The Meaning of the Cigarette in a Painting

A painting I saw just now gave me some insight into a possible symbolic, or metaphorical meaning of cigarettes.  It was a painting of three black women working in a field (probably slaves), but one of the silhouettes of the women was cut out, and on the frame of the painting a new figure, of one of the women, assumingly, was sitting dangling her legs while she smoked a cigarette; in essence taking a break from work; a cigarette break.  Maybe even a “Fuck it” break, and that was how I thought to myself that maybe cigarettes are symbolic of the “fuck it” attitude.  (bad for your health, socially undesirable, expensive, but fuck it, I’m going to have one.)