# Does smoking make a person seem cooler or dumber?



## Angelus

How do you view smokers? Does smoking make them seem cooler or just less intellectual because of the unhealthy habit?


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## Mammon

It makes males look cooler and females unattractive.


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## Dark Romantic

With me, when someone smokes a cigarette, it makes me think that they aren't very athletic, and are mainly into things that don't involve a lot of physical activity. That said, some people _do _​look good smoking, so there's something to be said for that.


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## laikta

They seem less smart because they are playing with their health. Smokes irrirates me and also the after smell (it stays on the fingers and the breath of a person even after they had chewing gum). I smells really bad! I am allergy to these too.


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## Eleven

Though sometimes I think it _looks _attractive (if it's a guy), inside I'm usually thinking how stupid it is to smoke/how disgusting it would be to kiss him/how gross his clothes must smell. D:

But that's assuming this is about _cigarette _smoking. I'm not turned off in the least by pipe smoking. Pipe tobacco actually smells good, and it doesn't have all that nasty shit that cigarettes do. Plus it makes me think of Tolkien, and that can only be a good thing...


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## Ramysa

I don't smoke but my bf does . It's a bit annoying when the smoke comes my side . I guess I got used to it since I grew in a family of smokers (my parents, my sis, my bother, all smokers ).


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## Kainita

It isn't really the smoking itself that apalls me. It is the smell and affect on their clothes and teeth that drive me away. I like people with good hygiene... I haven't seen a lot of smokers who put a lot of effort in that. 

P.s. Spraying on some cologne or perfume to cover the smell; Only makes it worse.


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## 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34

cooler and dumber (they are basically the same thing).


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## Ntuitive

Cooler and dumber. Some of the coolest people I know are among the smartest as well, and they smoke a lot. I don't smoke that much. If I do smoke I feel cool especially when the people around me are smoking. Otherwise when I see someone smoking on the street, they just look nasty.

Cool looking people look cool when smoking. Everyone else just looks dumb while smoking.


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## mushr00m

If smoking makes people look dumb, then what does that make Einstein?


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## thestrangewarrior

I think that first impressions do make a difference. I lean more towards it making them look dumber, although not in a disrespectful way. I just see it on a criticism level where it makes me think that with all the health hazards and the high cost that it would discourage you from doing it, but doing it just to fit in to somebody else is where I see it as a dumb thing. I grew up with a smoker part of the time and saw how it killed a person I once knew fairly young.


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## SocioApathetic

Neither, in my opinion. It just shows me that the person has a bad habit, whether or not they realize it. However, it's their choice and none of my concern.


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## looseal

Smoking only looks cool because Madison Ave execs say so. Lots of money to be made in advertisement. 
I am a non-smoker. I remember the day my friends started smoking. One lady saw a good looking guy and decided to ask him for a cigarette as a way to initiate a conversation. He gladly gave her one and then offered to light it. My friend had to say she didn't smoke and felt like a fool. LOL So my friends decided they had to start smoking as a way to talk to boys. They chipped in and bought a pack then proceeded to cough their brains out. Idiots!


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## RecklessInspirer

I'd say neither. To me smoking is unattractive, mainly because hate cigarettes in many aspects. So if your smoking, I don't want to be around you.


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## The Nth Doctor

I just feel sorry for them for most likely having a nasty addiction that will shorten their life. I don't judge them for it, especially older people.


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## jessaywhat

not very cool, but i guess it somewhat depends on the context. 

if you're unemployed, dressing like a bum, and your paying for a pack of cigarettes that you can't even afford in pennies and dimes and chain smoking like crazy.. like 7 in an hour.. your might as well be in give up on yourself mode, and you're gross and creepy. go away. 

however, if you're out for the night and in total party mode, you look like you take care of yourself for the most part, and you want to bum a cigarette or two for the night i won't be really bothered with you. i think a lot of us do sometimes. buying pack after pack is something i did when i was like 16 and wanted to be cool. but when and if i do break down and buy a pack, it's going to be the cruella de vile kind. that's my only rule. if i'm going to smoke at all my cigarettes will be the cutest at the party.


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## velvetoveralls

A lot of times, the circumstances come into play. For example, I know an INFJ who's a smoker who's really an intelligent, wise person. But she was raised in a poor, cruddy, dangerous area of a city, and the way she was raised, she never knew that smoking was so unhealthy. I'm pretty sure she still doesn't realize just how unhealthy it is. She grew up around cigarettes; no one ever batted an eye about it, and still, everyone she knows smokes. I'm sure if she knew just how bad smoking is, she'd stop. But that information isn't really available to her.

When someone is acutely aware of just how unhealthy smoking is and still chooses to smoke, then yes, my impression of them sours. But when the person is unaware of just how unhealthy smoking is and doesn't have access to such information, then, really, I can't blame them.


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## Agelaius

Depending on what people are smoking my opinion can change slightly, but for the most part I don't hold an opinion on individuals who do or don't smoke. As long as smokers are aware of the potential consequences, as far as I'm concerned they can enjoy themselves. I enjoy the occasional cigar, among other things :tongue:, and if my health deteriorates as a result I would except my actions as they are. The only ones I may be critical against are the critics themselves.


