I love smoking. I'm not one of those smokers who finishes a cigarette and guilt ensues with a line, “I really need to give up.” I feel no guilt; I enjoy the sensation. I know I also smoke because it's defiant. It's defiant to all the campaigns and propaganda telling us how dangerous the habit is and how weak I am for doing it. I sometimes feel I am sticking my two fingers up at society when I light a stick of death.
Now I know of its dangers and I am fully aware of the healthy reasons to stop. The thing is, it doesn't concern me. As with so much of what I think about, you may be reading this wondering why I'm analysing it so much. You're probably thinking I need to get out more, as reflecting on why I smoke is absurd. Bear with me though.
We're in a society where we're supposed to be afraid of everything. If you read the Daily Mail (and may God have mercy on your soul if you do), then you should be utterly terrified when you wake in the morning. If the Mail is to be believed, you will be mugged, raped, blown up, run over and diagnosed with a horrible disease before you even get to work. Danger, danger! How do we ever make it home each day?
The government wants us to be concerned/afraid/aware of the various dangers coming at us. Terrorists live next door; anti-social behaviour is out of control; you must be offended by anyone who is anti-capitalist or anti-West; CCTV follows us everywhere. It feels as if we're moving to a more fascist society than anything else.
So when I'm told to give up smoking by the government, I basically think, “Fuck you.” If I'm to give up smoking, then close down Macdonald's so obese people give up junk food. And make pubs alcohol free so binge drinking is tackled. Why can't we have the freedom to do what we do, without being self-righteously beaten over the head with how bad we are?
Can't we gain a little perspective? It's good to guide people on the consequences of what they do, but why can't we as a society admit we have a massive imbalance? We tell people to take, take, take to the extreme and then chastise them for doing it. Smoking, binge drinking, obesity are not the issue. Greed is the issue. When our society tackles the disease of greed, then many other things will balance out.
