On Smoking

Smoke brings ancient ritual, pleasure, and death. It cleanses and relieves stress. After repeated humiliation by ovine AFL supporters, Adam Goodes finds himself on his knees in an Adnyamathanha creek bed, wafting sacred smoke over his face and body, to cleanse himself of evil, to heal his broken spirit. Smoke signals fire – hospitable and dangerous – drawing and repelling living things. Smoke rings Australian cities on catastrophic fire days. Smoke of any kind releases toxic chemicals. Smoke draws birds of prey. Watch their behaviour, circling a bonfire with their hunting eyes, waiting for a feed – for a small creature scurrying away from the flames.

The more contemporary research nails down its coffin, and the more regulations make the pursuit of it a challenge, the more smoking lingers like a seductive, untrustworthy ghost –aggressive, glamorous, putrescent, sad, rebellious, witty – speaking back to evidence-based research and the nanny state. Technology revives blunts, bongs, bubblers, cigars, shisa pipes, and vaping – all now in vogue (Grogan & Marks 2022). E-cigarette-use by young Australians increased 96% between 2015-2019 (Heffernan, 2021).