[masklofumanto]

When I was your age, it wasn't menthols that was considered "effeminate," I'd say as many guys smoked menthols as non-menthols then, myself included, as I smoked only menthols until I was about 17. I haven't smoked menthols since, though.

Actually, it was 100s and especially 120s that were considered "effeminate." A guy might be able to get away with smoking full-flavor Marlboro 100s, though. When "lights" started becoming more mainstream, which was when I was in high school, they were also considered a "girl's cigarette."

[teen_smoker]

interesting. I don't know anyone who smokes 100s actually, only regular length and shorts. Lights definitely aren't considered a girl's cigarette anymore. Girls definitely smoke them but I know plenty of guys who do too. I'm kind of interested in Marlboro Reds now because it sounds like they've been pretty respectable cigarettes for a long time and aren't a "teenager brand" like some of my other options.

[masklofumanto]

Given what I just posted, I have what I guess is a funny story. On my way to pick up my date for the senior prom, I was out of smokes and stopped at my usual convenience store to buy a pack. My regular brand was FF Winston, king-size (sorry, I can't get used to calling kings "shorts"), but on this occasion I bought a pack of FF Winston 100s. When I arrived, of course being a girl she wasn't yet ready, so I was seated with her father in their living room to wait. When he lit up a cigarette, I pulled my pack from my jacket's breast pocket and lit up too. I didn't think much of it at the time, but later I wondered what he must have made of me--not for smoking, but for smoking a 100s!

Yeah, try Marlboro Reds. You might want to try a few other brands too. Camels have always been considered a "guy" brand and I personally think they're better than Marlboros. Benson & Hedges Premium Filters, the full-flavor gold pack, is a really nice cigarette, but here in the U.S. they usually come in 100s, and are more expensive than most other brands. American Spirits, the pastel blue pack, is really good too ... but if you get any American Spirits, do not pack them, or it'll be a very hard draw. If you should decide to give a menthol a try, Newport and Marlboro Menthol seem to be the most popular brands now.

After you've tried Marlboro Reds, let us know what you think of them. But don't make a judgment until after you've smoked at least five of them.

[ohiophil]

When I was in school, most everybody smoked Marlboro or camel. I can't think of anyone that smoked 100's... Back then, old people smoked them. There were a few girls that smoked the little skinny smokes, and 95% of the menthol smokers were African American.

Mask, around here, most people call kind size cigarettes "shorts" Maybe it's a regional thing like "pop" and "soda"

[masklofumanto]

I thought "shorts" vs. "kings" was a generational thing.

That's not the only "regional thing," I think. On the East Coast, menthols are more popular than they are nationally. While it is true that most African-American smokers in the East smoke menthols, plenty of Caucasian, Asian, and Latino smokers do too. When I was in high school, and back then that school was "lily white," Newport was almost as popular as Marlboro. And until the "Joe Camel" ads jump-started the Camel brand in the 90's, Camel was a dying brand here, though you might have seen a few old men smoking NF Camels ... and I never even saw a NF Lucky Strike until I went away to school in Pennsylvania.

[ohiophil]

Nf luckies were pretty popular with senior men back in he day. One of my grandfathers smoked them, a lot of them. He drank a lot of stroh's beer too.

[masklofumanto]

Both of my grandfathers were smokers, but I have no idea what brand they smoked, as they both died before I was born. Given the times, I would imagine they probably smoked a non-filter brand. I wouldn't put it past my maternal grandfather to have rolled his own ... from what my mother told me, he was cheap as hell and he did, after all, make his own wine.

[ohiophil]

My grandfather made wine too. From, get this....... Dandelions!! Yep... I swear it's the truth

Dandelion wine. Nuts huh? He had a very large yard, and he would make us kids go out to pick them. I've never heard of anyone making it these days, so I have no idea if it was good or not.

[Sepp]

Originally Posted by teen_smoker I'm new to smoking. What kinds of cigarettes should I try out?

Started out by taking cigarettes from my parents but once I started buying my own it was Marlboro Reds for me. They will pull you in and soon you will be smoking more and more yourself.

[masklofumanto]

Originally Posted by Ohio My grandfather made wine too. From, get this....... Dandelions!! Yep... I swear it's the truth Dandelion wine. Nuts huh? He had a very large yard, and he would make us kids go out to pick them. I've never heard of anyone making it these days, so I have no idea if it was good or not.

No, not nuts. My maternal grandfather made dandelion wine too, in addition to wines from grapes. There was a big vat in the basement to crush the grapes ... he probably got my grandmother to do that.

My mother used to plant dandelions in her garden, not to make wine, but for salad -- she loved dandelions. In the mid-80's she couldn't get the seeds locally anymore, but as I was at Fordham University by then, I got drafted into going to the New York Botanical Gardens, which are adjacent to the Fordham campus, to buy her seeds for her.