like official scientific tests. They put tobacco extracts. They applied it to guinea pigs, of course, and they saw cellular activity associated with cancer development. They linked it to cheek cancer as early as 1928. And then about a decade after that, they said, you know what? If you smoke, you're not gonna live as long as.

[Josh Clark]

No. And then I think by 1950, they started having enough studies that they could do meta analysis essentially and say if you smoke, you have a higher chance of getting lung cancer than somebody who doesn't smoke. Four years after that, a British medical journal published a study that said that cigarettes were killing doctors in significant numbers too. And the fact that doctors are now dying from smoking cigarettes, that kind of got people's attention.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah. And these were all unfiltered, basically, up until 1950. In 1950, the Winston cigarette was the first one to come out as a mass marketed filtered cigarette. And again, you Know, it helps a little bit. It's not like the filter is completely useless, but it's not filtering out. It was largely a ruse to say, hey, they're saying smoking's bad for you, so now we've added a thing to make it safe.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, I read that initially it was an earnest attempt to create a healthier, less deadly cigarette. And they were just like, well, we failed at this. But now we've basically fooled people into thinking the filters are actually doing something. We have to keep filters on forever. And yeah, it very quickly just became a device rather than something that actually worked. It can catch some particulate matter, but it's doing nothing to the, to the gases in the smoke. They're just coming through fully toxic. But again, smokers are like, okay, great, we've got that licked. We have filters now. Let's all go back to smoking as much as we want.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, I think by year 1965, 42% of American adults smoked. In 1980 it went down to 33. By 95 it was down to 25, 2010, 19%. And just a couple of years ago in 20, 23, 11%. But that's nuts. Like 40, like close to half of American adults in the 60s were smoking.

[Josh Clark]

Well, it's funny, it's based on old movies and TVs and books and stuff like that, or TV shows and books. That seems low to me.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, it looks like 100%.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, it really does, for sure.

[Chuck Bryant]

But yeah, I wonder who didn't smoke. Like half the people probably just were like, I mean, I'm sure some people were like, this seems really unhealthy, but some people, you know, they make your fingers smell nasty, they make your breath gross. That probably had a lot to do with it.

[Josh Clark]

I would guess so too. And then also, I mean, if back in the 20s they were like, you can get mouth and cheek cancer from probably trickled out to some people more than others, you know, for sure.

[Chuck Bryant]

So they add the filter. But a lot of R and D and money was spent because all of a sudden you're adding this barri, the smoker and the smoke. And so they had to invest a lot of money into making sure like the draw was correct and that you weren't, you know, what they didn't want was, was for you to lose any of that habit forming nicotine. So they put a lot of dough into, I guess, like you said, probably earnestly trying to reduce some toxins, but also make sure that experience stayed the same to keep people smoking cigarettes.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. And they Spent big billions of dollars figuring this out. Because if you're a smoker and you have to like, if you have a crushed filter, it makes it hard to draw through and it's essentially a ruined cigarette because you don't like, you don't want to have to have to exert any kind of effort in smoking. And if you do, it's just, it's not worth it. So they could not mess with the smoking experience. They had to make it as good or better while also preserving all the best parts of an unfiltered cigarette. What they essentially came up with was to use more porous paper than actually poke like little tiny holes in the seam where the tobacco comes up against the filter, which is sealed, as you talked about by that tipping paper. But they poked little holes in that end of the tipping paper so that more outside air could be sucked in and mixed with the smoke. So it was a milder smoke. And from what I can tell, light cigarettes, that's it. They have more tiny holes than a non light a regular cigarette. That's the only difference.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, it's not like lighter chemical additives or lesser chemical additives and stuff like that.

[Josh Clark]

Right. But the big tobacco companies are very happy for you to walk around thinking that that's what it means. But all it means is it just hits you lighter because it has more little micro holes in that tipping paper at the end. Wow.

[Ad Voice]

Life's messy. We're talking spills, stains, pets and kids. But with Anabe you never have to stress about Messes again. @washablesofas.com Discover Anibe Sofas, the only fully machine washable sofas inside and out store starting at just $699. Made with liquid and stain resistant fabrics. That means fewer stains and more peace of mind. Designed for real life, our sofas feature changeable fabric covers allowing you to refresh your style anytime. Need flexibility? Our modular design lets you rearrange your sofa effortlessly. Perfect for cozy apartments or spacious homes. Plus they're earth friendly and built to last. That's why over 200,000 happy customers have made the switch. Upgrade your space today. Visit washablesofas.com now and bring home a sofa made for life. That's washablesofas.com offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Maria Hinojosa]

When I became a journalist, I was the first Latina in the newsrooms where I worked. I'm Maria Hinojosa. I dreamt of having a place where voices that have been his historically sidelined would instead be centered. For over 30 years now, Latino USA has been that place. This is Latino USA, the radio journal of news and Cultura. As the longest running Latino news and culture show in the United States, Latino USA delivers the stories that truly matter to all of us. From sharp and deep analysis of the.

[Chuck Bryant]

Most pressing news, they're creating this narrative.

[Host 1]

That immigrants are criminals.

[Josh Clark]

This is about everyone's freedom of speech.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Nobody expected two popes from the American continent to stories about our cultures and our identities.

[Josh Clark]

When you do get a trans character like Emilia Perez, the trans community is going to push back on that colorism. All of these things that exist in.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Mexican culture and Latino culture, you'll hear from people like Congresswoman aoc.

[Ad Voice]

I don't want to give them my fear. I'm not going to give them my fear.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Listen to Latino USA as part of the My Cultura Podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Host 1]

Hi, everyone, it's Janae, AKA Cheekies from Cheekies and Chill Podcast, and I'm launching an all new mini podcast series called Sincerely Janae. Sure, I'm a singer, author, businesswoman, and podcaster, but at the end of the day, I am human, and that's why I'm sharing my ups and downs with you guys. Hi, guys. I was sitting here recording episodes of Dear Cheekies and Cheekies and Chill, and I just had to take a time out and purge my thoughts and feelings here on Sincerely Jana because I've been so emotional lately, you guys. Whether I'm in my feels, I've just had a breakthrough with my therapist, or I've just had a really deep conversation with my siblings, or I'm in glam getting ready for an award show. I'm sharing my most intimate thoughts with you on the podcast. You guys know I always keep it real with you guys, but this time I'm taking to the next level. Listen to Cheekies and chill on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Chuck Bryant]

Should we take another break?

[Josh Clark]

Yes.

[Chuck Bryant]

All right, we'll be right back right after this. So there are different, you know, sizes of cigarettes. If you've ever been a smoker or worked in a convenience store or something, like I did at the Golden Pantry in Athens, Georgia. You learn a lot about cigarettes and what kind of people smoke, what kind of cigarettes. It's pretty interesting, actually.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, I worked at Last Chance gas station and liquor store and we sold cigarettes for $1.25 a pack, which is four far and away the cheapest cigarettes in all of Athens. So we had a lot of people come in there, too.

[Chuck Bryant]

What was the cheapest brand? I totally remember the ones that we had.

[Josh Clark]

I don't remember what they were back then.

[Chuck Bryant]

The cheapest cigarettes. And these are the people. This is the stuff I always felt the worst about was when people were like, I can only afford to buy the bare bones swept off the floor tobacco cigarette brand. That was just more depressing to me even. And in our store, they were bucks.

[Josh Clark]

I don't remember those at all.

[Chuck Bryant]

Had a big antler deer on the front of it. And bucks were really cheap compared to the other ones. So I can't imagine what was in those filters.

[Josh Clark]

That sounds very scary, but there are.

[Chuck Bryant]

Different lengths, different kinds of filters. I remember the Parliaments had the recess filter occasionally when I had cigarettes here and there in New Jersey. That's a lot of people smoke Parliaments. You can have those long 120s, they're called extra longs. And different diameters, including something I tried in college occasionally was the old Camel wide.

