I smoked for about 1 year in my life between mid-junior, mid-senior high school. I haven't touched them since then (it's been like 5 years). Smoking was the sin

I smoked for about 1 year in my life between mid-junior, mid-senior high school. I haven't touched them since then (it's been like 5 years). Smoking was the single most social thing I've ever done. I REALLY do not understand how it works, it might be some primate brain mumbo-jumbo but cigarettes are somehow very good social lubricants like alcohol, maybe even better than alcohol depending on culture. This is not US. When I moved to US (the Bay Area) I saw that literally nobody smokes here so I never had the desire to smoke. Luckily, stopping smoking was extremely easy for me: one day I just stopped smoking and never once thought about it. If you smoke for years, there is no doubt it'll cause physical dependence, it's documented with dozens of peer reviewed research. But until that dependence is developed, smoking is nothing but a social activity (and tiny bit of physical pleasure). I gained more friends this way than any other thing I ever tried socializing (and I'm pretty ok socially) DISCLAIMER: This comment does not encourage smoking, smoking is a nasty, disgusting and infinitely dangerous activity. You smell like street dog all the time and you cough like you have lung cancer. There are better ways of finding sexual mates or friends.