Fumer

Fumer is a French verb meaning to smoke. In ordinary use it refers to inhaling the smoke produced by burning tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. The verb is also used in culinary contexts to mean exposing foods to smoke to flavour or preserve them, for example fumer le saumon (to smoke salmon) or fumer du fromage.

Origin and forms: Fumer comes from Latin fumare “to smoke.” It is a regular -er verb. In the present tense: je fume, tu fumes, il fume, nous fumons, vous fumez, ils fument. The past participle is fumé, used with avoir in compound tenses: j'ai fumé, tu as fumé, il a fumé, nous avons fumé, vous avez fumé, ils ont fumé.

Usage notes: Common constructions include arrêter de fumer (to quit smoking) and se mettre à fumer (to start smoking). The noun fumeur denotes a smoker, and fumée means smoke. In public health and policy contexts, fumer is central to discussions of smoking bans, tobacco control, and nicotine addiction; many countries regulate where and when one may fumer. E-cigarettes and other nicotine products have influenced contemporary usage and regulation as alternatives to traditional tobacco products.