# Do Cigarette Smokers actually LIKE to smoke? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 11, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037 "2006-11-11T20:01:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/61 "2006-11-15T03:26:26Z")
What gets me is how anybody ever gets past the whole nausea, diarrhea, cough your guts out, smoke-in-your-mouth-tastes-like-burnt-ass stage of smoking. I’m going on second-hand impressions here, not being a smoker myself, but very few smokers have ever told me that their first encounters with tobacco were pleasant. They may have grown to like it (I have met a few people who told me that they do like smoking, now) but most people seem to have gotten nasty sick from their first few attempts to smoke. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/62 "2006-11-15T03:35:02Z")
[QUOTE=malkavia] I love when my best friend and I dye our hair, we know that 2 of her Misty Light 120 cigarettes will equal out to 22 minutes, leaving 3 minutes to run the shower and rinse our color out right on time. When I was a call center representative on a strict 15 min break schedule, I knew that two Marlboro Lights equalled 14 minutes, leaving one full minute for walking from my desk to the smoking area and back. [/QUOTE] I like the timing by cigarettes. We were telling a new employee directions to Kaiser the other day, and someone said it took 20 minutes to get there. “Oh, no!” I piped up. “I get there in less than a cigarette.” That got me some looks. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/63 "2006-11-15T10:53:08Z")
[QUOTE=buns3000] I think most smokers will tell you that they enjoy smoking. Some probably even genuinely believe it. If you don’t at least maintain the pretence that you enjoy smoking, then there are literally zero reasons to keep doing it. But it is just that - a pretence. There is nothing to enjoy about smoking. It’s all about satisfying the body’s need for nicotine, not enjoyment, regardless of what you may have convinced yourself. In my experience, only a fairly small minority will admit that they smoke because they are addicted. [/QUOTE] I’m not a smoker, but the few times I’ve smoked I enjoyed it. While I don’t enjoy drinking (instant headache is my most common reaction to alcohol), I’d never presume to tell a drinker “how can you claim to like it, it’s horrible!” You, sir, are an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/64 "2006-11-15T14:15:19Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] You, sir, are an idiot. [/QUOTE] No personal insults in IMHO, **Nava**. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/65 "2006-11-15T14:20:38Z")
OK. Apologies… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/66 "2006-11-15T16:06:31Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] I’m not a smoker, but the few times I’ve smoked I enjoyed it. While I don’t enjoy drinking (instant headache is my most common reaction to alcohol), I’d never presume to tell a drinker “how can you claim to like it, it’s horrible!” . [/QUOTE] Actually, **buns300** 0 is (sadly) correct. The mind is very good at rationalizing an addiction. For example, I read a heroin addicts write up of how he loved the set up and the injection. \*It read a great deal like \* **malkavia** ’s _nice bit of prose there_. Smokers are drug addicts. Thinking that they enjoy the addiction is just another form of denial. I epsecially like the denial that goes on when a smoker-addicts sees a particulary telling bit of anti-tobacco propaganda- often I have seen them write that the “ad makes me want to go out and light one up”. :rolleyes: Now, sure a smoker can enjoy the “fix” and the “buzz”, just like a heroin addict can enjoy the high. And the “nice” thing about nicotine addiction is that’s a smoker can stay high a good portion of the day, it’s cheap (compared to other drugs) and it’s mostly legal. But let’s not be in denial. Now, I have a caffiene habit. I can and do kick the habit about once a month, and go a weekend without caffiene- just so the “caffiene monkey” knows who is boss. A caffiene _habit_ doesn’t rise to the _addiction_ of nicotine, but I don’t try and deny I have a habit. I do. Although I have said I enjoy the taste of a Mocha, I have had decaffienated coffee and I don’t like it. Thus, it’s mainly the caffiene I enjoy, not the beverage. It _is_ a habit, and I simply refuse to be in denial about it. I allow myself this habit as my Doc isn’t concerned with the amount I injest (one triple a workday, plus ice-tea until I leave work), and no one else’s health is endangered by my habit. If any smoker can say the same about their addiction, then fine. (I know a buddy of mine, smokes one cigar a week, and that outside. He can probably get away with saying that.) Nicotine _is_ an addiction. All smokers _really_ enjoy is the drug. Don’t be in denial. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/67 "2006-11-15T16:07:34Z")
