Terms Which Have Disappeared

[tonyb]

From Merriam Webster: "Intoxicate: to excite or stupefy by alcohol or a drug especially to the point where physical and mental control is markedly diminished."

No, I don't drink to the point that I am excited, stupefied or out of control, i.e., intoxicated. And yes, I stand by what I said about enjoying a small amount of wine. Maybe that's unusual in your circle, but it's common for people enjoy a little wine or a cold beer or a cocktail without getting drunk. Again, it's different from recreational drug use, where the whole point is to get high.

I didn't say you advocated shooting up, but that you were lumping things together based on chemical properties instead of common use. But on that subject, for someone who doesn't advocate drug use, you've written an awful lot here suggesting the use of certain drugs (though I'm not clear on which ones) is harmless and doesn't cause any impairment.

Alcohol is an imtoxicating drug. Drinkers are intoxicating drug users.

Those are facts. Alcohol doesn't become "not a drug" because a drinker would rather not think herself a drug user, or because historically we have made a distinction between alcohol and other intoxicating drugs, a distinction that doesn't stand up to honest scrutiny.

Anyone who normally metabolizes alcohol will be under the influence of that drug if she drinks a glass of wine. I drank for a goodly number of years and I know for a dead certainty that a glass of wine has a clearly detectable drug effect.

And again, you attribute to me things I have not written. My objection to certain imtoxicating drug users being demonized by those who give other drug users (drinkers) a pass is in no way suggesting that any drug "is harmless and doesn't cause any impairment."

So yes, you are indeed a drug user. It doesn't make you a weak character or say anything about you other than that. But it doesn't make you superior to other drug users, either. An occasional glass of wine is relatively safe, especially if the drinker doesn't drive or engage in other behaviors that may put herself and others at elevated risk. But even that glass of wine has a measurable effect on your mental functioning. And most people who drink, even a little bit, do so because they enjoy that effect.

 

[Zombie_61]

...None of my meds is for pain, but they are not without their undesirable side effects...

I have deliberately held off on requesting prescription pain meds for my back problems because of those undesirable side effects; particularly those negative side effects associated with long-term usage. There will probably come a day when it's no longer an option for me, but I'll do whatever I can to get by until then.

...I was somewhat taken aback by reports of acetaminophen poisoning and how common and potentially deadly it is. It's not such an exaggeration to say that Tylenol and other products containing acetaminophen are taken by the handfuls, with an almost criminal disregard for the dangers. It's an over-the-counter medication, by the way. Loving mothers dispense it to their children.

My wife and I first learned of the dangers of acetaminophen about 20 years ago during a conversation with a former paramedic. He told us a story about a friend of his who attempted to commit suicide by swallowing an entire bottle of Tylenol. When he didn't die immediately he thought it might be a good idea to see a doctor, but he had waited too long and the over-dosage of acetaminophen had already been digested; he died five days later because it destroyed his liver.

By the way, if you take acetaminophen regularly and drink alcohol regularly, you may as well kiss your liver goodbye.

 

[Fading Fast]

... There are those who believe any restraints on the snake-oilers' ability to wring a buck from the public are a Sinister Attack On Our Sacred Freedom.

As someone who leans heavily libertarian / individual rights / the Holy Individual (per Lizzie) I don't see passing and enforcing truth in advertising laws and having a strong robust (and accountable) FDA approval process as impinging on individual freedom. Protecting individuals from force or fraud is the core function of government (lying in advertising or selling harmful "medicines" deceptively is both fraud and force [by proxy of the harmful medicine]).

I think we should have a much, much stronger standard for truth in advertising for business AND for the government (the way the government advertises lotteries is as bad as anything The Boys in Marketing cook up in the private sector - ironically, Wall Street can't advertise as deceptive as lottery returns are advertised). There is nothing individual freedom abridging about forcing advertisers to be truthful.

 

[MisterCairo]

The cat's pyjamas.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The snake oilers are still at it: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/11/lies-damned-lies-and-medical-science/308269/

I automatically disregard all "studies" and "research" I read about in the mass media or on the Internet, because nine times out of ten they're bought-and-paid-for research commissioned by and producing results desired by whatever industry is involved. And any internet article quoting such studies I automatically dismiss as the work of a shill.

