Monday, December 17, 2007

why i smoke?


I really want to know why people smoke. What logical reason could one for subjecting your body, mind and environment to toxic gases? I made an earnest attempt to find out. I placed myself in a smoker's shoes. Here are the answers I came up with.
I smoke because I think I have a lot of problems in life. More than anyone could possibly imagine. I have boyfriend/ girlfriend problems, problems at work/ college, problems with my family and I somehow have convinced myself that with every puff I take, these problems are vanishing. Each cigarette is a miracle of nature with the divine power to reduce the problems of the one who smokes it.
I smoke because I think it is extremely stylish to do so. I consider it a fashion statement to be holding a ciggie in one hand and going about my work with the other (pretty much functioning with just one hand). I know it makes me look good today even if a few years down the line I will have rotting teeth, burnt lips, darkening skin and rough hands. Why should I care if I am looking so good today?
I smoke because everyone seems to be doing it. If I don’t do it then I am left out. I feel inadequate about myself and feel that I must be a part of the group. Yet I make every attempt in every other field of life to "stand out".
I smoke because I am extremely healthy today but possibly don't want to live very long. I do not mind spending the last few years of my life with lung cancer, mouth cancer, throat cancer, emphysema and other ghastly diseases because I might not contract them after all. So why not just take a chance with my life? I really don’t need to live for very long and experience what life possibly has in store for me.
I smoke because, well even if I did care about death, nobody cares about me. I don’t have friends or a family and nobody will cry when I die. I am a complete non-entity in the world and not one other soul knows of my existence. So it will not make a difference.
I smoke because even if it is ruining the environment, I will not live to see its impact. I conveniently choose to forget that my children and their children will have to live in this world long after I am gone. And anyway, who cares about the future of the planet and all that jazz? I’m sure that there will be someone to look into the problem. The government maybe!
I smoke because I cannot possibly find a reason not to. I can’t remember why or when I started but I really can’t find a reason to stop now. Maybe the damage is already done. So now what’s the point?
Which is why I smoke.
If you've read this article, and still haven’t understood that each and every one of these reasons is a bogus, then you have the I.Q. of a jellyfish. I myself have failed to find a single logical reason for people to smoke.

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