To the Editor: Boy, do I love my cigarettes. Despite all the social pressure from my mom and “the man” (TV) to stop, they still work great at making me look super cool, mature, cynical and interesting. Back home in Jersey, all my friends smoke cigarettes, but since I’ve arrived at UVM, our ranks seem to be shrinking rapidly. More and more I ask presumably ‘with it’ friends of mine to go out for a smoke, only to hear that they have given it up, and that I should really think about doing the same. If we were all senior citizens, the fear or reality of lung cancer would be a viable explanation for this troubling phenomenon, but that’s all a little down the road, isn’t it? And have any of you reformed or non-smokers considered who’s telling you not to smoke cigarettes? I know my mom isn’t paying for all those ad-council “no smoking” ads-they’re funded by the cigarette companies, forced by the government after all you bleeding heart liberals demanded they become “accountable” for their actions. Well, the only people who truly pay the price are the cigarette consumers, who have to empty their pockets day after day, knowingly paying for the campaign of hate against them, perpetuated by “the man.” C’mon, guys, is life at 60 really so important that you want to sacrifice all the fun you could be having right now? Trust me, I relish in the ability to take the moral high ground in any conversation, but don’t you think this whole smoke-free kick is a little tired? I mean, anything that goes so well after sex can’t be bad, can it?Julian BrizziClass of 2005