My life as a smoker
I smoked for over thirty years. Once or twice I quit for a month but gained weight. I can remember saying, "I'd rather die from smoking than obesity." My true reason for starting again was that I loved smoking. I didn't WANT to stop. Even my children's hatred of it didn't deter me.
Now my statement has come back to haunt me. I have emphysema and most recently, lung cancer. The cancer is in remission now, but is likely to return. My lungs are so damaged they only work at 25% capacity. I'm on oxygen much of the time. It's too late to retract my statement, but I can extend the rest of the life I have left by not smoking.
Why and how I quit smoking
To this day I can't believe I didn't even have an urge to try smoking until I was in Cosmetology College. Back then we didn't know the dangers of smoking.
This is how it started.....my roommate Carri and I were trying to lose weight. Carri suggested we try smoking our suppers instead of eating. Now, this sounded like a VERY good idea to me. So each night we'd light up, puff, and cough. Of course as anyone who has smoked knows, it didn't take long to get hooked. We were soon pros. We could draw deep and blow out without choking. Carri could even make the most awesome smoke rings! These nightly sessions soon led us to more cigarettes. Addiction ruled.
Advice
- DON'T SMOKE.
- If you go into the support forum on this site, read my cancer journal. The journal talks about my COPD also. Believe me, this is not fun.
- No matter how hard you think it is to stop smoking, keep in mind the suffering you might have to endure if you continue.
- Quit smoking for yourself, but also think of all the people your smoking and possible death from it might affect.
