Alex Higgins

Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010)[4] was a Northern Irish professional snooker player, who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed Hurricane Higgins because of his fast play,[5] he was World Champion in 1972 and 1982, and runner-up in 1976 and 1980. He won the UK Championship in 1983 and the Masters in 1978 and 1981, making him one of eleven players to have completed snooker's Triple Crown. He was also World Doubles champion with Jimmy White in 1984, and won the World Cup three times with the All-Ireland team.

Alex Higgins
Higgins in 2008
Born(1949-03-18)18 March 1949
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Died24 July 2010(2010-07-24) (aged 61)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Sport country Northern Ireland
NicknameHurricane,[1] The Irish Hurricane
Professional1971–1997[2]
Highest ranking2 (1976/77 and 1982/83)[3]
Career winnings£711,999
Highest break142: 1985 British Open[3]
Century breaks82
Tournament wins
Ranking1
Non-ranking23
World Champion

Higgins came to be known as the "People's Champion" because of his popularity,[6] and is often credited with having brought the game of snooker to a wider audience, contributing to its peak in popularity in the 1980s.[7] He had a reputation as an unpredictable and difficult character.[8] He was a heavy smoker,[9] struggled with drinking and gambling,[7][10] and admitted to using cocaine and marijuana.[5] First diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998,[11] Higgins died of multiple causes in his Belfast home on 24 July 2010. Higgins still holds the highest break to win a World Championship, being 135 in the 1982 final against Ray Reardon.

Life and career

Early life
Higgins (right) with David Taylor at an exhibition at Queen's University Belfast, 1968

Higgins was raised in the Church of Ireland.[11] He started playing snooker at the age of 11,[12] often in the Jampot club in his native Sandy Row area of south Belfast and later in the YMCA in the nearby city centre. At age 14, he left for England and a career as a jockey. However, he never made the grade because he was too heavy to ride competitively. He returned to Belfast and by 1965, aged 16, he had compiled his first maximum break.[12] In 1968 he won the All-Ireland and Northern Ireland Amateur Snooker Championships.

World titles

Higgins turned professional at the age of 22, winning the World Championship at his first attempt in 1972, against John Spencer winning 37–32.[13] Higgins was then the youngest ever winner of the title, a record retained until Stephen Hendry's 1990 victory at the age of 21.[14] In April 1976, Higgins reached the final again and faced Ray Reardon. Higgins led 10-9 but faded over the stretch in a match marred by erratic refereeing and a sub-standard table Reardon nevertheless pulled away to win the title for the fifth time, with the final score finishing at 27–16. Higgins was also the runner-up to Cliff Thorburn in 1980, losing 18–16, after being 9–5 up. Higgins won the world title for a second time in 1982 after beating Reardon 18–15 (with a 135 total clearance in the final frame); it was an emotional as well as professional victory for him. Higgins would have been ranked No. 1 in the world rankings for the 1982/83 season had he not forfeited ranking points following disciplinary action.[15][16]

Other victories

Throughout his career, Higgins won 20 other titles, one of the most notable being the 1983 UK Championship. In the final he trailed Steve Davis 0–7 before producing a famous comeback to win 16–15.[17] He also won the Masters twice, in 1978 and in 1981, beating Cliff Thorburn (a man who, at one point, floored Higgins with one swift punch [18]) and Terry Griffiths in the finals respectively.[19] Another notable victory was his final professional triumph in the 1989 Irish Masters at the age of 40 when he defeated a young Stephen Hendry. This was the last professional tournament he won, and is often referred to as "The Hurricane's Last Hurrah".

Post-retirement

After his retirement from the professional game, Higgins spent time playing for small sums of money in and around Northern Ireland. He made appearances in the 2005 and 2006 Irish Professional Championship, these comebacks ending in first-round defeats by Garry Hardiman and Joe Delaney respectively.

