V N Ramamoorthy
Ladies and Gentlemen
I know I'm inviting the wrath of many a bridge stalwart who smoke. Let me confide that I am the least eligible to advise anyone on the ills of smoking or otherwise 🙃
There was a time - a window of 20 years or so - when I used to polish off 4 packs in a day using just one match stick!
Thanks to the better counsel of bridge admins, smoking is not permitted on the bridge table or in the playing arena for over two decades now.
But the old adage is "Where there is smoke, there must be fire". An iron- clad contract or a sure - fire defense can go up in smoke if you allow one player on the table go in a huff for a puff.
I concede that many top notch players in India or elsewhere are addicted. Maybe the nicotine works as a catalyst to energise your bridge nerves?
Coming to the subject of injuries ( exclude health issues) :
- When one is away for a smoke, his partner is huffing and puffing, probably losing rhythm!
- Opponents get more time to analyse the gains and damages to plan their strategy for remaining boards
- The smoker himself may be overcharged or subdued to perform below par, maybe!
- Normally a smoker walks out when he is dummy. For many ( including me) it is an arduous task to manage the hand play and to handle the dummy simultaneously.. Check it out!
- When you are on a razor thin game or slam it could be worse. The game or slam may go up in smoke 😂 while your pard is puffing away 😆
- Your smoker's breath could be a source of extreme discomfort to your opponents. Taking them off their game. This gives your side an unfair, unethical advantage.
So beware! Cigarette may be injurious to health and bridge as well!
Finally (from personal experience), cigarettes are for those who don't have anything better to put between their lips.
Lesser pollution, better bridge 🙂
Happy bridging,
Cheers
VNR
Disclaimer : All opinions are entirely those of the author and are no reflection of the views of the BridgeFromHome Team.
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This article came with non-stop adverts for nicotine gum. 😂😂😂
You should ask them for a cut of the profits.
I suspect precisely zero smokers will heed your words.
Btw nicotine inhibits the Ace-2 receptor. Google it - protection against Covid and other Corona viruses.
Smokers fare better in high pollution environments studies prove. India is a very high pollution environment.
Why don’t you do an article about all the people depriving themselves of oxygen wearing the masks that do nothing except damage health and separate human from human?
The UK’s Daily Mail published an article this weekend showing the data.
Headline: “face masks may raise risk of stillbirths, testicular dysfunction and cognitive decline due to build up of carbon dioxide study warns”
This was entirely obvious from the outset. Breathing your own CO2 is one of the least smart things you can do.
Hello Simon
Thanks for your feedback & comments .
Sometimes you take up a cause , neither for profit nor for result , but just to create an awareness😊
But I am sanguine that my blogs are read with interest by many in the Bridge fraternity.
Warm regards
VNR
Thanks VNR
I enjoy your articles.
Sweeping statements about smokers and what they do at the bridge table aren’t necessarily accurate.
As a smoker I found every single point to be off the mark with the exception of the smoker’s breath. I drink water after smoking to counter this.
Cigarettes and bidis are not the same thing also. The first is packed with chemicals the bidis not so much.
Beware the converted smokers, they rarely have a balanced opinion.
As far as most of your comments go, in my opinion, what a smoker does or not is his / her own business. As a reformed smoker myself, I take care not to advise people about smoking or not smoking.
Leaving the bridge table to smoke, however, is, in itself a violation of the CoC of many contests, to say nothing of WBF rules. And that is certainly objectionable. It is sad that zero smokers would take such delight in indulging themselves at the cost of violating laws or being inconsiderate to opponents.
Since you have played in many countries around the world, you may like to inform us if leaving the table to smoke while an event is in progress is acceptable everywhere.
Thank you