Second hand brainwash ....

[wizardofozone]

I just saw the latest commercial against smoking ; this is the one where they mention that CVS quit selling cigarettes and they end the commercial with ... "How about YOU (riteaid, walmart,walgreens) as those pharmacy's and store logos pop onto the screen.


vaping has freed me forever from analogs, yes they are killers, yes the way to carry nicotine to our system via burning tobacco and paper was horrendous .... Yes, vaping should be the new order for every single analog user ... BUT STILL .... whom I ask, pushes these types of anti smoking campaigns ?


Since every question I asked mentors concerning who are those who are fighting vaping gave a response that it always boils down to who is losing tobacco tax dollars etc ... I'm forced by that same logical answer to then ask ... who the hell is it that cares so much to end smoking that they are freely spending money to show those anti analog commercials ??


Is there some magical money miracle I'm unaware of ? More greed dollars to be made to now STOP analogs ? Call me selfish and self centered but if I hated analogs but have countered every measure for people not to 'second hand smoke' me ... why oh why would I go so far as to spend tv commercial dollars just to pass my 'no analogs in the world at all' desires ???


Don't misunderstand my post here ... this is NOT about vaping nor analogs ... it's about my amazement
that with so many other outrages one could ALSO make a 'public service' type commercial about, ONLY analogs are the singular 'outrage' continually attacked ... and apparantly out of the free spending hearts of those who apparantly make no profit at all from these anger producing commercials ...


Who the hell is paying for these ? Provari ???? (I honestly would not be this angry if it WERE after all, some merged council of Vape unit companies, at least then these commercials would make more sense to me ...


To you good hearted spenders who are backing these 'stop analog' adverts, let me give you a free list of other things to attack after your analog victory is complete :


1. Prescription drugs who list of side effects are often more frightening than the lesser illness they 'cure'.


2. Endless 'urge' commercials for the elderly to see and question doctors about illnesses that just 'exist' even though I havn't the slightest sign of such an illness in my body (shingles is the current one I'm expected to call my doctor about to inform him that 'it exists' in the world where I live ....)


3. Both analogers and x analogers would LOVE to see endless and repetitious analog type daily ads but against ALCOHOL for a change, as I know of not one case where an analoger nor a vaper has killed a family of five in a head on collision ...


4. Plain outright vulgarity on tv channels who find nothing wrong for children to be 'mentally second hand smoked' as long as the fog isn't from cigarettes or vaping such as ... " Try Depends, because pee happens" .... Bears with fecal stained tissue pieces all over the .... areas ... "we all go " they remind us as well.


5. How about 'urging' UPMC that sending countless pieces of near daily snail mail with informative things like "do not pay this bill" are killing a mathematically generated computer total of trees yearly, just as you list analog numbers of chemicals, heart attack victims, etc ... Ok thats my rant and I'm sticking to it ....

 

[eyerhere]

Do you feel better now?

 

[pennysmalls]

I'm mad too Wizard....

 

[wizardofozone]

Do you feel better now?

Yes ... yes I do ... I'm just going to sit down now over there and be vewy vewy quiet .... what's ironic is I hate analogs ... but for some reason I hate tv ads advising me what they believe the whole world should think in unison ...

 

[AndriaD]

Yes ... yes I do ... I'm just going to sit down now over there and be vewy vewy quiet .... what's ironic is I hate analogs ... but for some reason I hate tv ads advising me what they believe the whole world should think in unison ...

"Puritan Morality as Part of Your Business Plan"

I agree, Wiz. But I just hate puritans on principle -- people who object to *other people's* enjoyment are clearly insane and need to be locked up for the good of everyone.

Andria

 

[danca90]

I miss the days where giving up on TV meant almost no commercials. Now I can't watch a youtube video without one.

 

[FlamingoTutu]

I loath CVS and never thought they quit selling cigarettes out of the goodness of their cold little hearts. We get our health insurance through a big chain store my husband works for. Here are some of the changes for next year's prescription insurance coverage:

2015 PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT CHANGES

CVS Caremark will continue to be the pharmacy benefit manager for full-time employees and their families enrolled in the [store] medical plans, except for those enrolled in a Kaiser HMO (Kaiser administers their own prescription drug plan).

