You don't think someone can have pleasant memories that took place while engaging in a habit you no longer partake off?

No, not really. What sort of answer are you hoping for? I enjoyed it, just like hundreds of millions of other people.

It's not just the nicotine intake; sure that obviously draws you in, but it's very difficult to explain to a non-smoker.

It starts with the act of lighting it, it's a habit forming action that's enjoyable. The first inhale of a freshly lit cigarette slightly stings the back of the throat in a way that's like a nice sting - you feel it immediately sweep over you. Then it's like it creates a bubble around you, breaking you away from everything that's going on outside you and the cigarette. When you're smoking with other people in say a smoking area of a bar, it's like you're all separated from everyone else in your own little world. It's a break from everything.

Again, not a perfect explanation, but it's got a lot to do with the physical act of smoking, not just the intake of nicotine - the nicotine just gives you that pinch that reminds you to go back for another.

All you sanctimonious non-smokers can **** right off.

What a strange thread to have on a poker forum. Online poker has been banned in certain jurisdictions with varying degree of success, because decision makers (politicians/lobbyists) were able to enact laws which dictate what an individual can, and more often cannot do with their bodies and assets. When one argues that adults should be able to do what pleases them as it affects only themselves, anti-poker people are quick to point to those indirectly affected, like a spouse or child that has to deal with the consequences of dad's gambling addiction/debts. Much like anti-smokers argue that they should never have to inhale/smell what another (smoking) adult is spewing in public. I understand restricting smokers in communal spaces where one must be habitually (i.e. workplaces), or restricting smoking for sanitary reasons (kitchens, restaurant, etc). Beyond that, a smoking ban s just people trying to impose their lifestyle on others.

This would be ****ty advice now probably, but in ye old times, "become a smoker" would be excellent advice to give to someone wanting to know how to make friends when they moved away to college.

I gave up smoking maybe 15 years ago, don't vape. If they invented a cancer free cigarette tomorrow I'd be smoking again 10 minutes after they went on sale.

Smoking, like other substance use, forms two habits. The chemical dependency and the addictive behavior. Buying a pack, "packing" it before they open it, the feeling of holding the lighter as you flick it and take the first drag, enjoying one after a meal, the motion of your hand to your face, flicking or tapping the ash; all of these behaviors are part of the addiction. That's why vapes and/or ecigs have a higher success rate than the patch or gum. You're mimicking some of the same behaviors.

All of this is true, but it still downplays the simple fact that smoking can be enjoyable on its own terms outside of any resultant addiction. It pairs very well with beer and coffee. It's fantastic after a meal. It's a great social lubricant. It's a real shame about all the cancer and emphysema and stuff.

Just like alcohol.

Smoking and drinking serve no purpose in life and both kill thousands of people every year.

If cigs are banned then alcohol should also be banned.

It is actually kind of hard to wrap one's head around this insofar as imagining it. I take your word for it being true I guess, but it seems odd enough that I can't help but be a little skeptical that somehow the substitutes aren't fully satisfying the addiction to whatever drugs or chemicals. Maybe like micro-nutrients and how vitamins don't really substitute for nutrient rich food, there are undiscovered chemical interactions that regular smoking has that are missing in whatever you are doing.

I was about 12 in about 1980 and my grandpa was in the hospital. They gave him a plastic pretend cigarette.

Oh cool, I didn't know they did that. I've helped people try to quit and one thing that sometimes worked was using the gum or patch for the nicotine fix and a pen cap for the behavior. People would chew their gum while pretending to smoke on the cap out on their porch or balcony. Worked for some. Not so much for others.

Because you (and many others) keep thinking addiction to nicotine or whatever is the only draw. It's not.

There has always been a pretty large chunk of the population who intensely dislike the smell and experience of smoking. I get that. But you guys don't seem willing or able to understand that many others don't feel the same revulsion. Many of us really do (or did) like smoking. Again, you're talking about something that was or is done by up to 50% of the population in many countries at some point. You have to accept that it's something more than addiction to a mild stimulant at those usage levels.

I get that some smokers enjoy smoking.

What pisses me off is when their smoke-spewing "enjoyment" ****s with my smoke-free enjoyment, particularly when they obliviously and selfishly stink it up.

And don't get me started on how much it pisses me off when those same *******s flick their still-smoking butt onto/into the beach/lake/park/street etc. UGH. So ****ing selfish and disgusting.

This might be the legit stupidest thing I've ever seen on this site

Do you ever like to have a drink? Beer or alcohol? Do you have a preference of what type of liquor? Why? They are all the same thing in the end.
Alcohol not your style? Would you rather have a coffee, or a soda? Why not just take a caffeine pills instead? Same thing, right?
Qualifications:
I used to smoke a decade ago. It still sounds good one in a while, but the negatives outweigh the positives for me. And not even the while cancer thing (though that's important too) bad breath, stinky clothes, having to go outside in 100° weather in the summer, 15° in the winter. The list is long.

flicking the cigarettes must be part of the fun of smoking. Seeing butts in the sand at the beach is ****ing tilting.

The poker analogy is poor because the gov still has its own casinos and lottery. They are not against gambling, just against who profits from it.

I honestly think 'please don't litter' would be a better message than the health warnings.

Probably still true. Standing outside a bar/club is probably the easiest way in the world to start a conversation with random people. Didnt smoke in college, but I'd imagine its the same outside college dorms

I think Alobar makes a great point there. And then for a lot of people it just sticks and the next thing they know they want the nicotine and the little buzz.

Agreed.

And instead of eating a hot fudge sundae I could just have a bunch of fat and sugar pumped into my stomach. I'm not saying it's impossible for people to like smoking independent of the effect of the drug(s), but it is hard to imagine.

You only feel that way because of the fond memories of the nicotine rush.

**** these people.

http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/20/Suppl_1/i2

I guess a simple example is making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You take the knife (only heathens use spoons), smear the jelly to the exact height and edge of the bread, repeat for the peanut butter, then set the breads on top of each other so the edges fit perfectly. The eating only takes a few seconds, but the process of making one is half the fun.

It's that process, that miniature experience, that makes the entire situation a temporary moment to relax from all the stresses of life.

Feel free to replace this with your favorite food, french-pressed coffee, or whatever it is you sometimes do to just experience a moment of reprieve. Smoking is very much the same way.

(I vape and prefer it over smoking)