Smoking in Shadowrun, Is it common? Options

[Tashiro]

So, got a group who plans to try to burn down a building, using gasoline cans and gas rags. They have everything they need - except for a source of flame to ignite it. Someone mentioned 'damn me for not taking smoking'.

Then I thought about it -- how common would smoking be in Shadowrun? Currently, there is a huge push against it in real life, and with recent medication which can block the addictive nature of it (as in kill the addiction completely), how common would it be? I mean, where I live, you don't smoke in cars with children, you can't smoke in any public building, you can't smoke on busses, planes, in taxis, and you must be at least 10 meters from any public building if you're going to smoke (including bingo halls, nightclubs, etc). Stores must keep the cigarette packages hidden behind blinds, and can't show them to you -- advertising isn't allowed on TV or in magazines, and cigarette companies can't sponsor events in the country.

Then, I thought about being a shadowrunner. You're needing to be sneaky as all hell, avoiding being spotted, and scent would be a huge give-away. Drones which follow chemical trails, creatures which have enhanced tracking, and hell, even if you have invisibility, the stink of tobacco would reveal your presence like nobody's business. And then, of course, the expense... I'm certain the price for real tobacco would be through the roof.

So, really, yeah. I don't think smoking's really that much of a thing in 207X.

Thoughts?

[Degausser]

So, got a group who plans to try to burn down a building, using gasoline cans and gas rags. They have everything they need - except for a source of flame to ignite it. Someone mentioned 'damn me for not taking smoking'.

Then I thought about it -- how common would smoking be in Shadowrun? Currently, there is a huge push against it in real life, and with recent medication which can block the addictive nature of it (as in kill the addiction completely), how common would it be? I mean, where I live, you don't smoke in cars with children, you can't smoke in any public building, you can't smoke on busses, planes, in taxis, and you must be at least 10 meters from any public building if you're going to smoke (including bingo halls, nightclubs, etc). Stores must keep the cigarette packages hidden behind blinds, and can't show them to you -- advertising isn't allowed on TV or in magazines, and cigarette companies can't sponsor events in the country.

Then, I thought about being a shadowrunner. You're needing to be sneaky as all hell, avoiding being spotted, and scent would be a huge give-away. Drones which follow chemical trails, creatures which have enhanced tracking, and hell, even if you have invisibility, the stink of tobacco would reveal your presence like nobody's business. And then, of course, the expense... I'm certain the price for real tobacco would be through the roof.

So, really, yeah. I don't think smoking's really that much of a thing in 207X.

Thoughts?

Yeah, there is smoking. Someone mentions it in Arsenal. Remember, you can clone and grow your own, new lungs (won't even cause essence loss), so the push to ban kinda died out when people realized there were no more bad side-effects (other than a medical bill.) It may not be popular like some drugs that have larger effects on you (like novacoke) but it's easy and affordable.

[TBRMInsanity]

I can see a couple of things happening. Since the price of cigarettes are determined mainly by the tax from the government, I see the price of cigarettes from the UCAS and CAS slowly increasing but cigarettes from the different NAN countries becoming dirt cheap (especially tobacco used for ceremonial use). This means that characters who spend lots of time in the NAN may pick up smoking while UCASers and CASers would more then likely not smoke as much (it would be that think ritch kids do to piss off their parents).

[Tashiro]

Perhaps, but if you don't have the addiction (and don't get the pleasant buzz from it, thanks to modern medicine being used to prevent it being an addiction at all)...

Which brings up another thing -- I'm surprised addiction actually is a problem in 207X, what with current medical successes in finding ways to cure addiction. By the time 207X rolls around, if the trend continues, it shouldn't even be an issue anymore.

[Method]

People have to want treatment. Turns out taking those nifty meds isn't nearly as fun as getting high. Plus in SR you get all kinds of other benefits from drugs (like combat bonuses).

The reality is that its part of human nature to alter our mental states with chemicals. Thats not something thats going to change in 60 years. People will still smoke, and drink and do drugs.

