don't ever start smoking because
Quitting is the hardest thing
you'll ever have to do!!!
I'm going to use this site to speak out against smoking. You know what they say, the worst people to be around are EX-smokers. I was a smoker for around 30 years, roughly a pack per day. I made numerous attempts to quit (several serious attempts) before I finally quit for good in January of 2000. But I quit too late to avoid Emphysema - the damage had been done.
April 04, 2008 Update - The lack of "real" excercise is beginning to tell. Walking much more than about 5 minutes now causes shortness of breath and I'm beginning to feel some pain in my hips when I walk. I have to skip things now that I'd have done before - such as "meetups" with fellow Raleigh area photographers. Most of their meetings are "field trips" that mean a fair bit of walking and I just can't do it anymore. And the lack of exercise has caused me to gain weight. That just makes everything harder to do. Tying my shoes leaves me breathless now.
I've also developed Chronic Bronchitis. That causes my lungs to generate very thick yellow mucus and I don't have enough wind to expel it efficiently. I sometimes spend 10 minutes just trying to get one big "furball" out, usually interspersed with gagging and other unpleasant stuff. Please don't put yourself through this - it's not worth it.
I started smoking in high school, just hanging around with friends. It was glamorous and macho. At that time (early 60's), cigarettes were available everywhere, smoking was allowed pretty much anywhere (even in Dr's waiting rooms!), many physicians still smoked, and it was generally considered pretty much harmless. By the time smoking began to get bad press, I was already well hooked on cigarettes. I still felt fine, so I didn't seriously try to quit for a number of years. I thought that since I felt OK I wasn't hurting anything, so I figured I would quit "later". Back then, we didn't know that much of the damage done by smoking is irreversible. NOTE - by the time you begin to feel any effects or feel any symptoms of smoking, you've already done SERIOUS, possibly irreversible damage to yourself! For more information, CLICK HERE! (Updated 1/2003)
I have read that nicotine is one of the world's most addictive substances. People who have kicked heroin said that it was easier to do that than to quit smoking. Now that's addictive! I first began trying to quit smoking several years ago just when the Nicotine gum first came out, but I found it less than satisfying and I wasn't successful. Yes, I'd been trying to quit for THAT long! In fact, one time, my wife and I had stopped for almost 6 months and started again during a social event (DUMB!!!). I had made 5 or 6 somewhat serious attempts since that time, usually using the patches. Most of the time, I fell into the old trap of "I can have just ONE cigarette - I can quit any time after that". It took a while, but I finally realized that I am ALWAYS going to be "one puff away from a pack a day". And I finally MADE UP MY MIND to quit. The patches are great for reducing the physical nicotine cravings (nicotine fits) while trying to quit. However, the patches do nothing for the mental state. You still have to WANT to quit in order to be successful. My wife still smokes and I can tell you, it's hard to quit if there are cigarettes available (and calling your name)!
We all know what smoking does to you. You run a GREATLY increased chance of ending up with one or more of these wonderful selections:
Every single one of the items I just listed can kill you. I just saw a commercial that said:
Cigarette smoke contains 101 poisons. That's 100 more than rat poison.
Other reasons to quit:
You may put on a few pounds. You can minimize the weight gain by taking up a little exercise and not substituting food for cigarettes. However, it's a fact that smoking alters your metabolism, so many people put on a little weight when they quit smoking. You can lose the weight. Even if you don't, it's much healthier for you to carry a few extra pounds than to continue smoking. So we just eliminated THAT excuse.
GOD will help you through this! Jesus referred to the body as a Temple of God and God will help you stop harming that Temple! You may find some inspiration if you'll read the Bible, There is also a lot of strength to be found through prayer. Ask people at your church to pray for God to help you quit smoking. You'll also acquire a strong support group that way!
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