And then I had my first one, at age 19, after a wild night in Edmonton's Whyte Avenue area. It was an isolated incident, and I certainly wasn't addicted after that (and I wouldn't consider myself an addict now).
I then continued my life, finished the school year and moved away from home for the first time. Far away. Across the country to Montreal.
In Montreal, I was free as a bird, able to do what I wanted whenever I wanted to do it, with whomever I wanted to do it with. I had my fair share (actually maybe more than that) of fun in Canada's version of Las Vegas, but never once did that involve a cigarette.
Then came Paris, the next conquest on my list.
I knew that smoking was a more prevalent part of the French way, but little did I realize how huge an influence smoking has on this society.
While my mates here (American and British 20 somethings) were quick to embrace les cigarettes, I held off. While I had (thankfully) evolved drastically from the All Smokers Are Disgusting and I Will Never Date Someone Who Smokes ways that consumed me up until age 19, I just didn't see the point.
And then one Friday night in November, my friends and I were strolling the Champs Ellysés, Paris' famous central avenue (marketed as La Plus belle Avenue du Monde) that connects l'Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, Jardins Tuilleries, Place de la Concorde, and a myriad of other Parisien monuments.
A friend was rolling cigarettes, and asked me if I wanted one.
Why not, I figured. I'd already had my first one back in Edmonton and had had the occasional drag in the past.
He rolled it, I took it and lit up. We were right in front of the Champs Elyssés Christmas market. I adopted a Rhodesian accent and pretended to be Danny Archer from Blood Diamond, one of my favourite movies.
It was a good experience, pretending to be one of my favourite movie characters while having a cigarette on the world's most beautiful avenue. After that, we walked from the Champs Elyssés to the Eiffel Tower, a beautiful 40 minute hike that sent us through three arrondisements.
Since then, I've never really said no to a cigarette, though I've only ever bought two (very inexpensive) packs. I've had them in different places with different people…underneath the Eiffel Tower talking politics with locals, outside an Irish pub in Barcelona with some fellow Canadians during the Olympic gold medal men's hockey match, on via Palestro in Rome with some British lads the morning after a crazy Italian adventure, and just at Parisien cafés with good friends.
The difference the way smoking is perceived in North America compared to Europe (though I can only speak for France) is huge. In North America--and again, this is just my impression--smokers are looked down upon as a whole. They are often considered uneducated, or the wrong crowd, or morally unfit.
In France, smoking is very much a part of the culture and socialisation process. Most young people do light up occasionally. There are no real laws or regulations here, the only one being that you can't smoke indoors, a rule that, regardless, many simply just don't follow. Did I mention it was different on this side of the pond?
On any given night, a patio in Paris (and France) will be filled with lively conversation, flowing draft beer, and the lighting of cigarettes. It's a scene that's accepted and embraced.
The sharing of a cigarette, be it with friends or complete strangers, is somewhat intimate of a bond. It's something that can't really be understood until you live in a culture like this. Avez-vous un cigarette? or Vous avez du feu? is a unique bond shared between people.
Several times, I've been at a bar or café and struck up a conversation with the table next to me. The way I knew that they were comfortable with me and that we had "officially" become friends was when they offered me a cigarette. It was their way of letting me in, far far more than the simple sharing of a smoke.
Having entered this new community and finding myself lighting up with a degree of frequency, I've started to notice the bad rap smokers get in North America (though I can only speak for Canada).
I agree that, in Canada, there should be advertising to dissuade young people from taking up the habit. The challenge lies in focusing on the health effects and not attacking the people who are smoking. Case and point, this advertisement with the quote that kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray.
Where in this public service announcement are there any indications of the health risks? Is there anything that tells the viewer the reasons smoking is unhealthy? No. Instead, there's a blanket, encompassing statement that is saying that smokers are unworthy of physical affection. Is that the type of message that should be sent to people, that those who--like everyone else on the planet--happen to have a bad habit should not be kissed or loved?
I don't think so. To me, that ad borders on a personal attack of people who smoke. It's factual appeal is non-existent.
This isn't the only example of advertising that attacks the people instead of focuses on the issue at hand. While the underlying intent is noble, attacking a group of people based on the habit is unnecessary and sends a bad message. (To the government and advertising agency's credit, there are several very good and effective advertisements)
Does the fact that I smoke make me a bad person? Does it say anything about my intellect or character or who I am as a human being?
It's in a similar league as companies refusing to hire people that smoke, despite the fact that cigarettes are and likely will continue to be legal for a long time. Should they be so quick to pass judgement on the character of a prospective employee?
Even the word "smoker" is a bit much, I think. He's a smoker, she's a smoker, they smoke.
There are a thousand things that make up one's character, and instead the focus is too often on one habit that they have.
I don't think I'll continue to smoke when I return to Canada, simply because the culture doesn't have a place for it (which may be a very good thing). That and I think I'd make a pretty cool old man, and giving up cigarettes would increase my chances of getting to that point. It was something I picked up in France because it is a new culture that embraces the idea that smoking is as much a socialisation process as anything else. Having a cigarette underneath the Eiffel Tower, asking locals Pourquoi les gens detestent President Hollande?
Sometimes it really is fun to buy into the cliché. During my time in Europe, I have had many bonding moments over cigarettes with both close friends and complete strangers. It really is an intimate part of the culture here.
The North American way is excellent because from a young age, kids are taught that it is simply a detrimental habit. It's impossible for a 13 year old not to know a few of the side effects of cigarette use.
My point is that often when a society so forcefully rejects a habit or idea, the minority that participate in those concepts are often miscast and misjudged, something that happens in North America with people who smoke. Their character is often called into question.
Advertisements like the one above (and there are several) play a role in that. Also, the fact that far fewer people smoke in Canada than in France, those that do have the habit are mislabeled simply because they are different and not "normal." Both people and companies are guilty of this.
Last night, one of my best mates and I met in Ile de la Cité, Paris' oldest quarter, the island where Notre Dame is located. We stood, relaxed, chatting with each other about life. We had a bag of potato chips and one cigarette between us, trading the two amongst ourselves while we talked about a myriad of topics (but mostly just people-watched). We finished the two, crossed the bridge, and hopped into our favourite bar for a pint.Smokers? Maybe. But we're a heck of a lot more than that too.