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## ShadoWolf

I don't really think either. I mean, smoking doesn't decrease your intelligence (that much) or make you look cool (unless you're in an older movie or you're a hot celebrity).


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## Luke

I'm a smoker and I can say that many people look down on me for doing it. I don't agree with this judgemental attitude, but that's the way it is.


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## Persephone

I don't know that "smoking" has to do with having good intellect, or passion for knowledge. It does speak of a lack of good judgment to me, which is unrelated. And the poll options are warped. My view of the person does not consist solely of whether they are smart.


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## Paradox1987

Being a smoker doesn't affect me. I'm a smoker (I tried to quit, and it failed ), and I don't feel any dumber in the morning. I agree it's not good for my health, but realistically, life in general is pretty bad for your health. I mean I'm yet to meet someone who came out of life alive and in the peak of health...

I admit, the smell isn't so hot, but e-cigarettes get rid of that little problem too.


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## Pralix

It doesn't affect my view at all, although I could tell it did sometimes affect others' views when I smoked.

Tossed out my last pack two months ago after 30 years of it and have no plans or desire to return to it. I didn't make the decision because smoking landed me in the hospital (yet), I just got sick of it; the habit, the stink, the cost. Thankfully, I haven't suffered any of those scary side-effects from the prescription (that my doctor couldn't write fast enough) so I have that aid. The patches and gum never worked for me and not for lack of trying. The pills are pricey, but with my insurance, a month's worth worked out to about what I'd drop on cigarettes anyway and I'm on my last batch so I'll start seeing those savings soon.

It's still kind of tough, but getting easier. It's worth it.


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## Extraverted Delusion

I find it somewhat pathetic that they are actually addicted to a substance and their mood is so reliant on the consumption of such. Smokers generally tend to not be adept at dealing with stress either, and can become quickly irritated and dismissive.

To those who don't believe that smoking is more times than not indicative of the above, you must be smoking something else.


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## friendly80sfan

I don't smoke because I think it's unhealthy and wouldn't benefit me, but I wouldn't judge someone based on if they smoke or not. I think that everyone deserves a chance to prove who they are before I judge them based on one thing.


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## silhouesque

People who smoke seem neither cooler nor dumber to me. They just seem more troubled. And - this is just my own very subjective and irrational reaction - they also come across as being _*meaner*_ (as in, less friendly), for some reason.


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## .17485

Smoking does not affect my view of a person at all.


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## Azure_Sky

Smoking doesn't make a person look cool or dumb. Smoking is just smoking to me. Granted it can be off-putting to me (I get sinus headaches from the smoke), but it doesn't make people look dumb.


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## Lycrester

Neither. I will say _cooler_ in terms of photography and movies but the reality of smoking is not so glamorous. _Dumber_ is too insulting of a word for me. I like *risky* better.


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## WhiteTulips

Unfortunately, cool and dumb often go hand-in-hand.


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## Nowhere Man

Cooler.


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## gammagon

I look at it as their choice and I shouldn't judge how smart or cool they seem on it :mellow: I smoke and I love it so I guess my opinion is biased. But I wouldn't consider myself either dumb or cool, lol.


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## MonieJ

Reminds me of an ad quote "There are cooler ways to die."

Makes them neither cool or dumb to me just extremely hm pitiful,I mean they are murdering their lungs.

I don't understand how people can smoke em anyhow(I get bad headaches just from cigarette smoke).


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## CrystallineSheep

I see no correlation between intelligence or social status and smoking. It doesn't bother me one bit if you smoke or not. However, I do worry when some of my family members do as I worry about their health. Other than that your choices, your life.


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## unINFalliPle

If I care about them, it makes them seem dumber.


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## MissJordan

Smoking makes people look trashier.
However holding a drink makes people look stupider (in the same respect that glasses make people look intelligent).

But since I'm a fairly well dressed, well educated white male from an upper-middle class family, I can stand a deduction to my classiness in favour of a cigarette.


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## JoanCrawford

MissJordan said:


> Smoking makes people look trashier.











It does?


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## MissJordan

JoanCrawford said:


> It does?


Firstly, cigarette holders are an object of upper class, generally made of expensive materials as a result. Furthermore they're _not at all_ used in modern society (which strangely enough is what I was talking about, unless you consider loinclothes to be classy because at some stage long ago they were), and anyone who would use them would pretty much get stared at in confusion.

Secondly, you seemed to have confused "smoking is trashy" with "smoking is trashier". If you were to remove the cigarette from that picture, the lady would already be so classy that the lack of class her smoking does is negligible.

Thirdly, during that time period, smoking was socially acceptable and not primarily done by bogans and idiots and the like.

Lastly, don't argue with an INTJ if you can't stand up to pedanticism.


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## Acey

people who have been smoking for a long time generally smoke because they are addicted to it. Non-smokers think people smoke to be cool. I'm a smoker and when I see a fellow smoker I think to myself "damn you got screwed too huh?" Coolness really isn't a factor, but non-smokers wouldn't understand that.


