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Snubbing out my cigarettes

I remember the exact moment I became a smoker. I was a junior in college and stressed by the demands of upper-level classes. I had been taking small puffs off my friend’s cigarettes when we took study breaks. I quickly advanced to smoking full cigarettes, and my friend finally asked me, “Why don’t you buy your own pack?”

I considered the choice I was about to make: I could buy a pack and become a smoker or just stop. I bought a pack, and it didn’t seem like that big of a deal—I only smoked a few cigarettes a day, usually during some kind of break or car ride.

Car rides were so dull without cigarettes and music. And walking soon became dull, too. I hated to walk from one class to the next without a cigarette to keep me company. Waiting soon required a cigarette. So did my morning coffee and any time spent out with friends.

The three or four cigarettes a day that seemed like no big deal soon swelled to about 30 or 40. I studied abroad and relished in the cheaper cigarette prices and how I could smoke practically anywhere. No one seemed to mind if I lit up on the train or in the hallway at school.

Back at home, my smoking didn’t receive a warm welcome. I found myself having to leave parties or dinners to go smoke outside by myself. People fanned away the smoke from my burning cigarette and gave me bad looks.

Even though my smoking wasn’t popular, I wasn’t prepared to quit. I enjoyed smoking, or at least I thought I did. Smoking felt like a stress reliever, though I now realize my troubles didn’t dissolve when I lit up.

Smoking actually caused me great troubles. Though I only smoked for three years, I was sick all the time. I had a constant sore throat, the flu twice in one year (even though I had a flu shot) and the Chicken Pox. And since I wasn’t expecting the Chicken Pox as an adult, I thought the bloated red marks were just bug bites and scratched away. I now have a few permanent scars.

If the only damage I have from smoking is a few permanent scars, I’ll consider myself lucky. The American Cancer Society reports that smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined. Almost one in five deaths is smoking-related.

Cigarette smoking causes at least one-third of all cancer deaths. It is a major cause of cancers of the lung, voice box, oral cavity, throat and esophagus. Smoking is also a contributing cause to the development of cancer in the bladder, pancreas, liver, uterine cervix, kidney, stomach, colon and some leukemias.

I knew smoking was harmful when I first started, but the dangers seemed so distant. And it seems like many other young people feel the same sense of immortality. Almost 23 percent of high school students smoked during the last year, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Maybe new smokers are banking on being able to quit before they do too much damage. But quitting is difficult. On my first try, I went almost two weeks without a cigarette before I caved and bought a fresh pack. My second attempt was sort of chosen for me since I was in bed with the flu for a week.

Quitting was difficult. I had to readjust my lifestyle to exclude cigarettes. Driving, walking, waiting, drinking coffee, finishing a big meal— all those activities could no longer include a cigarette. For months, I thought about cigarettes on a regular basis and even envied smokers. Once I finally broke my addiction, I realized how this all could have been avoided if I hadn’t bought that one pack and started smoking.

How parents can help
Anyone who told me to quit smoking made me want to light up out of spite. Especially if the person was overeating or lounging in front of the TV while they discussed my bad habit. Here’s what parents can do to keep their kids smoke-free:
Parents who smoke need to quit. You can’t talk about being smoke-free with a cigarette dangling from your mouth.

Teach your kids a smoke-free lifestyle. Don’t allow smoking in your house, and always eat in the non-smoking section of a restaurant. 
Find out if your kid’s friends smoke, and help them figure out ways to refuse cigarettes if they feel pressured. 

If you’re an ex-smoker, talk about your experiences with smoking and quitting. Bring up the uncomfortable moments, such as having to run out in a blizzard for a fresh pack.

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