[ Post a Response | The Sublime Desire of Cigarette Smoking ]
Posted by Marcus on July 9, 2006, 4:41 pm, in reply to "Re: 1977 American Cancer Society " I also think that the absurdity of many of the claims made in anti-smoking campaigns and school health classes, may have a similar effect. They would have us believe that the negative effects of smoking are immediate, severe, and universal; that all smokers, regardless of pack years are constantly sick and are always short winded. The message seems to be "Smoke one pack of cigarettes and you will have emphysema and die of lung cancer." One result of this absurdity is that people will try smoking to prove the establishment’s claims to be wrong or that they are somehow immune to the consequences of smoking. I imagine that, like the attraction to the attraction to the dark risks of smoking, this aspect of the defiance is subliminal, but very real all the same. In a somewhat different vein, I am reminded of an incident at work not long ago. The one strongly anti-smoking person in my office (To be fair, she rarely says anything, but she has made it quite clear that she thinks smoking and smokers are disgusting and reprehensible) drove to work instead of riding her bike. She is quite proud of her riding, calling it her daily aerobics sessions. (My two mile round trip walk to and from the office apparently doesn't count as aerobics because my lungs are the wrong color) Since she usually rides to work, she doesn't have a parking pass. As a result, she had to park quite a distance away and walk roughly 1,200 feet up a steady incline before climbing several flights of stairs totaling roughly 60 steps in order to get to the building and then to her desk. By the time she walked in, Ms. Anti's face was beet red and she was breathing like she belonged in a pulmonary ward. Our newest intern, a quiet undergraduate girl who is not yet widely known to be a smoker, was apparently concerned and the following exchange ensued: It was all I could do not to laugh out loud and light up on the spot.
I couldn't agree more. I have often speculated that the furor over cigarette advertising that targeted teens, and the subsequent ban, may have actually contributed significantly to more teens to become smokers than it prevented. I think the old adage about children and teenagers, "If you want them to do something, tell them they're not allowed to." applies. Certainly, I would never encourage a teenager (or anyone else) to start smoking, but I must admit that when I see a teenager smoking, there is a part of me that is glad to see that the spirit of defiance is alive and well in the next generation.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. . . The hill and steps. . .just. . . just get me every. . . every time."
"Awww, do you smoke?"
"NO!"
"Oh. Wow. You really ARE out of shape"
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