I smoke cigarettes. Perhaps it is my subconscious desire to destroy myself that drives me to inhale and exhale yummy toxins into my system day after day.
After all there is such a thing as a destructive personality.
My father is a physician and I have received the anti-smoking lecture over a hundred times. I know it is killing me slowly, but nowadays, what isn't. Hell, biking around Dublin is enough to take a few years off the lifespan with all those little boxes of steel and plastic moving about, endlessly releasing carbon monoxide directly at my face as I ride by.
So I continue buying my cigarettes, simultaneously supporting the system of corporations and money-making that I despise. Am I ok with this? Well not exactly, but as an individual, I accept my weaknesses, of which there are many.
Recently I thought it might be cool to dedicate a node to my favorite brand as of late, Carrolls. They are quite the satisfying smoke I must say. And even though I am sure some American corporation somewhere is profiting from my devotion to Carrolls, I'm not positive about this, and better to support a smaller, more local evil, than the biggies. So sit back, read on, and pick up a pack of Carrolls if you're able, they're brilliant.
P.J. Carroll and Company Limited has been around since 1824. Founded in Dundalk, Ireland, they have been producing and providing high quality tobacco products for over a hundred years. Their products are mainly distributed in Ireland, but are available in many other parts of the world as well.
Carrolls manufactures high quality products for those individuals who have made the conscious decision to smoke. Approximately 85% of their products are distributed throughout Ireland, the rest in other parts of Europe. They also distribute products made by other companies as well.
Here is an abbreviated list of the tobacco products that are distributed by Carroll's in Ireland.
Cigarettes It should be noted that Carrolls distributes many other products for other companies, and most of these are not listed.
Here is a list of ingredients for my favorite brand, Carrolls Number 1.
Unfortunately I can't give you specific defintions of the previous ingredients, but this information is most likely useless anyway. There are additional ingredients that are used to produce this high quality brand of cigarette. These include:
- Casing ingredients: used to flavor, mainly cocoa and honey
- Flavouring: used to give each cigarette its distinct taste
- Additives: used for "technological" purposes.
These additives include:
- Adhesives: used to maintain shape of cigarette
- Binders and Strengtheners: used to "maintain the inetgrity" of the cigarette
- Combustion modifiers: assists the way in which the cigarette burns
- Fillers: contribute to the volume of the product
- Humectants: maintain moisture
- Preservatives: prevent product from deteriorating or going stale
Carrolls has historically maintained a high level of support for the Arts and other cultural aspects of society.
For example Carrolls was the chief sponsor of the Irish Exhibition of Living Art.
The company also has its own Carrolls Art Collection, which has been recognised as one of the most unique collections in the country of Ireland.
So there you have it. Perhaps none of this matters. But hey, everything is a beautiful sea of information, useless or not. On that note, I think I'll light up a smoke. Cheers!
www.pjcarroll.ie