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$115 for diapers and wipes - how do they afford?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by bwilson4web, Dec 15, 2021.

  1. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    Yes, that's very true for the upper range.

    Double Happiness and Hongtashan - the two most common expensive brands - are mostly given as presents.

    It's banned now, I think, but it used to be a way to get around anti-corruption laws. When meeting a government official, you'd give him or her a pack of 200 Double Happiness, because unlike cash, it wouldn't be seen as a bribe.

    Outside most government office complexes, you'd see shops with signs that said "收烟" ("receive cigarettes"). If you were a government official, after the meeting in which the person seeking planning permission or a sewage connection or whatever had given you the packet of cigarettes, you'd go down to the shop and they'd buy the packet of cigarettes from you.

    You'd get 200-packs that would go through hundreds of pairs of hands without ever getting opened or smoked.
     
  2. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    Complying may have helped. But being white would have been a far more certain route to survival: compliance alone is sometimes not enough.
     
  3. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    Yes. Selling loosies is illegal here too. Under-16s are the most common target market.
     
  4. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    While we're on cigarettes, have you seen what they're doing in New Zealand? It's quite interesting.

    They're going to start increasing the minimum smoking age by one year every year. Essentially, people born after 2008 will never be allowed to buy cigarettes.

    New Zealand to ban cigarettes for future generations - BBC News

    I think this is a good idea. Many people do manage to give up smoking, but some people do seem to be permanently addicted, so banning cigarettes outright is not really an option. But stopping future generations from ever getting addicted while allowing those still addicted to keep buying cigarettes seems like a good way to deal with the problem.
     
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  5. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    The Ballad of Bortus and Klyden.
     
  6. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    That is an excellent episode.
     
  7. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Good only because of those two goofy guys. IMHO.
     
  8. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    I'm quite a fan of the show as a whole, although I do miss Alara Kitan, who was my favourite character.
     
  9. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Pickle-jar opener.
     
  10. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    Wouldn't it be good to have a colleague who was that strong?
     
  11. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    I'd settle for a colleague with a basic working knowledge of biophysics. Hrrrmph.
     
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  12. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    You'll be wanting Isaac then.
     
  13. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    No more Orville (from me at least) we are supposed to be talking about baby wipes here.
     
  14. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    On the topic of tobacco, we have a friend that 'rolls her own' to save money. And yes, she smokes waaaaayyy too much.

    Not sure about the laws as far as 'rolling your own'...but there must be loopholes to allow raw tobacco purchase? Of course, she could also be purchasing through the grey market, etc....not sure. All I know is that she 'saves a lot of money' by doing this.
     
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I bought a carton of cigarettes for someone lately, couldn't BELIEVE what it costs these days. I was a late starter, got into cigarettes in my very early 20's, managed to stop a few years later. :unsure:
     
  16. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    To be fair...a good majority of younger folks do the nicotine vape thing these days ( according to my daughter anyways ). Not that vaping is any better...nasty stuff.
     
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  17. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Stopped at intersections, I occasionally smell burning tobacco. In contrast, vaping seems to dissipate much quicker. Regardless, I remember tobacco ash/smoke stained keyboards ... YECK!

    Apparently chewing tobacco and snuff took over leaving some pretty ugly looking soda cans.

    Bob Wilson
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    watching the beatles new documentary, it really makes you realize how much dna plays a part in drug related diseases
     
  19. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    I have several friends who do this. Some make their own cigarettes. Some make their own naughty cigarettes.

    Loose tobacco is marginally cheaper here than manufactured cigarettes. But it is still very heavily taxed.

    Is that not the case in the US?
     
  20. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    Yes. Traffic jams are the one place people still seem to smoke in Sydney. When I see smoke trailing out of a car, I wind my windows up and turn my ventilation to recirculate.

    It really is remarkable how far the smell of smoke spreads.

    Vaping isn't really a thing here. But it is huge in Britain.