It can be easy to succumb to tobacco lust in Europe. You make a deal with yourself along the lines of “I’m here two or three weeks, time out from real life, what the hell, do what the Romans do.” Smoking is considered heinous and unthinkable in this country, to the point that when people like Salma Hayek are photographed smoking it’s considered a bust.
But even here I’ve had moments of weakness. God forgive me. When you’re feeling alone and besieged and under heavy pressure, cigarettes are in your corner, on your side, providers of solace. Revolting concept, but there it is. Smoking, it seems, is generally for self-destructive lower middle-class and underclass types, and for successful under-35 actors of both genders.