Big Tobacco pioneered this kind of trash science as far back as the 1930s, which is why you saw ads declaring such "truths" as "Doctors Declare Phillip Morris LESS IRRITATING." Yeah, less irritating than gargling with straight carbolic acid, maybe.

 

[tonyb]

...

Big Tobacco pioneered this kind of trash science as far back as the 1930s, which is why you saw ads declaring such "truths" as "Doctors Declare Phillip Morris LESS IRRITATING." Yeah, less irritating than gargling with straight carbolic acid, maybe.

The popular press was awash in such swill back in "the Era."

A person doesn't know whether to laugh or cry as she pages through the old (1940s and '50s vintage, mostly) Collier's and Life mags I keep around here and sees the ads for cigarettes. "Doctors agree!" and "Modern science proves!" that one particular brand of cigarette soothes and calms better than any other or makes claim to some other salubrious attribute. You'd think smokes were medicinal. Relax! Have a Chesterfield! It's just what the doctor ordered!

 

[2jakes]

The popular press was awash in such swill back in "the Era."

A person doesn't know whether to laugh or cry as she pages through the old (1940s and '50s vintage, mostly) Collier's and Life mags I keep around here and sees the ads for cigarettes. "Doctors agree!" and "Modern science proves!" that one particular brand of cigarette soothes and calms better than any other or makes claim to some other salubrious attribute. You'd think smokes were medicinal. Relax! Have a Chesterfield! It's just what the doctor ordered!

The term, “light them up!”

I’ve noticed that movies relating to WW2 which were made in that time period.
The wounded soldier or sailor was rewarded with a cigarette.
This was before filters were used.

Love scenes between a man & a woman who are smoking a cigarette.

Not too romantic unless you appreciate the aroma of ash trays!

 

[tonyb]

The term, “light them up!”

I’ve noticed that movies relating to WW2 which were made in that time period.
The wounded soldier or sailor was rewarded with a cigarette.
This was before filters were used.

Love scenes between a man & a woman who are smoking a cigarette.

Not too romantic unless you appreciate the aroma of ash trays!

Old joke ...

Q: Do you smoke after making love?
A: We get friction burns from time to time, but it's never quite gotten to the smoking point.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Steering back to the subject, dope fiend -> drug addict -> person with substance abuse problem -> person with chemical dependency

 

[LizzieMaine]

The popular press was awash in such swill back in "the Era."

A person doesn't know whether to laugh or cry as she pages through the old (1940s and '50s vintage, mostly) Collier's and Life mags I keep around here and sees the ads for cigarettes. "Doctors agree!" and "Modern science proves!" that one particular brand of cigarette soothes and calms better than any other or makes claim to some other salubrious attribute. You'd think smokes were medicinal. Relax! Have a Chesterfield! It's just what the doctor ordered!

Around the turn of the century there actually *were* "medicinal cigarettes."

This isn't a fake ad put together by some smarmy hipster. The berries of the cubeb plant -- a variety of pepper -- really were ground up, lit on fire, and sucked into the lungs -- combustive residue, tars, and gums and all, because some quack crackpot sold the public on the idea that such inhalation would "cure" what ailed them. What actually happened was that the ferocious lung irritation caused by the pepper-laden smoke caused the user to cough uncontrollably, thus hocking up gobs of phlegm until they collapsed from exhaustion and fell asleep. It's a wonder nobody thought of grinding up mustard seeds and smoking them, that'd solve the problem right away by by just turning those troublesome bronchial passages into a nice firm mass of scar tissue in just one go.

Blow some more into Junior's face there, mama, he's not in paroxysms yet.

 

[docneg]

I automatically disregard all "studies" and "research" I read about in the mass media or on the Internet, because nine times out of ten they're bought-and-paid-for research commissioned by and producing results desired by whatever industry is involved. And any internet article quoting such studies I automatically dismiss as the work of a shill.

Bravo, Lizzie!
This needs to be put on billboards.

