Angela Philipps, Contributor

Any way you look at it, smoking is a nasty habit. However, I'm not here to judge what other people do to their health, let alone their lungs. I am merely pondering on whether a smoker cuts his or her chances on the dating scene, solely because he or she smokes. Are non-smokers put off by approaching, flirting and going out with someone who puffs away on one, five, or 20, cigarettes a day?

Being single in the city might force many of us to go out to bars and clubs regularly. Reason being, I guess, is because it's quite lonely on one's own at home. So, those of us who do go out, especially to indoor venues, ought to be used to cigarette smoke floating around us all night long, and then seeping into every crevice and crinkle of our bodies and clothes. This, of course, does not mean that we are ok with the fact. If we want to socialise in this manner, we really don't have much of a choice. In fact, if you are anything like me, you'll be hopping in the shower at the end of the evening, and scrubbing your hair clean several times to get the rancid smell out of your head. You'll then be running the washing machine on a small load just to remove the revolting odour from those garments you were wearing. I know you're nodding your heads! Even you smokers are probably doing the exact same thing!

annoyance

Years ago I went out with someone who 'used' tobacco. At first I convinced myself that I was fine with it, but as the months went by I realised that it was clearly starting to annoy, and even disgust, me. Have you ever heard people say that, "it's like kissing a dirty ashtray"? How would they know? Has anyone even tried that?

According to my research on the Internet:

'Seventy to 75 per cent of what we perceive as taste actually comes from our sense of smell. Taste buds allow us to perceive only bitter, salty, sweet, and sour flavours. It's the door molecules from food that give us most of our taste sensation.' (http://www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments/agesubject/lessons/newton/tstesmll.html)

If we assume that none of us have actually given an ashtray a nice, big 'wet one', it does not mean we can't imagine what it'd be like to do so. It turns out that as long as our sense of smell is intact, we can readily conclude that kissing our dream date, who has been sucking away on this filthy stick, would soon destroy any further fantasies we might have of him/her!

what made me stay

And so, what made me stay with this man? That wonderful emotion called love, of course - it's amazing what we persuade ourselves to put up with sometimes, isn't it?

Imagine hating the smell, and therefore the taste, of jackfruit, let's say. Would you still eat it every day? Improbable, I'm sure. So why would you agree to go out with a nicotine addict unless you were one yourself? Is it unfair of us to discriminate against someone who 'needs' this chemical to function properly? What if they're a 'social smoker'? Would you be ok with that?

Obviously, this particular fellow and I broke up, but not because of his disgusting habit. There were other issues. However, I do have to admit that it was on my list of cons when I was convincing myself that our union was not exactly a harmonious one. And since then I have not had one 'smoking' boyfriend again. Well, not in that sense anyway!

angelaphilippsja@hotmail.com