It feels as though years have passed since I smoked cigarettes in between every class and on every walk from somewhere to anywhere on campus….
In actuality, it has been about three weeks. But I still remember very clearly the judgemental looks I received from people. Everytime I saw someone’s glance roll down to the cigarette in my hand I wondered: what must he/she be thinking about me right now?
Brief anecdote: this summer I was taking a calculus course at Boston University. I remember smoking outside the building when my teacher approached me asking for a lighter. I was taken aback by his request and even more shocked when he proceeded to chit chat about last weeks exam while taking drags of his parliament light. I must say, the experience made me think of him as much less of an authority than before.
a more general question: does seeing someone smoke change your perception of them?
Imagine, for example, you found out your teacher or new friend smoked…would you think differently of them?
Finding out that someone smokes does absolutely color my opinion of them. Smoking is a spectacle of irrationality and risk taking. Seeing young women smoke is especially noticeable probably because of role they play in procreation and poor odds they face in quitting successfully during pregnancy.
Sorry about the judgmental stuff, best of luck with the quitting.
No personal offense taken. I completely understand where the judgement comes from. It is a complete turnoff to realize that somebody ‘smokes.’ While I wouldn’t end a friendship or change a relationship with someone over it, the knowledge that a person smokes files under the ‘weakness’ category. Which is why I am working so hard to quit. I am certainly able toa dmit that smoking is a weakness of mine.
I think it depends on who it is. I never judge a stranger from smoking but I definitely judge the people I know. As I have stated in previous comments, my best friend is a smoker. I absolutely HATE it when she smokes as she drives or if we are sitting outside she whips out a cigarette and blows into my face. I think that it is a disgusting habit not only for the detrimental effects but because of the way it smells too. I am very glad to hear that it has been three weeks though. Congratulations!
I agree that I would not judge a stranger but I might judge a friend…I understand though. I have a very addictive personality, and though my addictions do not include anything as harmful to my body as smoking, I know how hard it is to get out of a relationship where I have become “addicted” to the person, and there is NO WAY I could stop biting my nails. I can only imagine how much harder it must be to have to try to quit smoking so I actually probably judge you much more positively for quitting than I would judge someone negatively for smoking because it seems that that’s so much harder than abstaining in the first place, especially since you were living in Israel. Congrats on 3 weeks!