Wired Mesh

Smoke Signals

This one goes out to all you Covenant kids fighting the man who would take your tobacco: An NPR feature on the smell of cigarette smoke, the "aroma of the 20th century." The piece aired on Wednesday night, and yesterday Andy and I were discussing it (we were on our way to profile a martial arts and Ultimate Fighting trainer for Pulse, but that's another story). Andy had only caught the tail end of the feature, and suspected that it was public radio's usual heavy-handed indictment of tobacco.

But I think it's actually a subtle, melancholy piece, remembering a time when smoking was not only socially acceptable, but a sign of urbanity, intelligence and sex appeal. Smoking was, yes, a cosmopolitan thing to do, and a first journey into adulthood. As one commentator puts it, smoking then seemed like a similtaneously youthful and grown-up act, "sucking the meaning out of the world and breathing it back out again."

These days it seems like the glamour and coming-of-age significance have been stripped from the cigarette pack, except in a few subcultures. Hipsters and artists still think of cigarettes this way, and so do kids in rural farmtowns like the one I grew up in. And then, of course, there's Covenant College, where the rules against smoking make it seem like a mark of rebellion and sophistication. Perhaps on Monday, I'll have time to think about how these factors influenced my personal addiction. But for now, I have actually work to do, and a Friday night of smoking awaits.