The Technique And Practice Of Opium Smoking -- In Chinese there is a special gesture to show that a man smokes opium. If you are talking of someone and you do not wish to mention that he smokes, you lift your hand in front of your face, thumb and little finger up and the other fingers bent down and the thumb in front of the mouth. February 27, 1952. (Photo by Hedda Morrison, Camera Press). ;The Technique And Practice Of Opium Smoking -- In Chinese there is a special gesture to show that a man sm