While new in America, it's been commonplace in Vietnam for at least a few decades, which is where acupuncturist and Billy55 founder Ranko Tutulugdzija found it.
As an acupuncturist, Tutulugdzija said he had lots of patients trying to find a natural way to quit smoking, and he remembered seeing green tea cigarettes - rolled green tea leaves with no nicotine in them.
"Get the smoker to have the same sensation as smoking," Tutulugdzija told TIME. "They don't feel as guilty and they have more motivation to stop."
The cigarettes, named after Tutulugdzija's mother Biljana - referred to as "Billy" - come in regular and menthol varieties and are made out of tea originating from Nanjing and Beijing in China. They cost $2.50 per pack.
Green tea cigarettes are part of a three-step, 90-day smoking cessation method developed by Tutulugdzija. It's an "all-natural" program that includes taping five mustard seeds onto acupressure points that Tutulugdzija says can help you quit.
Following the program, Tutulugdzija says, will eventually "downgrade" the addiction to a habit.
"Habits are much easier to break than addiction," he says.
"If you smoke green tea, you don't have a chemical [nicotine] working on your neuroreceptors to cause addiction. There's a big difference between something with nicotine and something without it."
Tutulugdzija says it has been only two months since his company began testing the efficacy of the product for quitters, but that "we're getting positive feedback."
Regarding the healthfulness of his product, Tutulugdzija says, "There's no such thing as 'healthy' smoking."
Two social smokers at TIME tried the menthol and plain varieties of green-tea cigarettes, which were harder to light than normal cigarettes. The two testers discerned almost no flavor, but the inhaled smoke did make the testers feel lightheaded.
The menthol type was slightly minty, but it, too, lacked any expected, discernible green tea or herbal flavor. Tutulugdzija describes the flavour this way: "They don't taste like a cigarette, but there's a green tea scent."
Dr. Michael Steinberg, who heads the Rutgers Dependence Program, says this: "It's probably not the safest way to try to quit smoking and there's no strong scientific evidence it helps to quit."
Steinberg acknowledges that green tea cigarettes may address a behavioral component that makes quitting smoking challenging, but thinks the oral fixation is better off handled with toothpicks, cinnamon sticks, or something else that doesn't emit smoke.
Richardson echoes Steinberg's skepticism. "I wouldn't have anyone I care about smoking green tea cigarettes to quit," she said.
The writer is a member of the staff.
ISLAMABAD – Pakistani rupee finally ended its losing streak against US dollar on Tuesday, gaining Rs4.43 after massive depreciation over the last week.
During the intra-day trading, the rupee was hovering at 266.75 with an appreciation of around 1.07 percent as talks between Pakistan and IMF underway for a stalled bailout programme.
Earlier on Monday, the rupee plunged by Rs7 and the greenback touched all-time high of Rs272. Last week, the local currency dropped by Rs24.54 in the interbank market – the largest single-day depreciation in more than two decades.
Finance experts linked the rupee’s recovery to exporters offloading some of their proceeds as remittances and export continued days after dollar cap was removed.
The country of over 220 million is facing a worst economic crisis with the forex reserved held by the country’s central bank remaining at critical $3.68 billion which were not enough to cover a month's import.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/30-Jan-2023/gold-continues-to-shine-hits-all-time-high-of-rs210-500-in-pakistan
KARACHI – The price of a single tola of 24-karat gold in Pakistan is Rs205,900 on Tuesday. The price of 10 grams of 24k gold was recorded at Rs176,530.
Likewise, 10 grams of 22k gold were being traded for Rs162,500 while a single tola of 22-karat gold was being sold at Rs 182,100.
Note: The gold rate in Pakistan is fluctuating according to the international market so the price is never been fixed. The below rates are provided by local gold markets and Sarafa Markets of different cities.
City | Gold | Silver |
Lahore | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Karachi | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Islamabad | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Peshawar | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Quetta | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Sialkot | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Attock | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Gujranwala | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Jehlum | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Multan | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Bahawalpur | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Gujrat | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Nawabshah | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Chakwal | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Hyderabad | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Nowshehra | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Sargodha | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Faisalabad | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
Mirpur | PKR 205,900 | PKR 2,370 |
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