BELONGING TO MANY WORLDS BUT BELONGING TO NONE

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FROM THE MARGINS | BY PATRICK AZADIAN
Los Angeles Times Valley Edition | Glendale News-Press | October 21 2006

It's a vice with no benefits

Smoking is an unusual addiction.

To begin with, the product itself does not seem to be very appealing unless you are already addicted. Most people's first experience with this socially accepted addiction is not very pleasant.

I remember the first time I hijacked one of my aunt's cigarettes and made my way to the bathroom for this extremely mysterious experience. I was probably 9 years old. The idea of being able to pull off such a clandestine operation in a house full of guests and family members excited me even before I had lit up.

I don't remember much else from this episode of "Operation: Smoke," but one thing I do vividly recall is that my tongue was on fire and my lungs were in severe trauma after my first puff. I dumped the cigarette and quickly left the water closet.

I think that was it. After that experience, I knew I would never be a smoker.

As I discovered on my own, smoking is one of those habits people pick up only after struggling with it initially. They have to stick to it in order to possibly enjoy the experience in the future.

There is a certain period of initiation you have to go through to be able to be accepted in this exclusive crowd. And even then, I've been told, it's not a fantastic experience, it's just that your body becomes jittery and tells you: "It's time to light one up."

Not too long ago in America, smoking was seen as the right of passage to adulthood. This was not accidental. Effective advertising campaigns by cigarette companies contributed greatly to the establishment of this image. Fortunately, compared to certain parts of the world, access to information is relatively open here and, for the activists, the legal system is in place to take on the big corporations. It was inevitable that people were eventually given the choice to make an educated decision on smoking.

I remember one of my aunt's first smokes. She was 17. My mom had left me with her for a few hours when my rebellious aunt took out her cigarette and lit one up. She looked right at me, half begging, half threatening, and said: "You will not do this, and you will not tell your mom."

I had not promised her anything, but ended up complying with only one of her requests. Besides, my mom was powerless to stop her, she was already a smoker herself.

For many of the people before my generation, smoking is a given. The lure and social pressures of smoking is often irresistible, even for people who would not be classified as individuals with an addictive personality. Although smoking is not the only vice people can pick up, no other drug carries such a high level of social acceptability.

You'll find some of the most bizarre excuses for continuing to smoke among smokers of my parents' generation. One of the most common is: "Well, Armen's grandfather smoked and he lived until he was 98 years old," or "Anoush's aunt did not smoke, did not drink, she did not even eat red meat, but passed away from cancer when she was 39."

At one point, my father probably belonged to this group, until he decided to kick the habit after smoking for more than 30 years. When he was in deep thought, he would light up one cigarette, then forget about it, and then light up another one. He'd end up finishing both cigarettes, one right after the other.

A minor heart attack and a warning from his doctor gave him some clear options. Although he did suffer a fatal heart attacked few years ago, I am glad he improved the quality of his life in the later years by deciding to stay away from smoke.

Last week, my aunt paid us a visit. She was not feeling well. Her doctor had told her that years of smoking had taken their toll on her heart and lungs.

The loved ones who leave us behind leave us with a painful question: "What if they had never picked up the habit? Would they still be with us today?"

Copyright 2006 Glendale News Press