First, a brief insight into my life.
My boyfriend smokes a cigarette a day, or thereabouts. He says it won't hurt him, since one's lung tissue recoveres from spread-out smoking habits. But still, he realizes the potential to become dangerously addicted, and so has been trying to cut back. The other day, I was driving my car with he and two other friends. When we stopped to take a walk, he pulled out a ciggy. When I tried to remind him of his attempt to cut back, the two other friends jumped to his defense. They rammed themselves down my throat, calling me everything from a hypocrite to overbearing.
Now, here's the kicker. Neither of these two smoke. When offered, they generally turn cancer sticks down. Both are health junkies and run long distances.
So, why were they so adamant about defending someone else's right to smoke?
A recent study indicates that tobacco use among young American teenagers is on the rise. Just as people are most willing to accept that smoking = cancer = death; just as the spending on anti-smoking ads is increasing; just as the world seems to be against cigarettes we're falling back into the habit.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-smoking or anything; there's a pack of Camels in my purse right now. I ration myself; one a week (or thereabouts) is fair. So, I'm all for the right of the individual to choose whether or not tobacco is their thing.
I'm just prodding at an issue. Teens are smoking more than they used to. Certainly, there are plenty of good reasons to explain it -- backlash to anti-smoking ads such as the Truth campaign, increased scholastic stresses, self-medication against the onslaught of mental issues we've seen in childhood culture recently.
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