[QUOTE=Sleel] What gets me is how anybody ever gets past the whole nausea, diarrhea, cough your guts out, smoke-in-your-mouth-tastes-like-burnt-ass stage of smoking. I’m going on second-hand impressions here, not being a smoker myself, but very few smokers have ever told me that their first encounters with tobacco were pleasant. They may have grown to like it (I have met a few people who told me that they do like smoking, now) but most people seem to have gotten nasty sick from their first few attempts to smoke. [/QUOTE] I never had that stage. It took me the first cigarette or two to get used to it but after that no trouble. I don’t even really have a smokers cough now and I’ve been smoking 14 years. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/68 "2006-11-15T16:12:22Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Actually, **buns300** 0 is (sadly) correct. [/quote] No, he’s not. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Now, I have a caffiene habit. > > \ > > Although I have said I enjoy the taste of a Mocha, I have had decaffienated coffee and I don’t like it. Thus, it’s mainly the caffiene I enjoy, not the beverage. I’m genuinely sorry that you take no joy in life, but that doesn’t mean I don’t. > [@DrDeth](#): > > All smokers _really_ enjoy is the drug. Don’t be in denial. I really can’t emphasize enough how not in denial I am. \*\*I am an addict. \*\* That doesn’t change the fact that a cigarette tastes goooooooood. Especially with that coffee you drink despite your distaste for it. Or a vodka & tonic (which you’ll no doubt insist that I only like for the buzz as well). Seriously, are you incapable of sensual pleasure? Because this is not a difficult concept for anyone who enjoys _anything_. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/69 "2006-11-15T16:36:54Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Nearly every EX-cig smoker I know admits now it was for the drug rush. Sure, they enjoy it- but really only for the drug hit. [/QUOTE] Obviously you don’t know me, but I’m an EX-cig smoker. As someone else pointed out - the gum gives a bigger nic-hit than a smoke, and without the social stigma. I’ve been over the addiction to nicotine for many years, but if they made something nicotine and death-free that still tasted like marble-lights I’d have a pack in my pocket right now. I don’t chew the gum, I don’t chew tobacco, I wouldn’t do anything except smoke for nicotine, so it’s obviously not _just_ about the addiction. There is really no reason to smoke if you don’t enjoy it, not with the easy availability of alternate drug delivery systems. Except for the coughing and dying part, there is nothing to not like about smoking. I imagine that many people are probably lying to you if they say they didn’t enjoy smoking (unless you deal with cancer patients or are in a rehab facility or something) Still, as angry and confrontational as some non and ex-smokers are, I’d lie right to their face just to get them to shut up. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/70 "2006-11-15T16:50:28Z")
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] I’ve been over the addiction to nicotine for many years, but if they made something nicotine and death-free that still tasted like marble-lights I’d have a pack in my pocket right now. There is really no reason to smoke if you don’t enjoy it, not with the easy availability of alternate drug delivery systems. . [/QUOTE] They made nicotine-free cigs for a brief time. They also sold herbal cigs. \*No one bought them. \* Smoking is one of the “best” drug delivery systems out there, giving one a dose and a rush better than nearly any others. Note dudes now smoke Heroin, Coke and other drugs. The non-smoke verions of the drug in Marijuana are not popular. Bringing a drug directly into your lungs gives a special kind of high. Smokers smoke for the drug. They are addicts. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/71 "2006-11-15T17:02:36Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] They made nicotine-free cigs for a brief time. They also sold herbal cigs. \*No one bought them. \* Smoking is one of the “best” drug delivery systems out there, giving one a dose and a rush better than nearly any others. Note dudes now smoke Heroin, Coke and other drugs. The non-smoke verions of the drug in Marijuana are not popular. Bringing a drug directly into your lungs gives a special kind of high. Smokers smoke for the drug. They are addicts. [/QUOTE] Have any of the smokers in the thread denied being an addict? We know very well that we are, but that doesn’t mean we DON"T ENJOY SMOKING! The two things are not in the slightest mutually exclusive. I really don’t understand why you act like they are. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/72 "2006-11-15T17:16:28Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] They made nicotine-free cigs for a brief time. They also sold herbal cigs. \*No one bought them. \* [/QUOTE] Maybe that’s because they taste like crap? ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/73 "2006-11-15T17:19:27Z")
I’m an occasional smoker - usually no more than 1 American Spirit rollie a day. More if I’m drinking, which is maybe twice a month. I can miss days and not notice. It’s a habit, not an addiction. I do it because I love it, for all the reasons given above. Yum. Rollies. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/74 "2006-11-15T17:36:41Z")
