Posted on 07/24/2023 8:01:34 PM PDT by DoodleBob
Today I became nostalgic for a smell. You wake up on top of the covers in your underwear, and through the gloaming of your bedroom, through the smug pint of water, through the angst and exhaustion and joy and regret that comes from five hours in a nightclub and two hours on the wrong bus home, there is some bitter relief in the smell of smoke on your hair. That smell! Like barbecued teenagers and pepper and beer, almost lovely, pleasantly vile, a kind of lovebite memory, bruised on the throat in passion. That smell. It all seems quite mad now, the idea that people smoked, not just inside, but underground, in windowless rooms. Though I suppose so much seems mad to me about young fun still: come out, drink until you’re sick, it’ll be a laugh! …
When I read the news that smoking was coming back, I thought: that smell. Then I thought: of course. The wellness era is truly at its end, celery water pooling under the door, hot yoga cooled down to a single tepid pilate. In a recent exchange with another artist, David Hockney wrote, “I too am BORED with WELLNESS. The concept seems ridiculous and too bossy for me, I’m still smoking, and ENJOYING it ENORMOUSLY.” His cigarette set off a fire alarm at the launch of his latest exhibition…
…
But the problem with our major shift away from smoking was, while they could persuasively prove that it killed people, they were unable to convince anyone that cigarettes were not cool. This fact, I’m afraid, has come back to bite us.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
But, I am a fan of property rights.
The demonization of smoking and banning of smoking in bars and restaurants, ostensibly in the name of public health, was an effective government taking without compensation.
I hope smoking comes roaring back, and the anti- smoking Karens and Brandons lose their mind.
I used to love me a good cigar and a single malt, but since I lost my sense of smell, there’s no point innit.
Seeing a beautiful woman with a smoldering butt in her mouth is like seeing a million dollar house with a hundred thousand dollars of landscaping with a rusty burn barrel stinking up the place with smoke.
Can't stand the stench of the stuff.
Someone smoking, in addition to stench and health problems, shows a lack of self discipline, lack of self control and zero willpower.
I’d prefer a Scotch and a Marlboro, but I haven’t smoked or drank in years.
I’ve tried Scotch before. Some were okay (Monkey Shoulder) but the heavily peated ones were like someone macerated cigarette butts in them several days. Disgusting.
I will know that the tide has changed when I read about somevof the surviving restaurants going back to reserve a small, discreet, well ventilated area of their business for people who like to smoke. I’m talking about tobacco only. As most people know, marijuana has a foul heavy odor that stays in the clothing. Not at all discreet.
A second phase of returning acceptance will be when/if airports do the same. That’s as far as I’ll go with my Pipe Dream.
A couple months ago I went to a college party at a house I lived in while in college. During the parties back then, at least 50% of the people were smoking, at this party, with at least 100 people, not a single person was smoking, not even outside on the patio.
I quit a long time ago.
But the country was a better place when “everybody” smoked. We were free to make decisions — even if they were bad decisions. We are much less free today ... but they tell us it’s for our own good, so I guess that makes it OK.
I have said for years, if you didn’t object to no smoking laws in restaurants you cannot logically object to any other gun control laws.
A restaurant should have the right to allow smokers or not as the owner sees fit.
It’s still wrong for the local municipality to ban smoking in commercial buildings.
That’s a flagrant destruction of private property rights.
At 73, I haven’t had a good drink of Single Malt Scotch or a Tangueray & Tonic in years, but after 58 years, I still smoke 2 packs of Marlboros/day.
I’m laughing at your statement as it’s so true. A good friend had business in Denver this past weekend and was, “shocked to find the whole city smelled like skunk weed”.
>> Seeing a beautiful woman with a smoldering butt in her mouth is like seeing a million dollar house with a hundred thousand dollars of landscaping with a rusty burn barrel stinking up the place with smoke.
I thought I was the only one!
Bump
“AI-face”...? Can’t be real.
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