[Josh Clark]

Oh, I forgot about those.

[Chuck Bryant]

Remember those plugs?

[Josh Clark]

Yep. I went the opposite direction. I smoked capri ultra slim 120s for a little while. Are you serious? They were essentially as big around as, like, a popsicle or a sucker stick.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. I remember my friend Justin's mother smoked those. And I never saw anyone that wasn't a mom smoke those.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, I took a lot of crap back in the day because I would smoke those. I smoked Virginia Slims for a while.

[Chuck Bryant]

That's really funny.

[Josh Clark]

I don't remember how either of those came to be my brand, but I would guess that I started smoking Capris because I like the watercolor design on the box. That's probably what first caught my attention.

[Chuck Bryant]

You always have marched to the beat of your own drum. So I could see Josh Clark doing that. Just to be different.

[Josh Clark]

They were good, though. I liked them. Wait, let me rephrase that. Kids, kids, please don't listen to any kind of nostalgic tone in anything I'm saying, because if I could go back and do it again, I never, ever, ever would have smoked. Of course, quitting smoking was the single hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life, by far. It is definitely not worth it.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, totally. I was the dreaded social smoker who all my smoker friends hated because I could always take it or leave it, and it never got its hooks in me. As far as an addiction goes, that.

[Josh Clark]

Just did not compute with me. But I was always in awe of people like you.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, I was the one who would bum the cigarettes off my smoker friends, and they were always nice about it. I was not the guy at the party who let the filtered in because I had too much to drink.

[Josh Clark]

I was the guy who would smoke.

[Chuck Bryant]

With the flu or the guy that if the cigarette broke the tobacco and broke a little bit, you would hold your finger around that part just so.

[Josh Clark]

You can still not waste that cigarette.

[Chuck Bryant]

But again, we're not waxing nostalgic, everybody.

[Josh Clark]

So where are we, Chuck? Oh, we were talking about some innovations at the time, I guess.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, I mean, one innovation. And by innovation, we mean terrible things cigarette companies did to make them worse and more addictive, basically. So, like, innovation for them was what's called puffed or expanded tobacco. And that's when they soak tobacco leaves in ammonia and Freon to make them puff out and increase their volume. They swell up some, and then they freeze dry that. And they do that so they can get more cigarettes out of less of a tobacco purchase or harvest.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, it's just a space filler. And from what I saw, freon, they only used that only for about 30 years. That discontinued a couple decades ago. But. But ammonia is still very, very much an ingredient in cigarettes. One of the big things ammonia does is it allows you to absorb freebase nicotine more easily. So you get more nicotine out of each puff of cigarette, which a lot of observers point to, is clear evidence that tobacco companies went out of their way to make their products more addictive.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, for sure. Also, we should mention while we were kind of talking about what kinds of people smoke what cigarettes, and if you work at a convenience store, you kind of see repeated patterns. It's clear if you've ever sold cigarettes that African Americans tend to prefer menthol cigarettes. I think more than 85% of black smokers smoke menthols. And once again, the tobacco companies found this out kind of during the civil rights movement. And they were like, hey, we found a new target demographic of people that we can try and kill and market to.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, because about the same time as the civil rights movement was just barely starting and the black press became an actual viable outlet for national brands to advertise in, all of a sudden, menthol cigarettes became a thing. Salem, Newport, Cool, Alpine, all came out within a year or two of each other. Alpine's not around anymore. And so just by essentially, I guess, targeted happenstance, the tobacco companies started heavily advertising menthols in the black press. And so that eventually came to be the favored kind of cigarette among black people in America. And I read an article by a guy named Alan Blum, who is the director of the center for the Study of Tobacco and Society. And he kicked out an estimate that about a third, third of the ads in some issues of Ebony and Jet magazines, black oriented national magazines in the US were for tobacco products. Mostly cigarettes, Mostly menthol cigarettes.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah. I mean, that's crazy. A third. And then in 1990, some people say, like peak targeted advertising and branding came when RJ Reynolds was going to release their uptown menthol cigarette, the first cigarette made like, specifically targeted toward black Americans. They did a bunch of market research and RJR was like, hey, you know what they'll really like is this classy black and gold package. And the name Uptown cigarettes. They were the only cigarettes with had the filters down in the pack because the company found through research that black smokers open open packs from the bottom so they could grab the tobacco in to avoid crushing that filter or to keep their fingers for ringing on it, because that's the part that went into their mouth. So they literally flipped how they packaged cigarettes to appeal to black customers.

