This Guy Got A Bang Out Of Smoking

I've been smoke free for about 15 years now.  That's some accomplishment.  I began smoking when I was barely out of knee-pants.  At 13, my father - a several pack-a-day man - philosopher that he was, told me he'd give me his permission but not his approval.  Good enough for me.  A 30-year habit was born.

There were many times I attempted to snuff out the dreaded weed.  Cold turkey, gum, patches - you name it, I tried it.  Once I quit for a year, only to start again at a party.  Stupid.  And expensive.  And in my teens I recall emptying out the ashtrays after a party and grinding the hard, stale tobacco into a pipe bowl to smoke because I'd run out of cigarettes.  Oddly, that didn't make me quit.  It just made me go out and buy a pack of smokes.

Well, I tell you maybe I would have quit if something like this had happened to me.

Some poor guy in Indonesia, where men apparently light up cigarettes more often than their libido (60% of Indonesian men smoke), got a big bang after partaking of his sickly addiction.  No, not the Tiger Woods big bang kind of addiction.  This guy lit up a cigarette and...BANG...it exploded...in his mouth.  The poor fella lost six teeth and lived to tell the tale.  Although, we're not entirely sure he could talk after the mysterious mini explosion.

The tobacco company has agreed to pay the man's medical expenses.  Wow, and Toyota thought they had problems.  Imagine a cigarette manufacturer who's product blows up in your mouth.  I'd hate to be the crisis communications firm in charge of that account.  Or maybe they could turn this to their advantage and rebrand their image.  Imagine the advertising slogan.  Something like:

"TNT cigarettes - more bang for your buck!"

Or maybe they could get into niche marketing:

"TNT - the cigarette trusted by terrorists"

I guess that's too much of a niche market.

The fella involved says he's decided to give up smoking.  Hmm...I wonder what convinced him?