Thinking 'bout THR News & Views
December 8-11, 2024
Connections
My brain organizes people into boxes, which is helpful when conversing with someone. Because I struggle socially, it is hard for me to make “small talk” with people. I am much more comfortable with a topic to discuss.
It’s like I need a pre-written script composed in my mind to remove some of the awkwardness I feel when talking to someone. From what I’ve read, it appears that this is common for some autistic people.
This means I have categories of topics I am interested in and know about and people I know who fit each category. Some of my categories are Motorsports, genealogy, music, nicotine, crafts, nature, disabilities, and cooking. Most of the time, when I speak to someone I identify as belonging to a category, that category is the topic of our discussion.
Yesterday, I started a new section in this blog called “Misc. Ramblings” because if I didn’t talk about the joy of music, I would explode! That led to two new subscribers to this blog, but not by people my brain would put in the music box. They were people who would go in the nicotine box.
As many of you already know, being in the nicotine space can be incredibly frustrating. However, it is also phenomenally rewarding. It has led to new friendships that I value.
I am grateful that most of you refuse to live in a box. You have interests outside of nicotine, and it comes naturally to you to talk about various topics. You are helping me to learn to do the same.
My mental health team often expresses concerns that I tend to isolate myself. Little did I realize that getting to know people who share their lives outside of the box I put them in would open the world and give me a new feeling of connection.
It is like each of you is a gift. While the box has a pretty bow, and I know what’s in it, I failed to realize that each box also contains a wonderful surprise, and I don’t get to experience that surprise unless I open the box.
So, thank you for refusing to talk only about nicotine. Thank you for sharing your fishing stories, your ADHD stories, your love for your families, your highs and lows, the concerts you go to, your travels, parenting adventures, broken guitar strings, things you find interesting, and what you ate for dinner.
It is getting harder and harder to picture a stack of boxes in my brain. The visual turns into a circle of people holding hands and singing a song of joy. Suddenly, I feel less awkward and isolated and more like a link in that circle. I am unable to describe how good that feels.
Until next time…
PS: Is anyone tired of talking about popcorn lung? That’s a misperception that refuses to die. It’s worse than a cat’s nine lives.
Beware! AI Can Lie. “The moral here is that I actually found what I needed to know by what might be regarded as ‘conventional’ means. But more importantly the dialogue with AI revealed that it is rather like a posturing student. An algorithm who wants to give an answer even when unsure of the validity of that answer. It is too self-confident and unprepared to admit ignorance, unprepared to lose face. Any seemingly appropriate answer will do. If it were a person it would be accused of lying.”
Steve Stewart-Williams - “Political polarization is a real and growing problem. People don’t just disagree with the opposing political team; they often actively despise them.” (“Ye who toil in nicotine may hear some bells ringing!” ~ Joe Gitchell)
Jukka Kelovuori - Hypocrisy in a nutshell, exhibit #17865. Courtesy of Gillian Mackay, Scottish Green MSP for Central Scotland. (see photos in the Tweet)
Clive Bates - Five arguments against the #Mexico vape and HTP ban:
1. Pro-smoking
2. Pro-criminal
3. Unregulated market
4. Young people become dealers
5. Foreign influencing operation
Why the FDA Should Move Fast to Regulate Nicotine Pouches. “Rutgers Health experts issue a call to action for the FDA to grant marketing orders for nicotine pouch products that meet its standards faster than it had e-cigarettes.”
Nicotine and Tobacco Research: Past, Present, and Future. “I also intend to champion clear, consistent, and neutral terminology, utilizing ontologies where possible. I will lead the journal to support the publication of research that prioritizes the voices of people who use nicotine and tobacco products and focuses research efforts on the populations most in need of support to stop smoking.”
Why Does Parents Against Vaping E-Cigarettes (PAVE) Have to Lie in Order to Scare Parents? “The problem is that truth, honesty, and transparency are three important core values of public health. We do not misrepresent statistics in order to scare people. We do not provide false statistics to the public in order to increase public concern about public health problems. In other words, the ends of getting the public to take action do not justify the means of lying to or deceiving the public.”
Provide Alabama adults with better smoke-free options: op-ed from Alabama senator. “As a physician, this issue is incredibly close to my heart. We owe it to our friends and loved ones to work as a legislative body to embrace innovation and policies that help adult smokers transition away from cigarettes.”
Ban on flavored vapes, cigars and menthol cigarettes proposed in Michigan. “The bills would ban the sale of flavored nicotine vapes and cigars as well as menthol cigarettes in Michigan. It appears the ban would also extend to flavored dipping tobacco, but bill sponsor state Rep. Stephanie Young, D-Detroit, did not immediately return a request for clarification.”
Q&A: Youths' use of new tobacco-free nicotine products and their awareness of risks. “New products such as white snus are often marketed as "tobacco-free" despite containing high doses of nicotine, which is produced from tobacco and are often marketed as a fresher alternative to snus with appealing flavors.”
Harry’s blog 125: Deal with what’s in front of you. “Because of the torrent of mis- and dis-information out there about vaping and other safer products, many smokers are unsure about the health benefits of switching and will assume if the government is on the warpath, the news must be all bad. Result? Carry on smoking. The government’s own assessment of a ban on single use vapes indicates half a million vapers could return to smoking. This would result in a huge, avoidable, level of harm, but this doesn’t seem to phase those cheerleading from the sidelines.”
More news here.
December: Month - Universal Human Rights Month, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Awareness Month. Day - Dec 17 - (CA) Anti-Bullying Day (a reminder that being an advocate, researcher, lawmaker, journalist, regulator, etc., ≠ being a bully), Dec 20 - International Human Solidarity Day.
Notes:
I create these newsletters as a personal project. They are not affiliated with any current or past employers or groups I do volunteer work with. I receive no financial compensation for my efforts to create these newsletters.
My blog, Skip's Corner, has an X/Twitter account. My personal accounts are on BlueSky, LinkedIn, and X (Twitter).