What is the fascination with smoking? Why do people do it? Does it taste like anything? I cannot even imagine what the combination of menthol and cigarettes would be like in those menthol brands. Is it for the calming effect? I have a few friends who can go years without smoking and get a few drinks in a smoky bar and they have a desire to light up.

I'm not one of those fanatics who say people shouldn't smoke. In fact for awhile at work, I'd go with the smokers to just hang out while they took their break (mostly to get the gossip or vent or chat). With as much second hand smoke I've breathed I'm probably an eventual candidate for lung cancer myself.

There are a whole lot of smokers who work at Lawson Software. I know this because I park my car in the basement of their parking ramp and their "smokers lounge" is fairly close to my car.

I'll sometimes just sit in the smoking section of restaurants to get a seat more quickly. My theory hardly ever works that if every non-smoker would do the same it wouldn't be so bad sitting there however enevitably I always get placed at a table next to Mr. Chain Smoker till the day I die.

My dad smoked. He was somewhat polite about it...doing it in the basement of our house or outside. He was fairly polite about it when we went on vacation too, although as the years went on and we selected more boring places to him like Disney World, he'd find more reasons to chain smoke. I think it just was unconscious...he needed something to do with his hands...why not smoke.

When we were in Florida, our group went to a cigar bar. There were hundreds of cigars in the store/bar. Our VP of Marketing and General Manager thought it would be a good way to relax and they were trying to talk us into staying and enjoying a cigar. (Can you just imagine me with a big fat stogie - is that what they even call them anymore?)

I've gotten through almost 36 and a half years merely breathing in second hand smoke and I've never had the urge to even try it.

My little brother smoked for a while...don't know if he still does. Some of my friends still smoke. I see so many young people - who barely look old enough to smoke - smoking. A huge part of me wishes I could yell at them that they are jepodarizing their life by breathing in those evil sticks. And as their friend and as I love them I should do everything in my power to stop them however, I don't.

It would be easy to leap to the lung cancer argument and hold up dad as the number one prime example but I don't. I probably shouldn't hold back my hope that they quit, but speak loudly out of love. I probably should just say something to them...even if their choice to quit doesn't happen. I probably should just stop saying probably.