There's a lot of people who, a cigarette is about the only vacation they have.

Parker’s line frames smoking less as a glamorous vice than as a small, accessible respite for people whose lives allow few breaks. Calling a cigarette “the only vacation” highlights how stress, long hours, and limited resources can make brief rituals—stepping outside, pausing work, taking a breath—feel like the only controllable relief. The quote can be read as a critique of moralizing about smoking without acknowledging the social and economic pressures that make such habits appealing. It also suggests empathy for smokers: the act is not merely addiction, but a coping mechanism and a momentary claim to personal time.