It appealed to the contrarian in me. Now please, don’t misconstrue my message here: I am NOT advocating the smoking of cigarettes or tobacco. Indeed, I quit smoking nearly six months ago, on April 10th. I have smoked no cigarette since; and nor have I had any cravings for one. But this article, written in 2008, delighted the sense, probably because one reads such articles only very rarely these days. Nowadays, cigarette-smoking has become the bête noire of our age. These days, smoking is the root and source of all ill health, from cancer and cardiovascular disease to hair and teeth falling out! People have lost all sense of joie de vivre it seems, especially in the Anglosphere. People have become bores. Absolute joyless bores! Moreover, they see the flaws in others, but forget to look in the mirror and see their own flaws! Exactly what the Bible tells us not to do.
”Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.” – KJB, Matthew 7, 5I wrote a comment apropos of this great article. It appears under the handle ‘mar5508’. This is it:
I know that this article is quite old now, but it is still excellent. It is so refreshing to read an article like this about smoking these days. One comes across few such articles in this smoker-unfriendly world we now inhabit. Smoking cigarettes has become the bête noire of our age. It is such a pity. I believe that if done in moderation, there are positives to the enjoyment of a cigarette. Even though medical experts don't know why, it has been found that people who smoke (or have been smokers in the past) are far less likely to suffer from Parkinson's disease. It possibly helps in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, too. But they keep all this very quiet, of course; it doesn't fit in with the dominant narrative: that smoking is the cause of all bad health issues.
I would be the last to advocate smoking to anyone. I am myself an ex-smoker. I had a twenty-a-day habit for most of my adult life. It gave me great pleasure; in fact, I only ever smoked for pleasure; I never smoked out of addiction. I never felt addicted to the habit.
But smoking today has in many ways become a pain: one cannot smoke anywhere in public anymore; cigarettes are so costly; and so many people frown upon the habit. So I decided to quit. I gave up with no problems whatsoever. I have never once had even a craving for a cigarette since. But I still love to see others enjoying a smoke. I also have fond memories of the times in which I did smoke. Those were the more tolerant years.
The article appears in ESQUIRE here.
Enjoy the read! – © Mark Alexander
