Pants on fire

Right now I’m very much enjoying my new smoke-free home. Since we moved into the Hill our downstairs neighbours have all been heavy smokers. The first group were three roommates, and all of them smoked heavily and their friends would come over to smoke. Okay, maybe that isn’t exactly why they came over, but it seemed like that was all they really did. This meant that if we didn’t want our house to reek of cigarettes, we couldn’t have our windows or our door open, ever. They moved out (abandoned the place, actually) and new neighbours moved in. We had high hopes when we saw that they had an infant but those hopes were soon dashed. Not only were they smokers but they were also total pot heads. They smoked up on a regular basis, and even with the door and windows closed we smelled the sweet stench of Mary Jane at least once a night. For some unknown reason they always smoked pot in the furnace room. I’m still trying to get my head around that one.

I guess I’m sounding pretty unsympathetic towards people with an actual addiction. And I understand addiction; don’t get me wrong I do. I could easily be wearing a button that says, “I have a cheese habit.” What I don’t get is what makes people start in the first place. What makes a person say, “Hey, this thing smells really bad and is on fire. I think I’ll put it in my mouth and suck on it for a while”? That just doesn’t make any sense to me.

People always point to peer pressure, but I’ve only ever experienced the reverse. My friends have always been anti-smoking. Not that none of my friends have ever smoked, or that I would not be friends with someone who did (although I wouldn't date smokers), but it happened that the few who did were the kind that hated smoking, wished they could quit and were always very conscientious about it (asking before lighting up, holding cigarette away and blowing away, going outside, etc.). One of my friends in high school started smoking and eventually stopped hanging out with us because of the pressure to quit. From 1994 to 2003, I was in a large choir and most of my friends were from the choir. Singers as a group do not tend to smoke; I think we maybe had one or two smokers a year in a group of 180. This may have further skewed my views.

My co-worker told me today that when he smoked, which was years ago, he started because he didn’t like the smell of second hand smoke. First hand smoke, or smokes in his hand, didn’t smell nearly as bad. I kid you not. That might be the craziest and most strangely logical reason to start smoking that I have ever heard.

My massage therapist has thus far given me only explanation anyone has ever had that made sense at all. She said that both of her parents smoked her entire life so she just thought that was what you were supposed to do. Why don’t adults understand the impact of modeling on their child? More likely the issue here is that their parents smoked, probably going back to before there was any information on the health impacts and addictiveness of tobacco, back when the cigarette companies could say pretty much whatever they wanted to about smoking. Of course cigarettes will make you cool, liberated, skinny and sexy. Can you say 'pants on fire'?