On Smoking...

I know we all have our vices, it's only human. I mean, right now I have three open boxes of Girl Scout cookies within arm's reach. But smoking is the one vice I just don't get. I understand the "peer pressure" aspect of starting, I suppose. Trying to be a cool kid, trying to fit in, gotcha. It just seems to me that there's so much more negative about the habit than possible positive gains, aside from the obvious.

First there's smelling like an ashtray. Um, yuck? My grandparents smoked throughout my junior high and high school years spent living with them, and the secondhand smoke smell on every last one of my things was repulsive. Granted, I noticed it only when I wasn't home (and especially when I came home on breaks from college), but I still knew that I smelled like smoke. Doesn't that affect the potential pool of suitors to those who can stand to kiss an ashtray? And is that a very big group of fantastic catches? (My instincts tell me no.) Sure, you can cover it up with mass amounts of body spray (as one of my coworkers does after she's taken her smoke break), chew gum, and the like, but that just makes you smell like a minty or vanilla-y ashtray!

Then there's the addiction. I would absolutely hate it if my body so strongly craved something that was so detrimental to my health. It's one thing to crave cookies, but at least they won't diminish my lung capacity and cause cancer. All the smokers at work are constantly trying to find a spare moment to take a smoke break. That's a lot of time spent thinking about smoking and not a lot of time thinking of the tables they're supposed to be waiting on! (And again, walking up to your customers smelling like a vanilla ashtray is just not appealing.)

Another point I can't wrap my head around: the cost. Smoking is one expensive habit (unless you're the guys I work with who get by borrowing smokes from everyone else). Once again, I'd rather spend my money elsewhere.

Of course, there's the obvious health implications. With all the media coverage of the effects, I don't know how people can rationalize smoking. From the risk of clots if used in conjunction with birth control to dying of lung cancer, how does one continue that habit?! What good can come of it in the long run?

I hope this doesn't offend anyone. I just don't get it. Which is probably good because I won't end up smoking (though, starting in my 20s would just be ridiculous).

Any thoughts?