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## JoanCrawford

MissJordan said:


> Firstly, cigarette holders are an object of upper class, generally made of expensive materials as a result. Furthermore they're _not at all_ used in modern society (which strangely enough is what I was talking about, unless you consider loinclothes to be classy because at some stage long ago they were), and anyone who would use them would pretty much get stared at in confusion.
> 
> Secondly, you seemed to have confused "smoking is trashy" with "smoking is trashier". If you were to remove the cigarette from that picture, the lady would already be so classy that the lack of class her smoking does is negligible.
> 
> Thirdly, during that time period, smoking was socially acceptable and not primarily done by bogans and idiots and the like.
> 
> Lastly, don't argue with an INTJ if you can't stand up to pedanticism.


WHOAH, okay calm down there, I was just poking fun. I think I forgot to take into account that INTJ's have a tendency to take things very literally. XD Well, on another note, I thought it looked pretty glamorous. Not that I smoke or ever will, but I think some people can pull it off in a tasteful manner. When you really think about it, though, isn't class something that we all perceive in different ways? ;-)


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## Leliel

It seemed cool when I was 15, but now it's just an addiction.


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## Fear Itself

I don't think judging someone based off of their smoking habits makes much sense. Well, at least I don't see them any differently. It's like asking us if people who wear glasses are nerds or hipsters. It doesn't make them a different type of person... Just a person who wears glasses or smokes.


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## heavydirtysoul

"Smoking does not affect my view of a person at all." :blushed:


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## KilljoyKoala

It doesn't effect my view.
I smoke because it relaxes me and makes me feel better. Yes, I know it's not healthy. 
All but one of my friends smoke. Me and my two smoker friends usually pass a cigarette around (puff-puff-pass) until it's gone. My other friend sits by the window. It's no big deal. We choose to smoke and my other friend doesn't.
Smoking is unhealthy. So are many perscription medications, the majority of food available, the ingredients in cosmetics, the pesticides we kill headlice, ants and fleas with... You get my point. There's always something unhealthy that someone is doing- cigarettes have been demonized to the fullest and it's been made publicly acceptable to hate them and the people who smoke them.


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## Hycocritical truth teller

unfortunately i had to give an honest answer. It makes them cooler in my eyes. Probably not very smart of me, but it makes an impact


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## iamrock281

I smoke but unless you are with me at the time its hard to tell. I take really good care of myself and am always clean and otherwise in excellent health. I smoke because I enjoy it but wierdly enough I don't like girls who smoke ... seems sexist of me but its pretty un lady like


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## Ruru

Smoking does not affect my view of a person at all. But I do dislike the smell of it.


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## CaptSwan

Personally, it's indifferent to me if a person smokes or not. How it is perceived, depends on the context: nowadays, smoking is seen as a nasty habit, and smokers are shunned because of it. Forty, fifty, sixty years ago? No man who called himself a man didn't smoke. All the big ones did, from illustrious figures of politics like Winston Churchill to million-dollar movie superstars like Steve McQueen; they all did it. However, the current stance of people to smoking is taken to ridiculous extremes: people are seen with contempt the very first second they try to light a cigarrette. "What about second-hand smoking?" you might ask. If you live in a densely populated urban area, the exhaust pipe fumes of automobiles can cause a more serious damage to you than a person lighting one in the bar. It's that person's prerrogative if they choose to smoke or not; after all, if we allow the death penalty and the politicians' rampant corruption; why shouldn't we allow people to grab a smoke?


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## Monsieur Melancholy

Can't stand it. What compels a person to take it up in the first place with so many overwhelming negatives outweighing the positives is beyond my understanding of reason.

I can't wrap my head around how the practice still manages to exist in such a health-conscious society.


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## Quork

Anyone can get addicted and addiction is like a disease so with that fact in mind, it doesn't affect my view of people in the end.


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## nashe

it doesn't affect the way I perceive an individual 
judging someone according to this sounds like judging someone accroding to their chocolate brand preferences- it doesn't tell you anything


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## B00Bz

People who make snap judgements about people based on one thing when they don't even know why that person does it and doesn't know that person very well are not worth my time.


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## Noble4

Some people look badass when they smoke. Then there's some people with cigarettes who look like they've bought their first pack today lolol


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## MissyThePsychoticKitten

I live in an area where people smoke just to look cool. I think they're an idiotic group.
However some people smoke just because which doesn't bother me. As long as they respect that others dont want to breathe in their smoke and don't make an ass of themselves then go ahead. If you don't bug me then I won't bug you.


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## Light_92

_... Dumber._


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## RainyAutumnTwilight

I'm not a smoker for health reasons, but I don't have a problem with people who smoke. I don't tend to change my opinion based on smoking. When Max Irons takes a drag of a cigarette, though, that boy is dead sexy.


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## PrimroseMind

It's not that they're cooler or dumber. It's just that they're less healthy is all.


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## knightingling

This is a bad stereotype, but I find smokers less smart.

I think they would have done better if they only found a more healthy and actually productive way to vent out their stress, you know? I haven't heard it from them directly, but usually, some people smoke to relieve stress. As an individual, if smoking is indeed a path to stress relief, I am well aware of the other ways to relieve stress. There are productive - and not to mention - not life-threatening way to let go of stress. The same can be said of alcoholics who tend to go overboard more than often.

If they're addicted, they can actually ask for some help or help themselves. There are actually ways to stop dangerous habits. There are concrete methods for this, not only mental preparation. Take behavior correction, for example. Punish yourself, reward yourself, distract yourself, etc.


