Blowing smoke? It's difficult, Behtanne, to determine whose opinion is more ridiculous... yours, John Crace or the anti-smoking legions. One way or the other, those who wish to smoke should be left to do so... "Blame Sir Walter Raleigh, he was such a stupid git."

I smoke and I can't write. I can barely write my name to this post. So, it's a crap shoot.

Good lord, I get tired of whining, self-righteous smokers who think they should be able to foist their unpleasant secondhand smoke on everyone. If you want to smoke, stay home. If you want to go out in public, learn to (GASP!) lay off the cigarettes for a few hours. It's not my problem if you can't manage that. As for the notion that smoking and creating literature are related: that's just some smoker's pathetic attempt to justify being able to pollute the air.

Amen to Ginger. Smokers couldn't care less about others' health, let alone their own. Admit it--all you tobacco addicts really care about is....your next smoke. Never mind the hundreds of horrid chemicals you infect the world with via 2nd hand smoke. And thanks for littering the world with your butts--I suppose ash trays are too much work.

It's hard out there for a writer keeping the day job. When is there time to write? When is there time to market one's books? There must be a better system. I love my day job as a grant writer, and I make possible (with funding) a lot of programs that help a lot of people in need (mostly children and families). But sometimes I just wish for the time I need to let my mind wander and come up with those ideas that make books so wonderful. When I am out on author tour everyone always asks "where do your ideas come from?" Not from writing grants, I assure you. Amy www.wozabooks.com

Somewhere between chapter ten and eleven of a book of mine 2 years ago I quit smoking. I am so glad to be rid of the shackles of Bic lighters and nasty looks, I would never touch another cigarette. But if people want to smoke it's ok with me - just do it over there cuz I just washed my hair. Writing gets better or worse because of sweat not nicotine. End of story.

Although I've never had to kick-start my thought processes by being a smoker, (and my wife would seriously throw me out of a window if I started now) studies have shown that nicotine calms the mind and sharpens short-term memory, so its understandably popular among angry political commentators and people in front of firing squads and such... (But people should be able to smoke in bars, for crying out loud ) My stream of consciouness seems to flow just fine without it, however...

By the way, wouldn't it be a bit risky dropping a smoking habit in the middle of writing a book? Sounds like a good way to accidentally wander off into Stephen King terrtitory, y'know?

I thought alcohol was the vice of choice for writers... helloooooo, paging Misters Poe, Hemingway, and McNeill....