coffee and cigarettes

this morning, over a cup of café con leche and a cigarette, i pondered why people smoke. this may be somewhat inspired by a couple of things in the recent past. a few days ago, i watched the jim jarmusch film, appropriately entitled "coffee and cigarettes." last night, i was also asked when i started to smoke. though i can't say that i smoke often, it made me start to ponder why i do smoke. why does anyone smoke? obviously there are countless reasons not to smoke, health being the most significant. however, i think its silly to define actions and identities by what you are not. we do it a lot, but it seems somewhat inane to define yourself by what you are not. its something politicians or easily manipulative freshman do with their time, not to be overly judgmental.

regardless, i started thinking what caused me to start doing something that i actually detested when i was younger. the fact is that i love the act of smoking, especially with a cup of coffee on sunday mornings. its a liberating experience, something that brings me back to my good friends in iowa. a cure for the dreaded hangover that i was dealing with on that particular morning. it still feels like a motion picture every time i go back to that day; driving to some crummy restaurant, still dizzy, eating eggs and english muffins over that steaming cup of americano. the reason then that i started is because of friends, as the thesis by christakis and fowler (2008) has empirically demonstrated a couple years ago. i actually do agree with the premise of their study and think that many people begin smoking because of their peers. this, however, does not fully answer the question why these tendencies persist. it seems so irrational to continue to do something after you know what it will do to you. so why do these things endure?

this seems like a good question to be first answered through the deconstruction of smoking, at least in order to find the phenomenological and social allure of the act. for me personally, it has to do with the fact that i love the possibility of detaching. if in a crowded bar, it gives me a great chance to leave, to escape from the seemingly artificial conglomerate of fake smiles and shallow conversation that comes with a couple of drinks. i find the need to retreat to the backstage, as erving goffman would say, in order to find myself and relieve some of the anxiety i experience being surrounded by the myriad of flashing lights, multi-lingual screaming, and amateur dancing. in the same token, smoking is the very thing that brings some together. i couldn't count how many times the act of smoking has gotten me closer to others, whether it be some random person i just happen to ask for a light or close friends sitting around smoking hookah.

no matter where, i revel in the smoke as it leaves the end of my cigarette: this free-flowing masterpiece that nature creates through its various dynamic laws. i find that the smoke is something really refreshing to stare at in amazement. some may find that its relaxing feeling going through the emotions; the inhale, slow hesitation, and then the prolonged exhale that follows. i've heard anecdotal evidence that some studies have even shown that this deep breath helps up us to relax and just breathe, which most of us forget to do amidst the fast-paced, and at times disorienting, thing called life.

obviously, we see the disadvantages of smoking, but maybe this would be interesting for some to reflect on in the future. i know i certainly plan on reflecting what actually constitutes the phenomenology of smoking. its a rather interesting concept, if i do say so myself. until the next time.

cheers.