For 2015, [store] will be implementing the Maintenance Choice program for maintenance prescription drugs. In this program, employees must fill their maintenance prescriptions through mail order or at a CVS pharmacy, and will receive a 90-day supply at a discounted price. This program is mandatory.

[Store] is also making updates to the eligible formulary medication list and specialty prescription process for 2015. Impacted members will receive a letter from CVS Caremark explaining the change and will provide alternatives for 2015.

Forcing thousands of people to use a pharmacy they don't want to use is how CVS is making up for the tobacco loss. Oddly, CVS doesn't have any problem selling gallons of booze. I avoid CVS like the plague.

 

[AndriaD]

I loath CVS and never thought they quit selling cigarettes out of the goodness of their cold little hearts. We get our health insurance through a big chain store my husband works for. Here are some of the changes for next year's prescription insurance coverage:

2015 PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT CHANGES

CVS Caremark will continue to be the pharmacy benefit manager for full-time employees and their families enrolled in the [store] medical plans, except for those enrolled in a Kaiser HMO (Kaiser administers their own prescription drug plan).

For 2015, [store] will be implementing the Maintenance Choice program for maintenance prescription drugs. In this program, employees must fill their maintenance prescriptions through mail order or at a CVS pharmacy, and will receive a 90-day supply at a discounted price. This program is mandatory.

[Store] is also making updates to the eligible formulary medication list and specialty prescription process for 2015. Impacted members will receive a letter from CVS Caremark explaining the change and will provide alternatives for 2015.

Forcing thousands of people to use a pharmacy they don't want to use is how CVS is making up for the tobacco loss. Oddly, CVS doesn't have any problem selling gallons of booze. I avoid CVS like the plague.

Me too, but all the pharmacies are bent over for big pharma. I get my asthma meds gratis from GSK, due to low income and no insurance, and that plan is administered via Walgreen's, and I also have to get my meds 3 months at a time via mail order -- which is why all that breathing trouble I had was so worrisome, since I'm strictly limited on how much I can have, and how long it has to last. I finally got some "free samples" when I went to the doc earlier this month, and the stuff he gave me is nearly miraculous, called Dulera. So I'm back to being in control of my asthma, and enjoying my vaping SOOOOOOOOO much more!

Andria

 

[FlamingoTutu]

Me too, but all the pharmacies are bent over for big pharma. I get my asthma meds gratis from GSK, due to low income and no insurance, and that plan is administered via Walgreen's, and I also have to get my meds 3 months at a time via mail order -- which is why all that breathing trouble I had was so worrisome, since I'm strictly limited on how much I can have, and how long it has to last. I finally got some "free samples" when I went to the doc earlier this month, and the stuff he gave me is nearly miraculous, called Dulera. So I'm back to being in control of my asthma, and enjoying my vaping SOOOOOOOOO much more!

Andria

That is wonderful, so glad to hear it Andria! Rationing meds you need on an emergency basis is criminal. Not only that, but it costs more when people have to go to the emergency room because they can't breath because they ran out of meds. Grrrrrrrrr!

 

[AndriaD]

That is wonderful, so glad to hear it Andria! Rationing meds you need on an emergency basis is criminal. Not only that, but it costs more when people have to go to the emergency room because they can't breath because they ran out of meds. Grrrrrrrrr!

I agree with you, but I'm just glad I'm able to get them at all, at no cost. When they did the switchover to the non-ozone-layer-damaging formulation, suddenly all the generic inhalers tasted like grain alcohol -- which is a horrible taste anyway, but for a recovering alkie? Could be life threatening! But the namebrand Ventolin inhalers didn't have that taste -- and the last time I had to pay for one, about 5 yrs ago, they cost $46 per inhaler. Then I heard about the free medication plan that GSK offers to those with low income/no insurance -- and I've continued to qualify for it every year since then. The doc also gave me a prescription for Advair, since that's a GSK product that will do what I need -- maintain -- so now I have to find out if they'll include that prescription on my plan.

