Fresh from the oven! Or burner.

So there we were, taking a quick cigarette break on the outside fire escape stairs, and one of the guys ran out of smokes.

I offered him mine, saying that that particular pack had been taking forever to finish anyway, on its way to survive 2 weeks, so might as well he helps finish it.

The bugger then promptly turned my offer down, and took a cigarette from another guy.

So, politely, I asked him why did he pick the other guy's cigarette instead.

His reply was sorta scientific, stating that an open cigarette pack can only retain its contents' freshness for 5 days up to a week, due to direct exposure to air, humidity and whatnots. So he concluded that a pack that's been opened for over a week is definitely not fresh.

My reply was "..."

Quickly followed by a raised right eyebrow.

Dude, if you want freshness, the eff were you doing smoking?

The hell is fresh about breathing smoke derived from burning tobacco anyways? The tar content is definitely not. Neither is the 43 known carcinogens you are inhaling. Nor the 400 or so toxic chemicals it contained.

If you've chosen to smoke despite all the health warnings and the tears you shed as the smoke gets in your eyes, please don't ridicule yourself by demanding freshness.

Natural morning air, free of smoke.

Now that's fresh.