the bad habit

I smoke. A lot. Bad habit, I know. And becoming an increasingly expensive one. Somehow, government managed to serve smokers a bad deal: banned from inside smoking almost everywhere, thus ruling out nice, social evenings at bars and cafés. And in return making us pay through our noses for cigarettes. My brand comes at € 5,60 per pack. This means, I pay more for my cigarettes than for my rent nowadays. I keep telling myself, that this cost should well cover any extra health treatment I might ever need, because I do smoke. This argument shall be valid, until I will be kicked out of my health insurance for smoking. Which might well happen, if things keep on running the way they are.

Recently, the first court ruling was out in Germany, banning folks from smoking on their own balcony, because their upstairs neighbours didn’t like the wafts of smoke rising up to them. Next they will ban us from smoking in our own homes as well.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against refraining from smoking at other peoples homes, if they wish so, or in restaurants, while people are eating. Never needed a law for that. Plus, if fewer youngsters take up smoking as a result of the new regulations: good thing. I do accept, that we “smokers” pestered many an evening for non-smokers in bars and clubs for maybe too long. But why not have seperate smoking areas inside? Or even smoker bars and non-smoker bars, so people do have a choice? But no, this freedom is not granted any longer.

What bugs me most, is people annoying me now, even when I smoke outside. So far, I was more sick because of colds caught, sitting outside freezing, than from smoking itself. Next time somebody says to me in a beer garden: “Could you stop smoking please, it bothers me?” I’ll just reply: “Well, it kills me, and do I make such a fuss?”

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6 thoughts on “the bad habit”

  2. There are e-cigarettes now or evaporaters still filled w/ a nicotin liquid, drastically reducing the amount of crap that gets through through and glues up your lung in the long run. I m being told innitial purchase is quiet steep but it evens out after a short while. I may have mentioned before that I am the only non-smoker in my family and have been growing up. 2 younger siblings + parents enjoying there relaxing evening afte a long day at work/school. ^^

    My parents told me of their ongoing smoking career starting at 16 – and having puffed away a car’s worth in cigarettes – and that was in the mid 90s before the higher jumps and price raise/added tax. I like the interweb and this blog thing even more seeing how it allows me to connect to a smoker ^^ – I had adult smoking real life friends during my higher education stint in my life and met up with them but it really all does not happen any more. ^^

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    1. you did mention your smokers Environment at home. You’re right about blog, we propably would never have chatted in real life ;), if we ever happened to meet in the first place.

      It is true, smokers and non smokers hardly ever socialise any more (in the “real” world). This might even lead to inbreeding, smoker genes going down generations…. a new peolple might evolve, lets call them the tobaccos 🙂

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      1. xP What an idea! ^^

        I m convinced its going to be popular with teenagers/adulescent human beings. If only as means to rebel against or be distinguishable from – their beloved biological creators / parents.

        Tell you what, I ‘d probably greeted you were we to live as annonym neighbors in a house or held a door open, were you to carry home grocery bags. Unless of course if you preferred to have a quick smoke before storming the steps to the elevator/flat. ^^

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      3. A modicum of civility dictates to at least greet and be friendly to each other, would it not. :>>
        I likely wouldn’t light your cigarette though, unless some harsh or otherwise severely spasm would temporarily render you unable to.
        We lived near the border, my parents had a younger version of me cross it for gasoline and a bar of smokes – thus far my complicity extended. dare I say it is an easy credit earned to a kid seeing his parents work their butts off and benefitting from some driving practice?
        Oh, morale relativism is striking my head just now, like brainfreeze after gobbling up copious amounts of icecream.

        😉

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