[QUOTE=Sleel] What gets me is how anybody ever gets past the whole nausea, diarrhea, cough your guts out, smoke-in-your-mouth-tastes-like-burnt-ass stage of smoking. I’m going on second-hand impressions here, not being a smoker myself, but very few smokers have ever told me that their first encounters with tobacco were pleasant. They may have grown to like it (I have met a few people who told me that they do like smoking, now) but most people seem to have gotten nasty sick from their first few attempts to smoke. [/QUOTE] That’s a good point. And I was always a very light smoker (you know, one of those people who never had my own pack, because I couldn’t get through one before it went stale, so I was always the person offering someone a quarter for a cigarette at the bar; although when I was in grad school, there was a homeless guy on my block that always asked people for cigarettes, so eventually I did start buying my own packs from the bar’s cigarette machine and saving the rest for him . . . but I digress). But I took to it like a fish to water, and did not experience the transition you describe in acquiring the taste. I attribute that to the fact that I grew up with a father who smoked 2 packs a day through my entire childhood. And as for the OP, I liked it very much, when I wanted to do it. Pretty much for a lot of the reasons **malkavia** said. I also liked the fact that a breakfast of coffee and cigarettes kept me quite regular. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Agnostic\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Agnostic\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agnostic_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/75 "2006-11-16T01:15:01Z")
**DrDeth** , **buns3000** ,et al., if I merely wanted to satisfy the addiction, I would wear a patch. My clothes would smell nicer, my teeth would be whiter, my lungs would be healthier. But I don’t, because even though I do have cigarettes on occasion to just satisfy the cravings, most of the time it is because I enjoy smoking. I enjoy the physical act of smoking, and, yes, getting a dose of nicotine for a (very) mild high is a nice side benefit. If I am addicted to anything, it is more the means and not the end. The same applies with coffee. Hell, yes, I enjoy a good caffiene buzz, but I enjoy the aroma, the flavor, and the physical act itself of drinking a good hot cup of java (and also flirting with the barrista while she pours it). If it was merely about the caffiene, I would pop some No-Doz and go on my merry way. But it aint. Also, [QUOTE=DrDeth] The non-smoke verions of the drug in Marijuana are not popular. [/QUOTE] Have you ever been to a Hempfest? Trust me, the brownies, cookies and other treats available are very popular, but its alot cheaper to buy enough for a pipe bowl than for a mixing bowl, or so my friends tells me… 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/76 "2006-11-16T01:31:29Z")
I very much enjoy a good smoke every now and again. I used to smoke 1 pack to a pack and a half a day for 10 years before I quit cold turkey. Now, I’ll have maybe five cigarettes a month. Some months I won’t have any. Other months I might smoke a whole pack or even two. I enjoy it, so I don’t see the point in quitting completely. One cigarette every so often ain’t gonna kill me, and I’ve never felt the urge to get back to heavy smoking. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/77 "2006-11-17T16:24:52Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] \ Now, sure a smoker can enjoy the “fix” and the “buzz”, just like a heroin addict can enjoy the high. And the “nice” thing about nicotine addiction is that’s a smoker can stay high a good portion of the day, it’s cheap (compared to other drugs) and it’s mostly legal. But let’s not be in denial. \ Nicotine _is_ an addiction. All smokers _really_ enjoy is the drug. Don’t be in denial. [/QUOTE] My, my, aren’t we presumptuous? I smoke maybe one cigarette a day. When I run out, it may be a week or a month before I get around to picking up another one. If I can’t find my brand (Kamel Reds–smokes of the gods, baby), which is pretty common as they’re not sold in most places, I won’t buy a pack until I come across them again. I love packing the smokes, I love flipping a lucky, I love sitting outside when it’s cool and gray and drizzly and enjoying a solitary smoke. I don’t ever smoke indoors, or smoke around other people unless they’re outside smoking too, so I’m hard put to imagine how I’m harming anyone else. I enjoy the taste, but more so the experience of having a smoke. Maybe the nicotine is a component, but I don’t feel particularly antsy for a fix and I don’t feel like knocking over a liquor store for my next hit when the pack is empty. Put that broad brush back in your pocket, you’re starting to sound a bit hysterical. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037/78 "2006-11-17T16:44:28Z")
My boss used to smoke one to two packs a day and of course he liked it. It was this efficient serotonin deliverer and he felt much better from it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cigarette-smokers-actually-like-to-smoke/380037.md?page=3)