When he exhales this last time, it's done quickly, just to make room for his reply. ...He sure burned through that thing, didn't he. It can linger between his fingers for a moment, though, as sort of a prop while he points at the two of them.

"That's precisely what I mean. Look at all they've accomplished with this one stroke—that period of unease caused by the shortage was the perfect lead-in to the riots. If the infection had come out of nowhere it would've been a shock, but with all that time for unease to fester, and for the propaganda to be distributed, it was definitely set up to linger. And now, not only is there a palpable sense of fear and anger on both sides of it, but a significant number of those who pose a serious physical threat to those involved in the anti-xenian movement are no longer a factor."

Consider it a form a punctuation when he finally presses the cigarette butt into...hopefully an ashtray, but if not, whatever's handy will do. Perhaps a spoon.

"It'll only get worse from here."