Tuesday, August 09, 2005

I quit smoking on 12/3/03

With the death of Peter Jennings yesterday, I feel now is a good time for this post.

I started smoking when I was about 14, as with most kids, it was just for 'fun'. None of us thought, 30 years later, we'd actually need a drug called nicotine.
Although there were periods where I didn't smoke, sometimes a few years, I always went back.

California is not a smoker-friendly environment. You can't smoke at any malls, restaurants, bars, colleges, etc. Now they've even banned it at some parks & beaches. They tax you heavily on cigarettes here. Part of the taxes helps build & support childcare centers around the state & I think that's a good cause. I probably own one of those centers.
It's becoming more & more uncomfortable to smoke in California. Some say it's ridiculous. They can say whatever they want, but it helped save my life.

I began having nightmares that I couldn't breathe. I'd wake up gasping for air & as I lay there, I could think of no worse way than dying of emphysema.
What motivated me the most to quit smoking was Tarzan & my kids. Every time I went outside with 1 of them to smoke, I'd think to myself, "You're helping the man you love to die." Or, "You're helping your own children get cancer." While that was extreme, it was also true. I also realized that I wanted to be alive if my kids ever have children. And I don't just want to be alive for their birth, but for their life!

A close friend quit smoking, so when she did it, it inspired me. I started planning. I made myself become aware of the smells & inconveniences of smoking. Smoker's breath, yellowing teeth, odor on clothing, ashes, ashtrays, you name it! Having to sit outside in the freezing cold, or sweltering heat to smoke. I'd buy a less desirable brand of cigarettes, you know, the kind that taste like dirty ashtrays! Spending $100 a month killing myself.

I bought the nicotine patch & was actually looking forward to quitting. When the big day came, to my surprise, it wasn't as difficult as I'd thought it'd be. Day after day, I was doing it! Tarzan quit* on Jan. 1, 2004 ~ cold turkey!
The patches made me nauseous, so I actually lost weight. I also didn't need the patch as long as I thought I would. After about 6 months it felt so liberating to refer to ourselves as non-smokers.
Every month I allot myself the $100 to do with as I please. Tarzan saved his cigarette money & paid his truck off within a year.
We don't miss smoking, we don't crave it, I'm not tempted to have just 1 more cigarette.
Smoking is breathing death. I know, it's just ONE more time, that's all it takes. There's no going back this time.
If I could quit smoking, anybody can. If you smoke, please seriously consider quitting.


*Tarzan has since told me that he didn't think I would do it. So when he said he'd quit January, 1, 2004, he figured I would have started smoking again. But when I didn't, he had to quit too. :)

Technorati tags: peter jennings, cancer, cigarettes, nicotine, nicotine patch, emphysema

posted by jane at 12:49 AM