I’m no fan of smoking and avoid bars because I can’t stand the smell of secondhand smoke, but it was obvious that smoking for this man equaled freedom.

Mr. Saleh described the lengths he had taken to find cigarettes under the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and the thrill it had given him to break its rules.

Akhtamar Classic, he said, was the only brand smuggled into territory controlled by ISIS. A pack used to cost 750 dinars, or 63 cents. Under the militants, it spiked to 20,000 dinars, or $17. He said he couldn’t afford $17. So he and four trusted friends pooled money to buy one pack of 20 cigarettes. He showed me how he would break each slim cigarette into three pieces to make them last longer.

Mr. Saleh said he and his buddies used to go out into the fields with their cows and smoke, covering their faces like this to reduce the smoke.