Caledonia Argus

Giving up your best friend

Posted: 11/13/02

ìSmokeoutî day - Resolutions are made to quit smoking, to give up that best friend. The first day, no cigarettes. The next day, a drag off a friendís cigarette. The next day, a borrowed cigarette from a friend, because ìI quit smoking, but I need just one.î By the end of the first week, a pack is purchased and smoked. ìMy husband said I was too ornery, so I started again. I was eating all the time, and I donít want to gain weight. I wanted to take a break with my friends. We went out and I like to smoke when I have a drink. The drive to work on icy roads made me nervous, so I stopped and bought a pack. Iíll quit in the spring.î

Some resolutions are kept. No smoking, but severe withdrawal symptoms. The patch or the gum (or both) helps, but the habit is still hard to break. The cough is worse than when you smoked. But, this time the resolution will work, because you have the right mind-set that you need for the ordeal of breaking the habit.

How do I know all this? I know, because I was a ìprofessional quitter.î I started smoking at the age of sixteen, and quit many times, in many ways, sometimes for weeks, sometimes months and sometimes for a few years. I quit cold turkey, I quit with hypnotism and the final ìquitÇî I used the gum. Why would I ever want to start again, if I had been successful in quitting? I started because I wanted to be a casual smoker, a person, who could smoke a cigarette while dining out, or at a party, and then not have a cigarette for a week, or a month.

Fifteen years ago, I quit once again. I finally admitted to myself that I could not be a casual smoker. If I lit one cigarette, I would soon be smoking a pack or more a day.

My cigarette was my best friend. My friend joined me after meals. My friend was with me in my car when I was driving. My friend accompanied me at breaks and lunch. My friend did not forsake me if I was unhappy. If I awoke in the night and couldnít sleep, my friend was there. When I watched TV, my friend watched with me. My friend was with me off and on for nearly forty years, until I finally ended our friendship for good.

Friends can irritate us, but none more than the cigarette. The things that annoyed me were the persistent cough, the price of cigarettes, the ìNo Smokingî signs, the food I couldnít taste, the smell on my clothes and in the house and car, my childrenís nagging me to stop smoking, the ashtrays to wash, the gray look of my face, the wrinkles forming around my mouth from smoking, my relatives and friends that were allergic to smoke.

The thing I regret the most was wanting to smoke a cigarette instead of enjoying visits with friends or relatives who were allergic to smoke. I visited for a short time and then excused myself to go outside and enjoy my friend, the cigarette. In and out so I could smoke another cigarette.

I wish I could relive those visits without the smoking.

Now I am allergic to smoke, and have to stay away from smoke as much as possible. Being an ex-smoker, I know that smokers avoid being around someone like me. The last time I visited with some of my family they often left the room I was in and gathered in another part of the house or outside, to join their friend, just as I used to do when I smoked.

When I decided to give up that best friend, I didnít do it for my health. Although it is the best reason, I, like most smokers didnít think that cigarettes would make me sick or that I could get cancer. It happened to someone else, but not to me. I quit because it cost too much. I put that cigarette money away every day and then treated myself to something special. There are so many fun things to buy with that cigarette money.

Thursday, November 21, 2002 is the annual ìGreat American Smokeoutî day. If you plan to quit, try it on that day.

The only other thing I can say is this: If you have read a lot about smoking being bad for you, then give up reading! (just kidding)

ÖAggie Tippery
Special Correspondent

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