You know what I’ve noticed a lot lately? People smoking. And where I live — in a West Los Angeles beach town, full of health-conscious, Lululemon-clad people coming and going from yoga and Pilates or their gym of choice, likely on their way to Erewhon to get a $20 smoothie — seeing a cigarette sticking out of a car window is weird. And that weird is happening. A lot.

Now, I’m GenX. When I was in high school, we literally had a smoking section in the parking lot on campus. It was where the punks and NewRo’s and headbangers hung out. Where I hung out. But I was the sole non-smoker. You see, I had asthma. Pneumonia twice before I even got to pre-school. And both of my parents were chain-smokers. Like, in the car, windows up.

Needless to say, I find it to be a nasty habit. And we know what we know. We know it’s destructive, and not just to the smoker. We know it’s expensive, and WTF isn’t these days? But what it symbolizes to me is the unhappiness that is so prevalent. That the anger and frustration we feel about the effing world is turning inward.

I get that smokers use cigarettes to self-soothe. But is it working? And isn’t there a better method? Like one that doesn’t come with a government-issued warning label?

IYKYK...if you don't, here's the YouTube:
https://youtube.com/shorts/zT4qQMdyB3U?si=_cgWJ8tPlIyz5S8k

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