Also, one of the major factors in the downward trend in smoking is the widespread use of public awareness/education campaigns and not-so friendly smoking laws. In places like the barrens, where you have large populations of uneducated people living in lawless areas with no healthcare infrastructure, smoking would probably be rampant. And the anti-smoking trend prevalent in western countries isn't so prevalent in large parts of the world like China, Africa and the Middle East. In China they have about 8,000 new smokers every day. A few years ago a 10 year old Chinese girl become the youngest person ever to be diagnosed with lung cancer secondary to cigarette smoke. And up until a few years ago their anti-smoking education campaign was pitifully underfunded (to the tune of one guy with a budget of ~15,000 USD a year responsible for stopping the smoking epidemic in Beijing, population 17 million).

Plus as TBRMInsanity eluded to its a major source of tax-revenue. Legitimate corporate types would probably look down on smoking, but it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't promote smoking among the SINless. After all, the SINless exist for one purpose- to consume corporate goods. What could be better than a product as horribly addictive as cigarettes?

[Tyro]

I wouldn't see it as being expensive unless you got natural tobacco - just synthesize nicotine, etc. and make it in a lab.

[TonkaTuff]

Also, the Shadowrun universe diverged from ours in the early-to-mid 1990's, before the intensive anti-smoking effort really got off the ground. With a SCOTUS that would come up with the Seretech decision in 1999/2000, it's doubtful they would have ruled in favor of the multi-billion dollar tobacco settlement a few years earlier. So the anti-smoking measures and push to develop anti-nicotine drugs most likely never occured in this timeline. And without a concerted effort to counter it, the impetus is to make smoking even more addictive, not less (as has been demonstrated with the tobacco industry in real life before the settlement). Throw in the corporations' greater overt influence on society, and you end up with a situation where those exaggerated TheTruth.com fake commercials are actual, effective marketing strategies.

While smoking is almost certainly deadly, in a majority of cases, the really detrimental health effects don't normally kick in until late in the habitual smoker's life. Which, coupled with the addictive nature of the product, virtually guarantees a regular customer for 30-40 years. And once the customer starts developing chronic health problems, you've got them over a barrel to pony up for the range of long-term life-saving therapies and medications that your company also happens to provide. And with no one available to call you on it, curing the addiction (or at least doing so cheaply) would be a sucker's game.

[ICPiK]

Probably only cause i smoke in real life most my characters do but never during business to easy of a spot plus but can carry DNA. Phoenix Golds usually.

[Tyro]

Also, the Shadowrun universe diverged from ours in the early-to-mid 1990's, before the intensive anti-smoking effort really got off the ground. With a SCOTUS that would come up with the Seretech decision in 1999/2000, it's doubtful they would have ruled in favor of the multi-billion dollar tobacco settlement a few years earlier. So the anti-smoking measures and push to develop anti-nicotine drugs most likely never occured in this timeline. And without a concerted effort to counter it, the impetus is to make smoking even more addictive, not less (as has been demonstrated with the tobacco industry in real life before the settlement). Throw in the corporations' greater overt influence on society, and you end up with a situation where those exaggerated TheTruth.com fake commercials are actual, effective marketing strategies.

While smoking is almost certainly deadly, in a majority of cases, the really detrimental health effects don't normally kick in until late in the habitual smoker's life. Which, coupled with the addictive nature of the product, virtually guarantees a regular customer for 30-40 years. And once the customer starts developing chronic health problems, you've got them over a barrel to pony up for the range of long-term life-saving therapies and medications that your company also happens to provide. And with no one available to call you on it, curing the addiction (or at least doing so cheaply) would be a sucker's game.

You scare me.

[Lindt]

Wow. Tonka, seriously, that right there may be the essence of how ALL 6th world megacorps should IMHO behave. Well done.
Im going to sell you an addictive substance for 30 or 40 years, sell you the drugs to help you kick the habit (hopefully unsuccessfully), and then sell you the service to clone your heart/lungs later on.

[crazyconscript]

And dont forget that with the presence of shorter lived races like orks and trolls, they will probably die of old age before they even die of cancer. So to them it may not matter that they will contract horrible illness in 20-30 years time since they expect to be dead by then anway

[Medicineman]

Smoking is essential for SR-Noir style or Lowstyle.
No Guttersnipe without Cigarettes or Syntharettes

HougH!
Medicineman

[Degausser]

Just a as a side Note, Runner's companion threw a monkey wrench into the works (something I, personally, am not using in my campaign) by making people with enough cash immortal.