On 12 June 2007, it was reported that Higgins had assaulted a referee at a charity match in the north-east of England.[20] Higgins returned to competitive action in September 2007 at the Irish Professional Championship in Dublin but was whitewashed 0–5 by former British Open champion Fergal O'Brien in the first round at the Spawell Club, Templeogue.[21]

Higgins continued to play fairly regularly, and enjoyed "hustling" all comers for small-time stakes in clubs in Northern Ireland and beyond; in May 2009 he entered the Northern Ireland Amateur Championship, "to give it a crack",[22] but failed to appear for his match.

On 8 April 2010, Higgins was part of the debut Snooker Legends Tour event in Sheffield, at the Crucible. Appearing alongside other retired or close-to-retiring professionals, including John Parrott, Jimmy White, John Virgo and Cliff Thorburn, he faced Thorburn in his match, but lost 2–0.[23]

It is estimated that Higgins earned and spent £3–4 million in his career as a snooker player.[24][25]

Playing style

Higgins's speed around the table, his ability to pot balls at a rapid rate and flamboyant style earned him the nickname "Hurricane Higgins" and made him a very high-profile player. His highly unusual cueing technique sometimes included a body swerve and movement, as well as a stance that was noticeably higher than that of most professionals.

The unorthodox play of Higgins was encapsulated in his break of 69, made under unusual pressure, against Jimmy White in the penultimate frame of their World Professional Snooker Championship semi-final in 1982. Higgins was 0–59 down in that frame, but managed to compile an extremely challenging clearance during which he was scarcely in position until the colours. In particular, former world champion Dennis Taylor considers a three-quarter-ball pot on a blue into the green pocket especially memorable, not only for its extreme degree of difficulty but for enabling Higgins to continue the break and keep White off the table and unable to clinch victory at that moment. In potting the blue, Higgins screwed the cue-ball on to the side cushion to bring it back towards the black/pink area with extreme left-hand sidespin, a shot Taylor believes could be played 100 times without coming close to the position Higgins reached with cue-ball. He went a little too far for ideal position on his next red but the match-saving break was still alive.[26]

Professionalism and behaviour

Higgins drank alcohol and smoked during tournaments, as did many of his contemporaries. A volatile personality got him into frequent fights and arguments, both on and off the snooker table. One of the most serious of these clashes was when he head-butted a tournament official at the UK championship in 1986 after an argument. This incident saw Higgins being fined £12,000 and banned from five tournaments,[27] while he was also convicted of assault and criminal damage arising from the incident, and was fined £250 by a court.[28]

Another came at the 1990 World Championship; after losing his first-round match to Steve James, he punched tournament official Colin Randle in the abdomen before the start of a press conference at which he announced his retirement, and abused the media as he left. This followed another incident at the World Cup, where he repeatedly argued with fellow player and compatriot Dennis Taylor, and threatened to have him shot. For his conduct, Higgins was banned for the rest of the season and all of the next.[29]

During the World Trickshot Championship in 1991, Higgins demonstrated his seeming ignorance of how a professional snooker player should behave, when during his performance he referred to the black ball as "Muhammad Ali" in front of a live audience and TV cameras,[30] which caused a visibly pained expression from Barry Hearn and an exclamation from fellow judge Steve Davis that his score was already low now before the shot was even played.

Outside snooker

At the time of his 1972 triumph at the World Championship, Higgins had no permanent home and by his own account had recently lived in a row of abandoned houses in Blackburn which were awaiting demolition. In one week he had moved into five different houses on the same street, moving down one every time his current dwelling was demolished.[31]

In 1975, Higgins' son was born. Higgins's first marriage was to Cara Hasler in April 1975 in Sydney. They had a daughter Christel[10] and divorced. His second marriage was to Lynn Avison in 1980. They had a daughter Lauren (born late 1980)[32] and son Jordan (born March 1983).[11][33] They split in 1985[28] and divorced. In the same year, Higgins began a relationship with Siobhan Kidd, which ended in 1989 after he allegedly hit her with a hairdryer.[34]

He had a long and enduring friendship with Oliver Reed.[35]

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1981 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.

