How to Smoke a Cigarette

If you need to learn how to smoke for a play, or are wondering how smokers smoke their cigarettes, this article will explain how.

People start smoking for various reasons, but a sense of rebellion is the primary draw. Independence to cultural conformity or doing something "naughty" are some reasons. Other reasons include depression and a need for increased mental clarity (although tobacco has many negative health effects, some Schizophrenics find it to help them order their thoughts). The main reason, however, is the mild euphoric effect of nicotine, which, while subtle, can be intensely powerful to a first time smoker. Even when tolerance has built to the point that the initial "Head Rush" disppears, smokers will experience a massive change in mood and attitude after smoking.

Cigarette smoking is regarded as hazardous to your health. See the warnings section for a list of possible health risks from continued use of cigarettes.

Steps

1. Remove a cigarette from the package. Hold the cigarette either with your thumb and forefinger (perpendicular to your fingers) or squeeze it between the top knuckles of your forefinger and middle finger (near the fingernail) with the filtered end towards your palm.
2. Take a normal breath of air and exhale fully.
3. Place the filtered end gently between your lips, in the center or to the side according to preference. Place it far enough into your mouth to form an airtight seal but not far enough back where it will touch the wet part of your lips. If necessary draw your lips inwards slightly to hold it in place.
4. Light your match or lighter an inch or so away from the end of the cigarette.
5. Bring the flame almost to the tip of the cigarette and suck on the cigarette in short burst(s). Usually only one "puff" is necessary to fully light most cigarettes. Do not inhale or exhale as you do this. The sucking action will draw the flame to the tip and light the end of the cigarette, and the sucking action will bring smoke into your mouth. Most smokers do not inhale the first bit of smoke.
6. Once the cigarette is lit, extinguish the match (or malfunctioning lighter if necessary). Most smokers shake out the match. Place the extinguished match in the ashtray.
7. Remove the cigarette from your mouth and exhale.
8. To inhale cigarette smoke into your lungs, place the cigarette in between your lips as before, and suck the desired amount of smoke into your mouth.
9. Keep inhaling as you remove the cigarette from your mouth, allowing the smoke to flow smoothly into your lungs.
10. Some smokers prefer to hold the smoke in their mouth for a second before inhaling. The short time the smoke is in your mouth plus mixing air in with the smoke cools it slightly so the hot smoke does not burn your throat nearly as much. Some smokers prefer the cooler smoke; others find not inhaling instantly causes an undesirable stale flavour.
11. Inhaling cigarette smoke will produce various physiological and psychological effects from the carbon monoxide, nicotine, and various other psychoactive chemicals; this is discussed in the warnings section below.
12. Exhale the smoke through your mouth
13. Periodically tap the ash off the end of the cigarette into an ashtray. Take care not to drop the cigarette while ashing. If being held by thumb and forefinger, ashing can be done by tapping the middle finger against the cigarette, over top of the thumb to provide support. If being held by forefinger and middle finger, squeeze the cigarette tightly and the thumb can be used to flick the filter up or down. Smokers do not tap the cigarette on the ashtray, though they may sometimes roll or break off the ashed end on the edge.
14. The cigarette is finished once it has almost reached about 1/4" above the line on the filter, where the paper is thicker. For unfiltered cigarettes, they are finished once they are too small to smoke. Some smokers will always smoke the cigarette to this point, while others will stop further up the cigarette - it all depends on personal preference. If the cigarette is smoked to too low a point, the filter will begin to burn.
15. Fully extinguish the cigarettes by butting out in an ashtray. Crush the smoldering end against the bottom of the ashtray. Some smokers simply break off the ember in the ashtray, though this is a fire hazard and can light other butts on fire. If outside, you can also drop the cigarette on the ground and step on it, grinding it slightly with your foot until it is extinguished. This will leave a black burn mark on some surfaces.
16. Some people that smoke still get the "high" effects the same as people that smoke for the first time in their lives.

Tips

1. Smokers sometimes tighten their mouth to provide some pressure resistance and expel the inhaled smoke further. However, it is possible for people to have uneven lips (a very thin upper lip which may not allow the mouth to close all the time and can release smoke before inhaling) in cases like this the person should try and put their bottom lip over the upper one and hold tightly.
2. Some smokers also expel smoke through their nose from time to time, though the majority do not, as the smoke further irritates the mucus membranes in the nose and sinuses.
3. A small amount of the smoke will stay in your lungs, sometimes for a few hours, until it is absorbed or breathed out through normal breathing.
4. Most smokers do not leave the cigarette in their mouth, as it is difficult to breathe normally (without inhaling smoke, some of which will exit the filter without drawing on it), and the hot smoke from the end burns the nose and gets in the eyes. Some smokers, however, do manage to do so.
5. Simply sucking in small amounts of smoke without inhaling can, with practice, produce a convincing portrayal of a smoker. The smoke will be thicker and will not be expelled with as much as force as if it were inhaled.
6. Take care not to light the filter end of the cigarette.
7. Menthol cigarettes, apart from the aroma of burning tobacco, also have a slight mint aroma as well as a mentholated cooling sensation, akin to that usually associated with cold remedies.
8. Smokers sometimes tap their cigarette pack or a single cigarette in order to settle the tobacco which makes the cigarettes burn slower and more evenly. Point the pack or cigarette filtered end down and tap the pack against the palm of your hand or the cigarette against the table. Take care not to apply too much force or you will break the cigarettes. Some smokers will also tap the end of the cigarette to compress the tobacco further.
9. Smokers often smoke more when drinking alcoholic beverages because smoking is a social event, and the addiction is harder to control while drinking with friends. Some people also get nervous in social situations, therefore smoking more, mainly to keep their hands busy, and to deal with the tension of the social interaction they may be experiencing.
10. Smokers tolerate both the nicotine and the various chemicals in the tobacco, (diziness, nausea, etc) as well as the negative physiological affects of the carbon monoxide much more so than non-smokers. Smokers no longer experience the "high" that first-time smokers do.