in defense of smoking
S
moking, is generally a heated topic. There will be people venting about their great aunts who suffered severe pain and died from lung cancer due to long-term use of tobacco, to those who complain about the disgusting smell that gets stuck on their shirts (hello, don't you wash your clothes?) as well as the bad image that comes with smoking (we now live in the Great, Healthy, Organic 21st century where even pubs have banned smoking, what a disgrace); and how gender discrimination has resulted in women who smoke, being categorised as either prostitutes or "unqualified" moms.
The moment we light up, we enter a world where only smokers understand.
Shall we puff away our lives? Eat away our lives? Drink away our lives? Tread away our lives without vices which will still inevitably lead to our final destiny, our demise? To each their own though, isn't it. I felt so relieved in Prague when nobody gave me dirty looks when i pulled out my cigarette box. In fact, they cherish it. While striking a match, we also striked conversations with each other. That's what smokers do. The moment we light up, we enter a world where only smokers understand. We are now compatriots. Each draw of breath captures a new moment of meeting of minds, of hearts. You will now recognise each other; it forms a kind of bond, and as you enter the room, chairs will be pulled and drinks will be poured consequently.
I can't deny that i'm a hopeless romantic. When I smoke on my own, I enjoy the instance I inhale, let it linger for a moment in my lungs and let out a pensive breath. I enjoy smoking alone in the frosty air. It's a break, for me and myself, amidst the dynamic lives we possess. I'm most definitely not a "social smoker", as I wouldn't be a "social cheese-eater". When I do something, it's not for an unnatural cohesion of relationships; that could be a by-product of my actions but my actions are the results of my intentions which in this case, derived from the desire for mere pleasure of inhale-exhale. Freud would perhaps like to comment on this statement, but the more I think about it, the more i'm able to fathom that it's not just for the mere pleasure of inhale-exhale..
It's about the moments when you escape from the hustle bustle, to be in the courtyard on your own, smoking your thoughts in the open-air. On how many occasions have you had an epiphany while smoking? There is a certain contemplative aspect to the act of smoking. As you muse with a cigarette in between your second and middle finger, moving on to let it dangle off the right corner of your mouth - do you see a typewriter in this scene, the tackling away and ding! Another page done. No wonder writers smoke.
Smokers would just pull out a cigarette, and let the anger subside.
Cigarettes seem to follow those who think more than the usual. Yes, you might think that i would like to be a copy of those "intellectual smoking wannabees", but really, the act of smoking is able to conjure up a plethora of "images", ranging from the glam models to the loitering delinquents who squat next to train stations. Which image would you like to reenact? It's not about that, at least not for me. Perhaps it's for digestion. Ha! I'm being serious. Post-meal cigarette is the best, coupled with a glass of digestif du jour. Oh, how about those moments when your friend is running very late and you're checking your watch impatiently, feeling the uneasiness rise in your throat? Smokers would just pull out a cigarette, and let the anger subside. And how about those post-coital moments of bliss? Couples must celebrate it with a shared cigarette, non?
Clearly, i'm not writing a scientific journal here. No revelation has been revealed. I'm simply trying to defend smoking in an age where it's absolutely abhorred and looked down upon. I completely understand the argument from the opposite point of view. But the allure and mystique of smoking that I saw for myself in Prague coincided with so many characters that I utterly admire! There must be some kind of a correlational relationship here, where the land of bohemians, simply put, don't give a shit about people who have sticks up their asses. Have fun!
P.S.
Seriously, no offense intended to those with great aunts who have lung cancer.
Perhaps, i'll die of lung cancer myself.
@honeybee - Firstly, I would LOVE to upvote this post with a "smoke" behind it... hehehe... but my voting power is currently replenishing... but I love this post!!!
I am an ex smoker and now a "vaper" but let me tell you... I still absolutely LOVE the smell of cigarettes being smoke in the near vicinity and on occasion I will retreat to the garden and enjoy a cigarette in silence... and it is AWESOME each and EVERY time!!!! hehehehe :)
So... you have my vote :)
well jaynie, your experience resonates with mine very closely, in another life, we'd probably meet and get to know each other over a cigarette. i haven't found true satisfaction in vaping, i find myself to be a tabacco maximalist.
thanks for the vote by the way.
only a pleasure :D
There is definitely an allure and mystique to smoking that you portray so well in your piece... Here in NYC us smokers have been regulated to the sidewalks in front of your favorite bar or restaurant.., and you should see the looks I get walking up to a yoga class savoring that last drag... "Smoke'em, if you got'em."
One of the realest post I've read...us smokers don't complain about people drinking,driving reckless etc but when we smoke,almost every smoker has a problem. Yes it may be dangerous to our health but theres over 1000 things people do that are more dangerous,not to only to themselves but people around them too. I just feel like people should realize that for every finger you point,3 fingers are pointing back at you. Thank you for this post
great post. Imho in the end, its up to the user. If you want to do heroin. Fine. Do heroin. Want to drink. Fine. Drink. Smoke? Fine. The government or others should not able to control you in any way.
Totally agree. It's not a health thing, is a government control thing.
I do agree, to an extent. The problem that I see with unregulated addictive and harmful drugs is that they don't ruin only the user's life. When meth or cocaine or heroin are used in a pregnant woman's body, the baby's chances of making it to term are decreased. If they do and survive their withdrawal symptoms, their developmental problems are increased. And women who become pregnant while addicted aren't always able to kick their habits. Even when the users already have children, as you see in the news time and time again, the children are often neglected and fail to get the proper education and nutrition that their peers are getting. So why "just let them do it"? I get the libertarian viewpoint on most things. But dangerous and addictive substances just don't deserve their place in society. Just my opinion.
