<p>In law school, I had one friend who smoked cigarettes and one suitie-mate & her buddy who smoked pot pretty much daily or more. It was illegal to smoke in the dorm, but that didn’t stop her or the cigarette smoker and I couldn’t tolerate being around either of them and pot smell often drove me out of my bedroom since the smell penetrated the suite. I ended up spending A LOT of time with BF, which worked OK for both of us.</p>
<p>CC college students defend their own smoking in this thread:
<a href=“Why do so many college students smoke cigarettes? - College Life - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1682771-why-do-so-many-college-students-smoke-cigarettes-p1.html</a></p>
<p>I teach college and still see students smoking.</p>
<p>My S, a graduate of a very selective school with a physics major and math minor, smokes. Took it up in coIlage and makes me sick to my stomach! He was raised in a non-smoking environment.<br>
"
Although I think smoking has become a “lower class” attribute, everything that is “out” will become “in” eventually in some generation. Think tattoos and piercings. They will become passé as everyone has done it. Boring! Now what? Smoking may be ok again. As we know, younger folk do not care about health as much as being cool.</p>
<p>I know young women who are afraid to quit because they think they will get fat. May as well just use the patch and give lungs a break.</p>
<p>I agree with @morrismm. I see a surprising amount of student smoking on my campus. Girls do it for weight control purposes (unfortunately it is in fact very effective). My D also reports the same; social smoking in college has become common and even fashionable again.</p>
<p>This generation is unimpressed with all the anti-smoking propaganda that affected my generation. They just dismiss it. That’s too bad, because smoking is just about the worst thing you can do for your overall health over time (short of drinking a fifth a day). I really dislike tattoos and piercings, but told my D I would rather see her covered with tats than take up smoking.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I never could figure out why people (of any generation) voluntarily start smoking. For me, the smell of smoke is just disgusting, so I have no desire to voluntarily breathe it, and every reason to avoid it. That the nicotine could enslave you to it, and the smoke could greatly increase the risk of health problems and limit physical abilities just adds more reasons to avoid it.</p>
<p>I have read that nationwide, fewer college kids smoke today than 10 yrs ago. And, the number 10 yrs ago was less than 10 yrs before that.
For me personally, while my S was h.s. freshman, we often drove by our local community college. One particularly cold Fall morning, there were a number of young smokers standing outside shivering, and that particular group did not look too prosperous(I’m sure you know what I mean). They did not look like the epitome of cool, like Frank’s “rat pack”.
I said: “Look son, all the ‘cool kids’ smoke!”. I could not say he chose not to smoke because of that one incident, but I’m sure he got the impression it isn’t considered so cool and sophisticated today as movies used to portray it.</p>
<p>I’m a long way from being college age, but I can see one way smoking has changed. It used to be a smoker could light up most anywhere inside or out, and if it inconvenienced(or risked the health of) a non-smoker, well, too bad. Now smokers are much more restricted legally AND, I believe, have a new-found courtesy toward non-smokers. When smokers visit our home, they typically volunteer to go outside as a courtesy though we do not ask them to do so. Personally, I also believe that had more smokers had that courtesy years ago, there would be fewer legal restrictions on them now.</p>
<p>People my age that smoke are idiots. I don’t care if that’s crass or classist of me, it’s how I feel. </p>
<p>Less and less college students smoke (thankfully) though way too many smoke on my supposedly smoke-free campus. I despise when I have to sit next to someone on a bus who reeks of smoke or when a student comes to my office and stinks up the place. </p>
<p>I am very allergic to tobacco (or cigarettes- I don’t know). It has been banned from my house for over a decade and it had never been an issue until a few months ago. My dad’s friend was working on our house and his fiance was inside with us. All of a sudden, she took out a cigarette and lit up at my kitchen table. I looked at her like she had two heads and told her that wasn’t allowed inside. She is only a few years older than me, but apparently <em>I</em> was the bad person for asking her not to smoke in MY house. </p>
<p>My roommate smokes outside. She’s been gone for a few weeks and the house just smells so much better even though she doesn’t smoke inside. She didn’t go to college, and out of my college friends (undergrad and grad) I can’t think of a single person who smoked cigarettes. Pot, sure, but not cigarettes. We’re all pretty much of the same opinion about cigarettes. </p>