I'd say your assesment of the situation actually is spot on. HOWEVER, the ends definitely don't justify the means. As a 27 year old who's smoked for the last 12 years or so, I can say with a good bit of certainty. I'm a few weeks into quitting smoking, and can honestly say I enjoy not smoking more. Not waking up feeling like shit is an amazing thing when you've spent the last decade feeling like garbage. Not being damn near a social outcast is pretty cool too.

Now my only concern is wondering if the mistake I've been making for the last decade or so going to shorten my lifespan. Well, no...I know that smoking for 10 years WILL shorten your lifespan, it's just a matter of how much.

Dude, don't start smoking. I've done MANY stupid things in my life, and have only ONE regret.

 

But you won't have anything to satiate if have no yearning for it.

 

Get back in the box. It's safer in there

I love food, and I know that I'm missing out on many great tastes and flavors that are now distorted and lost on me as a result of smoking. When I don't smoke for a long period and hug a girl, I enjoy having them tell me I smell nice. I hate that when I get in my car the day after pulling in to the garage with a smoke in my mouth it smells like a musty old bar.

No big news here, but the downsides FAR outweigh the ups. The ups only come as a result of reliance and dependence on the drugs in those little smokey sticks.