Cigarettes and altruism

There are only certain things people will ask a perfect stranger for - directions, the time, a cigarette and a light. Why are being lost and smoking the two things people feel most comfortable talking to almost anyone about?

I'm convinced the best way to stop smoking is to carry an almost empty pack. As smokers who go out without their own bum them one by one, there will be none left to smoke. That is, unless some other altruistic soul comes along to share.

They can pick from Camel, Marlboro, Black, Silver, Smooth, Blue, Platinum, Turkish Gold, Crush, Bold, Turkish Royal, menthol or regular. But if it's free, people smoke what they can get.

And don't forget a lighter. Since smoking's not so PC these days, bars and restaurants don't have matches like they used to, so someone always needs a light. Why would a smoker leave the house without a lighter? It's like a single girl going out without lipstick. Knowing people are consistently unprepared, a very generous friend in my neighborhood always goes out with two lighters. One is for himself and one is to give away. The ultimate in altruism.

Of course, one of the oldest and greatest intros to another smoker is asking for a light. Remember the old B&W movies with the femme fatales like Rita Hayworth and Brigitte Bardot batting long eye lashes as the handsome Clark Gable-type lights her up? They were such sex kittens. Pick-up line or altruism?

I'm not a smoker unless you count the two clove cigarettes I smoked a couple of weeks ago. (Read Clove cigarettes, sunshine and fucking rainbows for that story.) However, I think responsible adults should be able to make their own decisions. If they want to smoke, then they should be able to. As someone who's new to the singles world though, I can never date a smoker. It's not a socially charged statement. I have asthma, so being around a smoker all the time would be suicide. But I don't mind being around friends who smoke at all. Most friends are polite smokers, and I can easily handle it in small doses.

I wonder though, with all of the health warnings about smoking, does sharing a smoke really help fellow man? Is it altruistic? And girls, kissing a non-smoker is so much more delish. Am I right?

Love to the single girls,
Addison