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## Per Aspera Ad Astra

Double posting - could an admin / moderator please erase it?


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## Per Aspera Ad Astra

Smoking pipe is like a break in the day; time is then like suspended and I can think about things / problems while enjoying a nice smoke.

To me smoking is like driving a Porsche - I don't do because it is deemed to be cool but for the pleasure I get out of it. I think this is the fundamental difference in between the cigar / pipe & cigarette smokers: the latter "have", while the pipe smokers "want" to smoke.


Beside that...

“_*Pipe-smokers spend so much time cleaning, filling and fooling with their pipes, they don't have time to get into mischief*_” Bill Vaughn



PS: One very big advantages (to me the main one) of cigarette smoking is the rapidity with which you can integrate a group / start discussions.


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## dumastory

I wanna say that it doesn't affect me at all but that would be lying... but I'd say it is a really minor negative judgment towards the person smoking.
I should be more strong about this though because my mom is a respiratory therapist


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## ghostgirl

I literally couldn't care less about other people's life choices

x


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## Annwuzhere

In my opinion, smoking is a disgusting habit but I don't think people who smoke are necessarily dumb. For example, Einstein smoked. More likely they have an addictive personality and are just as likely to get addicted to, say, caffeine or the internet.


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## Jslozzy

You can't assume someone is dumb or smart based off the fact that they smoke. But, it's usually safe to assume that anyone who smokes either has an addictive personality or they're seeking to fill some sort of void in themselves


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## theredpanda

Neither- it's what they say and do that makes them seem smart/dumb.


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## letter_to_dana

I like seeing people smoking in pictures, I think its a very artistical gesture. But in reality, people who smoke too much smell very badly. But I don't think that affects my image on them if i'm not in the role of the girlfriend.
Anyway I think It depends on more factors. Why they smoke, how many on a daily basis, how they perceive other smokers etc.

Do guys like less a girl once they find out she smokes?


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## PowerShell

Annwuzhere said:


> In my opinion, smoking is a disgusting habit but I don't think people who smoke are necessarily dumb. For example, Einstein smoked. More likely they have an addictive personality and are just as likely to get addicted to, say, caffeine or the internet.


Einstein smoked, but were they aware of the risks back then as they are now? The whole being dumb for smoking is because the risks are obvious now. It's very clear that smoking causes adverse health affects and they even have it written on the box. If you choose to ignore those kind of risks, you are being dumb. It's like not wearing a seatbelt or having unprotected sex with strangers.


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## eydimork

PowerShell said:


> It's very clear that smoking causes adverse health affects and they even have it written on the box. If you choose to ignore those kind of risks, you are being dumb.


Do you have any constructive abilities that you could apply in the field of psychology?


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## Draco Solaris

I don't really have a problem with smoking unless a person constantly smells like tobacco. I don't find it more or less attractive on anyone, though it does lower my opinion very slightly. I enjoy smoking socially on rare occasion, mainly cigars, or if I'm drunk a cigarette. It makes me feel like a dragon.


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## Devrim

If I'm being perfectly honest,
Dumber,
You've had all the warnings in life as to what it does to you,
And yet here you are,
Doing it.


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## Choice

Well in real life it makes me want to instantly avoid them while they're smoking because it messes with my nose allergy.

If they're doing tricks like smoke loops from where I can't smell them at all, then it's cool.

Depending on lighting or cinematography it may make them more dramatic/photogenic.

Just get away from me while you're doing it in real life, thanks.


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## ivanova

I smoked and I quit, I smoke because I want some inspiration I think so, and for the social intercourse!


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## somnuvore

My brother now smokes vapors, for some reason. Apparently they're healthier versions of cigarettes.

I still don't know what they're good for. I don't really have any strong opinion towards smoking however; I generally view it as an unfortunate addiction, or as a curse that the individual must suffer through.


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## Mercutio

I understand some people are into smoking because of unfortunate circumstances and they regret it, blah blah... But ultimately, putting a white stick between your lips that slowly sucks the life from you like some sort of dementor isn't cool.


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## Uralian Hamster

After spending the last day at the ICU I will happily change my stance on this from 'neutral' to 'full on retarded'. Retarded in the worst way.


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## flashbangideals

Judging someone for smoking is like judging them for their tattoos. You don't know the why, or if they regret it, but some people will always be there to exclaim "You'll regret it when you're older!"


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## Brian1

I feel bad for my next door neighbor. She smokes a lot, and when its winter and it's snowing out, or its raining, she has to endure the weather,because, she made a poor choice early on in her life. I chose soda ,and while that's not good, I don't have to go outside to enjoy my addiction.


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## PowerShell

flashbangideals said:


> Judging someone for smoking is like judging them for their tattoos. You don't know the why, or if they regret it, but some people will always be there to exclaim "You'll regret it when you're older!"


Yeah but tattoos don't cause damage on the inside that will basically slowly rot you away. Also, tattoos don't create a secondhand effect and stink up the surrounding air.


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## shameless

looseal said:


> Smoking only looks cool because Madison Ave execs say so. Lots of money to be made in advertisement.
> I am a non-smoker. I remember the day my friends started smoking. One lady saw a good looking guy and decided to ask him for a cigarette as a way to initiate a conversation. He gladly gave her one and then offered to light it. My friend had to say she didn't smoke and felt like a fool. LOL So my friends decided they had to start smoking as a way to talk to boys. They chipped in and bought a pack then proceeded to cough their brains out. Idiots!


