<p>My son bought some Sobranies in Serbia as gifts for a few of his friends. He asked me whether cigarettes get stale after a couple of months (he won’t see his friends until late Aug). I told him that they usually get smoked too fast to get stale, but does anyone know more about this? Would putting them in the freezer keep them fresher?</p>
<p>This is not a question I could ever have foreseen.</p>
<p>I have known several smokers that buy cigarettes by the carton and freeze them. Won’t hurt, I suppose.</p>
<p>How about a humidor? That’s what’s used to keep cigars fresh, since they are smoked much more slowly than cigarettes.</p>
<p>Maybe he can go to a cigar store or cigar bar to inquire?</p>
<p>How about having him research tobacco industry sites, heading over to the consumer section for FAQ’s?</p>
<p>Ciggies aside, what was your excellent son doing in Serbia?</p>
<p>Cigarettes getting stale reminded me how I have never seen freezer burn on ice cream after a week. :)</p>
<p>I didn’t know you could even possess cigarettes in Vermont! </p>
<p>Back to topic (sorry to hijack) because I’ve been reading BethiePosts for awhile and I’m reasonably sure that cigarettes aren’t on her usual shopping list of good home cooking.</p>
<p>Help the Bethie One!</p>
<p>^^“I didn’t know you could even possess cigarettes in Vermont!” Funny!</p>
<p>I confess I actually smoked (cigarettes) in my twenties. Cold turkey didn’t work for me, so I would keep a pack in the freezer when the inevitable urge would overtake me. It seemed to me that freezing them kept them from getting stale. And the good news is I was able to quit this way!</p>
<p>Having quit cold turkey after 30+ years, I would strongly suggest that the best place for your son to store those cigarrettes for his college friends would be in the trash can.</p>
<p>Why not just buy heroin for all his friends? Same difference, only nicotine addiction is a little harder to kick. Recent studies have shown that young people can develop a physical addiction to nicotine after smoking just a few cigarrettes, like one pack. The only safe approach is a personal committment to never smoke even one cigarrette. Anything else is playing with fire. Trust me, kids, you won’t “quit right after college” and you really don’t want to have to quit after years of smoking.</p>
<p>Wait up…really…cigarettes? That’s what your son brought for his friends when he went to Serbia? </p>
<p>First off, be aware that there are no limitations for what they put in cigarettes in other parts of the world. There are far more chemicals and additives than even those produced here in the USA. I was smoker (in the 70s), and got so ill smoking cigarettes in Brazil I was hospitalized (I was under 20 then). </p>
<p>Fortunately I was one of the lucky who could “just put them down”. My brother (3 years older than me) is not one such person, and last year spent 8 days inpatient at the Mayo Clinic going though a very severe detox (and at a financial cost of nearly $8k). It even took him several years to do that, once he realized he absolutely could not, under any circumstances, give them up on his own. He tried. He was diagnosed with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and emphysema 5 years ago. At the time his D was 3, and he had everything to live for. But still he could not quit, the nicotine addiction had a stranglehold on him. Literally.</p>
<p>I suggest, seriously, that your son not pass those cigarettes. Even if his friends are already smokers, I would encourage him not to. If they were alcoholics would you encourage him to give them a bottle of liquor as a gift? If they were drug addicts would you encourage him to give them paraphernalia as a gift? If they had anger issues would you encourage him to give them a gun as a gift?</p>
<p>Those of us that sound “holier than thou” may have a message for a kid who can’t see around corners. </p>
<p>Think. And then think again.</p>
<p>We can posess in VT, we just can’t use.</p>
<p>interesteddad</p>
<p>You’re right of course. Filthy habit/addiction and very hard to break. I did it myself many years ago. He is an adult, though and so are his friends who smoke. And it’s legal, unlike heroin.</p>
<p>p3t</p>
<p>My husband was doing some work for a non-profit in Serbia, so we got to go along. It’s a wonderful city and I’d recommend a visit to anyone.</p>
<p>cross-posted with "just"amom</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re being at all holier than thou. My son doesn’t smoke though some of his friends do. They’re not likely to stop because of lack of supply. I believe Sobranies are made in the UK.</p>
<p>Cigarettes get you more vilified than pot these days. I’m not a smoker but that fact still makes me giggle like a baby on a washing machine.</p>
<p>I meant to say Belgrade is a wonderful city. Serbia, of course, is a country.</p>
<p>Try taking them w/ both hands, ripping them to shreads, and tossing them in the trash can.</p>
<p>yes, putting them in the freezer will keep them fresh</p>
<p>Gifting cigarettes to a smoker is like buying Vodka for an alcoholic. Sure, he may keep smoking, but if you never acted as his supplier, at least you can honestly say you never enabled his addiction, nor will you have reason to feel guilty if he is later diagnosed with Lung Cancer, or some other serious smoking related illness.</p>
<p>I’m as anti-smoking as they come, but gosh folks. The cigarettes are already purchased. The son has a measure of his friends. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion, but I’m just putting it out there that I’d be the last one to get between my son and his choice of presents for his friends. And no, I don’t think freezing is enabling…I can see that argument coming around the bend like a train.</p>
<p>IMHO, once they’re in college, they are adults and will make adult decisions. I wouldn’t want my l8-year-old freshman opining on the gifts I choose for my friends, either. For example, if my S becomes a vegetarian and I want to give a rack of lamb to my friend, I don’t want to endure his lectures about the horror of meat!! If I needed freezer space for the lamb, he’d probably let me stash it there, too.</p>
<p>Is this another war starting in the area of Bosnia-Herzegovenia? What is it about that area, anyway? </p>
<p>I’m glad Belgrade was great, Bethie. Y’all deserved a nice trip together :)</p>
<p>What I learned about Bosnia-Herzegovina was that after Tito died and the countries making up Yugoslavia started to pull away into independence, this was the one area that was equally divided among 3 different ethnic and religious groups. No one had a clear majority and this led to huge conflict. Maybe everyone knew this except me. We had a wonderful time in the region and left with a much greater respect for what these people (Serbians and other Balkans) had been dealing with for so many years. Really rough.</p>
<p>Ice cream is deadly too if eaten to excess.</p>
<p>Smoking is enjoyable. ask any smoker (or a smoker that quit) that question and they will tell u the same thing. i love to smoke even if it does kill me. who wants to be on this planet anyways. oh yea keeping them in the freezer will keep them somewhat fresh but your best best is keeping them in the fridge. the freezer tends to dry them out to much.</p>
<p>This thread is over a year old. I think your advice is a little late for the OP. Those cigarettes have surely been smoked by now!</p>
<p>(Wow, for a minute there I thought BethieVT had come back to CC! 
)</p>
<p>I’m here, patsmom and yes, this tired old thread should be retired!</p>
<p>Bethie,</p>
<p>Please update your travel to Itlay thread. I’ve been waiting to hear about that trip.</p>