What is it with smokers needing the exact brand and type of cigarette???

[CreekDog]

I've seen this so many times, back to when I was working at a gas station and we sold a lot of cigarettes. the most annoying thing, except for parents who sent their 5 year olds to buy smokes for them :eyes:, the other most annoying thing is when they would get mad at me because they would say "Marlboro" gold so I would pick the gold one and they would say, "NO, with the GOLD Stripe!" :wtf: :spank:

Then sometimes they would say things like, "don't you even know how to do your job" and I'm like don't get snippy with me because I wouldn't sell smokes to your 5-year old, you shouldn't even be trusted with pets. :rant:

Anyway, obviously this sets off a chain of annoyances, but also a mystery regarding favorite cigarette brands. To me this was like deciding which brand of bread created the best smelling burnt toast smoke. :eyes:

:rant:

[applegrove]

1. I changed brands every 5 years or so. I wasn't tied to a brand, I just

wanted to get the same hit so would mindlessly ask for the same brand all the time.

[CreekDog]

2. they don't usually taste any different do they

excluding the flavors of course.

[applegrove]

3. No they taste the same provided they are the same strength. I've just quit. I shouldn't be talking

about smoking. It will just drive me nuts!!

[Bake]

6. Of course they taste different!

Do you have a particular beer you enjoy? Or do you just buy the white can with black letters that says "BEER."

Bake

[Runcible Spoon]

9. yes they taste VERY different.

I always said that Winstons tasted like raisins,and that Parliaments tastes sweeter than Marlboros, and that Camels tasted spicier than any of them. Flavor profiles are cigarette trade secrets, so I don't know if I'll ever know if Winstons had a pact with California Sun :evilgrin:

[CreekDog]

21. then why not just eat raisins or something spicy or LOL

must we depend on cigarettes to get our flavor. hmmm.

don't mind me, i'm just being dense. :hi:

[khashka]

4. They don't taste the same

But when someone can't find my brand I just point out where it is and make a joke of it. I worked in retail so try be nice, so many people aren't - and they're just doing their jobs the best they can.

Khash.

[One_Life_To_Give]

5. Marlboro's in GOLD? Lights maybe.

Look just give me my damn Newports in the Crush Proof Box. No lights, no regular pack, no 100's and nobody will get hurt. Actully you will find that many smokers can quickly tell the difference between their regular brand and what others might beleive to be imperceptible differences. Much like Meathead could tell the difference between Coke, Pepsi and Royal Crown Cola.



God I am so glad that smokiing for me was so 20th Century.
Eight years, seven months, one week, five days, 6 hours, 58 minutes and 29 seconds. 94418 cigarettes not smoked, saving $20,488.59. Tiem not spent sucking on Cigs: 46 weeks, 5 days, 20 hours, 10 minutes.

[Bake]

7. I generally look for my brand on the shelves

So I can tell the clerk, "Third shelf, second from the right, no, not that one, the NEXT one to the right ... no, to the RIGHT, dammit, the RIGHT!!!!!"

:rofl:

Bake

[Carnea]

16. Dude you were so in front of me in line a few days ago nt

[Bake]

20. If the clerks knew the difference between left/right and up/down

It wouldn't take so damn long!!!!

:rofl:

Bake

[CreekDog]

26. ...or if the customers did

:think:

most of them were just the "point and grunt" type.

[Runcible Spoon]

8. because cigarette brands are calibrated with a precise dose of nicotine

as well as other additives which affect the flavor, the density, and the rate of inhalation of the smoke. As such, only ONE variety of ONE brand will deliver those precise characteristics. When I used to smoke, I used to make myself buy a different brand every few days. Then, when I relapsed when I was quitting, it would be less like running into an old intimate lover who was with you all the time and more like running into a neighbor you always liked.

[AlCzervik]

10. i always just point to my brand with instructions, my accent throws clerks off sometime

my fault, not their's plus i really don't enjoy Pall Malls.

[Oeditpus Rex]

25. You have an accent?

:shrug:

[AlCzervik]

30. i do.

when i'm in california i have an accent, when i go back east i apparently have no accent and get a lot of "Where are you from?".

[ElboRuum]

11. Short Answer...

...it matters.

Long Answer...

