--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am committing suicide by cigarette,” I…" description: "\"“I am committing suicide by cigarette,” I replied. She thought that was reasonably funny. I didn’t. I thought it was hideous that I should scorn life t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/kurt-vonnegut-jr-2355_cigarettes_i-am-committing-suicide-by-cigarette-i-r_3142790.jpg" --- # I am committing suicide by cigarette,” I replied. She… ![“I am committing suicide by cigarette,” I replied. She thought that was reasonably funny. I didn’t. I thought it was hideous that I should scorn life that much, sucking away on cancer sticks.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/kurt-vonnegut-jr-2355_cigarettes_i-am-committing-suicide-by-cigarette-i-r_3142790.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/kurt-vonnegut-jr-2355_cigarettes_i-am-committing-suicide-by-cigarette-i-r_3142790.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/kurt-vonnegut-jr-2355_cigarettes_i-am-committing-suicide-by-cigarette-i-r_3142790.jpg) > ““I am committing suicide by cigarette,” I replied. She thought that was reasonably funny. I didn’t. I thought it was hideous that I should scorn life that much, sucking away on cancer sticks.”” [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker sees smoking as self‑destruction, calling it a betrayal of life, while others find it humorous. **In simple terms:** Smoking is self‑destruction, not funny. Key Takeaway Reject harmful habits that betray life. Themes health self‑destruction humor morality addiction Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - health counseling - addiction recovery - personal reflection - social attitudes toward smoking Key Concepts existential critique personal responsibility Questions to Reflect On - Why do we laugh at self‑destructive behavior? - What can we do to respect life more? A Different Perspective Humor can mask serious self‑harm, leading to denial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cancer Sticks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer-sticks-4099746/) [Cigarette Replied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigarette-replied-5608391/) [Cigarettes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigarettes/) [Committing suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-suicide/) [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Sucking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-sucking-229238/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) [Suicide Cigarette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide-cigarette-5608392/) ## Related quotes > [“The cancer sticks stood neatly side by side like sardines packed in a tin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-sutter/the-cancer-sticks-stood-neatly-side-by-side-like-sardines-packed-in-a/) [C.M. 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This was a succubus—a life sucking monster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-villanueva/women-are-really-strange-if-you-think-about-it-but-this-was-no/) [Justin Villanueva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-villanueva/) > [“Maybe he should have thought about all this before he knocked her up with the life-sucking monster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/maybe-he-should-have-thought-about-all-this-before-he-knocked-her-up/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [If you have good friends, no matter how much life is sucking , they can make you laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-have-good-friends-no-matter-how-much-life-is-sucking-they-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A detective who uses his deductive powers to corner a suspect and then does nothing to stop them from committing suicide is no better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gosho-aoyama/a-detective-who-uses-his-deductive-powers-to-corner-a-suspect-and/) [Gosho Aoyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gosho-aoyama/) > [The society that destroys its children is eating its own tail, committing suicide in the most perverse way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-stone/the-society-that-destroys-its-children-is-eating-its-own-tail/) [Jennifer Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-stone/) > [“ACTION WILL BE YOUR LEGACY “He who has a vehement desire for posthumous fame does not consider that every one of those who remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-eschenroeder/action-will-be-your-legacy-he-who-has-a-vehement-desire-for/) [Kyle Eschenroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-eschenroeder/) > [And it would be a bit out of character. 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You’ll get to Pittsburgh yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/then-you-ll-do-it-brilliantly-darling-you-ll-get-to-pittsburgh-yet/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [“There is room enough for an awful lot of people to be right about things and still not agree. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/there-is-room-enough-for-an-awful-lot-of-people-to-be-right-about/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [“He often said he had to be a writer because he wasn't good at anything else. He was not good at being an employee.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/he-often-said-he-had-to-be-a-writer-because-he-wasn-t-good-at/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [“The zero in the telephone number he pronounced "naught." 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The dismaying thing about the classic totalitarian mind is that any given gear, though mutilated, will have at its circumference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/jones-wasn-t-completely-crazy-the-dismaying-thing-about-the-classic/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [“I have never seen a more sublime demonstration of the totalitarian mind, a mind which might be likened unto a system of gears whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/i-have-never-seen-a-more-sublime-demonstration-of-the-totalitarian/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [“No respecter of evidence has ever found the least clue as to what life is all about, and what people should do with it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/no-respecter-of-evidence-has-ever-found-the-least-clue-as-to-what/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [“Life is nothing but high school.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/life-is-nothing-but-high-school/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [“And Halyard suddenly realized that, just as religion and government had been split into disparate entities centuries before, now, thanks to the machines, politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/and-halyard-suddenly-realized-that-just-as-religion-and-government/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [“For once, after the great bloodbath of the war, the world really was cleared of unnatural terrors—mass starvation, mass imprisonment, mass torture, mass murder.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/for-once-after-the-great-bloodbath-of-the-war-the-world-really-was/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [“Him! Him! Captain Eliot Rosewater–Silver Star, Bronze Star, Soldier's Medal, and Purple Heart with Cluster! Sailing champion! Ski champion! Him! Him! My God–the number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/him-him-captain-eliot-rosewater-silver-star-bronze-star-soldier-s/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [“No art is possible without a dance with death, he wrote. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/no-art-is-possible-without-a-dance-with-death-he-wrote-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [“No trouble. There really isn’t a heck of a lot to the job.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/no-trouble-there-really-isn-t-a-heck-of-a-lot-to-the-job/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) [Explore all 164 Kurt Vonnegut Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) ## More Cigarettes quotes > [The increased use of cigarettes and tobacco products among youth is worrying. Starting with cigarettes and tobacco, youngsters are soon lured into use of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-jayachandran/the-increased-use-of-cigarettes-and-tobacco-products-among-youth-is/) [M. 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After taxes and $25…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/i-did-12-shows-in-13-weeks-at-a-summer-theater-in-maine-where-we-were/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [I know cigarettes can kill & wonder if non smokers are immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/i-know-cigarettes-can-kill-wonder-if-non-smokers-are-immortal/) [Hemantsmarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemantsmarty/) > [“He lights a cigarette off a candle. These death-tubes, these little crutches or fuses: useful for getting through all sorts of things you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/he-lights-a-cigarette-off-a-candle-these-death-tubes-these-little/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [I quit because I'm so tired of hearing bad news about cigarettes... Even if they discover good news, they don't publicize it - like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arj-barker/i-quit-because-i-m-so-tired-of-hearing-bad-news-about-cigarettes-even/) [Arj Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arj-barker/) > [Everything really needs to be paraben-free for me. I mean, because if I’m going to smoke cigarettes, then I need to be aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-wasson/everything-really-needs-to-be-paraben-free-for-me-i-mean-because-if-i/) [Erin Wasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-wasson/) > [Cigarettes don't kill people - cancer kills people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weiner/cigarettes-don-t-kill-people-cancer-kills-people/) [Richard M. Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weiner/) > [“If you went twenty-four hours without cigarettes, I'd drink a can of pop. Regular pop. The whole can." Isaw the glimmer of Adrian's earlier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/if-you-went-twenty-four-hours-without-cigarettes-i-d-drink-a-can-of/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Once I thought I found love, but then I realized I was just outof cigarettes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/once-i-thought-i-found-love-but-then-i-realized-i-was-just-outof/) [Hemantsmarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemantsmarty/) > [I tap a Malediction out of the box, fire it up, and puff. 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