[Josh Clark]

Yes. And this did not land well with people in the United States. There happened to be a black health and human services secretary at the time named Louis Sullivan, and he bucked tradition and directly targeted Uptown cigarettes and RJ Reynolds as basically a vile product that needed to be removed from the shelves. It hadn't been released yet. The release was targeted for February of 1990, not coincidentally, black history Month. And enough of a protest erupted in the US Led by Louis Sullivan that RJ Reynolds withdrew it before they could ever roll a mountain and sell uptown cigarettes.

[Chuck Bryant]

Hurrah for them.

[Josh Clark]

But the upshot of this is, is that, like you said, 85% of black smokers smoke menthols. And because of the apparent feeling of menthols, it feels nothing like you're killing yourself. In fact, it almost feels refreshing. In some cases, the black press relying so much on tobacco advertising that they didn't tend to cover the dangers of smoking like mainstream press heavily targeted advertising in Black communities. By 1990, Black Americans had a 58% higher rate of lung cancer than white people. And it still goes on today. There's a national ban on flavored cigarettes, but menthol got exempted because black led community organizations tend to lobby the White House to prevent menthols being taken out of circulation, because those groups tend to be funded by tobacco companies. So essentially they're fronts for the Tobacco company lobby. And this one 2012 study found that nearly 40% of black smokers said they would quit if there weren't menthols any longer. So the tobacco companies have a lot to lose and half of an entire market if menthols are done away with, like, all the other flavors. It's the only flavor still allowed in.

[Chuck Bryant]

The U.S. pretty despicable stuff. So you're probably wondering, like, hey, if smoking's so terrible, surely it started to wane. And I gave you some stats earlier, and it has. And that's because in the 1960s, we started slow rolling a little bit more warnings. Surgeon General warnings. In 64, the Surgeon General released Smoking and Health. This is a report that basically said it's the single largest contributor to lung cancer in men. It's linked to premature birth. It'll increase your risk of a fatal heart attack by 70% in 65. Just a year later, they started mandating warning labels on PACs. In 1970, they said, you can't advertise on TV and radio, even though in print you still could. And then in 1972, finally, the surgeon general said, and this was really the beginning of the change of how they were viewed and like, public smoking. In 72, they said, involuntary smoking, which is secondhand smoke. It's also really bad for you. We're just gonna leave it there. And 14 years later, in the mid-80s, they said it can actually give you lung cancer. Like, you cannot smoke at all and be around smokers and get lung cancer.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. That happened to Screech from Saved by the Bell. Dustin diamond died of lung cancer, and he never smoked a cigarette in his life. Apparently he attributed it to staying in cheap hotels where you could smoke still.

[Chuck Bryant]

Oh, interesting. I mean, I remember my parents never smoked or anything, but I remember having friends whose parents smoked in the car with the windows rolled up.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, that's nuts. I lived in college with a guy who did that. I was just. I. Even as a smoker, I was like, this is wrong. There's something really wrong with this.

[Chuck Bryant]

Oh, God. In the car, like, good luck selling that thing.

