--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To smoke or not to smoke: I can make of…" description: "\"To smoke or not to smoke: I can make of either a life-work.\" — Mignon McLaughlin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/mignon-mclaughlin-742_cigarette-smoke_to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke-i-can-make-of-e_2772597.png" --- # To smoke or not to smoke: I can make of either a life-work. ![“To smoke or not to smoke: I can make of either a life-work.” quote by Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/mignon-mclaughlin-742_cigarette-smoke_to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke-i-can-make-of-e_2772597.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/mignon-mclaughlin-742_cigarette-smoke_to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke-i-can-make-of-e_2772597.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/mignon-mclaughlin-742_cigarette-smoke_to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke-i-can-make-of-e_2772597.png) > “To smoke or not to smoke: I can make of either a life-work.” [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We must decide whether smoking defines our identity or becomes a mere habit. **In simple terms:** Choose how smoking fits your life. Key Takeaway Reflect on your relationship with smoking. Themes choices identity habits Mood conflicted thoughtful Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - personal health decisions - stress management - social settings - career environments Key Concepts self‑determination addiction Questions to Reflect On - How does smoking affect your sense of self? - Can you separate habit from identity? A Different Perspective Smoking may become a coping mechanism that masks deeper issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cigarette smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigarette-smoke/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Funny smoking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-smoking/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-work/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [No smoking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-smoking/) [Pipe smoking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pipe-smoking/) [Smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoke/) [Smoking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoking/) [Smoking a pipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoking-a-pipe/) [Smoking cigarettes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoking-cigarettes/) [Smoking cigars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoking-cigars/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [If we see you smoking we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/if-we-see-you-smoking-we-will-assume-you-are-on-fire-and-take/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [A cigar has "...a fire at one end and a fool at the other."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-greeley/a-cigar-has-a-fire-at-one-end-and-a-fool-at-the-other/) [Horace Greeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-greeley/) > [Ods me I marle what pleasure or felicity they have in taking their roguish tobacco. It is good for nothing but to choke a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/ods-me-i-marle-what-pleasure-or-felicity-they-have-in-taking-their/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-james-i/a-custom-loathsome-to-the-eye-hateful-to-the-nose-harmful-to-the/) [King James I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-james-i/) > [Good food, good sex, good digestion, good sleep: to these basic animal pleasures, man has added nothing but the good cigarette.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/good-food-good-sex-good-digestion-good-sleep-to-these-basic-animal/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [If an addict who has been completely cured starts smoking again he no longer experiences the discomfort of his first addiction. There exists, therefore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/if-an-addict-who-has-been-completely-cured-starts-smoking-again-he-no/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I DON'T smoke anymore, except on National No Smoking Day as a protest against those who want to control our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-littlejohn/i-don-t-smoke-anymore-except-on-national-no-smoking-day-as-a-protest/) Richard Littlejohn > [Cigarette smoking is clearly identified as the chief, preventable cause of death in our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/cigarette-smoking-is-clearly-identified-as-the-chief-preventable/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [There's a lot of people who, a cigarette is about the only vacation they have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-parker/there-s-a-lot-of-people-who-a-cigarette-is-about-the-only-vacation/) [Trey Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-parker/) > [Nicotine patches are great. Stick one over each eye and you can't find your fags.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/nicotine-patches-are-great-stick-one-over-each-eye-and-you-can-t-find/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I have made it a rule never to smoke more than one cigar at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-made-it-a-rule-never-to-smoke-more-than-one-cigar-at-a-time/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The believing we do something when we do nothing is the first illusion of tobacco.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-believing-we-do-something-when-we-do-nothing-is-the-first/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [There's something luxurious about having a girl light your cigarette. In fact, I got married once on account of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-robbins/there-s-something-luxurious-about-having-a-girl-light-your-cigarette/) [Harold Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-robbins/) > [“If there is no fog on the day you come home I will build a bonfire So the smoke will make the cedars look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/if-there-is-no-fog-on-the-day-you-come-home-i-will-build-a-bonfire-so/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [They threaten me with lung cancer, and still I smoke and smoke. If they'd only threaten me with hard work, I might stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/they-threaten-me-with-lung-cancer-and-still-i-smoke-and-smoke-if-they/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) ## More by Mignon McLaughlin > [As we are human, we can't do what we can't do; as we're neurotic, we can't do what we can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/as-we-are-human-we-can-t-do-what-we-can-t-do-as-we-re-neurotic-we-can/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Naturally, the neurotic wants you to love him twice as much, for he's going to cut it in half anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/naturally-the-neurotic-wants-you-to-love-him-twice-as-much-for-he-s/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [We have a terror of seeming to exert ourselves, lest it be noticed that we exerted ourselves and did not succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/we-have-a-terror-of-seeming-to-exert-ourselves-lest-it-be-noticed/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [The three horrors of modern life - talk without meaning, desire without love, work without satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-three-horrors-of-modern-life-talk-without-meaning-desire-without/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [We are never more self-righteous than when giving up what we should have shunned all along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/we-are-never-more-self-righteous-than-when-giving-up-what-we-should/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [The time to begin most things is ten