DemosNews: Smoke!
Smoke!
By: M. Brun

Discard this as you will--I have not seen Thank You for Smoking and I write from Europe.

Smoking is goddamn wonderful, especially in the company of smokers. Forget the consequences of the act that seem to dominate any and all conversations on the subject, and let's address the purpose of the act. Fire is majestic. Holding a glowing ember a few centimeters from one's person evokes danger. Breathing fire and billowing smoke from the nostrils is the stuff of adventure tales. Smoke rings, the French inhale--these are gleeful leisure. Bumming a cigarette from an attractive other is exciting; being asked, flattering. There is the element of danger and excitement and intoxication.

Smoking centers around tradition, and ever since man deduced a pleasing effect in burning the vegetable he has kept at it. Satiating desire with certainty (a priceless commodity) is vended at a pittance. The satisfaction of custom--rolling one's smokes, for example--is nothing if not art form or meditation. The process is calming, peaceful, and infallible.

More than anything, though, the beauty of smoking is in the fraternity it inspires among smokers. Like any rite, there is immediate kinship among those who perform it. Smoking transcends social/economic/political barriers with the kind of innocuous elan of sports or music. Apart from recent vociferous disdain on the part of activist groups--and, yes, its less than salutary long-term side effects--it shares with alcohol the distinction of being a legal social lubricant (cheaper and easier-to-share than its counterpart).

Here, in Europe, is the age-old validation once again. Everybody smokes, and in the absence of an American-oriented censorship, the fun of the habit comes to the fore. Firefly gesticulation, the dignity of prolonged post-dinner philosophy, great commingling with unknowns in bars and restaurants and clubs, centuries of civilization....

So in all the talk of planning life and making the right choices to achieve personal happiness, this is just a little reminder: SMOKING IS FUN FOR YOU.

© 2024 M. Brun of DemosNews
The author is an American living abroad who has smoked since he was 15.

July 12, 2007 at 2:00pm
DemosRating: 5
Hits: 1788

Genre: Styles (Life)
Type: Creative
Tags: the, rebellious, inconoclastic, viewpoint

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