inhalers

Months after quitting smoking, I get to see interesting items relating to tobacco.  In a trip to Bicol in November, I find myself in my cousin’s sari-sari store which is stocked with a cigarette named “Winnsboro” which appears to be a hybrid of two famous cigarette brands.

I have no idea just how much the Philip Morris – Fortune Tobacco merger influenced the name.  But based on the green color, I’m pretty sure this one’s menthol.

Upon further research, well, googling, I found that Winnsboro is the name of at least three cities located in three different states (South Carolina, Louisiana and Texas) in the United States.  So it may just be possible that the cigarette was named after these cities much in the same way that the Winston and Salem brands were derived from the city of Winston – Salem.

Up next is a calendar issued by a tobacco company:

The calendar is unique since unlike the usual ones given out by tobacco and alcohol manufacturers which feature a half-naked female, it instead features someone praying to a representation of the Virgin Mary.  Quite accurate considering that after developing emphysema or some other respiratory condition, you will find solace in prayer and not in pictures of half-naked women.