by Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

You see them gathered in entranceways each work day, knots of shivering, puffing office dwellers.

With pink-lunged types taking control of the office buildings, smokers have been cast out into the cold.

But Northern smokers are a hardy breed. Sub-zero temperatures do little to dampen their craving.

How cold does it have to get to keep you from leaving the warm confines of the Stuart Hodgson Building for a smoke?

Darcy McCurdy: "About 40 below."

McCurdy said that, like any hardship, smoking outdoors in winter brings people together. "I didn't know anybody before I came down here for my first cigarette," she said.

"We're friendly addicts," said one of a pair of Scotia Centre smokers. They wished to remain anonymous, one explaining, "It's not even three o'clock yet!"

"It's a common bond," added his friend. "We talk about the weather, get caught up on the local gossip -- it's better than the Diner."

Partnered with the 10:30 a.m. smoke, the 3 p.m. ciggy perfectly splits the day, supplying just enough tar and nicotine to prevent puffers from eating a box of chocolates or chewing out their boss in the afternoon.

Raeona Pound, a Precambrian-tower dweller, agreed with the socializing power of smoking. She also said cold temperatures won't turn her into a non-smoker.

"I'd probably only stay out for a few puffs it was really cold," said Pound, "But I've been out in -60 C."

Precambrian smokers have demonstrated fierce adaptability. Just as this winter began, they lost the dingy hallway, known as Addicts Alley, that served as smoking headquarters.

"It was awful, really really smoky," said Shelley Thibaudeau of the unventilated hallway. "It's not all that bad smoking outside."

Asked about her smoking-temperature threshold, another Precambrian worker, who decline to supply her name, reported, "It's never gotten that cold yet!"

Precambrians now take their comfort in the alley between their building and the new government complex next door on Franklin Avenue.