I'll start with these photos because they capture something very basic about the attractiveness of female smoking for me. A group of friends smiling and smoking together. Such images always suggest to me various stories of starting ... maybe having a picture taken with her 'first cigarette', inhaling a little, getting that giggling encouragement from the more experienced among you, etc, etc, until each member of the group falls in line.
Perhaps only one of these girls was a smoker when they first met ... "It's a disgusting habit, but she's really nice." Nights out drinking lead to the inevitable first cigarette, which steadily leads to regular bumming, buying the first pack, second pack, etc. Then having it extend past "only when I drink" ... before long each of you has picked a favorite brand that becomes a permanent fixture in your backpack and handbag, and, sadly, there will be a tear-filled conversation with mom and dad sometime soon.
Still, it's your life and you're old enough to make your own decisions. The thing is, you never really put any thought into this at all. No one really chooses to allow things to get to this place ... getting irretrievably hooked on the steady nicotine fixes ... it just sort of 'happens'. Eventually, you realize that you're just the latest dupe of Big Tobacco in an age when anyone with half a brain should be able to steer clear. But then the urge comes knocking again, and each time you fulfill it without much consideration of the consequences.
The beast couldn't gain a grip until you invited it in. But, alas, you did, and a lifetime as (gasp) a smoker is now your fate.
