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The Semiotics of Smoke
Now you see it, now you don’t. James gets cleaned up to go to market.
In the process of hunting up illustrations for a post about the meanings of smoking I ran across an astonishing example of how a habit, and everything it represents, is systematically being erased not just from daily life — but from history. The photo on the left of Dean perched against the wall of the Dakota in New York is a copy of the original picture taken by Roy Shatt in 1954. The one on the right is the version being licensed by CMG International, the company that now owns the rights to James Dean’s image. Notice anything missing? His cigarette has been Photoshopped out of the licensed version — I assume to make his image more marketable to advertisers that would use it in a world where smoking has become a social disease. The manipulation of dead celebrities’ identities has been going on for awhile, but the irony of sanitizing the original bad boy iconoclast hero — literally pulling the cigarette from his lips forever — is particularly galling.
I’m thinking about smoke. It’s what one does while quitting. And what I’m thinking is that I miss it. Not the smoke itself, of course. The smoke itself is no more enjoyable now than it was the first time I choked on a lung full at the age of eight (don’t worry, I didn’t start smoking that young. I had asked my mother if I could take a drag on her cigarette and she — wisely — said, “Sure.” I did, almost vomited, and didn’t touch another cigarette for almost 20 years…). It’s enjoyable in the same way that the burning poisonous taste of liquor is enjoyable, which is to say: not much. No one really enjoys the medium of illicit or dangerous substances. It’s about the effects, of course, but also something more.
What the public health scolds don’t get — won’t get — is that there’s more to smoking than a simple matter of addiction. In their zeal to vilify the habit they concentrate on the addictive aspects, knowing that in a country of latter-day Calvinists the thought of dependence itself is vile. As zealots would, they elide the subtle meanings that have grown up around the act of smoking that are as compelling as the stimulant effects, and far more subtle.
The Time Out
In lives that are progressively more scheduled and frantic, the time it takes to smoke a cigarette is a socially accepted (if not approved) break from expectation. A respite from doing and a chance to (re)collect your thoughts and, in a way, yourself. I once heard cigarettes described as “the exclamation points in life” and, like those grammatical signals, they tend to punctuate events: you come out of a movie and fire one up; finish making love and reach for the pack; come out of a grueling meeting and head for the elevator. What you are really doing when marking these events is taking time to think about them and what they mean. And without a cigarette in your hand you’d just look like a dope standing up against a wall and starting off into the middle distance.
The Gesture
New smokers don’t really know what to do with their cigarette between drags, so they tend to hold the butt pinched between stiff fingers like a bean gripped in the tines of a fork. The smoke they exhale is unfocused, blurry. But for experienced smokers — like Laura Prepon pictured here — a cigarette and the hand that holds it is a physical extension of their personality and mood, the smoke blown from their lips a superheated jet that can be targeted with amazing accuracy to reinforce a statement (check out any Bette Davis movie for examples — she wrote the book). Note how Prepon holds her cigarette prominently cocked to the side, her raised hand a reflection of an arched eyebrow, her thumb keeping the rhythm of her obvious impatience as it worries the nail on her ring finger. Manual eloquence.
The Read
These days, soldiers are probably the only people who don’t get scolded for smoking. The face of James Blake Miller, his gaze a million miles away and grimy sweat offset by the dangling white cigarette brought home the gravity of what Iraq does to our soldiers in a powerful way. Not long ago I was watching The Best Years of Our Lives, the classic 1946 movie that described the homecoming challenges of WW2 vets. Every man in the movie smokes. Constantly. Smoking was identical with maturity — especially the maturity of men who have faced death and, literally, soldiered on. One of the main characters is a double amputee and one of the ways he represents his independence and manhood is by being able to use the hooks that stand in for his hands to light his own cigarette. It’s not that men of that generation were any more oblivious to the health impacts of cigarettes (and booze) than this generation is — but perhaps they didn’t think as much about the future and consequences because their immediate challenges were so great.