years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-time-to-begin-most-things-is-ten-years-ago/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [One of life's few really reliable pleasures: to have a family you love, and to leave them for a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/one-of-life-s-few-really-reliable-pleasures-to-have-a-family-you-love/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [So long as God reveals Himself, or doesn't, He is behaving like God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/so-long-as-god-reveals-himself-or-doesn-t-he-is-behaving-like-god/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [The total history of almost anyone would shock almost everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-total-history-of-almost-anyone-would-shock-almost-everyone/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [There are children born to be children, and others who must mark time till they can take their natural places as adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/there-are-children-born-to-be-children-and-others-who-must-mark-time/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [In life, as in restaurants, we swallow a lot of indigestible stuff just because it comes with the dinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/in-life-as-in-restaurants-we-swallow-a-lot-of-indigestible-stuff-just/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Neurotics always feel as though they were going way up or way down, which is odd in people going sideways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/neurotics-always-feel-as-though-they-were-going-way-up-or-way-down/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Even in the same family, one child will always instinctively know when to ask for things, and another won't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/even-in-the-same-family-one-child-will-always-instinctively-know-when/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [People find it hard to be both comic and serious, though life manages it easily enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/people-find-it-hard-to-be-both-comic-and-serious-though-life-manages/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [No good neurotic finds it difficult to be both opinionated and indecisive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/no-good-neurotic-finds-it-difficult-to-be-both-opinionated-and/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) [Explore all 383 Mignon McLaughlin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) ## More Cigarette smoke quotes > [Books were always important. I have to thank my father, he filled my life with books. He didn't write but he always read. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rawi-hage/books-were-always-important-i-have-to-thank-my-father-he-filled-my/) [Rawi Hage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rawi-hage/) > [Ods me I marle what pleasure or felicity they have in taking their roguish tobacco. It is good for nothing but to choke a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/ods-me-i-marle-what-pleasure-or-felicity-they-have-in-taking-their/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Vaporizers are good for your lungs. Cigarette smoke will kill you. I never heard of anybody dying from marijuana smoke. Vaporizers I think are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/vaporizers-are-good-for-your-lungs-cigarette-smoke-will-kill-you-i/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [“Once you gulp carbon down, either as cigarette smoke or city dirt, your body never gets rid of it. It just stays in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-hudson/once-you-gulp-carbon-down-either-as-cigarette-smoke-or-city-dirt-your/) [Jeffery Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-hudson/) > [The wreath of cigarette smoke which curls about the head of the growing lad holds his brain in an iron grip which prevents it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hudson-maxim/the-wreath-of-cigarette-smoke-which-curls-about-the-head-of-the/) Hudson Maxim > [There's a lot of people who, a cigarette is about the only vacation they have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-parker/there-s-a-lot-of-people-who-a-cigarette-is-about-the-only-vacation/) [Trey Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-parker/) > [“The wreath of cigarette smoke which curls about the head of the growing lad holds his brain in an iron grip which prevents it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hudson-maxim/the-wreath-of-cigarette-smoke-which-curls-about-the-head-of-the-2/) Hudson Maxim > [Cigarette Smoke does not disappear Tension \| But Your Lungs Must Disappear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/cigarette-smoke-does-not-disappear-tension-but-your-lungs-must/) Mak\_786 > [Cigarette smoking is clearly identified as the chief, preventable cause of death in our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/cigarette-smoking-is-clearly-identified-as-the-chief-preventable/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [If we see you smoking we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/if-we-see-you-smoking-we-will-assume-you-are-on-fire-and-take/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [There's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I pour whiskey on him and inhale cigarette smoke and the whores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-s-a-bluebird-in-my-heart-that-wants-to-get-out-but-i-pour/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-james-i/a-custom-loathsome-to-the-eye-hateful-to-the-nose-harmful-to-the/) [King James I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-james-i/) > [A goal that is not in writing is like cigarette smoke: It drifts away and disappears. It is vague and insubstantial. It has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/a-goal-that-is-not-in-writing-is-like-cigarette-smoke-it-drifts-away/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [I used to smoke cigarettes, smoke dope, do smack, every f - - thing. First, I couldn't function without it. Then I couldn't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-used-to-smoke-cigarettes-smoke-dope-do-smack-every-f-thing-first-i/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [A cigar has "...a fire at one end and a fool at the other."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-greeley/a-cigar-has-a-fire-at-one-end-and-a-fool-at-the-other/) [Horace Greeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-greeley/) [Browse all 21 Cigarette smoke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigarette-smoke/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To smoke or not to smoke: I can make of either a life-work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mignon McLaughlin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke-i-can-make-of-either-a-life-work/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cigarette smoke" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke-i-can-make-of-either-a-life-work/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/mignon-mclaughlin-742_cigarette-smoke_to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke-i-can-make-of-e_2772597.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/mignon-mclaughlin-742_cigarette-smoke_to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke-i-can-make-of-e_2772597.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/985/mignon-mclaughlin-742_cigarette-smoke_to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke-i-can-make-of-e_2772597.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To smoke or not to smoke: I can make of either a life-work.” — Mignon McLaughlin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mignon McLaughlin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To smoke or not to smoke:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke-i-can-make-of-either-a-life-work/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke-i-can-make-of-either-a-life-work/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```