In 1983 Higgins helped a young boy from Manchester, a fan of his who had been in a coma for two months. His parents were growing desperate and wrote to Higgins. He recorded messages on tape and sent them to the boy with his best wishes. He later visited the boy in hospital and played a snooker match he promised to have with him when he recovered.[36]

In 1996, Higgins was convicted of assaulting a 14-year-old boy,[25] while in 1997 then-girlfriend Holly Haise stabbed him three times during a domestic argument.[28] He published his autobiography, From the Eye of the Hurricane: My Story, in 2007.[37] Higgins appeared in the Sporting Stars edition of the British television quiz The Weakest Link on 25 July 2009.[38]

Illness and death

For many years, Higgins smoked heavily. He reportedly smoked 80 cigarettes a day.[39] He had cancerous growths removed from his mouth in 1994 and 1996.[40] In June 1998, he was found to have throat cancer;[11] on 13 October of that year, he had major surgery.[41] He could only talk in a whisper in his last years.[42]

In early 2010 he suffered from pneumonia and breathing problems,[43] and on 31 March he was admitted to hospital.[44] In April 2010 Higgins' friends announced that they had set up a campaign to help raise the £20,000 he needed for teeth implants, to enable him to eat properly again and put on weight. Higgins had lost his teeth after intensive radiotherapy used to treat his throat cancer. It was reported that since losing them he had been living on liquid food, and had become increasingly depressed, even contemplating suicide.[45] He was too ill and frail to have the implants fitted.[46] Despite his illness, Higgins continued to smoke cigarettes and drink heavily until the end of his life.[47] He was admitted to hospital again in May.[42]

By the summer of 2010, Higgins' weight had fallen to 6 stone (38 kilograms).[25] Despite having once been worth £4 million, he was bankrupt and survived on a £200-a-week disability allowance.[45] He was found dead in bed in his flat on 24 July 2010.[4][33] The cause of death was a combination of malnutrition, pneumonia, tooth decay, and a bronchial condition, although his daughter Lauren stated that he was clear from throat cancer when he died.[48] His children survived him.[49]

Higgins' funeral service was held at St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, on 2 August 2010. He was buried in Carnmoney Cemetery in Newtownabbey, County Antrim. Among the snooker professionals in attendance were Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry, Ken Doherty, Joe Swail,[50] Shaun Murphy and John Virgo.[51] Doherty and White were pall bearers.

Legacy

Alex Higgins was an inspiration to many subsequent professional snooker players, including Ken Doherty, Jimmy White and Ronnie O'Sullivan. In Clive Everton's TV documentary The Story of Snooker (2002), Steve Davis described Higgins as the "one true genius that snooker has produced",[52] although the autobiography of a contemporary leading professional Willie Thorne characterised Higgins as "not a great player".[53] Higgins arguably fulfilled his potential only intermittently during his career peak in the 1970s and 80s; Everton puts this down to Davis and Ray Reardon generally being too consistent for him.[54]

Regardless, Higgins' exciting style and explosive persona helped make snooker a growing television sport in the 1970s and 1980s. Higgins also made the first 16-red clearance (in a challenge match in 1976); it was a break of 146 (with the brown as the first "red", and 16 colours: 1 green, 5 pinks and 10 blacks).[55]

In 2011, Event 8 of the Players Tour Championship was renamed as the Alex Higgins International Trophy.[56] In 2016, WPBSA chairman Barry Hearn announced that the trophy for the new Northern Ireland Open tournament would be named after Higgins.[57][58]

Higgins' professional rivalry with Steve Davis was portrayed in a 2016 BBC feature film entitled The Rack Pack, in which he was played by Luke Treadaway.[59]

