What a scene!
Last Friday, New York City witnessed a massive gathering of over 1,500 smokers outside Washington Square Park, aiming for what could be the world’s largest cigarette break.
Brought together by Bob Terry, a 75-year-old Park Slope resident and a well-known face on social media, the event aimed to unite strangers for a bit of camaraderie.
“People are feeling low these days,” Terry mentioned. “With all the stress from work and life, sometimes it’s just good to get together and smoke. There’s so much noise about health nowadays. People seem overwhelmed, almost from eating too many salads and doing jump rope!”
“Just relax and enjoy life,” he emphasized during his inaugural “cigarette party.”
However, it’s important to note that Terry, who considers himself a cigarette connoisseur, advocates for smokers to reduce their intake and strongly advises non-smokers to avoid starting altogether.
While he has diminished his own smoking habit, still consuming around half a pack of Marlboro Reds daily, he described the event as a chance to connect through social media and promote some positivity.
“If you don’t smoke, don’t even think about it. If you do, try to quit. And if that’s too difficult, at least cut back,” he advised.
The crowd, which included an amusing animatronic character resembling Oscar the Grouch, erupted into cheers as he lit his first cigarette.
“I love each and every one of you,” Terry beamed. “Thanks for being here. This is amazing.”
As Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” played on a portable speaker, attendees began chanting his name: “Bob, Bob, Bob.”
An atmosphere thick with haze surrounded them, with participants ranging in age from 18 to 78. Terry snapped selfies and distributed homemade lighters.
But not everyone was in the loop. A student from New York University approached a smoker, puzzled about the gathering.
“It’s Conor McGregor,” the smoker joked.
Having experience in stage acting, television, and film, Terry recently returned to New York from Los Angeles.
He’s part of a comedy group named old jewish people and runs his own Instagram show, which recently garnered 33 million views for a blind tobacco taste test he posted online.
Promising to provide a cigarette to everyone aged 18 and older, Terry humorously noted he’s “not on the scale of millionaires” while handing out flyers about the smoke session.
Interestingly, Guinness World Records doesn’t maintain a record for the largest organized smoke break, and no officials from the organization attended the event.
After about half an hour, smoke lingered in the air as roughly 20 NYPD officers showed up to disperse the crowd.
“We should do this every Friday,” one person yelled, prompting a chant of “one more, one more, one more.”
Terry responded by crooning “New York, New York,” similar to Frank Sinatra’s classic.
Reflecting on smoking habits from the ’50s and ’60s, Terry noted that it was quite common back then, despite the serious health risks associated with it.
Doctors are surprised at the condition of his lungs but still push him to quit smoking.
“I’d love to, but honestly, I think I’d just stress myself into a corner,” Terry replied.