Seriously.

There are procedures to (in this order) return your body to effectively 21 years old, and to rejuvenate damaged tissue. So you can chain smoke 2 cartons a day, pay for the treatments, and have no essence loss and have the body of a perfectly healthy 21 year old, whenever you feel like it. All for under 100k.

LAME!

(P.S. Yes, I know the treatment takes several months, but it is still super lame.)

[raggedhalo]

Leonisation is in Augmentation, not Runner's Companion, and has been around since Shadowtech...

I quite like that it exists.

[hobgoblin]

And dont forget that with the presence of shorter lived races like orks and trolls, they will probably die of old age before they even die of cancer. So to them it may not matter that they will contract horrible illness in 20-30 years time since they expect to be dead by then anway

it could be that they get the shorter lifespan from a increased rate of cell division.

could explain their higher physical scores to.

if so, they may well develop cancer sooner...

[hobgoblin]

Leonisation is in Augmentation, not Runner's Companion, and has been around since Shadowtech...

I quite like that it exists.

its the classical division between the haves and the have-nots.

[raggedhalo]

its the classical division between the haves and the have-nots.

Pretty much exactly why I like it. It really highlights inequality within the setting, and I think that a big point about Shadowrun is that there's definite inequality that PCs can either attempt to resolve individually (by becoming high-fee runners) or collectively (through hooding or donating their money) or violently (team Neo-A) or not at all...

[Dream79]

Also, one of the major factors in the downward trend in smoking is the widespread use of public awareness/education campaigns and not-so friendly smoking laws. In places like the barrens, where you have large populations of uneducated people living in lawless areas with no healthcare infrastructure, smoking would probably be rampant.

Seems to fit what I see. In real life I work in a homeless shelter and a good chunk of my youth was experienced from the lowest income levels. From the way things look, the number of smokers increases as the income level decreases. At a low income level I would make a guess of about 30% are smokers. People who live below the poverty level I would guess maybe 60% smoke. When you get to no income and homeless it's about 80% or more smoke. It works the same way with alcohol and drugs as well for the most part.

[Mystweaver]

Also, taking into consideration the mention of anti-addition medication, one must not forget the great crash. Perhaps that breakthrough has been lost and not been picked up again by the corporation for the various reasons mentioned above.

[Wesley Street]

how common would smoking be in Shadowrun?

It doesn't incur an Addiction quality and it's mild and agrees with the throat. All the cool kids in the Sixth World are doing it.

[Backgammon]

Cigarette has a lot of competition in SR. There are a LOT more interesting "light" drugs available, not to mention chips. Why smoke when you can pop in a chip that has pretty much the same effect as a cigarette - or hell, a completely different effect. Moody Blue, Sunshine Yellow, Soothing Calm... we're not talking BTLs here - just a light little simsense background to lighten your day at work, all day, every day.

[Link]

And dont forget that with the presence of shorter lived races like orks and trolls, they will probably die of old age before they even die of cancer. So to them it may not matter that they will contract horrible illness in 20-30 years time since they expect to be dead by then anway

Lab-rats have quite short lifespans yet all manner of substances are tested on them to gauge the potential reaction in humans.
Trogs will generally age and die from the same ailments as humans though in a shorter time frame, I'd imagine.

CHIPS AND ALCOHOL
Seattle controls its only legal recreational drug, which is alcohol, by asserting almost complete control over its distribution.

From this I've always assumed that cigarettes are illegal in the Seattle 'plex and the UCAS and consequently gave smoking a Legality code in times past.

BTW, is it the state or fed gov that regulate smoking in the US or Canada these days?

[Wesley Street]

Smoking laws (along with drinking) are set by the states but are "nudged" by federal financing policies. States that want to drop their legal drinking age from 21 to 18 are usually threatened with loss of federal funding.

[Backgammon]

Smoking bans are provincial. Though the feds hate the tobacco companies too.

[BookWyrm]

Who says you have to smoke to carry a lighter? I carried a Zippo for a few years (found one on the lip of a garbage can, cleaned it up & kept it), and I don't smoke. I had several freinds who did and would bug me for a light when we'd go out.

I'd say smoking in SR is fairly common, with exceptions only in notable places that enforce a no-smoking policy.