Despite being subjected to anti-smoking rhetoric since elementary school, college students are now smoking more than ever. Otherwise smart students ignore the grim statistics and choose to smoke. The answer is complicated, and can only be answered by looking at smoking as a part of the college culture.
Smoking is a habit separated from common sense, and rooted in social practice.
By examining a few different types of smokers at UVA we can see why the death of the Marlboro man has not yet meant the death of the smoking culture at the University. Some social smokers claim that consuming alcohol prompts them to light up. There's something about a beer buzz that gives me the desire to smoke a cigarette. It heightens my overall satisfaction. But I don't ever need that feeling when I am not out at night.