I love your post and the way you express yourself. Smoking is a broad problem for many and a pleasure for others.
I'm not a smoker and never have been, I dislike the smell of tobacco, but above all I can't abide the self righteous whine of people who want to ban you from doing something "for your own good". Your life is your own and I hope you live it to the fullest, while I would advise against smoking, your life is your own not under somebody else's rule.
I smoked commercial cigarettes until they raised the price to $1 per pack. Then I started rolling my own smokes.
From there I experimented with many different types of tobacco and really 'got into smoking'...
The best tobacco I found was the organic stuff. Tobacco, sans pesticides & additives is a truly amazing smoke.
From there, I began adding dried peppermint and a small amount of ground clove, in with the tobacco. Those cigs were an absolute joy to smoke. They smelled so good that people who were anti-smoking would ask me to smoke in their house, like I was burning incense for them.
I moved to Mexico in February of 2015. I brought 10 pounds of tobacco, 5 pounds of peppermint and a couple pounds of clove.
I figured that would last me long enough to find some decent tobacco down here, to continue rolling my own smokes.
I was wrong. And now I am glad for it. I tried smoking some commercial cigs again, but they were absolute shit.
Then one day someone recommended that I try smoking cigars...
Wow, is all I can say. Because I was so happy with my own RYO's, that I had never really considered them.
So, I went to the Vallarta Cigar Factory, here in Puerto Vallarta (my forever home) and learned all about cigars, and boy-howdy, am I glad I did!
From there, I found a man who rolls cigars for a living at the resorts here in town. He is now my cigar dude.
I buy 60 at a time from him for 2000 pesos, or in usd, about a hundred bucks. I don't care about the cost. Smoking these cigars that are made from Vera Cruz tobacco (some of the finest tobacco on earth, btw!) is like heaven...
Talk about long, luxurious smokes! And the thinking time? Instead of ten minute interludes, smoking one of these can last for 2 or more hours...
I highly recommend to anyone that understands the awesomeness of smoking tobacco, to give good cigars a try... You will be pleasantly surprised. Just don't inhale! Let the smoke roll around in your mouth and after you've done that for a bit, let it move up into your sinuses and let it blow out your nostrils. It's freakin amazin! :)
Thank you for your insights of being a dedicated tobacconist, HoneyBee... You inspired me to write the longest reply I've ever written here on Steemit... :D
Much Love,
QuietBear
This is a great comment. I'm primarily a pipe (tobacco) smoker but enjoy the occasional cigar. I would love to try one of the ones your friend rolled - what an experience to be able to buy them from him personally!
Excellently put. I have smoked since I was 13 years old( I'm 45 now!), and I still love it. Of course, it will kill us in the end but what doesn't kill you these days.
I have worse habits😈. Anyone who reads my blog will tell you that!
Upvoted with everything I have and resteemed and facebooked. All my friends smoke. In fact, will you marry me?? Xxxxx🤓
Example of fore mentioned worse things:
https://steemit.com/blog/@markperandin/the-strangest-life-i-ve-ever-known-no-fear-or-loathing-in-brighton
I'm not judging you I'm a smoker too. But that stuff you just wrote is just an illusion. We are all being brainwashed.
I quit smoking many times, and now certainly see for what it is.
It is a psychological trap. We are addicted. It is a drug. Most powerful in the world and we are hooked.
I'm not living in a illusion. I'm aware that smoking does not do apsolutely for me - none! Paradox is, we smoke to feel exactly like non-smoker does. I'ts a paradox. because, you end up agravation caused by the previous ciggarete after the time of apstinance.
Every time you light a cigarette and you think you enjoyed it, it is not. you just end up the apstinence time caused by not smoking. That's why first cig in the morning with coffee or after a meal looks good. But why others arent?
You are in a perpetual loop. Don't live in the illusion that smoking does things for you. You are an addict. I'm pissed that if you go to a clinic and say I wanna get cleaned they reject you because they value the cigarette like it is not such a problem.
Nicotine killed milions of people. If you smoked for many years and didn't quit you don't know how non-smoker feels. It's like you wear shoes for years 2 sizes smaller, and when you finnaly get of it, you would feel so much better. You think you wouldn't be happy if you do not smoke. That's the main problem.
Because it creates conflict in your head. You wish you could smoke, but on the other hand you know it's bad and you shouldn't.
And you think if you quit you loose a friend. It is all pshycological thing.
Once you remove the brainwashing that cigartetes do something for you, you will se for what it really does.
If you are a smoker your heart rate would be around 80BPM, that is almost double like the heart rate of a non smoker that is around 50-55, athletes 45BPM.
If you calculate the BPM per minute, per hour, per day, week, years... you put enourmous weight on your heart. Plus lungs, kardio, lethargy, energy and all that bullshit.
good post, but break the illusion.
peace ;)
still can believe that after a at lest 75 years of medical evidence that people still smoke, well don't come crying to the government for subsided medical treatments later when you have a smoking related disease.
i'm completely aware of the detriment it brings to health. not taking responsibility for what you bring on yourself is something else entirely.
spot on, people should have to pay for their indulgences rather that having healthy people subsidizing their addictions and laziness
you're missing the point. this could be applied to any number of indulgent yet harmful practices people "practice". it isn't about the lack of responsibility for what happens after - that is a completely different subject. for the record, i do not condone causing yourself harm and expecting others to carry the burden.
researchers in Australia have calculated that 8.7 percent of all healthcare spending, or $170 billion a year, is for illness caused by tobacco smoke, and public programs like Medicare and Medicaid paid for most of these costs.
no government health care would solve that problem.