One can’t argue with the facts about smoking, of course. And, for most of us, life’s challenges do not approach the urgency of soldiers in wartime. There is no excuse for indulging a dangerous and dirty habit. And so I’ll quit it. But some part of me — maybe the most grown up part — will miss it.
Posted in Blather 04/23/07 | 
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I understand that societies’ sensibilities change over the time (often for the better), but really don’t like the digital altering of history. It’s better if James Dean did smoke, and we had conversations to the effect of “they didn’t know this/that then, and we know more now so we don’t smoke”…
Comment by SR — April 23, 2007 @ 5:43 pm
I am a smoker and find it interesting to be a young person still with the habit in this day and age. I kind of feel like more of a rebel than ever, to be honest
Comment by allsux — April 24, 2007 @ 8:51 pm
allsux, rebellion has a lot to do with the attraction and the anti-smoking jihad just plays into it. If they really wanted to turn kids against butts, they’d legally force Philip Morris to hire Rosie O’Donnell as their celebrity spokes(whatever)…
Comment by Sprague Dawley — April 24, 2007 @ 9:46 pm
If a part of history is “not suitable” don’t gloss over it and rewrite it just becasue ou wish it were different. That’s a bit like prgressivly suggesting the WWII was the Wig Wam International Ice festival just because it’s a nicer picture.
Comment by Lord Matt — April 25, 2007 @ 5:31 am
…and yes I do think you have a point in the second half of your post (my last comment could have done with a little more… something).
Comment by Lord Matt — April 25, 2007 @ 5:35 am
What a fabulous and well written article!!
I wish smoking wasn’t bad for one’s health.
I do miss it, for all the delicious reasons you outlined above.
Alas…
*wringing of hands and nibbling of nails*
I will have another glass of red wine instead!
Comment by the domestic minx — May 4, 2007 @ 5:01 am
Minx,
I hear ya’. If some genius could invent a healthy cigarette “fortified with B vitamins and minerals”, I’d link arms with you at the head of the line.
SD
Comment by Sprague — May 4, 2007 @ 7:24 am
i like your writing style and thought progression on this. i smoke very occasionally and completely appreciate the different reasons/mannerisms you outline. keep it coming!
Comment by brian — May 15, 2007 @ 11:59 am
Thanks for the encouraging words, Brian!
Comment by SD — May 15, 2007 @ 7:35 pm
I see both sides of this. For one, as a James Dean fan, it is rather sacreligious to change the history of the actor.
But on the other side, as a former smoker, I do remember that any visual indication of smoking made it harder to quit. I remember when I was quitting, watching a documentary on how bad smoking was, and even that made me want to smoke. Which was totally not the point of the documentary. But just the visual of a cigarette triggered the craving.
Comment by Webomatica — May 21, 2007 @ 9:13 am
Jason,
It’s a pain to quit for sure. My main trigger is… writing. Before I smoked I’d chew my nails down to the quick while I was trying to work something out. Smoking was less painful. Not anymore.
Comment by SD — May 21, 2007 @ 8:35 pm
You can still enjoy smoking without the negative side effects of the normal cigarette by using the RUYAN e-cigarette. You won’t inhale the cancerogenic substances and you won’t harm the people around you. Actually you can smoke it freely in public places, bars, restaurants, libraries, wherever you want! Watch it in action here http://youtube.com/Ruyanstore or take a look here http://ruyanstore.ecrater.com
Comment by Ruyan — May 22, 2007 @ 12:55 am
Great article. I’m two weeks into my stop smoking attempt and feel like I can do it, despite really missing it. There’s something about smoking which makes me love it but hate it for loving it. To be honest, what I really miss and would like to continue indulging in if possible is the occasional tobacco-laced joint. That has to be the most satisfying waste of my time possible.
Comment by Telecidal — July 3, 2007 @ 12:56 pm
Telecidal,
Good luck on the quitting. I’ve had to restart my effort two times since I wrote this, but it will take… eventually. Try the patches, they help. Alas, don’t know what can take the place of a spliff.
Comment by SD — July 3, 2007 @ 8:24 pm
I’m still a smoker *shock horror* and for me it isn’t the addiction that’s going to be hard. It’s the physical act of smoking that’s a problem for me. I like the way I feel when I smoke too.