If you ordered a grape slushee and you got orange instead, and the dude behind the counter said, what's the big deal, they're both slushees, wouldn't you look at the person and wonder what brain cell of his is still working, and how precisely you could release it from its dungeon?

[CreekDog]

23. if i was smoking the slushee, it's flavor would be negligible

:rofl:

perhaps the concept of smoking and flavor as intrinsically related is something i'm neglecting. taste the adventure. :puke:

[RoyGBiv]

12. Four Answers

1) They not only "taste" different but also deliver different doses of nicotine and the other chemicals that make them so addictive. Different qualities are made differently with different kinds of tobacco and filler, e.g. some of the cheaper brands have a lot of filler while some of the more expensive brands have more tobacco and higher grades of tobacco. You'll notice the term "blend" on several brands. That's not just a random word thrown in there. Tobacco is a plant. There are different varieties. Think of coffee and the different ways it is blended to make different flavors. To someone who doesn't drink coffee, it all tastes pretty much the same.

2) As someone who worked in convenience stores and liquor stores for years, I share your sense of frustration at someone who would say something like "don't you know how to do your job" if the only reason they do that is that you don't immediately recognize what "a pack of gold stripes" or something like that means. Smokers and drinkers like to nickname things, and it's confusing to those who aren't "in" on the conventions.

3) They get mad either because a) they are assholes or b) they are having a nicotine fit, and they see you as getting in the way of them getting their fix.

4) As someone who worked as a manager in convenience stores for years, I would advise you not to question such things too much to a customer's face or let it show that it annoys you. Good way to lose a customer. Sending in the kid is a different matter. I've called cops on people for trying that.

[AccessGranted]

13. Yes I Smoke And They Have To Be . . .

Capri Menthol 120s or I'm pissed.

[mokawanis]

14. Same here

I have to have the exact kind I prefer and admit I tend to act very surprised and a little put out if the store doesn't carry what I want. Not like I blame the guy behind the counter though, at least I hope I don't send that message.

[AccessGranted]

19. Good...I'm Not Alone

If you're gonna smoke it up, may as well smoke something that looks sexy and tastes minty fresh.

[Solon]

31. Capris? You smoke sticks?

I had a friend smoke those, I actually smoked one to the butt in one inhale, she bet me I couldn't do it, but I showed her. *cough*

By the way, those things are like smoking air. :P

[AccessGranted]

32. You're Right And . . .

That's why I like them...they're light and fluffy...girly cigarettes.

[fizzgig]

15. it's no difference than a preference in soda, beer, etc

i know what brand i like and that's what i want

[MonkeyFunk]

17. Benson and Hedges gold, in a box

just do your damned job and sell me the ciggies.

[RoyGBiv]

18. Trivia ...

When I worked in one store, my friend who used to hang with me there and I got so bored one night we went through all the brands to determine which one would take the longest to order if the entire description were spoken without any abbreviations to anything.

The "winner" was Bensen and Hedges Deluxe Ultra Light Menthol One-Hundreds in a box.

[Carnea]

27. That was my former smoke till they went to 5 bucks a pack... olus I'm patching it anyway.

[CreekDog]

24. ah, a former customer

:hi: :rofl:

[Taverner]

22. Addicts like things predictable

To quote Drugstore Cowboy:

Most people don't know how they're gonna feel from one moment to the next. But a dope fiend has a pretty good idea. All you gotta do is look at the labels on the little bottles.

We are all dope fiends in some way or another

[panhead1961]

28. burnt wonder bread

[Rhythm]

29. Cigars are getting just as bad... how many f'ing varieties do there need to be?

I currently work in a c-store, and along with the 100-odd cigarette brands that we stock, we probably have over 50 different varieties of cheap cigars... everything from simple Dutch Masters Coronas to every possible fruit-flavor infused abomination that you can imagine.

The current running favorite among our customers (mostly college students) are "grape" cigars - Dutch Masters, Phillies, or White Owl. They smell good when i open a new package, but i can't imagine that the burning smell would be all that 'grape'ish.

Do the fruity additives help hide the smell of weed that's being stuffed into these blunts or something?! That's the only thing i can figure :shrug:

[Carnea]

33. Yes... I mean so I've heard...

:smoke:

[REP]

34. Sherman's MCDs, please

Of course, I don't buy them at the gas station.