For many a cigarette smoker, whether an occasional or regular, pack-a-day puffer, lighting up on campus isn't quite what it can be elsewhere. For the many international students at Tufts and the estimated one-third of juniors who chose to study abroad, many - if not all - will notice the not-so-subtle difference in attitude towards smoking between the US and other countries.
In the midst of tobacco lawsuits and anti-smoking commercials, it's easy to forget the social role that smoking has played for much of this country's history, and continues to enjoy in other parts of the world.
Tristan Reed, a double major in international relations and International Letters and Visual Studies, grew up in France and has lived in the US, Spain, and Hong Kong. When he started smoking in high school, like virtually all of his international classmates, he saw it as a social habit. And while many see smoking as dirty and self-destructive, for Reed it remains a friendly vice.
"It's always just been something I do when I'm having dinner or hanging with my friends or if I'm at a party," Reed explained. "It's also a great way to start a conversation or meet someone. There's a saying in French, 'A man without a light is [not a man.]'"
But Reed has found that in the last few years, even France began to require non-smoking sections in restaurants. Spain has also begun an anti-smoking poster campaign under European Union (EU) auspices as a result of changing global opinion on smoking.
"It's like the effect of the US is spreading everywhere," senior Sarah Vivenzio said. Vivenzio, a smoker, feels that at least some of the anti-smoking messages are getting out of hand.
"I saw this one [commercial] where a guy barfs up his lung and his dog eats it. I mean, that's just gross," Vivenzio said. "It gets to the point where it's like, why do they have to push it in my face like that?"
Vivenzio spent last semester in Florence, Italy. Like Reed, she found smoking to be pleasurable and relaxed abroad and often enjoyed a smoke at the dinner table, which she said was a pleasant change from smoking at Tufts.
"I think Tufts is almost a non-smoking school," Vivenzio said, comparing the prevalence of smoking at Tufts to other area schools. "BU is like Europe. Everybody smokes. It's totally different."
"Even when I'm at a party I have to step outside to smoke, because hardly anyone else does," Reed said. He feels that Tufts typifies the American attitude towards smoking in general.
"The street is really the only place you can smoke freely," he said. "[In the US,] I feel more self-conscious about smoking. I'm much more aware of who's around me, and if they don't want me to smoke, I step outside."
Reed said that he finds it "iffy" to smoke even in an outdoor caf?©, and he gets the occasional dirty look when he lights up.
Vivenzio runs into similar reactions when she goes out in public. "People totally judge you when you smoke because, a: you're a loser because you can't control your need for a 'nic fix,' and, b: it's disgusting, you're poisoning yourself."
In effect, cigarettes, which are seen as a social catalyst much like beer in many parts of the world, can lead to social awkwardness and criticism in America. And while it may be upsetting to some, senior John Ghisoni, a chemical engineering major, doesn't let the anti-smoking sentiment get to him.
"I don't care at all. I smoke for me, not to fit in with others, and everyone I know smokes. Lots of people are anti-smoking, but I kind of avoid them," Ghisoni said.
Like Reed and Vivenzio, Ghisoni sees smoking as a great social tool. "I can't tell you how many people I've met by smoking with them. I met all of my best friends that way," he said.
As far as how other cultures look at smoking, Ghisoni says that smoking in Europe is better. "You can smoke anywhere - everybody smokes. Even Canada is better [for smoking]. But Europe is the smoker's palace," he said.
For many who smoke, it's not just about the health issues. While cigarette smoking is linked to lung and heart disease, and nicotine is a highly addictive drug, smokers have their side of the story, too. It's not about blowing smoke in others' faces, or starting a nasty habit. It's a way to relax and enjoy the company of their peers.
One thing that may be missing from public dialogue is how new anti-smoking policies, like smokeless bars or entirely smoke-free restaurants, can take into account the smokers themselves and offer them ways to adjust their social habits rather than just stamping them out.
