cigarette butts and me... (a little observation of a non-smoker...)
ok... i'm going to write something that might piss some people off, especially smokers... well, hopefully after that initial irritation subsides, i hope you can really read what i'm trying to say here...
first of all, i don't smoke... i've tried a few times when i was drunk just as a dare kind of thing but never really liked the way it felt or the smell... however my dad used to smoke a lot when i was young, like 2 to 3 packs a day... although i didn't live with my parents since i was 12 but still i have lots of memories with my dad with a cigarette dangling from his mouth all the time... then go figure, when my mom finally convinced him to go and get his lungs checked up, the doctor told him they were fine... after all my dad had been a puffer but nothing else... he quit for a few years recently but i think he went back smoking... well, the point i'm trying to make it here is that i'm not against people smoking... however i do not like to be subjected to second-hand smoking just because i happen to be there... but after all people can do whatever the hell they want as long as it doesn't hurt others... when it comes down to their health, it's up to them to figure out what to do...
anyway...
as you know smoking inside in new york's been banned for quite some time now... which means there are more people outside smoking on the streets... well, i do like that ban because of the reason i listed above and even more importantly because my cello doesn't smell like cigarette after playing in a club anymore... however this ban has increased the amount of cigarette butts outside on the street... there's no single block, at least in my neighborhood, that i don't see a few cigarette butts... so i started to pay attention to people who are smoking on the street and have to say almost all of them just throw away their cigarette buds after they are done... even people i know personally who are not likely throw anything out on the street would do exact that with the cigarette butts... so it got me thinking why that would be...? i mean it's one thing if you are that kind of person who litters but even when you are so not that kind of person...? i came up with a couple of my own explanation other than just blaming all the smokers for littering everywhere...
i think it's built in culture... i mean how many times do you see in a movie or tv that people actually extinguish cigarette and put in a garbage can...? can you imagine james dean after finishing his cigarette, after looking so hot with his cigarette, throwing it into a garbage can...? i can't... it's just a part of smoking culture... and lots of times people don't even put it out but just drop it on the street when they are done smoking and let it burn... i bet most of smokers are not even aware that's what they are doing... but i think that's how people learn to smoke... nobody actually talks about what to do with it other than just throwing it out... do you think it makes some sense...?
then there's lack of outdoor ash trays in the city of course... i've seen a single ash tray outside somewhere on 3rd avenue between 4th and st. marks and that's about it... and actually come to think of it, this guy who was smoking was standing by it as if he was ready to actually use that ash tray when he was done smoking... also i used to see those garbage cans with built in ash trays but they seems to have only existed indoors... you know what i mean...? yesterday i watched "4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days", by the way which was an exceptional movie, and all the characters were smoking inside and actually they put out their cigarette in ash trays because there was one... so there you go... guess we all have to start signing a petition demanding for more outdoor ash trays... hmm, that's an idea...
well, there was my little observation as a non smoker...
then there are those people with gums... ha ha ha...
first of all, i don't smoke... i've tried a few times when i was drunk just as a dare kind of thing but never really liked the way it felt or the smell... however my dad used to smoke a lot when i was young, like 2 to 3 packs a day... although i didn't live with my parents since i was 12 but still i have lots of memories with my dad with a cigarette dangling from his mouth all the time... then go figure, when my mom finally convinced him to go and get his lungs checked up, the doctor told him they were fine... after all my dad had been a puffer but nothing else... he quit for a few years recently but i think he went back smoking... well, the point i'm trying to make it here is that i'm not against people smoking... however i do not like to be subjected to second-hand smoking just because i happen to be there... but after all people can do whatever the hell they want as long as it doesn't hurt others... when it comes down to their health, it's up to them to figure out what to do...
anyway...
as you know smoking inside in new york's been banned for quite some time now... which means there are more people outside smoking on the streets... well, i do like that ban because of the reason i listed above and even more importantly because my cello doesn't smell like cigarette after playing in a club anymore... however this ban has increased the amount of cigarette butts outside on the street... there's no single block, at least in my neighborhood, that i don't see a few cigarette butts... so i started to pay attention to people who are smoking on the street and have to say almost all of them just throw away their cigarette buds after they are done... even people i know personally who are not likely throw anything out on the street would do exact that with the cigarette butts... so it got me thinking why that would be...? i mean it's one thing if you are that kind of person who litters but even when you are so not that kind of person...? i came up with a couple of my own explanation other than just blaming all the smokers for littering everywhere...
i think it's built in culture... i mean how many times do you see in a movie or tv that people actually extinguish cigarette and put in a garbage can...? can you imagine james dean after finishing his cigarette, after looking so hot with his cigarette, throwing it into a garbage can...? i can't... it's just a part of smoking culture... and lots of times people don't even put it out but just drop it on the street when they are done smoking and let it burn... i bet most of smokers are not even aware that's what they are doing... but i think that's how people learn to smoke... nobody actually talks about what to do with it other than just throwing it out... do you think it makes some sense...?
then there's lack of outdoor ash trays in the city of course... i've seen a single ash tray outside somewhere on 3rd avenue between 4th and st. marks and that's about it... and actually come to think of it, this guy who was smoking was standing by it as if he was ready to actually use that ash tray when he was done smoking... also i used to see those garbage cans with built in ash trays but they seems to have only existed indoors... you know what i mean...? yesterday i watched "4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days", by the way which was an exceptional movie, and all the characters were smoking inside and actually they put out their cigarette in ash trays because there was one... so there you go... guess we all have to start signing a petition demanding for more outdoor ash trays... hmm, that's an idea...
well, there was my little observation as a non smoker...
then there are those people with gums... ha ha ha...
posted by okkyung at 11:12 PM
1 Comments:
well said...
Post a Comment
<< Home