For Instance, Maybe They're Cussing More

Here at Takes, we’ve long posited a theory of “conservation of vice” as a consumer-behavior parallel to the laws of conservation of matter and energy in physics. The idea is that when people give up one vice, they fill the void by adopting a new one or by more fully indulging another vice they’ve already got. If this theory is correct (and you must admit, it sounds plausible), the consumer economy is awash in ex-smokers who are avidly pursuing some other form of misbehavior.