Cigarette



Cigars and cigarettes are tightly rolled bundles of dried and fermented tobacco leaves, and rolls of fine cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper, respectively, that, when ignited, produce smoke that is inhaled by the person. Big Boss and Liquid Ocelot commonly smoked the former, whereas Solid Snake and Amanda Valenciano Libre commonly smoked the latter.

Cigar
During the Virtuous Mission and Operation Snake Eater, Naked Snake smoked Cigars, although he also used it to burn leeches off as well as an improvised torch in darkened areas. He also liked smoking Cuban cigars, although they were mostly illegal in the United States and the West during the time. Major Zero was able to somehow procure them despite this. The Boss also used to smoke Cigars, although she quit prior to the events of the Virtuous Mission.

During the events of the Peace Walker Incident, Snake was briefly forced to give up smoking a cigar because his lighter wasn't working properly. After being fed up with his lighter, he decides to allow Ramon Galvez Mena inside again after briefly dismissing them. He also supplied Amanda with a Cuban cigar in order to show he wasn't their enemy when rescuing her and her surviving FSLN troops at the Rio de Jade boathouse. Because of its origin, Amanda initially thought that Big Boss was Colombian until he stated otherwise.

During his insurrection against the Patriots, Liquid Ocelot smoked Cigars in a manner similar to his "father," Big Boss. Big Boss also smoked his last cigar with Solid Snake when the former was dying from FOXDIE.

Cigarettes
During the events of the 1974 Peace Walker Incident, Amanda Valenciano Libre preferred cigarettes, although she was willing to smoke a cigar when Naked Snake offered her one while rescuing her unit at the boathouse. Big Boss later helped her create a cigarette while tending to wounds she sustained while fighting Chrysalis after the latter kidnapped her brother, Chico. She smoked cigarettes in a chain fashion due to fear of mosquitoes after surviving a potentially bad case of malaria. In addition, her brother, Chico, was implied to smoke cigarettes, although Big Boss made him swear to quit when he got Chico to join MSF in order to redeem himself for being forced to sell out his comrades from torture at the Peace Sentinel's hands. Huey Emmerich also briefly smoked cigarettes, although he wasn't allowed to smoke them while working in the labs due to the cigarette smoke and tar ruining the precision equipment, instead developing an electronic cigar to bypass this, which expelled vapor. Vladimir Zadornov/Ramon Galvez Mena used to smoke cigarettes, although he quit before the events of the mission after smoking ruined his lungs.

During the events of the Outer Heaven Uprising, Solid Snake smoked a brand of cigarettes known as Lucky Strikes. He often used the cigarettes in order to find infrared sensors until he had a infrared optical device to detect them, although his health steadily decreased.

During the events of the Zanzibar Land Disturbance, Solid Snake smoked a brand of cigarettes known as Lucky Strikes. He often used the cigarettes in order to find infrared sensors until he had a infrared optical device to detect them, although his health steadily decreased. In addition, Snake was reluctant to use a hang-glider to fly across to the detention camp side of the Zanzibar Fortress after the Bridge of Sorrow was destroyed by Gray Fox until after he smoked a cigarette.

During the Shadow Moses Incident, he smoked a brand of cigarettes called Moslems, which was designed to cut down on second-hand smoke. He also smoked it for similar purposes as the Outer Heaven and Zanzibar Land missions, although he had to blow the smoke to find the infrared sensors, as the cigarettes were designed to cut down on second hand smoke. He also smuggled them on Shadow Moses Island using his stomach, due to Naomi Hunter's earlier shot suppressing his stomach acids.

During the Tanker and Big Shell Incidents, Solid Snake continued to smoke cigarettes. During the former event, he disposed of a lit cigarette over the George Washington Bridge shortly before infiltrating the U.S.S. Discovery Marine tanker, to which Otacon berated Snake for, although he also kept them on him as a "good luck charm." In the latter event, he supplied the cigarettes to Raiden in case he needed them. Although Raiden himself claimed he doesn't smoke, he later admits that he did briefly smoke, although he quit smoking some time prior to the mission.

