Why I don't smoke

Cigarettes are fun. Cigarettes are cool. Cigarettes are sexy. These are what TV, films, tobacco industry and people who like smoking would like you to believe. But I disagree.

First, I am genetically allergic to cigarettes, the smell makes me nauseas. Actually two of my college roommates smoke. They are all beautiful girls, smoking in a graceful way. Bu I just cannot stand the smell.

Second, I am the kind of people who overly focus on my physical health. I have seen pictures of rotten lungs of people who died of lung cancer which was caused by smoking. They are scary, they gave me nightmares. I cannot imagine one day that I will die with lungs like that, although I do understand that being a corpse cannot be very pretty any way.

Third, I don’t want to identify myself with teenagers who use smoking as a way of rebelling. When I think of smoking, the first thing came into my mind is a group of high school students standing in the corner of the campus, and feeling pretty cool with their pink hair, pierced ears and a cigarette between their fingers as the last polishing touch.

Perhaps I will smoke one day because when I go into the workforce, I will feel so much pressure and stress. Smoking may help me relax. But the reason that most likely makes me a smoker is that all other people smoke, or to be precise, all male co-workers smoke. So if I end up in a place dominated by males, which has a high probability given the current male-female ratio in professions such as lawyer, I have to smoke in order to bond with them and to fit in with the environment. It is a little sad but sometimes we just change ourselves and what we believe either because of the mesmerizing of the propaganda or because of the pressure of the majority.