Yeah that was somewhere along the lines of how I started smoking. And thats just it...Its a dumb thing to start.

Once your already further into the trap of it tho, it really just an addiction, not about looking cool or not further in.

I think one has to be an idiot to deliberately start. (SO there fore I was an idiot, now I am an addict)

I wonder why my mom bought me all my cigarettes. 

Anyways honestly I smoke and I feel bad doing it in front of a kid, because I happen to come off as likable to them and "cool" to them (not for smoking just in general) so I hate to glamorize a health hazard with my persona mixed with a cigarette.


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## Gruvian

I don't care if you smoke or not, that isn't linked with smartness in my opinion. 

The only thing that bugs me aren't the people who smoke, but the people who have double standards for smoking. :dry:


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## Watercolourful

If a person is under thirty and they smoke, it makes them seem dumber to me.


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## flashbangideals

I know what you mean, but you'd be surprised how similarly smokers and inked people are treated. Some people, especially where smoking is concerned, see them as unattractive and stupid, leading unhealthy lifestyles. Smoking is said to make people look worse when old, and tattoos are wrinkled and faded in old age.

There are health risks with tattooing, as well. Obviously. It's putting a needle into your skin. All things which come in contact with the area should be sterilized until the tattoo heals. Not all tattoo parlors are regulated by the government, and the FDA does not approve or regulate of the pigments and inks used in tattooing. Ultimately, it's your responsibility to find a competent, licensed artist. If you don't take good care of your tattoo, or if infection sets in... ho boy.

People with tattoos may also have trouble finding a job. Jobs where one is in constant contact with people are not recommended for those with visible tattoos because customers may be _offended by them_. Furthermore, a hiring manager may see tattoos as an indicator of deviant behavior.

This is similar to how smokers are treated. Offensive, unhealthy, stupid, etc. Smoking has been proven to increase your chances of health problems. But so has ethanol. (Beer, other alcoholic beverages.) And caffeine. (Soda, energy drinks, coffee.) And nicotine. (Also coffee.) And trans fats. (Fast food, cookies, pancakes, etc.) And sodium. (Energy drinks, pretzels, pizza.) I could go on.

And if you think that smoking is still bad because of second- and third-hand smoking, keep that in mind next time you drive a car. The air pollution a vehicle contributes to your environment is worse than mainstream or side-stream smoke.

Yes, smoking is unhealthy. But so are a lot of things. Point being, before you judge someone's intelligence based on their unhealthy habits, take a look at your own. Some of the smartest people I know, who are long-time smokers or tattooed, face all sorts of ignorant judgments. And yes, I'm proud of both my parents for giving up smoking, but they still cling to other habits that harm their health.


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## IchBinZetsubou

I voted for "smoking does not affect my view of a person", but thinking deeper about it, smoking makes females more attractive and males more old-fashioned (which is a good thing to me).


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## moltobene

IchBinZetsubou said:


> [...]smoking makes females more attractive and males more old-fashioned (which is a good thing to me).


Nope, that is your own projection.

I for one find smoking repulsive and I have lost count of how many women were interested in me and I frustatingly let go on the basis of their smoking habits. I am like, why? why her too? 

It is not the health hazard to me and others, its the smell in your breath, the taste when kissing you, the invasive awful smoke getting into bystander throats -- specially if they happen to be breathing through their mouths at the time--, the yellow fingers and skin, the stench on your clothes and now mine, the disgusting taste of your skin if I kiss or lick your neck, the... I will stop here.

But face to face I will probably say nothing other than not now please.

And please, please, please, if you are a smoker do not try to get clever by blowing smoke into the other person's mouth while kissing as if it were a turn on. You are not being creative or sensual.



I will agree with others that is not related to intelligence, but the habit itself is disgusting for many. It is sad that it is often acquired to fit in, project a fake image, not be an outcast or to break the ice, but it is not necessarily a sign of lesser intelligence.


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## Leeoflittlefaith

I instantly lose respect for someone if they smoke.

Let me put it this way: If all my smoking friends and all my non-smoking friends asked me, "What do you think is bad about me?" I would answer all my non-smoking friends with, "Nothing important" and all my smoking friends with, "You smoke."


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## Zayel

Depends on the person who smokes. There are some smokers, who look pretty nifty.


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## School

I don't think it makes you look smarter, dumber, cooler or less cool. I think it's the attitude towards smoking. This goes for non-smokers too. If you're all against it and you think everyone who smokes are stupid, then you're most likely pretty closed-minded, which for me is a negative thing. If you think everybody should smoke and you can't understand why someone won't smoke, then it's the same.


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## Carpathian Lion

It depends Exactly on what a person smokes.
If that person is smoking fast-food cigarette, for sure he/she is dumb. How could you accept all the dameging soubstances put in that? Soubstances that are even worse than nicotin and gudron.
If that person smokes madeble cigarettes, or pipe, or cigar, for sure he/she is smarter than the person described above, not necesarely a lot of smartness.
If a person doesn't smoke, it means that has a lot of self-control, or has worse behaviors.


