"It is better to not even try it than to endure the ramifications of either quitting smoking or dying"
About this Quote
A supermodel framing addiction as a cost-benefit spreadsheet is a neat little act of cultural judo. Christy Turlington’s line lands because it borrows the language of rational choice to describe something irrational: nicotine dependence dressed up as pragmatic self-preservation. “Better to not even try it” sounds like a clean moral lesson, but she immediately poisons the sermon with dark comedy, pairing “quitting smoking” and “dying” as twin catastrophes. The exaggeration is the point. It mimics the smoker’s inner monologue, where withdrawal can feel apocalyptic, and it exposes how addiction rewires stakes and priorities.
The subtext is less about willpower than about the way industries sell people a narrative of control. Cigarettes have long been marketed as sophistication, thinness, calm; for a model, those myths hit with particular force. Turlington’s profession matters: fashion culture historically glamorized smoking as both prop and appetite suppressant, while also demanding a body that looks untouched by consequence. Her quote, read in that context, plays like a confession and a warning from inside the machine.
There’s also an implicit critique of the false binary smokers get trapped in: either keep going or face misery. By stating the absurdity out loud, she’s trying to short-circuit the myth before it takes root in a new smoker. The “ramifications” word choice is telling, too - clinical, detached, almost legalistic - as if she’s litigating against her former self. The humor makes it quotable; the bleakness makes it stick.
The subtext is less about willpower than about the way industries sell people a narrative of control. Cigarettes have long been marketed as sophistication, thinness, calm; for a model, those myths hit with particular force. Turlington’s profession matters: fashion culture historically glamorized smoking as both prop and appetite suppressant, while also demanding a body that looks untouched by consequence. Her quote, read in that context, plays like a confession and a warning from inside the machine.
There’s also an implicit critique of the false binary smokers get trapped in: either keep going or face misery. By stating the absurdity out loud, she’s trying to short-circuit the myth before it takes root in a new smoker. The “ramifications” word choice is telling, too - clinical, detached, almost legalistic - as if she’s litigating against her former self. The humor makes it quotable; the bleakness makes it stick.
Quote Details
| Topic | Health |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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