If I had my way it would be banned entirely. Sure, you can't do it in public buildings or workplaces now but that just sends them outside, and outside is the nice place. Why are we letting those people befoul the nice place? Ban it outright is what I say.
And yet it's often photogenic too. It can make the difference between an okay shot and a slightly-better-than-okay shot. It adds interest; the revolting is often the most interesting after all.
So I watched him, one of them, one of those people, and I waited. He looked guilty as he reached into his pocket and took out a packet. He unwrapped it and discarded the clear polythene into his bag; he'd dispose of it properly later. Shielding it all with his hands – shielding it from the wind or from the gaze of onlookers who might not approve? Who can say? – he took in a mouthful and some painful pleasure flashed all too briefly across his face.
I grimaced but snapped a shot anyway. Vile, vile, vile. I just don't see the attraction in it. Sucking the brains from fieldmice through a straw is such a filthy, filthy habit.
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June 7, 2013
Interesting perspective shared, both visually and verbally.
June 7, 2013
Nice candid shot +Mark Hooper
June 7, 2013
As a former smoker I understand the attraction: nicotine is extremely addictive and it does provide a good feeling when consumed. Add to that that no cigarette is pure tobacco, but it has been laced with many perfumes and aromas, and the slight buzz you get from oxygen deprivation by inhaling carbon monoxide… smoking
iswas pleasurable.And that's precisely why tobacco is evil: you trade years of your life for minutes of artificial pleasures.
BTW, he is likely shielding the flame from the wind, but your suggestion that he may be feeling guilty for smoking may be true. It has become quite the stigma.
I don't mind that too much, the change in perception of smoking from socially accepted to socially rejected is one of many reasons that helped me stop smoking.
June 7, 2013
Won't somebody think of the fieldmice?!
June 7, 2013
So you're posting his photo on-line with a shaming rant without his knowledge or release? Yeah, way to keep the moral high ground.
June 7, 2013
lmao! I love your sense of humor! Great shot!
June 8, 2013
Well done +Mark Hooper – and another excellent example of your wry humor!
June 8, 2013
Badger brains, that's the answer..
June 22, 2013
I always get a chuckle, often at the end of your stories. 🙂 Thank you for the stories, Mark.