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## PowerShell

Carpathian Lion said:


> If a person doesn't smoke, it means that has a lot of self-control, or has worse behaviors.


Why would that be? I could see people have quit or are trying to quit but if you never got hooked, how would you be exhibiting self-control? Maybe with peer pressure but nowadays a ton of people don't smoke. When I go into a gas station or somewhere else, I'm not even paying attention to the cigarettes so I'm not exercising any self-control there.


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## Autumn_Fairy

I couldn't answer the poll because none of the answers are quite right for me. 

There are some specific lifestyles that, when paired with smoking, it comes across as "cool," but there are also many people who appear more trashy or bum-like when they smoke. Smoking by itself doesn't produce the image, its part of the package deal to me. 

For my part, I can't stand to be around cigarette smoke. It gives me a headache, gets into my hair and clothing, etc. It is especially obnoxious at goth clubs if Im wearing something that's dry-clean only. Of course, I try to reason that my outfit going to end up smelling like that anyway, weather I wash it again or not, so oh well. 

Ive known plenty of intellectual people who smoke, so I don't think of smokers as "dumber." I just think of them as obnoxious. I realize everyone makes some poor health choices, and we are all free to do so, but I sometimes have a hard time accepting a choice that affects others besides oneself. If a smoker is courteous enough to not smoke around other (non-smoking) people, esp. outside doorways to businesses, then I don't care if they want to smoke and I don't necessarily think less of them for it.


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## Moonpie

For me it depends on how well I know the person and how much this person smokes. It also depends on whether or not the person has any other unhealthy habits accompanying it. My dad make smoke a cigarette or two every few months; I'm okay with that. My mom's previous car and her nursing uniform would stink of cigarettes (though the uniform was mostly due to the environment she has been working in; she is a nurse who goes to a person's house during the day to take care of them, and the patient's father is a heavy smoker). I don't think that it makes a person look "less intelligent," but I worry for people's health when they smoke. It took four hours to get through a game of Phase 10 with my aunt and cousin because my aunt would go outside to smoke every few minutes and would take her beer out with her. She spent more time taking those unhealthy breaks than she did playing the game.


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## Carpathian Lion

PowerShell said:


> Why would that be? I could see people have quit or are trying to quit but if you never got hooked, how would you be exhibiting self-control? Maybe with peer pressure but nowadays a ton of people don't smoke. When I go into a gas station or somewhere else, I'm not even paying attention to the cigarettes so I'm not exercising any self-control there.


I'm not talking about minor self-control. I'm talking about the enough self-control for not falling in the temptation.


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## Nowhere Man

If it's someone who I already think is cool and smart, it will just accentuate their badassery. If it's someone who I already think is dumb, it will just accentuate their dumbness.


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## PowerShell

Carpathian Lion said:


> I'm not talking about minor self-control. I'm talking about the enough self-control for not falling in the temptation.


Besides peer pressure, what temptation is there? If you don't smoke, it kind of smells bad and would taste bad the first few times doing it. You'd cough and gag. Not sure how many people are resisting that urge. Usually people start due to peer pressure and smoking being the norm and then ignore the initial suckyness of coughing and gagging to eventually build a tolerance and then become addicted.


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## Blindspots

Cool vs dumb, that's a rather high school cliche way of judging people. Neither of those. And I can't say completely honestly that I don't judge them. I think, so that's how they've chosen to deal with stress instead of drinking, yoga, beating up other people, walking in nature, etc.; it's a pity they've chosen something that puts them at higher risk of lung carcinoma.


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## 0+n*1

When I saw this thread I thought about this video





About the OP, it doesn't affect me in the way I see them.


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## Eikudu

I don't mind people's personal lifestyle choices as long as it's not imposing in a negative way on someone that's not doing it. Unfortunately, smoking happens to be one of these individual choices that can immediately impose negatively on others in close proximity who don't do it (unlike drinking when you're not driving). Many (but not all) smokers I've met happen to be people that couldn't care less if it causes non-smokers headaches or smoke-clogged clothes unnecessarily, and expects everyone that doesn't like it to get out of the way (even when it can't be avoided) instead of being the one to get out of the way. 

If they want to smoke in their own privacy (such as in their homes), that's fine. But if guests have no choice but to visit (my wife wants me to be there with her when visiting her mom, who smokes inside the house), maybe smokers should respect others as well. I'd prefer to avoid going altogether to respect her mom's preference to smoke in her own home, since I'm very sensitive with smells and that needs to be respected too. But her mom will also take offense if I decide not to visit just because of her smoking, so that leaves me between a rock and a hard place. I do not want to control her mom, but at the same time I must respect myself via the fact that I get headaches easily from being exposed to smoke - but her mom will never understand this. Her mom even mocks my sense of smell... btw, the senses are there to PROTECT you. That's how nature intended it to be.

I will say that smoking does make many (but not all) smokers seem dumber as in:

- unwise in general
- being the one to make it others' business by exposing them to it, then getting upset if someone mentions something
- less perceptive or caring of how their actions affect others (such as parents that smoke w/ windows closed while driving with children)
- not understanding how smoking can destroy the sense of smell itself (in above example, parents are destroying their children's sense of smell)
- polluting the environment and littering cigarettes everywhere
- rationalizing their behavior via denying that smoking is unhealthy (there are a few that do this)
- not realizing there are far more cons than pros to smoking

So... VOTE = They seem less smart


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## BlueShift

In thought or movies smoking looks cool. In reality even after a short while you can really see how disgusting it is watching a person break down their own body for any invalid reason possible. Paying for poison might seem nice in a brutish way, but it's fucking dumb as hell.