Comment by Laura — July 3, 2007 @ 8:57 pm
I hate to sound like a sanctimonious ex-smoker but I am one. It’s such a liberating feeling to break away from the damn things. Something so small seems to exert so much influence over you. And then… One day after months and months and years and years of wishing and hoping and making deals with higher and lower entities you realize you don’t like it anymore and it makes you feel bad and you might be one of the 50% of smokers that dies because of smoking. And you stop. You try a smoke and it tastes horrible and makes you feel bad. And that’s it. No more.
I wish you all the ease in the world in quitting. It’s certainly more natural to not smoke.
Comment by Radish de Horse — July 3, 2007 @ 9:10 pm
http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-9780822316411-0
Comment by jon — July 10, 2007 @ 10:18 pm
Well you should watch this video about a smoking experiment, maybe it helps you http://www.smoking-video.com
Comment by Monica — August 9, 2007 @ 12:13 am
Thanks, Monica, but that’s nothing — you should see the walls in my apartment. It looks like I decorated in Early Nicotine. Of course, lungs clean themselves (thank you, Cilia). Still, it’s horrific.
Comment by SD — August 24, 2007 @ 6:13 pm
When will they start smoking E-cigarettes in films
Comment by Niki — September 15, 2007 @ 6:37 am
Niki - something tells me that eCigarettes aren’t going to take off. Probably just as well. Even if they did people would complain about having nicotine steam blown in their faces.
Comment by SD — September 16, 2007 @ 8:44 am
All these elements of smoking which fascinate and impress you are the brainwashing behind the addiction. Once you realize that, the seduction or cool factor of an obviously experienced smoker goes right out the window. It’s a crutch/prop for a person with a weakness. The “strength” of the smoker image disappears entirely and the revelation of the smoker as a weak, frustrated, brainwashed sucker becomes much clearer… as the smoke fades away.
Comment by Red Lips — September 25, 2007 @ 5:09 pm
I should emphasize “as the smoke fades away” because thinking of a James Dean character as a “weak, frustrated, brainwashed sucker” is something that’s just not going to happen while you’re a smoker. Being a smoker means being brainwashed. Being an ex-smoker means having seen through the brainwashing.
Nicotine is easy to kick. The physical addiction is broken after 1 week of not smoking. It is the psychological addiction and brainwashing which really makes quitting difficult:
1.) You’ve heard endlessly how “hard” quitting is. This makes it easier to forgive yourself for failing.
2.) People attracted to smoking generally find it attractive. This is the brainwashing of society. Both the rebels and the puritans play an essential role here, not to mention the photographers and cinematographers, the original actors who were paid by Phillip Morris to smoke on-camera, etc.
3.) The physical act and the habitual routine play a role in addiction as well.
However, once you can kick the brainwashing, your troubles are over. The nicotine addiction is gone after 1 week. The brainwashing begins to disappear in an instant once the truth is really seen for what it is. The physical act and habitual routine are much easier to deal with when one can simply view the process as a battle ONE IS WINNING rather than one is LOSING.
Here’s how to see it as a WINNING battle:
1.) It’s easy. When you really know how to quit, it’s easy. I quit instantly. So have thousands and thousands of other people either by going to an Easyway clinic or reading one of Allan Carr’s books.
2.) You’re being MORE of a rebel than ever. You are fighting society’s brainwashing and WINNING. The more you decondition yourself, the freer you become, moment by moment.
3.) You will be healthier. You will not stink. And, believe me, you stink more than you realize!
4.) Nobody is profiting off your death. You are saving money.
5.) Moment-by-moment, you are becoming LESS STRESSED OUT.
People don’t realize: Cigarettes STRESS YOU OUT. As soon as you’ve finished your cigarette, the nicotine is processed and your body physically craves nicotine again within 2 minutes. The fact that you don’t smoke a cigarette every 2 minutes PROVES that nicotine addiction plays a very small role in cigarette addiction.
