We asked a woman walking through Chiang Mai why she still smokes.
Her answer was the classic one:
“I only smoke when I drink… okay fine, maybe when I’m stressed… or bored.”
Most people say some version of this.
It’s never just drinking.
It’s never just stress.
It’s the little cracks in the day — the empty moments, the uncomfortable feelings — that cigarettes sneak into.
These “exceptions” slowly become the whole pattern.
They’re not excuses in a judgmental way…
they’re just the honest reasons people stay hooked.
When you hear enough of these street interviews, you start to notice how similar the stories are. Different faces, different backgrounds, different nights out — but the same emotional loops: boredom, pressure, loneliness, habit, ritual.
Real people.
Real excuses.
Real reasons quitting feels so hard.
And that’s why these conversations matter.
Sometimes the truth hits harder when it’s whispered outside a bar at midnight, or mumbled on a sidewalk with a cigarette still burning between two fingers.
More tiny street interviews soon — glimpses into how cravings really work, and what keeps people smoking long after they want to stop.