I remember as a kid, I would watch my mother smoke.
This boggled me since we were learning how bad cigarettes were in school and my own mother was doing the very thing that we were told would eventually kill her.
The concept of addiction was something that my young mind was not able to grasp.
It didn't seem realistic that someone would need to be defendant on something like a cigarette.
Well, I decided to prove everyone wrong.
At the young age of 16 (coincidentally, the age I started to make my own money), I made the conscious decision to start smoking just to disprove the concept of addiction.
Well, guess what happened.
Yup, you guessed it.
I got addicted.
Young, stupid teenager...
As I got older I became a more dedicated smoker.
Eventually I was up to a pack a day.
My folks showed some discipline.
No smoking in the house.
Smoke outside is what I was told (really wasn't fun in the winter).
One of the things I was most looking forward to about college was that I could smoke inside my dorm room.
Looking back, that is kinda sad.
At one point, I attempted to quit and was successful for about 4 months.
But we all know the drill.
Fast forward a bunch of years to my introduction into the work force.
It seemed that smoking was a social thing.
It allowed smokers to take extra "breaks" and get away from their desk more often.
We could socialize while smoking, making new friends and giving us the opportunity to network with other smokers.
The looks of consternation we would give to people who dare make a comment about our habit was not too be believed.
Who are THEY to tell ME how to live? At the time I did not see the irony in that statement.
It was my right as a smoker that was being invaded.
And then when they outlawed smoking in bars and restaurants, we were up in arms.
"They are taking away our rights" we would yell.
Again, not picking up on the non smokers right to clean air.
Within the past few years, commercials have been coming on more and more against tobacco companies.
Telling us how they lied, how they manipulate, and are basically the devil.
While these may have some impact, it didn't really hit home.
When they started to air some really graphic commercials, that showed people on their death bed in their most pathetic state of being, that is what hit me.
(You can see some of these here:Outlaw Cigarettes [http://outlawcigarettes.
com/about.
html] The one that made me stop was the guy cleaning out the hole in his throat with a Q tip.
I pretty much stopped that day cold turkey.
Its been over a year for me without a cigarette with no slips.
I feel great and am quickly approaching the best physical condition I have ever been in.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story.