Smoke And Sin

He still remembered that first drag perfectly. It was late at night, cold outside, his black jacket half open while the smoke slowly curled up past his face. At first he coughed — short and sharp — but then came that strange warm feeling. As if everything suddenly slowed down. Became quieter. The tension in his shoulders faded while he leaned against the wall and took another inhale.

He stared at the glowing tip of the cigarette in the dark and smiled softly. Not just because of the nicotine, but because of the whole moment: the night, the silence, the city still alive around him. Since then, it had become part of him. Standing outside in the cold, hands deep in his pockets, smoke mixing with the freezing air — it gave him a feeling of freedom he always wanted to return to.

Kirk has been a member of the Marlboro Men’s Club (MMC) for a few years, since he finished school. He is the Handler of a number of Marlboro Youth Club (MYC) members who report to him and the others in a WhatsApp group. As they target and work on their peers to start smoking, they report progress to the group. It’s where they can notify when they think one of their projects has made enough progress to be introduced to the MYC.

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The Marlboro Men’s Club (MMC) keeps track of current trends and fashions in corporate brands amongst the youth. The Marlboro Youth Club (MYC) initiates are given an expensive shiny black puffer jacket during the intense initiation ritual. All the members smoke heavily and renew their own dedication to Marlboro as the new initiate signs the membership book and an oath of devotion to Marlboro, and loyalty to the Cult - promising to keep secret the Rites and ‘activities’ in which the members indulge at the MYC meetings.

The uniform of the puffer jacket received provides members with a powerful psychological and emotional sense of belonging, and quickly becomes fetishized by the young wearer.

Once a straight lad is received into the MYC, any future potential for marriage or having kids is quickly eradicated from his thoughts and urges, as their high testosterone and the secret activities at the MYC remould his sexual needs for Marlboro.