[ Post a Response | The Sublime Desire of Cigarette Smoking ]
Posted by Freelancefagger I completely agree with you that the badness of cigarettes originates in their toxicity. At the same time I think that defying societal standards of "goodness" (i.e., being bad) has an appeal of its own for some of us, regardness of the origins of that badness. Let us imagine, for example, that cigarettes do not compromise lifespan but cause only short-term physical effects, such as coughing, being out of breath, and lacking stamina. Let us also imagine that smoking is still considered socially unacceptable (though perhaps to a lesser degree), because (say) of its bad smell, effects on fitness, and apparent uselessness. To me this would constitute an ideal situation, as it would embolden me to fully come out as a smoker. I would still get a thrill from being bad and still enjoy, in myself and others, the sensual pleasure of smoking. On the other hand, if smoking were actually HEALTHY, it's very unlikely that it would be socially unacceptable and it would thus lose its appeal for me. It seems to me that smoking also has an inherent sensual allure apart from its badness or deleterious health effects. I suspect that watching someone down a bottle of vodka or mainline heroin doesn't "do it" for many people, even though these behaviours are even more dangerous and socially frowned on than smoking. Unlike most other unhealthy behaviours, smoking is also an act of aggression in that it defines/expands personal space and forces others into an (often unpleasant) awareness of this space. That too is a big part of its allure, IMO. I do agree with the basic premise that the health risks of smoking contribute to both its badness and to its allure. I'm just suggesting that other, equally primal, forces may be at play. F.
on July 30, 2007, 3:56 pm, in reply to "Re: Bad Girl Image"
**Doesn't the "Badness" of smoking ALWAYS originate in the toxicity of cigarette smoke, and therefore the health and *Risk* implications?**
Responses: