Choosing a Cigarette
Pick a brand. Often, a smoker just starting out chooses lights or ultra lights. This is recommended as the nicotine content is usually in lower in light and ultra light cigarettes. Once you have a handle on how to smoke properly, try scaling yourself up to regulars. Many claim this will give you a better experiences because of the increased nicotine and fuller flavor. The only way to find out which brand you like the best is to try a variety. Experiment with it. Some of the most popular and highly rated brands include: Marlboro, Camel, Lucky Strike, Newport, and Pall Mall. Taste is somewhat subjective. You may find you dislike the taste of Marlboros but enjoy the taste of Camels. Therefore, you may have to try some trial and error before you find a brand of cigarette that's truly enjoyable for you.
Consider menthol cigarettes. If you find the taste of regular cigarettes harsh, consider switching to menthols. Menthol cigarettes contain a non-tobacco additive that creates a minty taste when inhaled. Most major brands of cigarettes, like Camels and Marlboros, carry a menthol variety. If you do not like mint-flavored foods and drinks, you are unlikely to like menthol cigarettes. They carry a very strong mint flavor. If you've smoked regular cigarettes in the past, you may not like menthols. Many people who have acquired a taste for natural cigarettes strongly dislike menthols.
Smoke cloves. Cloves are a common spice used in cooking and baking. Cloves can be infused with tobacco to create a flavored cigarette. If you dislike the taste of menthols and regular cigarettes, cloves can be a good in-between option. The added flavor can make them taste harsher than a regular cigarette. However, the taste is far more mild than the taste of a menthol. Cloves can be very strong, so be careful when smoking them. As they can leave you somewhat light-headed, it's not a good idea to smoke a clove when driving.
Try flavored cigarettes. If you're looking for a particular taste, there are a wide variety of flavored cigarettes on the market. Cigarettes come in flavors like cherry, chocolate, orange, mango, and so on. Flavoring is fairly self-explanatory. Cigarettes are designed to taste similar to the flavor on their label. Flavored cigarettes can be a good option if you dislike regular cigarettes but also don't like cloves and menthols.
Lighting the Cigarette
Pack your cigarettes. Most brands of cigarettes benefit from a good packing. Packing your cigarettes will "tighten" the tobacco, resulting in a slower burning cigarette. Before opening the plastic film around your pack of smokes, smack the pack filter-side down onto the heel of your palm rapidly for roughly 10 to 20 seconds.
Know when NOT to pack your cigarettes. Some cigarettes, American Spirits, for example, are already packed with tobacco. American Spirit actually suggests unpacking their smokes by rolling the cigarette between your fingers, filter to end, so that a pinch or so of tobacco comes out. Clove cigarettes also shouldn't be packed.
Use a good lighter. BIC lighters which cost $1 at a convenience store are cheap and work fine, but they do not give the same satisfaction as using a classic Zippo lighter. Not only do the first drags of the cigarette taste different with a higher quality lighter, but you will learn to love and cherish your lighter if it's of a higher quality.
Light the cigarette. Hold the filter end of the cigarette to your lips. Ignite your lighter and hold the flame just below the end of the cigarette. Puff the cigarette by inhaling gently into your mouth. Do this until the whole end of the cigarette is glowing and lit. You can rotate the cigarette as you light it if it isn't evenly lit.
Smoking the Cigarette
Smoke unrushed. When smoking, be sure that you are not rushed, that you will not be bothered, and that you are either alone or with people you like. This will allow you to enjoy your smoking time that much more, especially if you have smoking buddies with you.
Inhale your cigarette. When putting a cigarette up to your lips, it should not pass your teeth. Put the lit cigarette up to your lips, then suck the smoke gently with a long steady intake into your lungs, hold the smoke there for a second, then inhale normally, through your mouth, drawing air into your lungs. This helps to reduce mouth cancer also. When inhaling be sure not to hold the smoke in your mouth and exhale quickly. This is called "bum puffing" and will taste a lot worse than a proper inhale. Some recommend wetting your lips with your tongue slightly before putting the cigarette to your mouth, so the cigarette doesn't stick to your lips.
Exhale the smoke. After inhaling, keep the smoke in your lungs for a short while then exhale. Smoking a cigarette is not like smoking marijuana; you will not get high from inhaling and waiting until you nearly pass out to exhale. Instead, breathe in normally lung capacity, hold it for a moment, then exhale.
Ash properly. The cigarette should be ashed whenever the ashes get to the length of about a 1/4" inch or more. There's no precise length at which one should ash a cigarette, so use your best judgment. Ash the cigarette in an ashtray if there is one available. To ash, tap the cigarette lightly on the ashtray, or if outside and not near an ashtray, shake the cigarette swiftly with your fingers. Don't aggressively flick your ashes away.
Extinguish your cigarette. Once the cigarette is down to just before the filter, extinguish it. When outdoors, throw the butt down near you, and step on it, twisting your foot on top of it before removing your foot to ensure it has gone out completely. When putting a cigarette out in an ashtray, hold the cigarette vertically, lit end down. Push and grind the cigarette into the tray until there's no sign of glowing heat. Make sure to throw the cigarette in a bin if outside. Do not leave it burning on the ground, as this poses a fire hazard. Don't keep smoking the cigarette once it gets closer to 8mm to 12mm close to the filter. The smoke will get hot at that point.
Smoking With Etiquette
Hold the cigarette properly. Hold the cigarette between your index and middle finger, somewhere on the filter. Exactly where to hold it depends on what's comfortable for you. Be wary of the lit end of your cigarette when holding it idly. It is considered bad etiquette to burn someone or something with your cigarette.
Don't gesture with the cigarette. If you have to point or gesture toward something while talking, you use your other hand. The hand holding the cigarette should be relatively still except when bringing the cigarette to and from your lips.
Ask before you light up when on someone else's property. If you're in someone's backyard, or in their car, don't light a cigarette without asking. If someone doesn't want you smoking on their property, be respectful of this.
Manage your butts responsibility. Don't throw cigarettes into trash cans without fully extinguishing them, as cigarettes are a fire hazard. Don't thoughtlessly throw finished cigarettes onto the ground. That is littering. Also, never throw butts out of a car window as this starts fires and is illegal! Your finished cigarette should be extinguished into an ashtray or hard surface, and then thrown away.
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