Thank you for not smoking

Boys and Girls, today I would like to talk about a subject that I've had years of personal experience with.





That's right, our topic today is smoking.


I am such a statistic because when I smoked my first cigarette 13 years ago the only reason I brought that puffy little treat to my lips was pure peer pressure. I knew that smoking was super bad for you, that only bad things could come from it, but I didn't care. I was a rebel, or just didn't want to look stupid in front of my friends. I like the rebel idea better, it sounds cooler, so let's just say that was the case. Hey, everyone has selective memory now and again.

I didn't get hooked right away, but I did smoke in high school. It was senior year that I started smoking publicly, my parents hated it, but what could they really do? Somewhere between then and now I have tried to quit a gazillion times.

The last attempt actually might have stuck, it had been 7 months without slipping up even once. It was like Marlboro's-0, Me-20.

And then I got dumped.

And then I went out and bought a pack and smoked the whole thing in about an hour.

And it was delicious.

And it made me feel better.

And I told myself it was just this one pack.

And I am still smoking to this day.

Yeah.....those doctors aren't lying when they say that nicotine is addictive. I will testify for them to congress if necessary, but I highly doubt they need me to. Whew, dodged that bullet!

You know what really irks me though? Is that I really, really, really like smoking! I know it's gross, but don't lie to yourself, you know it's cool. No, I know it's not cool, but I wish it was. I wish I lived in the 60's where it was okay to smoke, when you weren't treated like a leper if you wanted to light one up. I am friends with Natalie, who is in her 70's and she tells me how when she was my age everyone smoked, and not only did they smoke, they smoked ALL THE TIME. Indoors, outdoors, at work, while pregnant, while pumping flammable gasoline, didn't matter what you were doing, you were probably doing it with a cigarette in your hand. Sounds fun, huh? No? Oh, well we agree to disagree then.

It is funny though, because I am old enough to remember being a little girl and it still wasn't super bad to smoke. I remember Camel advertisements on the television and I remember that when I would go to a restaurant with my parents the hostess would always ask my dad if we prefered smoking or non-smoking.

So what I say now I say with a heavy heart.

I'm going to attempt to quit again. Please, can we have a moment of silence in remembrance for my fallen friend....

Okay, so here it goes. If you think you hear a collective groan around the state of California, it's probably just my friends all saying, "yeah right, we've heard this a million times."

Well, give me a break. My roomie likes to say as long as I continue to try and quit then I haven't failed yet. She sure is a smart one...

p.s. the picture I included is an actual cigarette ad from the 50's.