Performance and rankings timeline
Tournament 1971/
72		 1972/
73		 1973/
74		 1974/
75		 1975/
76		 1976/
77		 1977/
78		 1978/
79		 1979/
80		 1980/
81		 1981/
82		 1982/
83		 1983/
84		 1984/
85		 1985/
86		 1986/
87		 1987/
88		 1988/
89		 1989/
90		 1990/
91		 1991/
92		 1992/
93		 1993/
94		 1994/
95		 1995/
96		 1996/
97
Ranking[60] No ranking system 2 5 7 11 4 11 2 5 9 9 6 9 17 24 97 120 72 61 48 51 99
Ranking tournaments
Asian Classic[nb 1] Tournament Not Held NR QF WD 3R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Grand Prix Tournament Not Held 2R 1R 2R 3R 3R A F 2R A LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ
UK Championship Non-Ranking Event F 3R SF 2R 2R 2R A 1R 1R 1R 3R LQ LQ
German Open Tournament Not Held LQ WD
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
International Open[nb 2] Tournament Not Held NR 2R 1R QF 3R 2R A 1R 1R Not Held LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ
European Open Tournament Not Held 2R 2R WD LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ
Thailand Open[nb 3] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event Not Held 2R WD LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ WD
British Open[nb 4] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event SF SF 1R 1R 2R F A LQ 1R LQ 1R LQ LQ
World Championship W SF QF SF F 1R 1R QF F 2R W SF 1R 2R 2R 2R 1R LQ 1R A LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Scottish Masters Tournament Not Held SF F SF SF QF F QF NH A A A A A A A A
The Masters Not Held QF QF SF W F F W SF 1R QF QF 1R F QF A WR A LQ LQ LQ A LQ A
Irish Masters[nb 5] Not Held F F W SF SF SF SF SF SF SF F 1R 1R SF W QF A 1R A A A A A
European League[nb 6] Tournament Not Held RR Not Held A A RR A A A A A A A A
Pontins Professional Not Held A A A A RR A A A QF A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters[nb 7] Not Held Non-Ranking Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking LQ Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 8] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event NH 3R Tournament Not Held NR NR NH
Classic Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event 2R 2R QF 2R 3R 2R 2R A LQ Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not Held LQ MR NR Not Held
Former non-ranking tournaments
Park Drive 2000 (Spring) F Tournament Not Held
Park Drive 2000 (Autumn) A F Tournament Not Held
Men Of The Midlands W W Tournament Not Held
Norwich Union Open Not Held SF SF Tournament Not Held
Watney Open Not Held W Tournament Not Held
Canadian Club Masters Tournament Not Held W Tournament Not Held
World Matchplay Championship Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
Dry Blackthorn Cup Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Holsten Lager International Tournament Not Held SF Tournament Not Held
Forward Chemicals Tournament Tournament Not Held RR Tournament Not Held
Padmore Super Crystalate Tournament Not Held W Tournament Not Held
Pontins Camber Sands Tournament Not Held W Tournament Not Held
Champion of Champions Tournament Not Held F NH RR Tournament Not Held
International Open[nb 9] Tournament Not Held SF Ranking Event Not Held Ranking Event
Northern Ireland Classic Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
Highland Masters Tournament Not Held SF Tournament Not Held
Classic Tournament Not Held F QF SF 1R Ranking Event Tournament Not Held
Tolly Cobbold Classic Tournament Not Held W W SF A QF A Tournament Not Held
UK Championship Tournament Not Held SF SF QF F QF F W Ranking Event
British Open[nb 10] Tournament Not Held W RR RR RR RR Ranking Event
KitKat Break for World Champions Tournament Not Held SF Tournament Not Held
Pot Black A RR A A A A RR A A RR RR RR 1R A 1R Tournament Not Held A A A Not Held
Carlsberg Challenge Tournament Not Held SF F SF A A Tournament Not Held
Canadian Masters[nb 11] Not Held SF W F W SF SF SF Tournament Not Held A SF A R Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 12] Tournament Not Held A A A RR QF A 1R A SF NH R Tournament Not Held A A NH
Hong Kong Gold Cup Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
International League Tournament Not Held RR Tournament Not Held
World Seniors Championship Tournament Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held
Irish Professional Championship W Tournament Not Held W W W F A F W NH F F WD QF W Not Held A QF Tournament Not Held
Tenball Tournament Not Held QF Not Held
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)		 QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
  1. The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Dubai Classic (1989/90–1994/1995) and Thailand Classic (1995/1996)
  2. The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  3. The event was also called the Thailand Masters (1983/1984–1986/1987 & 1991/1992) and the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993)
  4. The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
  5. The event was also called the Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (1974/1975–1976/1977)
  6. The event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984), Matchroom League (1986/1987 to 1991/1992)
  7. The event was also called the Canadian Open (1974/1975–1980/1981)
  8. The event ran under different names such as the Australian Masters (1983/1984 to 1987/1988 and 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995).
  9. The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  10. The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
  11. The event was also called the Canadian Open (1974/1975–1980/1981)
  12. The event ran under different names such as the Australian Masters (1983/1984 to 1987/1988 and 1995/1996) and Australian Open (1994/1995).

