Hochschule f端r Gestaltung Hochschule f端r Gestaltung Schw辰bisch Gm端nd Jina Yu Photography Andreas Langen Summer semester 2013
I grew up watching ‘quit smoking’ campaign commericials on tv. The only people in my life that regularly smoke are people who have tried to quit over and over but can’t fight the addiction, or at least have family members who have been begging them to quit for years. Friends often complain of getting stuck walking behind smokers and fear of secondhand smoke is as widespread as the disgust for the smell itself. I rarely see anyone on my campus smoking, and if I do, they are rarely my age. The norm of smoking in Europe was a form of culture shock for me in my months here. I was surprised and intrigued by how differently smoking was perceived in Germany. There are many my age that smoke and they smoke shamelessly, often, and socially. I’ve even been told it’s a great way to meet people. For this reason, I chose smoking as my subject... to document its popularity, normalcy, and effect on surroundings which is a stark contrast to how smoking is viewed at home.