Seven Smoke-Free Years And Counting

When I was a kid, it seemed like everyone smoked. I think most people I knew did. Even one of the doctors my mom occasionally took us to (as an alternative to our pediatrician). He was quite the character, this doctor of ours, and I don’t think he ever took himself too seriously. After the examination, he’d ask you to ‘come back into his office’, and as soon as you planted yourself in a cushy, over-sized chair across from him, he would light up a cigarette, take a deep puff, exhale and then say (quite seriously, I might add) “Don’t ever smoke. It’s not good for you.” This was always the first thing he did before he told you what the results of your examination were. When we were very young, we didn’t pick up on the irony of his actions, but when we got a little older, my two brothers and I used to joke about the smoking experience at this doctor’s office all the time. And you’d think that it would deter us from picking up this habit. But it didn’t.

An incident like this would be horrifying – and criminal – in this day and age. But when I was growing up, smoking was socially acceptable, and it was permitted everywhere. In fact, it was rather cool to be a smoker, particularly in high school. There was so much pressure to smoke, and being a non-smoker was harder than being one. Moreover, there were so many teenagers that smoked, that many secondary schools even had designated smoking areas. My high school was one of them. And the smoking area was packed during recesses and lunch. And you think that’s bad? At least we weren’t allowed to smoke in the classrooms. Unlike college. Where we were allowed. Right on our desks. Yeah, really. Well, if you’re around my age, you’re probably not surprised because you know all this already, right?

So it was easy to become a smoker with everyone – young and old - smoking around you. And unless you were one of the ‘fakers’ (the ones that pretended to inhale but never did), eventually you became addicted. Which, you realized somewhere along the line, wasn’t as cool as you thought. My mother never smoked. She pretended to at social gatherings before she had kids, but never pursued it. My father smoked for many years, and eventually quit. Cold turkey. And never looked back. The older of my two older brothers was fortunate enough never to get caught up in this habit no matter how many of his friends smoked. Smart move. The younger one (the one that passed away in 2011), unfortunately, did smoke. Until he died. He never quit, and we’ll never know if he would have achieved that ‘freedom from smoking’ goal. I also didn’t escape the smoking addiction. But I did mange to finally kick it to the curb. For good. Seven years ago today. WOOT!


We just don't learn, do we? We go from one bad habit to another...

I’m often asked if I ever miss it. Or crave it. My answer is no. Never. I am not nostalgic about a habit that I was desperately eager to kick. The best thing I ever did is to quit the cigarettes, and just the very thought of being a slave to them ever again is unnerving. I’m proud to be free of this addiction, and thrilled that it is no longer socially cool!

So, today I celebrate another smoke-free year and take great pride in this accomplishment!

Seven years and counting...