> But the little head rush you get starting the day with a coffee and a cigarette feels great.

That's the effect on brain chemistry I referred to.

Do you actually enjoy the smoke in your mouth, burning your eyes and lungs?

A cold beer on a hot day is refreshing just for its temperature alone. A fruity cocktail tastes good because sugar tastes good. What's enjoyable about the physical sensations produced by smoke?

I mean maybe we're arguing semantics, because the pleasure of eating sugar is possibly also an alteration of brain chemistry. But there is a difference.

As a former smoker (quit in 2009), I absolutely LOVED smoking. The whole thing. Opening the pack, packing it down, pulling out the cigarette, lighting it, the first drag filling my lungs, the fullness in my chest. The only thing I didn't like was that it made me smell bad. When I started a job where I was working close to people and the smell made me insecure, I decided to quit. I still miss the ritual.

Anyone who has quit smoking will tell you that the habit is the hardest part about quitting, not the physical addiction.

Most people don't actually like the taste of alcoholic drinks when they first try them as a teenager.

The reason you like the taste of beer is in large part because your brain has learned to associate that taste with good things happening (the alcohol feeling).

Same with coffee, it's bitter, objectively should taste bad, but you learn to like it.

It's the same process

> Do you actually enjoy the smoke in your mouth, burning your eyes and lungs?

Many years ago when I smoked - yup, sure did. I loved the entire experience, except maybe going outside in the middle of winter.