Quitting Cigarettes at Will

Recommended article: Cigarettes and booze ain't for me! by @zolabundance2

I read an article or two to get me started writing. One of the authors that I regularly read here from start to finish is @zolabundance2 because of her experience-rich and easy to read articles. She’s a journalist after all.

Upon reading my recommended article above, I felt like I wanted to write an article about it, too. About cigarettes and liquor.

Sure thing I like cigarettes so much. It irritates my husband that I used to smoke cigarettes. I also used to drink. For one who tasted and felt the addictive factor of cigarettes they knew how great a feeling when smoking. That I felt before.

But my eldest sister noticed the blackening of some parts of my fingers. Caused by oxygen blockage maybe. Not sure. I did not research it. But we simply attributed that to my smoking. Simple, I will just quit and it will be over, the negative effects.

I experienced severe tonsillitis and cough. I have had bad breath. My hands became stinky with the smell of the cigarettes. The worst part was that it was very inconvenient because I had to look for a hiding place in order to smoke. And sometimes, I would get nauseated by the effects of cigarettes. The effect of cigarettes was worse than alcohol when you inhale it the wrong way.

I lessened my consumption. Despite the addictive nature of cigarettes, I was able to stop thinking about it. I quit smoking altogether after some time. Besides, I was lazy to look for ways to counter the bad effects. I stopped smoking just like that. No sentimentalities, no looking back, no second thoughts. The only chance I got to taste it again was stealing the cigarette from the mouth of a smoker then returning it right back after a puff. After that, I could only remember how it was. That was more than enough.

What shocked me one time was when two of my co-teachers were talking kemerlu about chenes chuva keme. I became interested and asked permission if I could accompany them to where they were going. We walked a few distance away from school grounds. And there, a few more turns then I began to smell the aromatic fragrance of tobacco. Whoah!!! There was a smoking area? Really?

Just to not make my co-teacher uncomfortable, I told her that I smoked before but I opted not to ever smoke again. The other faculty was not smoking either. She was just regularly accompanying her to the smoker’s area. Well, I was not one to judge. Though personally, I perceived teachers to be free from all these addictions. But they had their reasons and whatever so I preferred not to dwell on the matter.

We were going back to the faculty room when we met the other faculties who were also smokers. I thought, wow! So they were a group. Just so happens that the one we escorted had a different schedule than the rest of her company. Aside from their similarities that they were all smokers, they also had tattoos on most parts of their upper bodies. I told the most open-minded among them that my father detested tattoos. Then she replied, “I don’t care. Wala naman akong tatay eh.” (She doesn’t care because she didn’t have a father.) I just felt sorry for her but honestly, I don’t have a say about tattoos. I just didn’t have the conviction about what’s proper and not about tattoos.

I further told our companion that I quit smoking without further whatever. She said, “Good for you. I find it hard to quit smoking. It has become a habit of mine to smoke first thing upon waking up.” She continued that she will only quit smoking when she planned to have a baby. I just respected her. And the reason why I am accompanying her because of the life stories I could get out of her. I enjoyed listening to selected people. Depends on my feelings. Happens I like her. I hoped that she would just quit smoking because it will have bad effects in the long run. I bet she still smoked until now. She is abroad living with her husband-to-be. I really hope she stops smoking.

It’s a good thing that nowadays, I don’t see much smokers around our area. Well, they seem to be busy cellphone-ing. Lol! But that should as well be regulated so they won’t become addicts to mobile games.