Career finals

Ranking finals: 6 (1 title, 5 runner-ups)
Legend
World Championship (1–2)
UK Championship (0–1)
Other (0–2)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1976 World Championship Ray Reardon 16–27
Runner-up 2. 1980 World Championship (2) Cliff Thorburn 16–18
Winner 1. 1982 World Championship (2) Ray Reardon 18–15
Runner-up 3. 1984 UK Championship (3) Steve Davis 8–16
Runner-up 4. 1988 Grand Prix Steve Davis 6–10
Runner-up 5. 1990 British Open Bob Chaperon 8–10

Non-ranking finals: 50 (23 titles, 27 runner-ups)

Legend
World Championship (1–0) [nb 1]
UK Championship (1–2) [nb 2]
The Masters (2–3)
Other (19–22)

[61] [62] [63]

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1972 Men of the Midlands John Spencer 4–2
Winner 2. 1972 Irish Professional Championship Jackie Rea 28–12
Winner 3. 1972 World Championship John Spencer 37–32
Runner-up 1. 1972 Park Drive 2000 – Spring John Spencer 3–4
Runner-up 2. 1972 Park Drive 2000 – Autumn John Spencer 3–5
Winner 4. 1973 Men of the Midlands (2) Ray Reardon 5–3
Winner 5. 1974 Watney Open Fred Davis 17–11
Runner-up 3. 1974 Jackpot Automatics John Spencer 0–5
Runner-up 4. 1975 Ashton Court Country Club Event John Spencer 1–5
Winner 6. 1975 Canadian Open John Pulman 15–7
Runner-up 5. 1975 Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament John Spencer 7–9
Winner 7. 1976 Canadian Club Masters Ray Reardon 6–4
Runner-up 6. 1976 Canadian Open John Spencer 9–17
Runner-up 7. 1976 Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament John Spencer 0–5
Winner 8. 1977 Canadian Open (2) John Spencer 17–14
Runner-up 8. 1977 Dry Blackthorn Cup Patsy Fagan 2–4
Winner 9. 1977 Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament Ray Reardon 5–3
Winner 10. 1978 Irish Professional Championship (2) Dennis Taylor 21–7
Winner 11. 1978 The Masters Cliff Thorburn 7–5
Runner-up 9. 1978 Castle Professional John Spencer 3–5
Winner 12. 1978 Irish Professional Championship (3) Patsy Fagan 21–13
Runner-up 10. 1978 Champion of Champions Ray Reardon 9–11
Runner-up 11. 1978 Suffolk Professional Invitational Patsy Fagan 3–7
Runner-up 12. 1979 The Masters Perrie Mans 4–8
Winner 13. 1979 Tolly Cobbold Classic Ray Reardon 5–4
Winner 14. 1979 Irish Professional Championship (4) Patsy Fagan 21–12
Winner 15. 1980 Padmore Super Crystalate International Perrie Mans 4–2
Runner-up 13. 1980 The Classic John Spencer 3–4
Winner 16. 1980 Tolly Cobbold Classic (2) Dennis Taylor 5–4
Runner-up 14. 1980 The Masters (2) Terry Griffiths 5–9
Winner 17. 1980 British Gold Cup Ray Reardon 5–1
Runner-up 15. 1980 Irish Professional Championship Dennis Taylor 15–21
Winner 18. 1980 Pontins Camber Sands Dennis Taylor 9–7
Runner-up 16. 1980 UK Championship Steve Davis 6–16
Winner 19. 1981 The Masters (2) Terry Griffiths 9–6
