This is a witty look at the history of smoking. In examining the literary, cultural and philosophical history of smoking, this book studies the negative pleasures and exacting benefits attached to smoking. Some serious questions arise: what is a cigarette? Why are cigarettes useful in times of war? How do they enable the condemned to face the anxious moments before death? Why does the camera so love photographing cigarettes and smokers? Why are cigarettes associated with post-coital bliss?