[Josh Clark]

But yeah, also your kids in the backseat, like, that was definitely a thing.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah. I mean, well, the other thing we should mention that I never really thought about until this is that smoke is in. Even going through a filter. So what little work the filter is doing, that side stream smoke is just going right into your lungs.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. And even your exhaled smoke contains a lot of toxins that are just getting right back out out that are part of secondhand Smoke too. So, yes, that definitely changed the calculus of how people viewed smoking. It wasn't like a you're killing yourself thing anymore. It was a you're killing all of us thing now. And that definitely led to bans in restaurants, movie theaters, all over the place. I remember I was, I think I've said before, I was one of the last smokers on an international flight in the 90s on the way to the Netherlands. That just seems bizarre to me now too, that especially that it was that recent. But finally America came around and was like, you can't smoke indoors anymore in public places. And another thing simultaneously was people started banning smoking in their own homes. That was simultaneous to government mandated smoking bans in public places. People were making that choice as well. So smokers were getting pushed further and further out of the mainstream, essentially.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah. Like literally outside, like you had to start telling people, like, I'm sorry, there's a non smoking house. The idea of somebody walking into my house and lighting up a cigarette is so bizarre. Sounding like it seems like a hundred years ago that people were doing that. But we lived through it. Like I remember all that.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. Oh, for sure. I had a house that we smoked him. And it was.

[Chuck Bryant]

It's crazy how much things have changed in just a couple of decades.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. Because now if somebody did that, it's like a hostile act, like they're slapping you in the face, like they mean to be starting something. As Michael Jackson said, yeah, I'm going.

[Chuck Bryant]

To screw up your house right now.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. What are you going to do about it?

[Chuck Bryant]

I'm going to smoke next to your cat.

[Josh Clark]

Poor cat. Although I'll bet cats smoke if they could.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, that's true. You're probably right. The other thing that came in the early 90s when everyone said, or when all the health experts said, hey, you know, you need to quit smoking if you want to live is all of a sudden there were nicotine patches and Nicorette gum and stuff like that. All kinds of quitting AIDS that hit the market that were also big money.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. Something else I found. And that stuff worked. And what also worked, I really want to do an episode just on this. Was that big tobacco settlement among the state's attorneys general in the U.S. yeah. That just.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, we should cover.

[Josh Clark]

Tripled the. The tobacco industry and really helped lead to its downfall because they had to keep handing over all these documents they had that were so damning. And then the press would just run story after story about this stuff. And it really turned a lot of people off. On tobacco. But I remember when vaping started to be a thing, and I was like, no, how did this happen? Like, we. We, like the anti tobacco forces won. They won. They beat big tobacco. One of the most powerful groups in the world got beaten by the people who were like, no, we shouldn't be smoking. And then vaping came along. So Julia turned up this statistic that I found very heartening. She said that in 2019, 28% of high school students in the US vaped cigarettes. Essentially, three years later, it was 10%. So it was cut by two thirds. So I attribute that almost exclusively to our vaping app, where we really came out against it. Either way, whether that had anything to do with it or not, I was really happy to see that.

[Chuck Bryant]

I think Gen Z has been known so far for avoiding some of the trappings of these vices of previous generations. I've read that they're smoking less and they're drinking less, and that's great. They seem to be a little smarter. There's another stat here that I thought was pretty interesting was when I was talking about percentage of smokers. In 1965, 42% smoked. In 1980, it was 33%. But there were more cigarettes sold in the early 80s. In 1965, at 42% smoking, they sold 521 billion cigarettes. That dropped to 33% of the population smoking, but they sold 637 billion. So fewer people seemingly smoking more cigarettes.

[Josh Clark]

I would guess that in that interim, the tobacco companies figured out how to make their product more addictive. Then that's when it would have happened. That'd be my guess.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, probably so.

[Josh Clark]

Well, I can't wait to tee off on that tobacco settlement episode whenever we do it. But this is a good one. I thought this was a good idea, Chuck. I'm glad you selected it.

[Chuck Bryant]

Thanks. I mean, they're not hurting. 2023, Philip Morris raked in 35, almost $36 billion. So they're doing okay. And people in different countries is different. I think Americans smoke less. I mean, when I've traveled through Europe, a lot of people smoke. I know in Asian countries, there's a lot of smoking.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, it's everywhere.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah.

