Iwai Yuki (40), one half of the comedy duo Harai-chi, posed a question to smokers on X (formerly Twitter) on the night of September 3: “For people who smoke, does it taste better when you inhale, or when you exhale?” The simple question sparked a lively split on 5ch’s Geinou/Sports Breaking News+ board between an “inhaling” camp and an “exhaling” camp, while many other posters pointed out that the sense of cigarettes “tasting good” is really just an illusion created by the relief of nicotine withdrawal — turning the thread into a debate ranging from taste theory to the mechanics of addiction.
Harai-chi’s Iwai asks smokers: “Does it taste better when you inhale, or when you exhale?”
Iwai Yuki (40), of the comedy duo Harai-chi, posted an update to his X account on the night of the 3rd, putting a question to smokers.
Iwai asked: “For people who smoke, does it taste better when you inhale, or when you exhale?”
Never smoked a day in my life, but I get the impression inhaling tastes better
5AnonymousSep 4, 2026 09:50
Inhaling tastes better, exhaling is when you relax. Haven't smoked in decades, but I've stopped consciously taking deep exhales, and that alone makes me want a cigarette
6AnonymousSep 4, 2026 09:51
Isn't it like that feeling when you take a big breath of air at a mountain summit and it tastes amazing? I don't smoke so I wouldn't know
9AnonymousSep 4, 2026 09:51
It's exhaling. When you blow smoke toward someone and they make that disgusted face — that's what does it for me
13AnonymousSep 4, 2026 09:52
It used to be great how smokers got side-eyed at pachinko parlors, but now there are way too many non-smoking halls. Whenever I landed a good machine I'd deliberately blow smoke at anyone who sat down next to me
14AnonymousSep 4, 2026 09:53
Inhaling tastes better — the flavor's better too. I already quit, but smoking in the break room after wrapping up a chunk of work was the best part of the day
78AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:06
Re: #14 When smokers get together, pretty much all of them light up
21AnonymousSep 4, 2026 09:55
What I really want to know is how they feel about making everyone around them breathe their secondhand smoke. Though I bet they're all scumbags who don't care at all
49AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:00
Re: #21 If they actually cared, they wouldn't be smoking in the first place
23AnonymousSep 4, 2026 09:55
Smokers' mouths reek 🤥
141AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:18
Re: #23 There are people who smoke while sipping sickly-sweet canned coffee and they smell absolutely rank
29AnonymousSep 4, 2026 09:57
The whole idea that cigarettes "taste good" is just an addict's illusion to begin with… The brain simply mistakes the moment nicotine levels climb back from a withdrawal deficit to zero for "deliciousness"
40AnonymousSep 4, 2026 09:58
Re: #29 By that logic, eating food would be the same thing
45AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:00
Re: #40 There's a difference between poison and nutrients
76AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:06
Re: #40 That's sad… your brain's been fried from too much nicotine exposure…
36AnonymousSep 4, 2026 09:58
Smoke doesn't actually have a taste. You're just mistaking the relief of nicotine withdrawal for deliciousness
47AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:00
Re: #36 Hi-Lite (a harsh, cheap Japanese cigarette brand) is rough, and there are cigarettes with a genuinely sweet flavor too
55AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:01
Re: #36 No, there really is a taste — it varies by brand. Guess you wouldn't know if you've never smoked
37AnonymousSep 4, 2026 09:58
There's no way it's exhaling, idiot
42AnonymousSep 4, 2026 09:59
Re: #37 Yeah, nobody says food tastes better coming back up either lol
79AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:06
20 years of smoking, a pack a day on average — let me set you straight: there's not much of a "tastes good" feeling to it. It's more like struggling to breathe and finally sucking in oxygen. That's the answer, got it, baldy?
95AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:09
Re: #79 Damn, spot on — you're not really thinking "this tastes good," you smoke to smother the brain's craving
151AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:20
Re: #79 That just means you've smoked so much your brain's gone dumb from it. It's become pure habit — at that point it's less about taste and more like "guess I'll light one up"
80AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:06
Do smokers seriously not realize how bad they smell?
89AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:08
Re: #80 I'm aware I smell, but plenty of non-smokers stink too, so it's beside the point
82AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:07
It's best when you're drinking alcohol alongside it
91AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:09
Re: #82 Even though it ruins the taste of the alcohol
100AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:11
Cigarettes are supposedly for relaxation or blowing off steam, but once you start and get hooked, not being able to smoke ends up making you even more irritated — completely defeating the purpose
153AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:21
Re: #100 Apparently this isn't unique to nicotine — it's called the opponent-process theory of drug dependence. The brain learns that smoking brings calm, which flips into a state where you can't feel calm without it
138AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:18
Obviously it's when you inhale. Think about it for two seconds
155AnonymousSep 4, 2026 10:21
Re: #138 Plenty of people are exhale people though, right? Think about it for two seconds
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
Iwai’s simple question struck a nerve as it touches on a basic sensation that splits opinion even among smokers themselves. The thread divided between those who feel the “deliciousness” on the inhale and those who feel relief on the exhale, while several posts argued that the “deliciousness” of smoking is, to begin with, just the brain mistaking the satisfaction of resolved nicotine withdrawal for pleasure. That explanation echoes what addiction research calls the opponent-process theory — suggesting the sensation may be less about pleasure itself and more about withdrawal relief being reinterpreted as pleasure. On the other hand, some pushed back that “the taste differs by brand,” keeping alive the view that a genuine flavor element can’t be entirely ruled out. The fact that people’s explanations of the sensation diverge depending on whether they’ve actually smoked is a classic example of why this kind of topic tends to spark debate.
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