Former/recovering smoker. I hear this sentiment a lot (“Why would anyone ever smoke? It’s just dumbfounding”). I can tell you the reason people smoke is because it feels fucking great. It’s a terrible, terrible habit and the number of smokers of any drug should be zero, but I’m not going to lie to you and tell you it wasn’t relaxing and enjoyable.

It's the same thing as why would any shoot a spike into their veins to get high on heroin. The lack of empathy for an addict is telling. The indignity of a righteous ex is insufferable. How someone became an addict is not necessarily relevant, but once they're hooked quitting is not so simple as those unable to empathize while on high horses want to think.

It is however annoying when the addict does their thing in public with zero fucks to give for anyone else around them.

Second this. It's not like us smokers, or at least most of us, are sitting there hating every minute and aspect of having a smoke but unable to stop. We maybe can't stop, sure, but it's also just wonderful while we're doing it.

I've found that I wanted to smoke long after I stopped enjoying smoking.

Dealing with the worst (or is it maybe best?) of both worlds still. I both want to smoke and enjoy it too damn much, even though a little background alarm in my inner brain blares for much of the day reminding me that this is a potential death sentence I just keep playing with so much..

What do you like about smoking? My favorite part was getting to stand outside alone for 5 fucking minutes.

Check out Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking, if you're interested. It helped me think a lot more about what I was doing and feeling, and turned out to be useful in a bunch of other areas in my life. I found the audiobook ripped from cassettes as a torrent.

Oh, I know that that must be the case for a lot of folks. The movie Trainspotting did a pretty good job communicating some of that.

The surprise on my end is usually that new people smoke. Anyone that had already developed the habit, I am not surprised still does it. In that regard, it is not unlike any other drug.

I also realize I should count myself incredibly lucky that smoking does not impact me at all. I literally feel nothing when I try a smoke or cigar. Can barely even taste it. Reminds me of my grandfather who used to smoke to be social. When he found out they were bad for you, he just stopped. Had no withdrawal at all. Yay genetics. :D