You have a limited time to be alive and with that limited health. When you're old as fuck it won't matter asmuch enjoy your ass of that poison. But ruining yourself when there's so much you could gain from refusing. I feel as though I don't have to say any more good luck.


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## kimpossible119

I find it to be a ridiculous habit. Ingesting noxious fumes of your own free will does not seem like the smartest thing to do. Why would you even want to begin a gross habit like that in the first place?


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## Carpathian Lion

PowerShell said:


> Besides peer pressure, what temptation is there? If you don't smoke, it kind of smells bad and would taste bad the first few times doing it. You'd cough and gag. Not sure how many people are resisting that urge. Usually people start due to peer pressure and smoking being the norm and then ignore the initial suckyness of coughing and gagging to eventually build a tolerance and then become addicted.


Aside the addicting, there is also the social temptation. You can start smoking Because of stress, or the need of gaining some self confidence. People find confidence in vicious choices on the premise that nothing can be perfect, and consider that any thing have ups and downs. That's why I said that people who don't smoke have other problems in life.

I'm sorry if I don't seem clear. Those days I am feeling and thinking strange, ambigous.


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## Nyctophilia

While I have nothing agianst smokers, I do for the people who refer to them as stupid. Of course they're paying money for something that damages their bodies, I'm glad that you understand the very core basics. The thing is almost everyone was a stupid and easily influenced kid at one point, had an experimental stage on their life, or has been so stressed and upset that they needed something, *anything*, to help them get through it. Do some of you people actually believe that smokers continue to smoke away simply because they're idiots who want to destroy their bodies? Are you that naive?

Smoking is considered one of the hardest things to quit for a reason. The ones judging smokers as stupid without understanding the individual's circumstances first are more disgusting than any effects smoking could have on a body.


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## Grandmaster Yoda

The only thing I get around it as being cool is really not that's it's an attractive thing. It is that the person doing it is disregarding authority so that's what makes it popular or well received in certain circles. But really everyone likes marijuana now much more.


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## ISTPersonality

We all know the health risks, makes them look cooler, like "I do what I want" regardless of consequences.


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## 66767

It depends on that person's circumstances and how he/she acquired his/her initial cigarette in the first place. If you smoke solely to appear cool, then smoking makes you seem dumber. However, if you stumbled upon smoking, and it became a coping mechanism for stress, for example, then I can't really judge you more than I judge myself for my own addictions. It is what it is.


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## Sybyll

Can't actually be bothered to trudge through 25 pages of posts, so if I'm just repeating stuff, sorry about that.



enscorcelled97 said:


> It depends on that person's circumstances and how he/she acquired his/her initial cigarette in the first place. *If you smoke solely to appear cool, then smoking makes you seem dumber.* However, if you stumbled upon smoking, and it became a coping mechanism for stress, for example, then I can't really judge you more than I judge myself for my own addictions. It is what it is.


Well, yeah, if you _know _the person (which you would more or less have to, to know their reasoning), then you can judge based on that, and I agree with you. 

But if I met the person and found out they were a smoker? It certainly wouldn't make my estimation of their intelligence go _up_. Whether or not smoking is intelligent or not is another question, but it does make people _seem _dumber, because it's so unhealthy and you do pay a lot of money for it etc etc. Especially students who smoke I'm like ??? because if I did that I would never have any money for anything but necessities.


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## Orange Fusion

I think it depends why a person is 'smoking'. If they are smoking because they decided to throw themselves on a fire, then I'd say they were stupid, and far from 'cool'.


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## Gossip Goat

School said:


> I don't think it makes you look smarter, dumber, cooler or less cool. I think it's the attitude towards smoking. This goes for non-smokers too. If you're all against it and you think everyone who smokes are stupid, then you're most likely pretty closed-minded, which for me is a negative thing. If you think everybody should smoke and you can't understand why someone won't smoke, then it's the same.


exactly what I was thinking


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## Sybyll

mushr00m said:


> If smoking makes people look dumb, then what does that make Einstein?


a really smart man who looked kinda dumb.

Edit: argh tapatalk why don't you take me to the end of the thread :frustrated:


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## xivi_xxii

I definitely don't think smoking makes you look cooler, and I do think it's kind of stupid but if it's someone who's been smoking for a while I know it's hard to quit so it doesn't really affect my view of them that much.


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## blood roots

I think it makes them seem like they can afford to buy a pack or they know how to mooch, bad/don't care/good for them.


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## Lexicon Devil

Dumb unless it's a female and she smokes with her feet. :tongue:

And there is that scene in the first Emmanuelle film. :shocked:


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## GothPrincess

Hmm... I really like the aesthetic of smoking but it almost always lowers my opinion of someone.


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## lolalalah

Foolish as hell.


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## Glenda Gnome Starr

Mostly just stinky.


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## Glenda Gnome Starr

It actually looks good but why does it have to smell so bad???



GothPrincess said:


> Hmm... I really like the aesthetic of smoking but it almost always lowers my opinion of someone.