[Josh Clark]

Right after I quit, we went to Japan and they smoked during a funeral.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah.

[Josh Clark]

And I was sitting there like, I want one of those so bad.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah. When we were in Vegas collecting our lifetime achievement award a couple of years ago.

[Josh Clark]

Yes.

[Chuck Bryant]

I went to a dinner at a really nice Chinese restaurant in one of the casinos. Unfortunately, it was a smoking casino. And you Know, the restaurants aren't, like, walled off. It's just kind of part of the casino. There was a group of young Japanese men, probably in their late teens to early 20s, like, 13 of them, standing just on the other side of where our table was and just chain smoking.

[Josh Clark]

Wow.

[Chuck Bryant]

Over and over and over to the point where I was like, man, this has legitimately ruined this awesome meal.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, that sucks.

[Chuck Bryant]

It does.

[Josh Clark]

It definitely can. It can. Just one person smoking can ruin a meal. I can't imagine 13.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah. But, oh, boy, they were loving them. They were pretty happy smoking those cigarettes.

[Josh Clark]

You got anything else?

[Chuck Bryant]

I got nothing else.

[Josh Clark]

All right, well, that's it for cigarettes, everybody. Thanks for listening. And since I said thanks for listening and Chuck's got nothing else, you put those two together and we've just unlocked listener mail.

[Chuck Bryant]

Correction for Josh. During our listener mail, a couple of. This isn't a big one. Hey, guys. Longtime listener, first time writer. Reference to the listener mail. In the USAID episode, Josh mentioned Red Tail or Red Hawk beer and said it was from Modesto, but the beer is Mendocino.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah, I remember.

[Chuck Bryant]

Now, given the Cilinary and those names, it's easy to confuse these very different California towns. I can personally confirm Mendocino Brewing Company was and now still is a great brewery. They ceased operation in 2018, but were purchased and are now back in production in Hopland, which is in Mendocino County. Thanks for everything you do, you guys. That's from Devin in California.

[Josh Clark]

Very nice, Devin. Thank you for that. And yeah, it's still a good beer, even if it is from Mendocino rather than Modesto.

[Chuck Bryant]

Yeah, we just want to shout out the right town.

[Josh Clark]

Yeah. Thank you for being gentle. I appreciate it. Not calling me a dipstick or anything.

[Chuck Bryant]

No, that's not dipstick worthy.

[Josh Clark]

Who was it again? I know I just said their name.

[Chuck Bryant]

That's Devin.

[Josh Clark]

Devin. Thanks a lot, Devin. And if you want to be like Devin, you can send us an email to send it off to stuffpodcastheartradio.com.

[Host 1]

Stuff youf Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts, my heart radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Maria Hinojosa]

When I became a journalist, I was the first Latina in the newsrooms where I worked. I'm Maria Hinojosa. I spent my career creating journalism that centers voices who have been historically sidelined. From the most pressing news stories to deep cultural explorations. Latino USA is journalism with heart. Listen to Latino usa. The longest running Latino news and culture show in the United States. Hear it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Host 1]

Hey guys, it's Janae AKA Cheekies from Cheekies and Chill Podcast and I'm bringing you an all new mini podcast series called Sincerely Janae. Sure, I'm a singer, author, businesswoman and podcaster, but at the end of the day, I am human and that's why I'm sharing my ups and downs with you in real time and on the go. Listen to Jiggies and chill on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Josh Clark]

Smokey the Bear Then you know why Smokey tells you when he sees you passing through. Remember, please be careful. It's the least that you can do.

[Ad Voice]

After 80 years of learning his wildfire prevention tips, Smokey Bear lives within us all. Learn [e-mail] and remember, only you can prevent wildfires. Brought to you by the USDA Forest Service, your state Forester, and the Ad.

[Host 1]

Council, this is an iHeart podcast.