Armed with these thoughts, go quit. I guarantee once you quit, smokers will not seem “cool” at all. It is quite hypocritical and seemingly traitorous, but most ex-smokers feel nothing but disgust or sympathy for smokers once they’re on the other side of the fence.
The reason? Being a smoker means HABITUALLY LYING TO YOURSELF!
Yes, the #1 obstacle for smokers is their SELF-PERPETUATED BRAINWASHING!
Learning to smoke is mind-over-matter. Physically, it is disgusting. But, you convinced yourself to “enjoy” it. Every time you smoke, you are re-convincing yourself in so many subtle ways. You are also convincing yourself while you smoke that “it’s not that bad” and “I don’t smoke that much” and “I don’t stink that much” and “I look cool when I smoke” and “smokers are cool, nonsmokers are dorks and puritans” etc.
In short, your attitude is the main obstacle. So, brutal introspection and honesty will free you from your addiction. Nothing else. Gums, patches, cold turkey? Nothing has the success rate of removing the brainwashing. Once this is done, it’s EASY. That is why it’s called “the easy way.”
When I first quit, people would say, “man, you’ve got some willpower!”
I would respond, “Willpower has nothing to do with it. It would take a lot more willpower to force myself to suck that crap into my lungs again!”
Hope you quit soon.
And become an annoying ex-smoker like me.
Comment by Red Lips — September 25, 2007 @ 5:35 pm
I wonder if the author realizes that his three categories parrot the tobacco industry’s three main marketing angles. “The Time Out” = just about any cigarette ad that shows people relaxing or hanging out with friends. “The Gesture” = think Virginia Slims or any other cigarette marketed towards women. “The Read” = Marlboro and their manly-man cowboy. These angles have been constructed through advertising over the past 50 years. Smoking is becoming less popular in the USA now because public health “zealots” such as the Truth campaign are re-defining what it means to smoke. Outside the USA, especially in lower-income countries, the industry’s construction of what it means to smoke still rules. Personally, my major problem with tobacco companies is that in the USA, they’ll claim that they’d never want kids to smoke, but they’ll market cigarettes to anyone old enough to hold their product in the developing world, where access to education, cessation, and health care is horrid.
Comment by Mariame — November 7, 2007 @ 9:11 pm
This is truly one of the best thing I have read online in a while. Cooties.
Comment by Stephanie — November 15, 2007 @ 3:01 pm
Mariame,
I wonder if the commenter realizes that (she?) is exactly the kind of person I avoid at parties on the off-chance that we would actually end up standing near each other at the same party?
Like many who don’t work in advertising, you attribute all kinds of nefarious genius to marketers when nothing of the sort is the case. I work in advertising. Most ads attempts to capitalize on trends and behavior that people already exhibit — the people making the ads simply aren’t smart enough to create desire.
I resent your implicit infantalization of smokers. We’re not being duped. It’s a little more complicated than that — which you fully failed to get. Move on.
Comment by Sprague D — November 15, 2007 @ 7:46 pm
Stephanie,
Thanks for the “kudos”? Yeh, that’s what you meant…
Comment by Sprague D — November 15, 2007 @ 7:47 pm
Hi there. Red Lips here again.
You may be in advertising, but that doesn’t mean you know every aspect of it. What you say is true regarding trends and behavior, BUT the best ad agencies around DO (and always have) become the highest paid due to their nefarious genius. I’m in advertising as well.
If you think otherwise, all you have to do is look into subliminal advertising. The naked ladies showing up on an ice cube in a glass of whiskey weren’t an accident and neither were the sand dunes and tumbleweeds which just happen to resemble a nude woman’s torso and bush.
That you would doubt such simple concepts as Mariame has expressed above is rather funny to me. What distinguishes any of her marketing angles from “trends and behavior”? Especially the sort of trends and behavior Mariame has mentioned which are naturally ingrained in our society and aren’t going away like last year’s leg-warmers. The Time Out, The Gesture and The Read sweep across all cultures and subcultures and will be around until the end of the world or until human beings evolve into antisocial shut-ins.
Comment by Red Lips — December 4, 2007 @ 10:46 am