Smoking as an indicator of much worse
Amazing Antics: Stories of Alcoholism-Driven Behaviors
Smoking as an early-warning sign
Stories from “This Is True” by Randy Cassingham, with his “tagline.”
THE DANGERS OF SMOKING: When a woman stepped up to the clerk at a gas station in Washington, D.C. asking to buy some cigarettes, he asked to see her I.D. to check her age. She said she didn’t have any, so the clerk refused the sale. The woman then used her cigarette lighter to set fire to several gas pumps. Firefighters put the flames out before the tank caught fire, but the woman escaped. (AP) …Either way, she wanted to see smoke.
THE DANGERS OF SMOKING II: A man shoplifted three cartons of cigarettes from a convenience store in Lake Station, Ind. The store clerk followed the man out to get his license plate number, but found that the man had locked himself out of his car. The man told the clerk the theft was “just a joke,” but when he saw the clerk pick up the phone to call police, he came back into the store, ripped the phone from the wall, and then robbed him. The store was across the street from the police station, and dispatchers watched through their window as the man went into the store a third time, stole a broom, and used it to smash out his car’s window. Officers chased down Dan L. Griggs, 26, and charged him with robbery. Police described Griggs as “the world’s dumbest criminal.” (Northwest Indiana Times) …Yeah, but it’s still pretty early in the year.
In the process of doing the research for my first book, Drunks, Drugs & Debits, I interviewed a number of law enforcers. In a discussion, one of the “regular” cops (i.e., not one of the elite Drug Recognition Experts) grouped tobacco with alcohol and the other “drugs” as capable of causing deviant behaviors. Having a (then) vague understanding of the differences between the drugs, I questioned whether tobacco should be considered similar to the “other” drugs, even though it is far more physically addictive to most people. He asked me whether I had ever seen a smoker without access to cigarettes. I didn’t know enough then to properly respond.
Yes, a deprived smoker will do a lot of things to get his or her cigarette. But will he do anything? Sorry, but generally, no. The exception is the smoker who has damaged the neo-cortex of his brain, leaving the lower brain centers free to act without restraint. Smoking does not damage the neo-cortex, the human part of the brain, and therefore does not cause distortions of perception and memory.
Psychotropic drugs are those capable of causing such distortions in susceptible individuals (which requires a buildup of a metabolite – a derivative of the drug – on the brain). Such drugs include alcohol, legal pharmaceuticals such as Oxycontin and Valium, as well as illegal ones including cocaine and methamphetamine. They do not include tobacco.
A smoker denied her drug who then sets fire to gas pumps is likely to be suffering from a god-complex resulting from the effects of psychotropic drugs. The fact that over 80% of convicts are alcohol or other drug addicts supports this idea; after all, if those convicted of crimes are usually addicts, then those who should be convicted probably are as well (a logical extrapolation from the available statistics).
The fact that a smoker lifted the merchandise should have served as a warning to the store clerk that far worse violations might be committed. The old saying “where there’s smoke, there may be fire” is an idea best heeded when dealing with likely addicts, whose behaviors may become unpredictably dangerous and potentially lethal at any moment. The simple fact of smoking is such a clue; although 70% of smokers in the United States are not alcoholics, 30% are. If there had been any anger, threat or argument (which the first story doesn’t mention), the gas station clerk would have been wise to watch her every move and, just possibly, press the 911 button at the first hint of worse behaviors to come.
While only 10% of the population consists of psychotropic drug addicts, the fact that three times the number of smokers in the U.S. are addicts is a good reason to be more wary of them than of others, especially when additional clues to addiction are observed. Since the behaviors of psychotropic drug addicts are erratically destructive, such extra watchfulness may just save your life.
(“This is True” is copyright 2005 by Randy Cassingham, used with permission. See http://www.thisistrue.com for free subscriptions.)