In the United States, you must be 18 years old in most states in order to purchase a pack of cigarettes, although some states have different age requirements. In Utah, for example, you must be 19 years old to purchase nicotine products. Always present government issued ID when buying a pack. There are many different kinds of cigarettes, so choose which kind you want carefully.


The two most widely available types of flavored cigarettes are mentholated cigarettes, which have a minty flavor, and clove cigarettes, which are flavored with, unsurprisingly, cloves. In specialty shops, you can find cigarettes with a wider variety of flavors, from chocolate to cherry.
Filtered cigarettes have a filter that reduces the amount of nicotine and tar delivered to the lungs with each inhalation, making them safer to smoke than unfiltered cigarettes. Unfiltered cigarettes are easier to inhale because you don't have to pull through the filter, but if you are new to smoking, you should not start on them, as they might make your throat burn.
Unfiltered cigarettes are also more harmful to health than filtered cigarettes, though all cigarettes are dangerous.
Light and ultra-light cigarettes are deceptively named. Some people believe them to be safer than regular cigarettes, but this is not the case.The main difference between full flavor, light, and ultra-light cigarettes will be taste. If you are new to smoking, you might start on ultra-lights and work your way up to a fuller flavor.;
, Packing your cigarettes condenses the tobacco in each cigarette, making it burn slower and intensifying the flavor. You may have to inhale slightly harder if you pack your cigarettes, so you might skip this step if you have trouble inhaling without coughing.


Turn the pack upside down so the opening from which you remove the cigarettes is facing downward.
Extend your free hand palm up.
Rap the top of the pack down on the fleshy, flat part of your palm three times, hard.
Rotate the pack (still upside down) by 180 degrees.
Repeat the process to make sure cigarettes on both sides of the box are equally packed.
 Cigarettes come with a plastic cover that will have a small pull tab around where the lid flips open. Pull that tab to break the plastic seal. Remove the foil that covers the cigarettes. In the boxes for some brands, such as Camels, both foil tabs pull away, and in other brands, such as Marlboros, only the front tab pulls away.
 This is an optional step, but many smokers flip a single cigarette in the box upside down and designate it as their "lucky" cigarette. This is the last cigarette they smoke in the pack. Although there is no rule as to which cigarette should be the lucky, most people who flip a lucky always choose the same cigarette position — for example, the second cigarette from the left in the back row.


Although the cigarette is called a "lucky," in practice, it's an excuse to not give away your last cigarette to friends trying to bum a smoke. Just say "sorry, this one's my lucky."

, There are a couple different way to hold a cigarette, so experiment with it until you find a style that feels comfortable and natural for you.


The most common method is to hold the cigarette stable between your index and middle finger. The filter should be between the first knuckles on each finger.
Many people simply hold the cigarette between their thumb and forefinger as though it were a pencil. In this case, the filter should be against the pads of your fingers.
 With the filtered end of the cigarette between your lips, put a flame to the exposed end while inhaling. Inhale deeply two or three times while the flame is touching the exposed end to ensure the cigarette has been properly lit.


After lighting the cigarette, look down at the lit end to make sure the entire end has been lit. If one corner remains unlit, repeat the process.
If the wind blows out your flame, create a shelter with your free hand around the cigarette.
If the wind is so strong that your hand cannot block the wind, turn so that your back is to the wind. Allow your head to block the wind, while keeping your free hand around the flame. People with long hair should be careful, because the wind can blow your hair into the flame.
Because a lighter has a more stable flame, start with a lighter if you're a new smoker.
Matches burn down quickly and might burn your hands if you take too long.
 At first, you'll want to take shallow inhalations, because deep inhalations might result in burning coughing fits. As you get used to smoking, you'll be able to take deeper drags. You should be sucking the smoke into your lungs, not holding it in your mouth. Exhale through your mouth — or your nose if you're feeling fancy.


A good way to tell if you're drawing the breath into your lungs or mouth is to try to exhale through your nose. If no smoke comes out your nose, you're holding the smoke in your mouth.
Don't hold the smoke in your lungs for longer than feels comfortable. This is supposed to be a pleasurable process.
It's fine to smoke your cigarette all the way down to the filter, but don't let the fire actually touch the filter. It smells and tastes awful.
 As the cigarette begins to burn down, it will turn to ash. Tap on the top of the cigarette with your index finger to jar the ash loose from the end of the cigarette and drop it into an ashtray. If you don't remember to ash from time to time, the ash might fall on your clothes or into your food or drink.


You can also tap the end of the cigarette against an object — like an ashtray — to remove the ash.
Cigarette ashes can temporarily smear on your clothes.
Put out your cigarette's flame. When you've finished smoking, make sure you extinguish the flame from the cigarette. In dryer parts of the world, fires could easily be started by lit cigarettes that have been improperly disposed of. There are several methods for putting out a cigarette.
Stubbing out a cigarette means to press it into a flat surface until it stops burning. You can just tamp it multiple times into the ashtray until it stops glowing.
You can also drop it to the ground and grind the flame out with your shoe. Note that this will leave a black charred mark on the ground. Pick up the cigarette and throw it away in a trash can.
If you don't have an ashtray, but don't want to create a large black smear by grinding the cigarette out with your shoe, you can pop the cherry. This means to flick the cigarette until the flaming part at its tip dislodges and fall out of the cigarette. You can grind the cherry out with less smearing this way. Dispose of the cigarette in a trash can.
Buy a pack of cigarettes.
Pack your cigarettes.
Open the pack.
Flip your lucky.
Hold the cigarette with the filter pointing back toward your body.
Use matches or a lighter to light the cigarette.
Inhale and exhale your cigarette.
Remember to ash your cigarette.
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