I want to apologise first for the lengthy break from this project; the holidays offer far too many pleasures, distractions, excuses, one of which I must make another apology for, and that is the loveliness of the cigarette.
I am not a smoker, but in times of celebration and drunkenness, it seems that all of a sudden, everybody becomes one. And despite all the horror ads they show us on the television and the perpetual health warnings, there is just something irresistible about the beloved cancer stick. Oscar Wilde said, “A cigarette is the perfect type of pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want?” The holiday season serves as a blissful reminder of this, where unlike food and sex there is no point at which you say, “enough.” Cigarette smoking also seems to bring strangers together, more effectively than anything else. On those pauses throughout a working day or outside a nightclub, you will always see a group of people standing around leisurely, chattering and puffing away, holding between their fingers that common uniter of humankind in all its sticky, paper-wrapped glory.
But I don’t want to glamorise. Being a casual smoker, I still haven’t conquered the horrid “virgin smoker symptoms”, where after just a few puffs of tobacco I break into a cold sweat and become violently nauseous. Also, regardless of all the health warnings and the shock-advertising, all the glamorising is already taken care of. Cigarette smoking is still very much in style, from the cool and apathetic to the high-brow, Francophile intellectuals, there seems to be an accompanying lifestyle that comes inside every carton, and despite the outlawing of cigarette advertisements long ago, the tobacco industry has nothing to worry about, because they will forever have a loyal army of fashion designers, artists and celebrities to do it all for them.
I actually prefer the hookah. Have you ever tried smoking one of those? It makes you feel as if you're inside a harem.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed "the tobacco industry has nothing to worry about". So does the sugar industry, the drug industry, the alcohol industry , and other such industries - and that's because we humans are weak and ..spoilt.
It's very difficult to give up bad habits, but it's possible. I know it from personal experience as I switched from sugar to sugarless, from caffeinated to decaf and some other things, and got used to it.
I believe that even those addicted to smoking could give it up without feeling heaven is falling down upon them. It takes a strong will and great effort, but it's worth it.
I used to be a party-smoker. A couple of years ago, we got the non-smoking law in bars and restaurants, which means you need to go outdoor to smoke, which I don't bother to do. Therefore, I haven't smoked a single cigarette in 3 years. The law works, and the bars are more pleasant to visit >:)
ReplyDeleteCold As Heaven
I've never found smoking glamorous. Seeing a person taking a drag from a cigarette, with nicotine stained fingers, black teeth and stinking of smoke has never seemed sexy to me.
ReplyDeleteI once gave a homeless kid money. As I walked away, I looked back and saw him walking up to his buddy, who was smoking. I felt like asking for my money back, as I was sure they'd be buying more cigarettes with it. I hate the habit, and don't want to support it. I can't even stand being anywhere near smokers.
ReplyDeletexoRobyn
I agree with LL Cool Joe. Smoking has never seemed glamorous to me. The inhalation of poison can only be considered gross. It stinks too. The girls bathrooms at school always used to reek of it and whenever I had to go I'd hold my breath and rush through. Yuck.
ReplyDeleteJai
I have never thought of smoking as cool. To me, when I see a smoker, it is almost as though they have "moron" tattooed on their forehead. It displays a personality that says they let others do their thinking for them, that image is more important than substance.
ReplyDeleteI can link to two bloggers who are both on constant oxygen and dying of emphysema; well actually one is too sick now to even blog. The BOTH have expressed their sorrow at their choice to smoke.
You can either be an independent thinker or you can be a "follower"... smokers are followers.
Smoking with style isn't odd, especially when I talk about my sister, Nicole. She's a smoker until now and loves being beautiful. She's no longer using imported cigar lately, but shifted to discount vaporizer or discount vaporizers. I think she views smoking as a therapy, especially when she's stressed coz of her work.
ReplyDeleteI definitely see how Johnny Depp smoking at the piano is sexy ;)
ReplyDeleteI thought smoking had a certain cache until I hit high school. Then I noticed only 'losers' and 'stoners' smoked (pulled that directly from my teenaged psyche). As an adult, I realize that smokers aren't confined to the loser/stoner stereotype, but I'm still really turned off to the whole thing. The element of 'cool' just doesn't sit with me. I see either desperation or, for those who've since grown past that, simple addiction. The whole thing is very sad to me.
ReplyDeleteI can think of 5 or six dear relatives of my own who died of smoking-related diseases - lung or other cancers, cardiac or arterial diseases. Some of these people were doctors - no-one is exempt from the risk taken on. I spent about 35 years as a doctor specialising in anaesthesia for thoracic surgery, and saw countless numbers of poor suffering people who had quit smoking far too late. And lots of people who'd lost limbs from smoking. Their choice, you think? The people who really know about the risks are those who run tobacco companies - I never fail to be amazed at how they get away with it.
ReplyDeleteYes, to some people, cigarette smoking is part of one's style. That's why no matter how deadly the warnings are, they will still buy cartons of cigarette. Remember, what's too much is bad. So, bite what only you can chew (do not take this literally). LOL
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