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## titanII

Some people can really smoke a cig and make it look cool. I don't smoke but I sure as hell support your right to do what the heckever you want to do. So yeah...I've seen some "cool" smokers.


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## November Rose

*Dumb to me, because I worked in a rest home, and saw people dying of lung cancer. While not everyone who has lung cancer smoked, we know it increases your likely hood of getting it. Trust me, not worth it. Watching someone arch off the bed to get a breath as the end nears will convince you it's NOT worth it!*


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## tangosthenes

serious turn-off


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## OrangeCounty

Smoking makes a person seem grosser.


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## Mange

GothPrincess said:


> Hmm... I really like the aesthetic of smoking but it almost always lowers my opinion of someone.


same


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## Daiz

I don't think I see smokers as dumber but I do lose some respect for them if they're younger. We grew up knowing exactly how dangerous and addictive smoking is so it astounds me that people my age still start.


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## lavendersnow

I find it very unattractive - but one can do what they like.


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## pwowq

Dumber.


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## Siri

It makes a person look dumb if the people nearby feel uncomfortable, otherwise a person can do whatever they want with their life.


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## Jakuri

Definitely not cooler, less attractive. But dumber? I don't think so.


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## JayShambles

This is only my opinion, but the whole cool or dumb perception of a person smoking is something I grew out of once I realised people in my age group and older smoke mostly because they're addicted. 

Maybe they began smoking to be 'cool' which of course is 'dumb', but addiction is still addiction regardless of the childish labels 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Notus Asphodelus

It doesn't make the smoker anything to the outside world. Only a smoker would know how he/she feels after buying a pack of cigarettes. I, for one, do not choose to smoke because I don't want to poison myself. No offence to smokers, but that is just how I feel about my body. In the end, it's one's intrinsic values that matters. What makes a person cool or dumb is subjective. Every habit has a reason attached to it. To be objective is to be reasonable and society attaches too much emphasise on reasons to denote if one is cool or dumb, but what makes a person cool or dumb depends on circumstances of which the person is involved in. It's the circumstances and not the reason that makes the person does what he does. It's a turning point where one chooses the lesser of several evils. Perhaps it's the right choice.


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## QueenBella

Neither? The only thing I can confirm from a smoker is that they're probably living a stressful life if anything. Does it make someone seem cooler? Not even a bit. Does it make them seem stupid? I don't associate intelligence with smoking/addictions.


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## Whatevs

Angelus said:


> How do you view smokers? Does smoking make them seem cooler or just less intellectual because of the unhealthy habit?


A few things on this...

1) Being cool and being less intelligent (or appearing so) generally go hand in hand! :laughing:
2) Being an "intellectual" doesn't make you intelligent. Often, the two are completely at odds! :laughing:
3) It seems the hipsters are making a smoking revival. 

With that said, yes, smoking definitely makes you seem cooler. It is often also a very social activity, so it not only makes you SEEM cooler it also MAKES you cooler by allowing/forcing you to socially engage with other people more often. At the same time though it is a major weakness and a huge expense. Hence why I quit smoking a few years ago!


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## WamphyriThrall

I suppose it could make someone seem more mature, or cool. It's not something you typically see children doing, and is somewhat of an "acquired taste". There's an art to cigar and pipe smoking, but I can't say the same of plain old cigarettes. 

Intelligence? I don't see the connection. All sorts of people smoke, and while some might say its unwise or dangerous, I'm sure the critics themselves aren't 100% healthy in their life choices.


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## GoodOldDreamer

I've never understood how cancer sticks could be seen as attractive, but maybe that's just me.


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## Cthulhu And Coffee

I don't understand why someone would want to smoke, but because I figure that's their business, I said neither.


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## Asmodaeus

IMHO, burning your health and your money doesn’t make you smarter in any way, shape or form.


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## Librarylady

Dumber in my opinion. Don't really pass total judgment on them, but I don't find it logical to smoke, really. It doesn't have any benefits and many people don't want to be around the smell.


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## Handsome Dyke

Insufficient poll options.


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## felina

Dumber. But people make dumb decisions with their health all the time. Some people eat junk food/drink soda, some people don't exercise, some people drink too much, and some people smoke! 

I'm not going to judge smokers extra harshly because of their unwise choices. (Except maybe if they are smoking around others, forcing them to breathe secondhand smoke)


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## OHtheNovelty

I never once thought that smokers seemed dumb. 

In the movies and photos, both male and females look super cool and badass. But in real life, females more than males, seem to look desperate. Like, they had this air of desperation and franticness around them as they get their cigarettes and lighter out. The minute they got that nicotine their lungs, however, they seemed to calm down immediately, and I felt bad for them because this is the only way for them to relax. I'm pretty sure they know what smoking can do to them. I just think that many smokers are at the point that they don't care anymore.


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## zerouva

I am a smoker myself, but I don't think of other people that smoke less or more. I started because of my depression and it just stuck with me. I'm not one to judge.


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## Mone

I quit smoking about a half year ago which feels like I have been on both sides. I don't judge person based on their habits but reffering to my mother and my own experience smokers seems as if they miss something in their life to me.


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## Introvertia

Neither. Instead I think _repulsive_. I don't think that about the person itself, but the smell.


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