I have a character that smokes, but he is trying to quit hehe. I think if it adds to there personalty then why not, sometimes it might even be a key aspect of the story.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop. - the king from alice in wonderland.
We'er all mad here.
It wouldn't bother me. Actually, I could care less. My sister smokes. It bothers other people but I don't care. Really, and it's just a novel. I have characters smoking pipes and big ole' cigars. So, no. It don't bother me.
Meadow
Purple light in the canyon that is where I long to be With my three good companions just my rifle, pony and me --- "My Rifle My Pony and Me"
Doesn't really matter. Shows what kind of person the character is. Whether they're a rebel or just troubled. Plus its just a book. Ain't no different with movies. The Godfather wouldn't be the Godfather if he didn't have a big ole' cigar in his mouth.
One person's craziness is another person's reality
-Tim Burton
"Is", "is." "is" — the idiocy of the word haunts me. If it were abolished, human thought might begin to make sense. I don't know what anything "is"; I only know how it seems to me at this moment. -Robert Anton Wilson
Hey
I think it depends on the character. If it's a good guy smoking (with a nice personality etc), it doesn't really add anything to their character. However, if you are using smoking to prove something in their personality, or point something out, go for it! Don't just randomly make them smoke though, because it serves no purpose.
xxmimixx
-mors aut honorabilis vita-
Forget the prince with a horse, I want a vampire with a volvo.
A lot of people have said that it "has to fit the character's personality" for them to smoke, but I'm hard-pressed to look at my smoker-friends and see how their personalities are in any way linked to their smoking habits. If anything, I'd say watch your stereotypes — people who smoke aren't necessarily self-destructive or bad or full of evil/rage/insert-negative-emotion-here. I know people of all shapes and sizes and personalities who smoke — people who are studious and hard-working, people who are absurdly nerdy, people who think it makes them look cooler, people who are kind and sweet and thoughtful.
The other thing is that people rarely smoke because they think it's going to kill them — if anything, they start to justify their habit. They ignore the this-might-kill you aspect, or say that they can quit any time they like, or that they're going to die at some point from something anyway.
"He yanked himself free and fled to the kitchen where something huddled against the flooded windowpanes. It sighed and wept and tapped continually, and suddenly he was outside, staring in, the rain beating, the wind chilling him, and all the candle darkness inside lost."
It wouldn't bother me at all, if anything it could make the character more interesting, as they seem flawed. No one likes a perfect character Like Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City [First smoker that came to mind] As a literary character, the smoking is seen as her vice, making her more three-dimensional and relatable.
The only smoker in a story I can't stand is when the line "then he lit up a cig" comes into it, as though the character is super cool by being a smoker. I can't stand it. As a smoker, I am well aware that smoking is not really considered "cool", it's just a thing that you do. So, as long as you don't go down that route, you should be fine. Also, I hope what i wrote made sense
Like Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City [First smoker that came to mind] As a literary character, the smoking is seen as her vice, making her more three-dimensional and relatable.