Andria

 

[FlamingoTutu]

When they took the chlorofluorocarbons out of the inhalers, a lot of people found them far less effective, myself included. I can deal with it but a lot of people can't and they have no options. Pretty fed up with BP, big business, insurance companies, CVS and the like, etc. playing Russian roulette with people's health to save a buck. I understand why they took the chlorofluorocarbons out but it's hurting some people Derailing thread, stopping there. I really hope your plan covers the meds.

 

[Strings]

See, the only effect any anti-smoking ad has ever had on me was to make me want a smoke.

My wife (who neither smokes nor vapes) has the same gut reaction. Guess we're both contrary

 

[Nermal]

Me too, Strings. They made me think of not smoking. That led to panic and panic called for a cigarette.

 

[wizardofozone]

"Puritan Morality as Part of Your Business Plan"

I agree, Wiz. But I just hate puritans on principle -- people who object to *other people's* enjoyment are clearly insane and need to be locked up for the good of everyone.

Andria

I cannot thank you enough Andria for putting a name finally on what has always been a nameless outrage to me ... "Puritan Morality" OMG you've belled that cat for me ... As I said, I hate analogs but it's the outrageous mind bending taunts of these types of crusaders that infuriate me.

I'm from a particular religious belief system for another example : Many who know me automatically assume for example that I would also condone any Puritan idea that belched from the mouth of Charles Stanley or Joyce Myer just on personal principles and they couldn't be farther from the truth about me on that assumption ... I hate people who make everything hard to do or to be ... as if something is only worthwhile if it has an incredible Bruce Lee like need to be complicated, near unreachable, or that reeks of 'the wise ones' while everyone else are deemed uninformed Neophytes ... such freekin human vanity and self need to be seen as something special .... thank you for naming the beast !

I think the most notable value of your term also causes one to understand just how primitive some of these Puritan idealists are about their ideas of what's 'rightest' for the world ... Let's none of us forget that if SOME of these Puritans had their way we'd not have machinery, autos, vapers, nor in fact business suits and ties ....

 

[choochoogranny]

Luddites? Controlled "useful idiots"? Willing puppets? "Mobs" paid by deep pockets?

 

[RosaJ]

There is a lot of money to be had from Grants, Fed money, State money etc., for anti smoking organizations and scientists, and yes, even CVS. In order for them to get their share of the money pie, they have to say certain things and take action on it. That's how it works.

So commercials, articles, lectures, etc., are part of the anti smoking "education" they must do in order to get their money. In the case of CVS, they may experience a decrease of revenue from not selling cigarettes, but believe me they're making it up through anti smoking grants/money. CVS is in business to make money, and is not a philanthropic entity.

 

[SweeneyTodd79]

The war on drugs wasn't a war on drugs. It was a PR campaign so people could feel better about their neighborhoods, and it really had mnimal effect on drug use, except for perhaps one or two cartels losing some money. Now at 20+ years out, there are still .... labs, E/X/Molly parties, and 'looners to be found in pretty near any major city. Some drugs are even moving toward legalization, but I won't get into that bit here... just point out that the war on drugs campaign was a failure in the same way many of the stop smoking campaigns are.


What's sad, is that some of the smokng cessation campaigns are funded by tobacco companies themselves either willingly (albeit anonymously) or through structured fines or taxes levvied by the government for selling a product known to cause health issues.

CVS made that move in order to distinguish their brand and be able to look down their noses at the other chains. They get to pretend to be the lilly whitest store while they continue to mark up medicine by factors of 100-400%.

It's a "look at the left hand while the right one is busily fleecing your pocket."

War on drugs.... how about we declare a war on big Pharma refusing to continue to make some drugs because the patents have run out and are not as profitable, or for changing formulas not to improve efficacy but to be able to renew the patent?

 

[Strings]

Ahhh yes... the War on (some) Drugs

Had it been an actual "war", we would have surrendered years ago, as it's been a total defeat. The only real "wins" that government has had have been the erosion of more of our rights

 

[crxess]

Brain fizzled 1/2 way through Ops post.

Going to read something simpler now.

 

[bluecat]

That has been out a while now. They no longer carry smokes, but I did buy a pack of cheap cigars from them a couple weeks ago.