There's a majority of people in Japan who smoke, not so much constantly on their own but many do it as a casual thing with friends, when your friends smoke a lot I imagine you would do the same.

In a case with Mika Nakashima you can hear the effect of smoking on her voice since it seems like she rarely warms up enough to offset it. Love the girl, but I cringe everytime she cracks during a live which always happens at least once. Gackt on the other hand, he must warm up extensively since I've rarely if ever heard a sour note come out of him and he's a smoker.

Well, to be fair, I really do think that Ayu smoked when she was a teen and even while she was a popstar, but she probably quit after DOME TOUR since her left ear was close to losing its hearing.. :|

I mean, haven't you seen a change in her voice since that era?

lol, she holds it like it's a cigarett.
I think you would hold it in a different way if you would stir the drink
but i don't know :shakehead

Oh god people Ayumi smokes so what. We have pics of her smoking already. But it's not like shes a serious smoker.

who cares if she smokes. i love her addictive voice. she probably puffs casually... but in the end... i love her voice anyways... it has evolved unlike most singers. she's just learning how to use it in more creative ways. this is ridiculous.