Where there's smoke...

Yesterday, two people (on separate occasions) asked to bum a cigarette off me. The second time it happened to me (it was a boy who was maybe in Grade 9), after I said, "I don't smoke" actually said, "Are you sure?"

Of course, I replied, "Yes, I'm sure! That shit will kill you and it does horrible things to your skin, you know," hoping this would appeal to an already pizza-faced kid. And then I walked away, pushing a napping Baby Boy in the stroller, thinking, "'Are you sure?' What the hell does THAT mean? Do I look like I smoke?"

I mean, I haven't been asked for a cigarette since hanging out in the smoking section outside of my high school, like a hundred years ago. Hardly anyone I know smokes now, and if they do, the waaaay vast majority are over the age of 55.

Why did these two guys, in the span of about four hours, ask ME for a cigarette? Let's see. What was I wearing? A pair of jeans, my blue "Plays Well With Others" t-shirt and my Barbie pink trench coat. I had makeup on and my hair looked alright. Not that you can tell someone smokes from how they look.

When I signed up at the gym, the staff member naturally asked if I smoked. She raised her eyebrows when I said I didn't, but she quickly countered with, "Well you sound like you do! You got that sexy FM radio announcer voice." Yeah, not when I'm being the Shrill Mom by day, honey.

Anyway, I know I'm making too much out of this, but I just thought it was really weird. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket or not drive a car for 24 hours or something...

What's the deal with smoking in movies? Are tobacco companies compensating movie studios to place smoking in their films or are filmmakers making their actors smoke to flesh out their characters? I can see why Faye Dunaway would have to smoke in Barfly or another actor in another bleak movie. But, here's a website to make you think. And also because all the local papers here have loaded their entertainment sections with Toronto Film Festival caca.