Probably one of my top 20 favorite replies to hear whenever I ask someone, "are you a smoker?" Without fail, "I only smoke when I drink" always elicits both an eyebrow raise as well as a Scooby-Doo, 'Aroo?' What exactly does this even mean?At first glance...
It means exactly what it says- but only because they're in denial about the fact that they're a smoker to begin with. Yes there's a stigma associated with smoking and it's clear that they don't identify with it, but c'moooon. If you're going to do it, you've got to own it! When I asked a friend of mine (who was huffing on a ciggy in the corner while oggling women and flippin' nickels) if they were a smoker, their reply: "Hell no! I only smoke when I drink". Well, according to deductive reasoning, you're smoking right now- ergo...you're a smoker. I feel like it's the equivalent me saying "I only drink coffee when I'm tired, but I'm not a coffee drinker". Well, if every time I begin to doze I start throwing down the latte's, then I'm definitely a coffee drinker.
The reason why you "only smoke when you drink" honestly doesn't matter. Better buzz? Cool. Makes you look sexier? Cool. Afterall, I love my smoker friends just as much as my non-smoker friends. Either way, all I'm saying is to own it... There's no need to qualify or justify it if you're making a conscious decision to do it every time you venture out on the town.
I hate being around smokers, because I hate smoke, but I understand the social smoking. It's simply this, when you smoke a cigarette while drinking, you get more drunk and a little high feeling. Many people start to crave that feelign when they drink, so they want cigarettes. Without the alcohol involved that same feeling isn't there, so they don't crave cigarettes. Esentially they're defining themselves as someone not addicted to Nicotine, but addicted to the high of nicotine+alcohol when alcohol is involved.
ReplyDeleteI'm one of the people that you describe. In fact, I may be the aforementioned nickle flipper.
ReplyDeleteAt one point in life, I decided to become a regular smoker. I bought my own smokes and I smoked them all the time. I'm pretty certain that the only reason that I smoke when I'm drinking is because I can only tolerate ashmouth when I'm drunk.
Sober ashmouth sucks. The buzz is nice, regardless.