DR. WALLACE: My boyfriend stopped smoking tobacco cigarettes several months ago. He is now smoking something called clove cigarettes. He said they give you the same kick as tobacco but they are 100 percent safe. I doubt this because anytime you inhale smoke into your lungs be that tobacco, cloves, marijuana or even corn silk, it's got to be harmful.
Do you know anything about clove cigarettes? — Anonymous, Peoria, Illinois
ANONYMOUS: Your boyfriend either doesn't know the facts or is laying a con job on you. Clove cigarettes were in vogue a few years ago, fell into disfavor and are now trying to make a comeback. Clove cigarettes are imported from Asia and are 40 percent clove, 60 percent tobacco. They are more expensive than regular tobacco cigarettes and come 10 to a pack.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there may be more health hazards from smoking cloves cigarettes than the tobacco variety. Make sure your boyfriend is informed of my answer, just in case he really doesn't know the facts.
GIRL'S MOTHER UNLOADS VERBALLY
DR. WALLACE: I'm a 16-year-old boy, and I've been pretty good friends with a nice girl who attends the same high school as I do. She can't go out with boys until she turns 16, which will happen in two months' time. Therefore, we don't really date. We just talk sometimes at school in between classes or at lunch, and we enjoy each other's company.
I stopped by her house last week because I needed a book she had borrowed from me. When her mom answered the door, she was very rude and told me to leave her house immediately because her daughter isn't allowed to see boys until she turns 16. She wouldn't even let me explain about the book before she raised her voice and said: "Young man, I told you to leave this house. Are you hard of hearing?"
When I told my parents, they suggested that I stay far away from both this girl and her mom. But my problem is I really like the girl, and she likes me as well. What do you think I should do? We are both nice kids, and she is the sweetest girl I know. I don't understand how she can be so nice and her mother can be so loud and condescending to a polite boy just stopping by to pick up a book. — Puzzled, via email
PUZZLED: I suggest you wait to visit this girl at her house until she turns 16, but you can still see her at school. The two months will go by quickly enough for you. Enjoy her company when you are with her, and don't blame her for her mom's rudeness and ignorance. When and if you come into contact with her mother again, be polite and act as if she said nothing rude to you the last time you two interacted. Perhaps she was having a bad day or was dealing with some problem that put her on edge that day she sniped at you. Upon your second meeting with her mother, you will soon know if the first meeting was a fluke or not.
Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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