france vs america: cigarettes

you know, i should actually title these "paris vs california," because it's not really fair to generalize to a whole country when i really only know a small portion. minute detail. on to the bigger point.

today in media globalization we were talking about media and cultural imperialism and how american media is eating non-western media alive. we got to talking about starbucks and other food/drink things globalizing. on the way home, walking through clouds of cigarette smoke, i got to thinking about how those cancer sticks have globalized.

it's interesting that smoking a cigarette is disgusting in the states, but it's the norm over here. us americans have been taught ever since we began school that if you smoke a cigarette, even just one, you'll probably die instantly. even if that is exaggerated propaganda (which everybody knows), we all still pretty much believe it. and it's true that cigarettes are awful for you. i could reel off how the poison in it could kill rats and how it's like sucking the exhaust from a car, but you know that as an american. i don't think it's even cool to smoke anymore...i'm not really sure who does. when i go to parties in iv, there are only a few smokers speckled here and there, and it's not like i look at them and go, "OOOO smoking. that looks fun. i want to do that, too." increasingly, smokers have to duck to somewhere private, away from the public, to "enjoy" their smoke. personally, i question people when they smoke. if you know it's so bad for you, why do you keep doing it?

but over here, smokers are everywhere. you can smoke inside, while you're sitting in a restaurant, in the car, blah blah blah. everyone does it--college kids, business women, crotchety old me. it's bizarre to me...do they not know that it'll turn their teeth yellow? that it takes a few years off their life every time they light up? that it smells like ass? i assume that they have access to the same information about smoking as we do...so why is it not a big deal here to light up?

i question who is wrong here. are we americans making a big deal out of nothing? or are the french ignoring vital information?

regardless, i still don't plan on smoking anytime soon. my clothes would always smell like butthole if i did.