I’ve long wanted to quit smoking
cigarettes. I have done countless times to go cold turkey only to return to my
beloved, but life-threatening hobby. Since high school, I simply can’t evade that
tempting aroma of a puffball and the act of smoking itself. You see, I am not
addicted to nicotine or the other stuff that they accuse that little tobacco
stick of. I am simply addicted to the “act of smoking”. From the time you lit
the stick to the actual puffing ala movie star to the exhalation of that gorgeous,
white puffball. There is something about the whole process that simply
relaxes me and clears my mind of clutter. I grew up in an old society where
being cool means puffing a smoke, consuming booze and being adrift of
society’s standards. The film “A Rebel without a Cause” and countless films
with action themes, in our case the Robin Padilla flicks, all the more pushed
these rebellious behaviors to our youth.
But now I’m in my middle-aged
years. And the specter of death looms large on my horizon. So, this time I have
to think hard and deep about my health condition. I have decided to take good
care of my health from now on without relinquishing my first love, smoking. So,
I decided to buy this cigarette alternative product called MOK. I've been
egged by my peers to switch to these heated tobacco products (HTPs) since 2018.
They professed that it tastes and creates the same buzz as traditional burning
cigarettes without the poisonous toxins and tar that causes cancer and all those creepy stuff. I was initiated to the leading brand of these HTPs called IQOS,
made by the World’s largest tobacco maker, Philip Morris. I was initially
adverse to it. To my mind, it shortcuts the process of the “act of smoking” premise I was in love with in the first place.
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| My MOK Mini & pack of COO while sipping my milk tea somewhere in Greenhills post ECQ |
The core concept is it’s a small
heater that heats up a cigarette-like heat stick called COO. COO is made of
real tobacco specially designed for the MOK device. It's a half shorter than a
common cigarette. You just insert the heat stick in the device, push a few touch
buttons, wait for 12 seconds to heat it then puff away. The health advantage of
HTPs vs. cigarettes is in its smokeless heating process. Traditional cigarettes are burned to
induce the nicotine hit. But with it comes a slew of toxins commonly
associated with combustion that includes carbon monoxide, cancer-causing carcinogens,
poisonous fumes, toxic metals among many others. But with HTPs, you only get
the nicotine and a few toxic substances as the manufacturers claim. Philip Morris in an article even claimed that 90 to 95 percent of toxins found in traditional cigarettes are not present in their heat sticks called HEETs. HTPs like MOK only heat the tobacco to induce the nicotine-laden vapor. That’s
another claimed, harmless aspect of these devices, the smoke that comes out of
it is not actual smoke but miniscule water vapor. Clinically, these are two
very different substances. Another claim is since its vapor, there’s no threat of second
hand smoke.
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| After devouring a burger like this, I normally puff on my MOK w/ COO Golden Hue heat sticks to celebrate a satisfying lunch |
Anyways back to my story, I have been using my MOK Mini for
a month already after ditching my favored Winston Lights and I couldn’t be more
satisfied. Psychologically, I also feel healthier after the big switch.
Although the device doesn’t exactly meet the criteria for my ‘act of smoking’
theory, I’m still happy with it since its better than nothing.
I intend to use it for as long as I enjoy my cup of coffee,
my glass of wine, my bottle of beer, my dish of sushi and my zest for life!
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| The MOK 1.9 is the bigger sibling of my MOK Mini |
BTW, MOK & COO can be bought in a variety of outlets
such as their Lazada and Shopee stores, DJSHOPPH, HeatNPuff, Lighters Galore and resellers in Facebook. They also have a Philippine website https://mok.com.ph/ and physical stores in
Eastwood Mall and SM North Edsa.
By Paolo Angelo Florenda
