I always thought that smoking did nothing to or for Nekos. And it was just like, 'who likes the smell of burning leaves wtf nepleslians' whenever someone started smoking. Wes is also fond of pointing out that in extremely progressive liberal super-state Sweden that smoking and tobacco is banned just like it is in Yamatai. I choose at this point to believe that it's a cultural thing more than anything else. We live in super-cool space future with nanomachines and body-switching so the health concerns are null and void. But I imagine Yamataians have not been smoking for so long as to make it disgusting.
I remember my first cigarette. It was very disgusting. If I hadn't enjoyed a very pleasant buzz, I would've never lit a second one or a third one. It's only after smoking for a while that one begins to acquire a discerning taste for differences between brand and configuration. I've found that cigars in particular have a taste which reminds me of the smell of a burning pine match after all the sulfur has been burnt out-- just wood, slightly moistened and natrually sweet. Whereas traditional tobacco cigarettes can vary from 'tar and bananas' (Newport Non-menthol King) to 'battery acid' (Kool) to 'peppermint patty' (Marlboro Smooth). I've settled on a brand which tastes to me like strong poppy seeds with a hint, just the tiniest hint, of chocolate (L&M Bold 100s). To a non-smoker, I believe these would all taste the same: Nasty smokey coughy tar oil death (TM?).
