It has a name, part II: "smexting"

It turns out that cleaner air and healthier people aren't the only side effects of a "No Smoking" sign. A wide-reaching ban on smoking in enclosed places just went into effect on July 1st in the UK, and in the two weeks following, carrier Orange reported that 7.5 million more messages were sent on its network than in the two-week period the month prior. Analysts (who apparently are responsible for researching these sorts of trends) suggest a couple explanations: first, smokers freshly ousted outdoors to get their smoke on need something to do to pass the time -- out comes the phone, and, well, you know the rest. Secondly, smokers that are working on quitting as a result of the ban are turning to texting to give their fidgety, nerve-wracked fingers something to do and to seek support from friends. The behavior, which arguably didn't need a name, is being called "smexting." Looks like the money saved on cancer sticks is going straight to the carriers -- but hey, at least it's a little safer (or not).

[Via Techdirt]

[StrangeBum @ Aug 10th 2007 2:44PM]

I don't get it. I can smoke with my left hand and do all my texting in my right hand. This just doesn't work for me.

IMHO though, I actually do get it. A smoking ban has been in effect here for a few months now, within twenty feet of any public entrance is a no-no. So I used to sit outside and text my break away. And if I really needed a smoke, I would just walk the extra twenty feet away. Blah...I lost whatever it is I was going to say though..

[Todd @ Aug 10th 2007 2:52PM]

Next year when fast food is made illegal ( for the same reason smoking has been made illegal ) will big fat people start "glexting" as in "gluttony + texting"?

Reference:
http://www.tothecenter.com/news.php?readmore=1856

[Constable Odo @ Aug 10th 2007 2:58PM]

Smoking and egg-making = smegma.

[strider_mt2k @ Aug 10th 2007 3:09PM]

Smoking near an active volcano=smagma.

[daedalus @ Aug 10th 2007 3:12PM]

Smoking on the set of "Little People, Big World" = Smidgen

[strider_mt2k @ Aug 10th 2007 3:01PM]

Who's usually the carrier, Smextel?

[Chuckles McGee @ Aug 10th 2007 5:54PM]

For that smooth wide-coverage taste that won't drop the flavor- choose Smextel!

[robothouse @ Aug 10th 2007 3:01PM]

I'm Brian Fellows!

[a ham sandwich @ Aug 10th 2007 3:06PM]

dont smoke.....you'll die

[John B @ Aug 10th 2007 3:21PM]

You'll die regardless of whether you smoke or not. Death is kind of, you know, inevitable anyway. :P

[andres @ Aug 10th 2007 3:23PM]

eh.. some people call it a bad habit i call it my retirement plant. It make sure I retire ahead of time.

[andres @ Aug 10th 2007 3:20PM]

you're so clever... (wait for it..) NOT!!

[Matt B @ Aug 10th 2007 3:32PM]

I prefer speaking to the person on the other end. There is nothing more annoying than trying to talk to someone who is having a text conversation with another person.

[SikBug @ Aug 10th 2007 3:43PM]

Smoking itself isn't illegal just doing it inside a public place. I really really don't understand what all the fuss is about. Anyway, the idea of texting a lot when you are trying to quit is a interesting idea, I just chewed a lot of straws...

[Cpt.Scarecrow @ Aug 10th 2007 5:04PM]

I can only imagine how that group of analyst would have worked together:
Boss: "So you have researched why stopping smoking causes an increase in texting, what have you come up with?"
Analyst 1: "I have configured a theory that it is based on the smokers needing new something to do in the time they used to smoke and thus started texting."
Boss: "Good job, what have you thought up analyst 2?"
Analyst 2: "I thought that the quitters had to seek support from friends in the hard times of not smoking."
Boss: "Good theory as well. Now you analyst 3, what are your views on the subject."
Analyst 3: "I thought we should call it smexting."
Analyst 1: "..."
Analyst 2: "..."
Boss: ".......You're fired....."

[PEZ @ Aug 10th 2007 8:59PM]

Yeah, I kinda really doubt it.

[mike10010100 @ Aug 11th 2007 1:32AM]

OMG! I saw this post and instantly thought that this article was going to talk about the spread of pr0n via cell phone.

Ha! Sorry...

[christian @ Aug 11th 2007 1:42PM]

hehehe. it is so true... i just quit smoking. though i don't live in the UK, i do find myself texting alot more often since i quit

[brackishboy @ Aug 12th 2007 12:42PM]

*sigh*

Actually, the ban hasn't come into force in the UK- just England. Wales and Northern Ireland have had the ban since April, and those of us North of the Border have been smoke-free since March 2006.

This reminds me of the time I was chatting with an Aide of Sonny Perdue, the governor of Georgia, USA. He asked where in Scotland I was from, and when he was told "South West, near the border with England" he replied: "Gee, I thought Scotland was an island all on its own!"

[TIMMAH! @ Aug 13th 2007 5:11PM]

No big surprise. We have "shexting" here at our company.