Interestingly, out of 74 respondents to date, I don't see any women who have said they smoke.
*sheepishly raises hand* I do.
I wish I didn't. It started with a silly prank played on a friend. That was 17 years ago. Now I can't seem to find the wherewithal to quit. I hate that I'm a smoker; I hate that I'm slave to a substance, that if I'm at a non-smoking friend's house I have to duck out every couple hours or risk becoming mean. I hate constantly being worried about whether I reek of stale smoke (though several people have told me, with no prompting from me, that they wouldn't know I smoke if they hadn't seen me doing it).
Interestingly, the only time I seem to be immune from nic fits is on long-haul flights. I never feel the need to light up on an airplane, ever. I only start getting fidgety when either going through customs or waiting for my bag.
I might not ever have become a smoker if I hadn't been semi-raised by someone who was a chain smoker herself. From the age of three months to the age of almost twelve, I was exposed to large amounts of smoke five days a week. This was before the big uproar over secondhand smoke, of course. I, myself, am careful never to smoke near children or pregnant women.
There are a (very) few pleasant things about smoking, though. In work and social settings, I find that the smokers are usually the more interesting/entertaining people in the group. I do love the cigarette I have with my morning coffee, and the one that kick-starts my digestion after a huge meal. And, yes, I have been known to use it as an excuse to simply be outside for 10 minutes or so. (Sure, everyone can step outside just to be outside if they want to; I just have the advantage of people knowing that I'm about to get really grumpy if I don't get out. So I play it up occasionally.
) Otherwise, though, it sucks, and I cheer all you non-smokers on the board and hope you never start.