August 4, 2007
News- Light my fire
Smoke breaks are now seen as fun with the possibility of some flirting
THE government's plan to ban smoking in workplaces may have upset many smokers. But now they are looking at the brighter side - like the Irish, who first discovered the perks of going elsewhere to smoke when ciggy bans first came into effect in the country in 2004.
Smoke breaks are now seen as fun with the possibility of some flirting. They call it 'smirting.' According to wikipedia, smirting describes the social pastime of people flirting outside public places such as pubs, cafés and restaurants, where smoking is illegal. The term for the activity is a portmanteau of the words smoking and flirting. Make-up artist Ambika Pillai, who often travels abroad for ramp shows, says bonding over a smoke is similar to bonding over a drink at a pub.
"It happens when people are standing on a pavement asking for a light. Smokers get together at an airport or outside a club and conversations just start," she says. Model Bunty Grewal agrees that "smokers forced to puff in designated spaces find a bond." When smokers come together on a pavement, landing or smoking area, there are those five minutes of awkward silence to fill. Smirting is the answer to an exiled smoker's prayers, says ad man Rishi Singh.
"It happens a lot in corporate offices. In India, most women don't like men smoking, but I've made passes at many women smokers. We call it the 'smoke trick' . You ask a woman out for a smoke and share drags with them and then get talking," he confesses . "But it's important that you have lozenges handy and make sure you don't stink of tobacco," he says. Software engineer, Rachel D'souza says smokers have their own methods of selecting a partner.
"My boyfriend smokes and he says it's really cool to see a woman smoke. The good thing about being around smokers is that they judge you for who you are, while non-smokers disapprove ," she says. WHY THEY BOND Says psychologist Sujendra Prakash, "The reason smokers bond is, first, the guilt they carry that they are doing something different from others. And secondly, the social stigma attached to smokers. So they prefer being in each other's company. They build a group affinity because it gives them security, solidarity and a sense of belonging."
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