what kind of cigarette do you recommend?

[rezaf]

I have been a good boy and I (still:) ) don't know much about cigarettes:mrgreen: but 2 months ago in London I discovered that it's the best way of socializing and since then I smoke half a pack every week and I don't think that it's gonna cause any problems for my health. I always buy Marlboro Lights but I have heard that they are fake in China. What brand of cigarette do you recommend to smoke in China?

[heifeng]

中华so that when you give your buddies 递烟 you'll have 面子...but there are fakes of probably any brand floating around.

I don't smoke but I also use to buy up odd brands of cigarettes I would come accross while traveling and hadn't seen in Beijing and use them as 'gifts'.

You could always buy up （小）熊猫牌香烟 and then talk up about how you heard 邓小平 liked this brand and hey 果然不错...haha so, there's a conversation starter:mrgreen:

[lokki]

The only possible advice is NONE ! Give it up now, while it's easy for you !

[ange9s]

I've always heard marijuana cigarettes were best for making friends.

[Meng Lelan]

There are better ways to socialize than smoking a carcinogen. Do what I did, I took up wushu.

[crazy-meiguoren]

I recommend nothing at all. Cigarettes, that is.

[md1101]

Do what I did, I took up wushu.

i second that.. great for your health and excellent way to socialise! plus it should help your chinese.

use BEER as your socialising tool! can't go wrong with beer...

[md1101]

but when i did smoke in china (its DAMN cheap) i'd smoke 中南海。 and if anyones watched 奋斗 they'll have noticed there is a A LOT of 中南海 product placement happening. even entire scenes dedicated to one of the guys going into a shop and buying himself a pack.

[YuehanHao]

I smoke half a pack every week and I don't think that it's gonna cause any problems for my health.

One can't argue with someone else's thought, but as best I can tell, an actuary would disagree with this opinion when applied to a large population. There are many things that can shorten life expectancy, for example, being overweight, not sleeping enough, frequently driving, not being married, and even being male (gosh!). I can't quote evidence but believe that studies show that occasional smoking will shorten life expectancy in addition to potentially causing other health problems (and sometimes occasional smoking also leads to heavier smoking). Whether the risk of premature death and health problems is worth the benefit of smoking (or other lifestyle choices) is a personal matter, but my opinion is that the decision is best made in sober cognizance of facts.

I don't know whether life expectancy calculators on the internet (many out there) have a sound basis of data at the level of detail that they accept input, but this one at least looked pretty:

www.peterrussell.com/Odds/VirtualAge.php

约翰好

[HeDiWen何迪文]

I've never been to China, so I don't know what the air is actually like over there, but with all the continuos talk of pollution, would anyone WANT to smoke over there? Smokings bad enough alone but mixed with high levels of pollution thats double-bad for your lungs.

[rezaf]

Perhaps it's easier for those who are native speakers of a popular language like English or Spanish to find friends but for the rest of us it's not that easy. Believe me I have tried everything including taking up erhu classes but it doesn't work. I am not a shy person and I often start conversations with people but Chinese students are very cold (at least in our university which is in the suburbs of Shanghai). It seems that they are 10000 miles away from me. I mean they often ask me for a language exchange but when I say that I am not a native speaker they just say zaijian and leave. Just like that! Last semester I had some Taiwanese friends for practising Mandarin and they were just like western students; outgoing and open but they are gone and I have to find Chinese friends. I don't like smoking that much but with Chinese students it seems that the only place that I can find the right crowd is where people gather to smoke outside of buildings:roll:.

P.S. I know that Chinese people are not like that in Shanghai but our university is far from the city and is just like a graveyard; no clubs, no bars, nothing!!!!

I've never been to China, so I don't know what the air is actually like over there, but with all the continuos talk of pollution, would anyone WANT to smoke over there? Smokings bad enough alone but mixed with high levels of pollution thats double-bad for your lungs.

I have never been to Beijing but air is not that bad in Shanghai and other cities that I have been to. The good thing about Zhangjiang(where I live in the suburbs of Shanghai) is that pollution is very low.

[heifeng]

Wow, this thread has turned into a health class and parental lecture. I'm going to give more just pure smoking advice then:

A ton of people also smoke honghe....which if you do become a smoker, just don't smoke this brand. it's second hand smoke is the nastiest. go for anything else, please! I think i have a few rants on this board about the nastiness of honghe smoke...

anyway 红塔山 is also a decent brand, and it has a few varieties (also when you buy cigarrette's they'll ask you if you want a 硬or软包 too..I don't know what is 'better' but for some reason I think boxes are better since the cigarettes wouldn't get crushed, but then again maybe it makes them too hard to roll up in your shirt sleeve or throw in your pocket.). It's about 10yuan per pack, so it's not super cheap, but still not going to cost you as much as zhonghua.

I also recommend just staring at people's pockets in the subway and buses. Sure you may look like a pick pocket, but in this way you can take a tally b/t honghe, zhonghainan, hongmei, etc. type of yan the locals are packing.

happy smoking:wink:

[md1101]

A ton of people also smoke honghe....which if you do become a smoker, just don't smoke this brand

agreed its about as foul as they come. rezaf, just smoke something light! 4mg or so.. its got less nicotine which might help with ur health.

There are many things that can shorten life expectancy, for example,

.....

not being married

really?? ive met so many blokes that swear its the opposite.

[cdn_in_bj]

As a non-smoker, I cannot offer much advice. But I do know a few folks who like Marlboro Light, and I myself somehow managed to consume 1/2 pack or so during one drunken night at a club here.

Other brands recommended by my colleagues include 555 and Zhongnanhai.

Yes, be aware of fakes, especially Marlboro. But you can buy them really cheap at the Beijing airport duty free. Again, I'm not a smoker but even I've been tempted by these cheap prices. Yeah, I know, long-term health effects and blah blah...

Anyways, you can buy a carton or two on your way out of the country, and bring them back when you return. China customs is fairly lax at the airport, but you'll need to check up on the customs regulations for your home country.

[Scoobyqueen]

Just buy herbal ziggies and stuff them into marlboro packs so it looks like you are a real smoker. herbal ones do not contain nicotine which is the addictive substance.

[rezaf]

Just buy herbal ziggies and stuff them into marlboro packs so it looks like you are a real smoker.

I can't. The whole point is that I want to give them to other people to start a conversation:mrgreen: . Anyway I tried Zhonghua. It's good but really gave me a bad headache. Next time I should buy light Zhonghua. It's so pathetic that I am becoming a smoker for practising Chinese. or maybe I will become a martyr of learning Chinese jihad.

[liuzhou]

You might want to read this.

China lung disease 'to kill 83m'

[HashiriKata]

It's so pathetic that I am becoming a smoker for practising Chinese.

Life is not fair but you needn't do this. Think: you're not the only person learning Chinese who is not an English native speaker, are you? 想想办法, there must be a way...

If you carry on like this you may come to dislike Chinese and that is not what you want, I think.

[Scoobyqueen]

I struggled for years to give up smoking although i was coughing up black stuff and my father died of lung cancer at an early age. i still vrave ziggies after several years. actually asking advice on how to start smoking seems so bizarre

[rezaf]

Maybe it's too soon for me but I don't see anything that attractive in cigarettes and I don't understand why people get addicted to it. It has a good feeling but not more than drinking a cup of coffee.