Posted by Bibleman [Bibleman] on October 22, 1999 at 22:32:40 {sA799hgHlsMSSTtTA17sslyACFuF8c}:
In Reply to: ****Silence from Ray Franz??? posted by roamer on October 22, 1999 at 21:18:02:
Oops! Sorry, I should have qualified that.
I don't INHALE and I only smoke outside, about 1 cigarette a day. So it's SAFE! 100% safe! Smoking inside (second-hand smoke) and inhaling, of course, is as you say: DUMB!
But nicotene itself is calming and the psychological effect of smoking is also calming since it forces you to control your breathing and breathe slower. This is probably more of a reason why smoking cigarettes is psychologically addicting; that in addition to it is a socially acceptable (semi-) way to have hand-to-mouth stimultion, similar to when we were breast feeding or sucking our little thumbs. So it psychologically can take you back to a time of peace and contentment.
Furthermore, some people change personalities when they smoke since they identify smoking with some character they've seen smoking. They think their either Humphrey Bogart of Tallulah Bankhead...(don't ask). Anyway, it's fun.
Also, it's a great cover! If you're up to sneaking around like some people we know, it keeps people from being suspicious. That is, if you're just hanging out in a parking lot for hours standing beside your car staring into space, people will get suspicious and call security. But if you're puffing on a cigarette they automatically presume you're having a nicotene fit and have to smoke outside, so they don't think anything. It's the perfect excuse for being outside for extended periods of time and in places that would ordinarily cause suspicion. So you could be waiting for someone, some contact for a while and people will start to watch you if you're just standing up against a wall. But if you're smoking, it looks perfectly normal.
Plus I think the smoke looks hypnotic when you watch it curl up to the sky.
And plus, some people have this "fire neurosis" where they think they need control over fire. You know that sailing is said to be man's primordial need to conquer water? Well smoking sort of taps into his primordial need to control fire.
Soooo...(need I go on?), there is a lot more to smoking than some people think (yeah, about $2.00 more per pack!)
Cheeeers,
Bibleman