During the events of Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection, Solid Snake smoked The Boss brand of cigarettes, which were unfiltered hand-rolled cigarettes containing 16mm of tar. Snake later quit smoking after the events of the mission, as one of his first steps to fulfilling Big Boss's final wish to Snake.

Behind the scenes
The cigar is a piece of equipment Naked Snake uses during the Virtuous Mission and Operation Snake Eater. The cigar can be used to burn off leeches and can also drive away hornets or to light up dark areas slightly, although smoking causes Snake's health to steadily decrease. On a slightly related note, Naked Snake gets annoyed whenever someone mistakes a cigar for a cigarette or claims that they are the same. The specific Cigar brand that Naked Snake smoked was Cuban.

Although Naked Snake did not smoke cigars at any point during the San Hieronymo Takeover, he did make up a story about his intending to call someplace to get colombian cigars to Ocelot to cover for the fact that he ended up learning Ocelot's radio frequency.

During the events of the Peace Walker Incident, Snake was briefly forced to give up smoking a cigar because his lighter wasn't working properly. After being fed up with his lighter, he decides to allow Ramon Galvez Mena inside again after briefly dismissing them. Zadornov also used to be a heavy smoker (of cigarettes), which was also partially the reason for his prosthetic hand having a built-in lighter. In addition, he offered a cigar to Amanda after he saved her and her surviving FSLN troops, although Amanda herself prefers cigarettes. While nursing to Amanda's wounds after her rematch with Chrysalis while she attempted to chase it and Chico down, he also rolled up a cigarette for her under her request. Huey also developed electronic cigars that only smoked out vapor as a substitute while working within the AI labs, as the tobacco smoke ruins the various equipment and measurements. Shortly after Big Boss defeats ZEKE, he smokes a cigar using Vladimir Zadornov's prosthetic hand.

Cigarettes are instead favored by Solid Snake, who in turn gives them to Raiden along with a SOCOM pistol. When the player smokes, his aim will be steadied, though his health will also deplete. Cigarette smoke can also be used to detect nearby infrared lasers. Smoking also gave Solid Snake more time to escape Outer Heaven as it prepared to self-destruct. A pack of cigarettes and a scope were Snake's only belonging upon his arrival on Shadow Moses; he was able to sneak it along by holding it inside his stomach.

A pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes. In Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2, Snake smokes a generic version of Lucky Strike. In Metal Gear Solid, he smokes a fictional brand of cigarettes (named Moslem in the Japanese version), designed to leave no taste, smell and virtually zero second-hand smoke.

In Metal Gear Solid 4, cigarettes replenish Snake's Psyche, but lowers his Life. Also, if guards smell the smoke, they will investigate to find the source. Snake smokes another fictional brand, called The Boss, which are unfiltered hand-rolled cigarettes with 26mg tar each which he stores in a little box and stubs out in a portable ashtray. In addition, Liquid Ocelot at various points smoked cigars.

A "fogger" (発煙筒, Hatsuentō? ) was used in Metal Gear: Ghost Babel to detect infrared security beams. A smoke generator, it is the only such item that doesn't deplete Snake's health. It is described as a "Device that lights up and emits smoke."

In The Naked Sample, a GRU soldier intended to smoke some cigarettes while on patrol in Dolinovodno, but he accidentally fumbled the cigarette box and dropped it into an ivy patch near Snake's hiding position, the GRU soldier then searches for it by poking his head out of the hole, and then attempts to find it blindly by grabbing air at various places, with Snake narrowly avoiding being grabbed or touched by the soldier. Eventually, Snake, while hiding underneath the area the soldier was looking, covertly helped the soldier by grabbing the cigarette box and then handing it to the soldier.

Most of the characters, if Snake smokes a cigarette (or in the case of Metal Gear Solid 3, a cigar), will chastise Snake for smoking, with only one character not minding too much about Snake smoking other than a general warning about the health effects of smoking.

The Metal Gear Solid Novelization portrays how he got cigarettes onto the island as being a bit different. Instead of smuggling them inside his stomach, Snake stole a pack of cigarettes from a Genome soldier, and had to adjust to its taste throughout the mission.