Cigarettes and Secrets: My Smoking Experiences

I was tagged by @Pachuchay in her article Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous To Your Health. and I thought of sharing my story about cigarettes too because I had an experience with that before.

Are you a smoker? Why or why not?

Why not? Kidding. I smoked before when I was probably in my 2nd grade? So that makes me a smoker at the age of 7 years old. How did that happen? Well, as sneaky and curious as I was, I became one. But not consistently. It was more of a curiosity about what it feels like.

Growing up, I used to witness my father smoking. I would see him smoking while talking with my friends' fathers as well outside our house. I grew up in a very tight and friendly neighborhood. I saw how the community helps one another whenever something urgent happens.

So I got so curious about how smoking should be done. I got so fascinated with the tricks he was doing by inhaling the cigarette and releasing the smoke through his nose. I liked how the cigarette lit up as he inhale it. It was kinda weird to get fascinated by it but yeah, I smoked without them knowing.

I didn't buy a cigarette of my own. Although I can buy and keep one for myself because my father used to command me to buy cigarettes at the store. As soon as he's done taking his dinner, he goes out of the house and smokes. Mama told me that smoking is bad but why papa isn't stopping? She couldn't answer.

So I tried it myself to see what it feels like. When papa is done smoking, he throws the cigarette away and enters the house again. As naughty as I was, I look for the cigarette and tried it on my own. There, I explored tricks like blowing the smoke through my nose. I really thought I was doing well and it made me believe I was so cool back then. It lasted for a while until I got caught.

Papa was furious when he saw me making the most out of the cigarettes he threw. I never thought that I got addicted to it. It was the nicotine that made me. From a 7-year-old child, it would never cross my mind that a stimulant drug was slowly making its effect on my body.

So, do you still think I'm a boring person?

Have you tried one? When?How?Why?

I have tried smoking again when I was in my teenage years. When I got caught on my first try, I was really nervous. Papa was so mad, he spanked me with his belt and it was profoundly painful. I would scream to death. I promised him that I wouldn't do it anymore.

However, the puberty stage came and that's where delinquency has controlled me. Me and my cousins used to play inside an underground of my grandparents' house. The underground was made to secure themselves in case an unexpected war happens. This house is over 60 years old already.

We used to play "luto-lutoan" there and "bahay-bahayan". The ambiance was cold but it kinda frightens me because I'm claustrophobic. I get panic attacks in close spaces. My cousin rolls papers and gave each of us one. She lit one up and started smoking.

We followed her and so I tried smoking once again. It was just purely for fun. The intention was never to get addicted and rebel against our parents. It was all curiosity and naughtiness.

Does your family know that you smoke?

Papa caught me once. I tried smoking again for fun with my cousins (paper rolls only). Generally speaking, they don't know. I have never tried smoking again ever. That's when I finally understood that smoking is dangerous to our health.

Papa has stopped smoking too, probably a year already since he stopped. That's a huge achievement, to be honest. The withdrawal syndrome wasn't easy for him.

But for the record, the smoking experiences I had in childhood and puberty were all purely curiosity. Since then, I never smoked anymore.

If you were to take two users for a "you break" (smoking session) for some heart-to-heart talk or lung-to-lung conversations, who would those lucky people be? Tag 'em!

I'm not sure if @ellimacandrea smokes but I would love to have a session with you Miss Andi, and of course, @bbyblacksheep , do you still smoke madam or you stopped na? I think you already stopped. Hehe. Special mention to @Yen @Eybyoung @Jane and @Ruffa if you girls are up for it.

I wouldn't mention the younger ones na, it would make me a bad influencer.

Lead image source

Thanks for reading.

Keep safe everyone!