10 Iconic Writers On Tobacco

Perhaps no vice is more controversial than smoking. No matter how you do it: hookahs, cigars, e-cigs, or just plain old cigarettes, tobacco is as equally contentious as it is addictive. That said, we made sure that this deep-dive for quotes procured results that acknowledged the historically comforting aspects of smoking alongside the obvious controversial elements. It'll kill ya—but damn, does it feel good. 

1. “Drink, f*ck and smoke plenty of cigarettes.” — Charles BukowskiHot Water Music

2. “Cigarettes are a classy way to commit suicide.” — Kurt Vonnegut

3. "You should hurry up and acquire the cigar habit. It's one of the major happinesses. And so much more lasting than love, so much less costly in emotional wear and tear." — Aldous Huxley

4. “It's hard to love a place that's outlawed smoking but finds it perfectly acceptable to serve raw fish in a bath of chocolate.” — David SedarisMe Talk Pretty One Day

5. "A man told me that nobody who was in the war would ever object to anyone smoking." — F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thank You For The Light

6. "Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times." — Mark Twain

7. “No doubt alcohol, tobacco, and so forth, are things that a saint must avoid; but sainthood is also a thing that human beings must avoid.” — George Orwell

8. “Strange as it may seem, there is nothing in which a young and beautiful female appears to more advantage than in the art of smoking.” — Herman MelvilleTypee: A Peep at Polynesian Life

9. "Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets." — Anthony Burgess

10. “Smoking I find the most ridiculous of all the varieties of human behavior and practically the only one that is entirely against nature. Can you imagine a cow or any animal taking a mouthful of smoldering straw then breathing in the smoke and blowing it out through its nostrils?” — Ian Fleming, Goldfinger


Jeremy Glass is the Vice editor for Supercompressor and his favorite alternative to smoking, thus far, is the nicotine-laced toothpick.