Originally posted by: Orsorum
I'm not a smoker; I smoked for two months once, three times a week, then chose to quit. I've never had any urge to continue, though I do find it an enjoyable activity.
It's a matter of escalation. I quit smoking 4 weeks ago, from my pack and a half a day habit. It's roughly the 6th or 7th time I've quit since I started smoking Freshman year in College (10 years ago).
I smoked a couple cigarettes a week for a year until one day Sophomore year, after a stressful class, I suddenly and for the first time felt that I *needed* a cigarette. At that point I realized that this was not a good thing, so I simply quit.
I foolishly picked it back up that summer (because of course, it is now easy to rationalize "well I quit once with no problem, so I'll do it again"). Except for when I was drinking (which wasn't that frequently) I didn't hit pack-a-day levels for another couple years.
In the meantime, I quit or cut back a couple times, but not for any significant length of time.
Since pack-a-day levels I've quit a couple times.
I quit two years ago for about 5 months, but resumed again. It's funny, because the last couple times I've quit, it's been long enough that I've forgotten how to hold a cigarette, and the whole act feels incredibly unnatural.
There are probably elements of depression involved, as you don't suddenly pick it up again after 5 months for no reason. More that I reached a state of mind - depression, fatalism, nihlism, awareness of reality ... call it what you will - where I realized that I really just didn't give a rats ass about what my lungs would look like when I was 60 because I had no desire to reach that age. Actually, I still don't, but barring suicide (which is always an option), I'll be there some day, and if when I get there I somehow magically *want* to be there (hey they're doing wonders with psychoactive drugs these days), I'll appreciate not having to breathe through an oxygen tank.
Plus I'm planning on moving to NY, and cigarettes are like $7 a pack there, so now is a good time.
Anywho, the moral of the story is don't think that just because you didn't get addicted you wouldn't or you won't. You lit up the cigarette that first time - can you really be sure that no set of circumstances would cause you to light one up again?
I think that taxation and limiting public smoking is not a bad thing. As a smoker it pissed me off a couple times, but there's no question that it's effective (When I last visited NY, I felt like a leper - one of only a couple people I saw smoking in the streets). I do think that establishments should be required to provide a separate smoking area (if they choose) with air filtration/smoke evacuation to some standard. I don't, as a matter of ethics, believe that it should be completely banned from public, but I do have to admit that it has made the bar scene a much more pleasant experience (and I didn't mind going outside).
I could probably continue, but this is making me want to have a cigarette, so I'll shut up now
🙂
Edit: Though I will edit to point out that the whole point of this is not to align myself with fisher's take on the issue
😛
