Bisyo: Tabako

It was one of my last nights in Bohol. I was sitting on the front lawn, watching the Perseid meteor shower in the sky, enjoying one of my favorite vices when Engineer Alex walked past me. 

"Mag-nigarilyo diay ka Nett?"

You smoke [cigarettes], Netty?

"Dili," akong gi tubag, bisag nag gunit ko ug tabako.

"No", I replied, even though I was holding a cigar.

What makes a person a smoker? Is such status defined by what that person smokes? 

If smoking - whether it be a cigarette, a cigar, a pipe, or Mary Jane - is a regular routine, then yes, the person in question is a bonafide smoker.

Engineer Alex asked if I smoke cigarettes, literally. Sigarilyo is cigarette, as opposed to tabako, which is  cigar. There is a world of difference between a cigarette and a cigar. 

Cigarette:

1. chemically processed, and therefore

2. cancer-causing.

3. machine-made composition - the paper wrapper and filter.

4. physically addictive because of #1.

Cigar:

1. natural, virgin leaves.

2. grown by mother earth.

3. hand rolled with tender care.

4. smells like my lola (grandmother).

Is cigar-smoking a regular habit for me? During my last vacation in the Philippines I smoked one Don Juan Urquijo, and one 1881, both from La Flor De La Isabella. I haven't smoked another cigar since then. Thus, negating the habit definition for me. 

Back to Engineer Alex's question, "Mag-nigarilyo diay ka Nett?"

I say again: Dili jud, sir!