Puff Puff -

Anyone who knows me well will tell you how I drove them nuts trying to make them quit smoking.
Time has not mellowed my stance. I still feel as strongly and when, about a year back, a tiny article in the newspaper laid down a law against smoking in public places, I did a small jig of joy. Until that evening at some coffee place or the other, when my friends laughed at my naivete in believing that people will actually even accept that law as a law much less obey it.
Most of the smokers I have seen are inconsiderate and thoughtless, imagining the world to be a vast ashtray in which to constantly drop ash and puff away in other people’s faces. Don’t talk to me about the right to smoke (the free world and blah blah), because I will talk back about my right to not want to passive smoke (free world and blah blah). Very simple rules can govern smoker behavior. (if you have to kill yourself at least do so politely). When you see a pregnant woman or a baby sitting at a table nearby, put it out. When it’s a closed car with the airconditioning on, put it out. When it’s someones bedroom, put it out. If someone requests you to because they cannot stand the smell, put it out. When you blow smoke, make sure it’s in a general direction of nothing rather than someone else’s face. After all, if, as 90% of the smokers say, it’s a habit they can kick whenever they want to, it shouldn’t kill you to delay the smoke till you are in your happy toxic smoker zone again.

Now, this cousin-brother of mine, R, loves to smoke and i don’t know what makes him think that he actually looks cool while he blows out those circles of smoke and grin his devilish look. Sigh-