Runner-up 17. 1982 Irish Professional Championship (2) Dennis Taylor 13–16
Runner-up 18. 1982 Scottish Masters Steve Davis 4–9
Runner-up 19. 1982 UK Championship (2) Terry Griffiths 15–16
Winner 20. 1983 Irish Professional Championship (5) Dennis Taylor 16–11
Winner 21. 1983 UK Championship Steve Davis 16–15
Runner-up 20. 1985 Irish Masters Jimmy White 5–9
Runner-up 21. 1985 Irish Professional Championship (3) Dennis Taylor 5–10
Runner-up 22. 1985 Carlsberg Challenge Jimmy White 3–8
Runner-up 23. 1986 Irish Professional Championship (4) Dennis Taylor 7–10
Runner-up 24. 1986 Scottish Masters (2) Cliff Thorburn 8–9
Runner-up 25. 1987 The Masters (3) Dennis Taylor 8–9
Runner-up 26. 1988 WPBSA Invitational – Event 1 Gary Wilkinson 4–5
Winner 22. 1989 Irish Professional Championship (6) Jack McLaughlin 9–7
Runner-up 27. 1989 Hong Kong Gold Cup Steve Davis 3–6
Winner 23. 1989 Irish Masters Stephen Hendry 9–8

Pro-am finals: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1975 Castle Open John Spencer 5–2
Winner 2. 1977 Pontins Spring Open Terry Griffiths 7–4[64]
Runner-up 1. 1988 Dutch Open Jonathan Birch 2–6

Team finals: 5 (4 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Team/partner Opponent(s) in the final Score
Winner 1. 1984 World Doubles Championship Jimmy White Cliff Thorburn
Willie Thorne		 10–2
Winner 2. 1985 World Cup Ireland  England 9–7
Winner 3. 1986 World Cup (2) Ireland  Canada 9–7
Winner 4. 1987 World Cup (3) Ireland  Canada 9–2
Runner-up 1. 1990 World Cup  Northern Ireland  Canada 5–9

Amateur finals: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1968 Northern Ireland Amateur Championship Maurice Gill 4–1[65]
Winner 2. 1968 All-Ireland Amateur Championship [62]
Runner-up 1. 1969 Northern Ireland Amateur Championship Dessie Anderson 0–4[62]

Notes

  1. The World Championship did not become a ranking event until 1974
  2. The UK Championship did not become a ranking event until 1984

References

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  2. "Then and Now: Alex Higgins". Eurosport. 4 November 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
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  38. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/alex-higgins/alex-higgins-lovehate-affair-with-tobacco-28548778.html
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Further reading

gollark: 1. you disallow coordination of such a thing2. there aren't really other places
gollark: It's almost as if we actually *aren't*.
gollark: Yes, they effectively have a monopoly, *and* ban discussing alternatives...
gollark: Which is primarily a limitation of CC and its 51x19 16-color screen.
gollark: Yes, but not too well.
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