One smoker’s habit dies hard

My favorite cigarette of the day is right before I go to bed. Usually around 12:30 a.m. or 1 a.m. I’ll take multiple long and thoughtful drags off my Newport as I think about my day as it comes to an end. I smoke it right down to the filter because at over $5 a pack I cannot afford to be wasteful. I then flick it into the bushes and retire to my bedroom for the night.
I really enjoy smoking. The nasty habit provides me with the opportunity to step away for a few minutes and reflect, talk to a friend or just get outside, but I realize that, with every hit off my menthol cigarette, I am also making myself potentially very ill.
One study released on Aug. 25 by the American Cancer Society and the World Lung Foundation found that tobacco use kills six million people annually, worldwide; some 400,000 here in the U.S. alone. No surprise when one considers that there are 11 known human carcinogens found in cigarette smoke.
These numbers are astonishing, and yet I still continue to pull smoke from cigarettes and fill my lungs. However, change is coming.
A few weeks ago, I decided to pick a quitting date and really try to give up cigarettes. Sept. 25 is the big day for me but before I shelve my lighter and Newports for good, I wanted to discuss some things that have fascinated me as a smoker.
In a typical day, I will easily smoke 15 cigarettes. If I go out for the night with some friends, it’s no problem to burn through an entire pack plus a few extras. I spend roughly $30 a week on cigarettes. That’s $120 a month and almost $1,500 a year on a product that is known to cause cancer, heart failure and emphysema, just to name a few.
According to Americanheart.org, an estimated 26.2 million men and 20.9 million women are smokers in the U.S. This works out to be about one fifth of the adult population.
I have been smoking for nearly three years. That is over $4,000 spent on cigarettes. I could have bought a car with that money or gone on a vacation in Europe. So why do so many people continue to smoke? I believe that most people who start smoking have no idea just how addicting this habit can become.
According to the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 86.8 percent of students who smoke nicotine at least once daily are chemically dependent under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder’s health standards.
Taken from Americanheart.org, “[Nicotine] causes changes in the brain that make people want to use it more and more. In addition, addictive drugs cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. The good feelings that result when an addictive drug is present — and the bad feelings when it’s absent — make breaking any addiction very difficult. Nicotine addiction has historically been one of the hardest addictions to break.”
After experiencing nicotine addiction first-hand, I wonder why I ever even started. I picked up the habit my junior year of high school, which was about the same time I was heavily into classic rock music, like Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones. As a musician I have always idealized their music and radical life styles.
Thinking back, I probably thought by adopting some of their lifestyle choices, like smoking, I too would become a rock star one day. Unfortunately, smoking cigarettes does not make someone a guitar god or musical genius. So I am left only with an empty pack of smokes and a dusty guitar.
Luckily, for those smokers who wish to quit, there is hope. There are many resources that smokers can turn to “kick the habit.” Websites like BecomeAnex.org, SmokeFree.gov and WhyQuit.com offer advice, forums and extensive information about quitting.
Obviously, I am not a doctor, but there are also patches, inhalers and nicotine gum products that may aid you in your journey to become smoke-free.
Everyone should have their own reasons when they choose to quit. For me, I am simply tired of being out of breath when I ascend a flight of stairs, smelling like smoke all the time, spending a small fortune on cigarettes and blackening my lungs beyond recognition.
I’m going to miss my after meal cigarettes, the morning smokes, my cigarette after a really boring class and of course my nighttime smoke break. However, I am sure that after a few difficult weeks of nicotine withdrawal I’ll find the increased blood flow, lung capacity and thicker wallet all worth the quitting experience.