 

[tonyb]

Steering back to the subject, dope fiend -> drug addict -> person with substance abuse problem -> person with chemical dependency

Shell shock -> Battle fatigue-> Post traumatic stress disorder

 

[docneg]

This isn't a fake ad put together by some smarmy hipster. The berries of the cubeb plant -- a variety of pepper -- really were ground up, lit on fire, and sucked into the lungs -- combustive residue, tars, and gums and all, because some quack crackpot sold the public on the idea that such inhalation would "cure" what ailed them. What actually happened was that the ferocious lung irritation caused by the pepper-laden smoke caused the user to cough uncontrollably, thus hocking up gobs of phlegm until they collapsed from exhaustion and fell asleep. It's a wonder nobody thought of grinding up mustard seeds and smoking them, that'd solve the problem right away by by just turning those troublesome bronchial passages into a nice firm mass of scar tissue in just one go.

Blow some more into Junior's face there, mama, he's not in paroxysms yet.

While there certainly was a lot of hucksterism going on, Lizzie, this isn't a bona fide example. An expectorant (causes you to cough and clear debris) and a mucolytic (generates mucus secretion) both have a role in getting the body to expel agents of disease. Whether that is caused by something made in a test tube, or growing on a tree (like cubeb), doesn't differ widely in effect. Irritation to the bronchioles while upregulating mucus production causes you to cough up all the stores of debris that organisms are growing in. Cubeb also has antimicrobial and antifungal activity. Guaifenesin, the most common "modern" chemical for doing the same thing, comes from a tree bark (you've probably heard of Mucinex). And it isn't even antibacterial. So I think those cigarettes probably worked.

 

[2jakes]

Cocaine-laced Coca Cola introduced (1886) - Click Americana

 

[Stearmen]

The term, “light them up!”

I’ve noticed that movies relating to WW2 which were made in that time period.
The wounded soldier or sailor was rewarded with a cigarette.
This was before filters were used.

Love scenes between a man & a woman who are smoking a cigarette.

Not too romantic unless you appreciate the aroma of ash trays!

Smoke 'em if You Got 'em!

 

[Stearmen]

Shell shock -> Battle fatigue-> Post traumatic stress disorder

After the American Civil War, it was called, The Melancholics!

 

[2jakes]

Smoke 'em if You Got 'em!

I remember that phrase from my days in the military.
Cigarettes sold for 20¢ a pack at the base exchange.

I do believe the Zippo lighter was part of the military uniform
or at least that’s the way it was in the barracks at boot camp.

I was 19 & had never smoked in my life.
But thought I’d join in with the group.
The first drag of that tobacco & I got sick to my stomach.

I should’ve listen to my body.

“Hey dummy... what the heck are you doing to me?”


Luckily I came to my senses & gave the pack away.
But I did keep my all-brass Zippo lighter!

 

[vitanola]

Around the turn of the century there actually *were* "medicinal cigarettes."

This isn't a fake ad put together by some smarmy hipster. The berries of the cubeb plant -- a variety of pepper -- really were ground up, lit on fire, and sucked into the lungs -- combustive residue, tars, and gums and all, because some quack crackpot sold the public on the idea that such inhalation would "cure" what ailed them. What actually happened was that the ferocious lung irritation caused by the pepper-laden smoke caused the user to cough uncontrollably, thus hocking up gobs of phlegm until they collapsed from exhaustion and fell asleep. It's a wonder nobody thought of grinding up mustard seeds and smoking them, that'd solve the problem right away by by just turning those troublesome bronchial passages into a nice firm mass of scar tissue in just one go.

Blow some more into Junior's face there, mama, he's not in paroxysms yet.

A great uncle of mine was a baker, who suffered from "Baker's Lung", an occupational asthma caused by allergies to the proteins in wheat and rye. He treated his crippling malady by smoking Datura Stramonium cigarettes,. Which he purchased from his local pharmacist. The were a factory made product, shipped in neat little blue and gold rims which held 20 prepared cigarettes. Datura smoke is a powerful bronchial dilator, it seems. He smoked them for thirty years until a stroke carried him off during his last attack, just about the time of the battle of Midway.

 

[Zombie_61]

Old joke ...

Q: Do you smoke after making love?
A: We get friction burns from time to time, but it's never quite gotten to the smoking point.

The alternate punch line is, "I don't know; I've never looked."

 

[tonyb]

Cocaine-laced Coca Cola introduced (1886) - Click Americana

Is it true, as I've heard, that coca leaf is still used in the making of Coca-Cola, but it is "decocanized," meaning that the drug is removed?