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Lady Blue · 06-04-2009, 01:23 PM

Confession time?

I smoked for 44 years; 46 years if you count the first 2 not yet totally addicted years. Well, I did manage to quit once for 14 months in my 20s, but started back up again.

Chronology:

I was 12, my sister was 15. She decided if she's gonna get in trouble for smoking, then so am I. So she had me smoking right along with her and her friends. What the *ell do I know at that age! Big sister (who beats me up once a day whether I need it or not) giving you cigarettes, Mary Tyler Moore & Dick Van Dyke advertising cigarettes on TV, Marlboro Man on billboards and magazines, and every TV show and movie actor/actress smoking, and your dad smokes too. It's easy to get cigarettes from your dad (Pall Mall unfiltered no less) and back then storekeepers had no problem selling cigarettes to a 12 year old.

From age 12 to 14 my smoking was sporadic since I wasn't with my big, bad sister constantly and wasn't "hooked" yet.

By age 14 I was smoking pretty steady. It was easy to make excuses for doing it. It was cool, everybody did it, it was socially "expected," smoking was still advertised extensively. You could smoke EVERYWHERE: department stores, grocery stores, all municipal buildings, buses, airports/airplanes, Dr.'s offices, hospitals (even in patient rooms,) EVERYBODY smoked EVERYWHERE.

Like RWood said, cigarettes were under 25 cents/pack, under $2/carton. Even a kid could afford them. There was no Surgeon Generals Warning telling of the health risks.

I've heard many times that drug addicts who smoke cigarettes and also do cocaine have found it easier to quit using cocaine or other drugs than kicking nicotine.

Not only is it the addiction you must conquer, but the BEHAVIOR as well. You need to totally alter your behavior. It's hard to stop unconsciously reaching for that cigarette after dinner, when you get in the car, when you walk out of a store, when you leave work, when you walk the dog, when you're sitting on the deck with a cool drink, etc.

Well, to keep a long story from getting much longer, I managed to quit again 20 months ago.

I REFUSE to be one of those recovering smokers who PREACH to current smokers about quitting. That's the LAST thing a smoker needs, is to be preached to. It's been my experience that preaching hurts more than it helps, and it doesn't INSPIRE one little bit.

So all I can say is GO MOEJOE! CONGRATS.

And to everyone else who is tackling the challange as well.

06-04-2009, 01:23 PM	#41
Lady Blue the snarky blue one Posts: 6,001 Karma: 3877825 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: deep in the heart Device: PRS500, 505 & 600, PRST1 & T2, Kindle PW, Moto Razr, Galaxy Tab 2-10"	Confession time? I smoked for 44 years; 46 years if you count the first 2 not yet totally addicted years. Well, I did manage to quit once for 14 months in my 20s, but started back up again. Chronology: I was 12, my sister was 15. She decided if she's gonna get in trouble for smoking, then so am I. So she had me smoking right along with her and her friends. What the ell do I know at that age! Big sister (who beats me up once a day whether I need it or not) giving you cigarettes, Mary Tyler Moore & Dick Van Dyke advertising cigarettes on TV, Marlboro Man on billboards and magazines, and every TV show and movie actor/actress smoking, and your dad smokes too. It's easy to get cigarettes from your dad (Pall Mall unfiltered no less) and back then storekeepers had no problem selling cigarettes to a 12 year old. From age 12 to 14 my smoking was sporadic since I wasn't with my big, bad sister constantly and wasn't "hooked" yet. By age 14 I was smoking pretty steady. It was easy to make excuses for doing it. It was cool, everybody did it, it was socially "expected," smoking was still advertised extensively. You could smoke EVERYWHERE: department stores, grocery stores, all municipal buildings, buses, airports/airplanes, Dr.'s offices, hospitals (even in patient rooms,) EVERYBODY smoked EVERYWHERE. Like RWood said, cigarettes were under 25 cents/pack, under $2/carton. Even a kid could afford them. There was no Surgeon Generals Warning telling of the health risks. I've heard many times that drug addicts who smoke cigarettes and also do cocaine have found it easier to quit using cocaine or other drugs than kicking nicotine. Not only is it the addiction you must conquer, but the BEHAVIOR as well. You need to totally alter your behavior. It's hard to stop unconsciously reaching for that cigarette after dinner, when you get in the car, when you walk out of a store, when you leave work, when you walk the dog, when you're sitting on the deck with a cool drink, etc. Well, to keep a long story from getting much longer, I managed to quit again 20 months ago. I REFUSE to be one of those recovering smokers who PREACH to current smokers about quitting. That's the LAST thing a smoker needs, is to be preached to. It's been my experience that preaching hurts more than it helps, and it doesn't INSPIRE one little bit. So all I can say is GO MOEJOE! CONGRATS*. And to everyone else who is tackling the challange as well.