Have you read the book yet? I have it and it makes so much sense - for about three hours until the cravings kick in - the cigs win that battle every time. After the holidays I am going to reread the book and give it another shot. I am trying to improve my 5K time and, while I never get out of breath, I am trying to convince myself that not smoking will help my speed and probably my endurance to make my long runs longer. Either that or I will just give in to the addiction completely - my treadmill has a holder on the console that is just the right size for my ashtray… 
Sorry, bbs2k, I can’t think of any real positive. Smoking does seem to relax you and help with stress, but that’s just the circle of the addiction, it doesn’t really.
Well, a true believer would say that if you have cravings, you’re not reading the book right. Me, I think the EasyWay[sup]TM[/sup] is great for people who are already tired of cigarettes. If you believe that you still enjoy them, no book will help. You have to stop enjoying them first.
It makes you look cool.
In the smoking area you’ll meet lots of people of the opposite sex who also have addictive personalities and who enjoy skipping away from their work multiple times a day. You will probably hit it off with them.
If you’re walking down the street smoking, most people will veer away from you.
Some cigarette packaging is very artistic.
Some cigarette companies let you earn points which you can redeem for merchandise that advertises your tastes.
You can be “old school.” Lots of people over 65 smoke because everybody did it when they were growing up.
The taxes you pay on every pack will go to support worthwhile programs. It’ll also keep you from having to decide what to do with that extra money. Save for retirement, save for your child’s education, buy a motor-home–those decisions are difficult. Best to spend your money now and for the rest of your life on your good friend, the cigarette.
How much money are we talking about? You can always buy him a skateboard or a pet stingray. (I was going to say a racing bike, but I am guessing it is not that much)
When my brother’s office went smoke free a number of the big bosses quit smoking just so they could avoid this type of contact with the little people.
Smoking can surpress appetite, thus helping you stay thin.
Taking a long draw from a cigarette can add emphasis to something profound that you’re about to say. Exhaling smoke while saying “whoa!” also exaggerates the exasperation.
It’s stupid. :rolleyes: You aren’t really doing this are you? :dubious: Is this some sort of “whoosh”? 
I think I’ll leave this open for now. There is a major industry selling the stuff, and manny peoples start smoking every day for some reason, so(without debating the good and the bad) lets hear those reasons.
Makes you look older, kid! More mature, even!
I always got pissed off at the sorry bastards because I had to do their work while they were outside screwing off.
No, you’re supposed to point out the good things about smoking. Let’s change that to “You get to pity those poor bastards who have to do your work while you go out for a smoke break.” 
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You will get excited to get out of bed in the morning because you can smoke the first one which is the best one due to light nicotine withdrawal built up over the night.
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You will fit in much better in Europe and Asia.
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You can make friends almost anywhere by being part of the Smoker’s Underground. You can walk up to almost any smoker in the world and ask them for a cigarette and they will oblige and they will smoke and chat with you if you want.
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You can never truly be bored as long as you have cigarettes. Even the most mundane and repetitive tasks are A-ok as long as you are smoking.
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You can build up rituals based on smoking like tearing open a pack just the right way, packing the cigarettes, and then carrying them in just the right place to fit your lifestyle.
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It is a guaranteed way to meet (smoking) women and another tool to get laid as long as you catch them before their voice has become completely raspy and their face a little distorted.
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It keeps you motivated. It may not be so bad living on Cat Chow but you know you better find a real job to supply that pack a day habit.
Maybe you should try getting him into skydiving or hang gliding. It could have a quicker result, and is a much easier sell.
This is a joke, right?
I had a friend in grad school who was pretty overweight in high school. Then she started smoking as an undergrad and lost about 50 lbs. She credited the smoking with her weight loss, saying it halved her appetite. She was quite thin and seemingly in good shape when I knew her, though I have no idea what condition she’s in now, 10 years later. She was terrified of quitting smoking for fear she would revert to her former size, so for her, smoking was far preferable to being fat.
You get to be part of a movement that has major money backing it already-Smoker’s Rights.
Seriously though, there are some benefits to smoking or else people wouldn’t do it.
Cigarette breaks are incredibly therapeutic when you’re working. You get to go outside, forget about work for a few minutes, and take lots of long, deep breaths while staring out into the middle distance. Plus you’re getting your nicotine fix so your nerves are finally able to calm down for awhile. The whole experience (the ritual, the breathing, the relaxation, the change of mental pace) takes on an almost spiritual dimension after awhile and the only comparable alternative I’ve found since I quit smoking is meditation.
It would be nice if we could all have the discipline to force ourselves to go outside and recharge for ten minutes every hour, but few of us do. A nicotine habit forces us to keep such a schedule.
Then there’s the social aspect. When you’re taking cigarette breaks in your company’s designated smoking area, you invariably run into other smokers. It’s hard not to socialize and make idle chitchat even if you’re a social moron like I am. The recent craze in anti-smoking propaganda has turned the average citizen into an anti-cigarette zealot, so smokers have become an insular, misunderstood and ostracized minority. It’s hard not to bond a little when you’re part of such a group.
There’s also no better opening than asking for a light or bumming a cigarette. It’s a legitimate reason to talk to a perfect stranger who has at least one thing in common with you. It sounds weird, but smoking brings people together who would never otherwise interact.
And finally, there are some people (not many of them) who still think smokers look sophisticated and cool, or at least rebellious and daring. It doesn’t make of for the folks who think you’re filthy gutter scum, but hey – you can’t please everybody, right?
With the right age (early and pre-teen), smoking *is *the easiest way to be branded as a rebel. Of course underage smoking is illegal for a reason…
Shagnasty’s 3) and 6) are so true!
And you’re all forgetting the main reason: It tastes goooooood…
Deadening reason with alcohol will help - take your friend out drinking with a smoker who really, *really *enjoys the smokes.
You know the type, each drag on the filter is done with a sensual intensity, each smoke laden exhalation is a sigh of erotic satisfaction.
Once drunk enough, your friend will be more suggestible, he may try one with little or no prompting from you - he will expect the same enjoyment as your role model.
Because of the alcohol, he will think it tastes better than it really does - tell him how cool he looks. He should be drunk enough to believe you.
Any feelings of illness the next day will be put down to the alcohol.
Rinse and repeat until addiction kicks in and he will find his own excuses.
Or his liver may pack up, which is the same end result for you!