Grim's Blog

Great moments in Tobacco Science
28th January 2010

Recently, I interviewed tobacco scientist, Dr. Frank Wilkes, on the show. Dr. Frank talked about the dangers of tobacco use and his company's "harm reduction strategies."
 
While I don't doubt Dr. Frank's good intentions, I have to admit some alarm bells go off in my head when I hear tobacco industry people talk about making their products safer. Let's just say these ...

 

Why I Don't Want People to Die Before Their Time.
14th November 2009

For some reason, people always expect me to be this scary, evil kind of guy that wants everybody to die.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, my job is to take people into the afterlife. And, yes, that does involve death. But, the honest truth is, I would love for every person on earth to have a long, happy life.

As an eternal being, I have all the time in the world. ...

 

An Honest Cigarette Part 4 - Radioactive Isotopes
13th November 2009

Did you know that most tobacco sold in the U.S. is radioactive? I was surprised by this fact, so I checked into it. I’ll explain what I found a sec, but first let’s talk about your teeth. (Stick with me. I’m going somewhere with this.)

Remember your last trip to the dentist? They probably x-rayed your teeth. But first, they covered up your chest ...

 

An Honest Cigarette Part 3 - Menthol
13th November 2009

There's a new tobacco prevention law here in the U.S. It bans fruit and candy flavors from cigarettes and smokeless  products. But there is one exception to the ban that's causing some controversy. And that's menthol. What’s the big deal, you ask? Well actually, there are several big deals.

Here are the facts: Menthol is a chemical that ...

 

An Honest Cigarette Part 2 - Ammonia
12th November 2009

There are plenty of chemicals that are added to tobacco products for various reasons. Five of these chemicals are ammonia, ammonium bicarbonate, ammonium hydroxide, ammonium phosphate dibasic and ammonium sulfide. Notice a trend?

Now, I'll be the first to tell you that I am not a scientist. Heck, I flunked chemistry at reaper school. But here are the facts: Ammonia is a ...

 

An Honest Cigarette Part 1 - Tobacco and Nicotine
9th November 2009

Would people buy cigarettes if they knew the honest truth?

On the show, I took to the streets to ask that very question and the answer was overwhelmingly “no.” Smoking rates in America have been going down since 1997. And, today, fewer than one in five Americans smoke. So, I wasn’t too surprised by the results. What did surprise me was a lot of people still don’t ...