There was a time when I was smoking two to three packs of Marlboro on a night out. People I was drinking with would dip their hands in the packets, but I consumed most of those horrible and yet addictive cancer sticks.
It was impossible during that phase to be out socializing without lighting one stick after another. Inhaling the smoke and releasing it was extremely satisfying. Taking a long drag and then slowly exhaling it was incredibly relaxing.
I couldn’t function socially without it nor get back to work without smoking a few at coffee breaks. My morning and evening walks weren’t complete; hadn’t I huffed and puffed some of them. I needed my ciggies. I loved my cancer sticks.
So, how did I break up with that which I thought I couldn’t part ways with?
Here’s why and how I quit smoking:
1.I stank. Badly.
My clothes, my hair, my hands, my breath smelt awful. My sheets and pillows smelt like they got washed with tobacco detergents. I had to keep my distance from my students to avoid assaulting them with that old, rancid ashtray odor. I couldn’t stand it anymore. It was suffocating. My sense of smell was deteriorating as well, but after a day of not lighting a stick-up, it improved and made me all the more aware of how badly I reeked.
That’s it. Stop. I chucked my stash in the bin. I threw out all my lighters and gave my cool ashtray away.
I wanted to smell fresh and clean again.
2. I was wasting so much money.
When I started, a pack of Marlboro was about 3 US dollars. I’d smoke about 2 or 3 packs on a night out, so I spent about $200 a month. I wasn’t earning much, so that was a big chunk out of my paycheck. Then I switched to menthols, which cost more. I didn’t want to calculate how much money I was flushing down the drain. I was so impractical and stupid, sustaining a vice I obviously couldn’t afford. The gruesome warning images on the packs didn’t deter me. My pitiful bank balance didn’t put a halt to it either. However, I woke up one day and realized how foolish I was burning my hard-earned cash up.
Enough. Time to quit and save up. No more Marlboro expenditures.
3. I was just bored. Very bored.
I had the habit of eating or smoking a lot on party nights. I had this urge to do something else aside from drinking because I think during those times, I needed a filler-something that would distract me, something that would wake me up or occupy me. Going out and getting smashed wasn’t as fun as it used to be, I guess. I had to be busy with my smokes to ignore my restlessness stubbornly. One day, it just hit me-
I won’t haul myself out of that pit of boredom by harming my lungs. Quit! I had to find other ways to have fun.
…
I’m happy I haven’t made any cigarette purchases since October 2017. It wasn’t easy. I had a few lapses the following year, but there’s just no going back to it. Some co-smokers in the past tried to make me feel guilty for not being one of them anymore.
“You’re too good for a smoke now?”
No more. It’s forever adios cigarillos. I’m more thrilled waking up without that despicable stench, with less money forked out, and with the knowledge that I don’t need cigs to entertain myself. Just quit. Again, it won’t be a joyful walk in the park, but you can do it. Just stop. There’s no other trick to it other than that. Just stop smoking.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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From The Good Men Project on Medium
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Photo credit: Abril(Author)
