Cigarette Smoking - How I Got The Habit and How I Quit

When I started smoking cigarettes, about 12 years ago, I didn’t really like it. It smells bad, it makes you cough when you inhale it, you’ll feel light headed and a bit nauseous. It’s not a very good feeling when you’re starting the habit. But then I didn’t want to be left out, all my buddies were getting good at it and they look so cool while puffing those smokes, plus, I thought that smoking cigarettes will make you cross over from boy to man. I think we all had that thinking, didn’t you?

In short, I sorta forced the habit into me. After some time I started liking it, started looking for it, then became inseparable with it. For the next 12 years, I would puff 10 sticks of cigarettes a day, more when I’m studying or when I’m working. I used to rely on cigarettes to make me think faster and better, or at least I thought it made me think better.

I knew smoking was bad for my health, the pack even says that cigarette smoking is bad for your health. But hey! what can I do? My body is looking for it, I feel weak without it, I can’t think straight, I can’t work without my daily dose of nicotine. Some people takes multi-vitamins to start their day, but me, I’m good with a cup of coffee and 2 sticks of cigarettes.

My family would always talk me into quitting the habit, stating health facts and mentioning people we knew who got sick and died because of cigarettes. I always said yes I’d quit smoking cigarettes but I didn’t really mean it, why would I? Those people got sick because they’re not really taking care of their health. I eat healthy, I work out, I don’t drink that much, that should be enough to keep my body healthy right?

Then one of my friends got sick, it was a respiratory disease that made him really weak, thin and really sensitive. I think he also developed a severe case of asthma during the process. Of course, one of the culprits is his smoking habits. The doctor also said that because of cigarettes his body is not responding that well to medications.

That incident brought me to do some research about the effects of cigarette smoking, I knew I was in for some bad news but I was still shocked with the extent of damage that your body will get from cigarette smoking. My heart was pounding really hard as I read the facts, I’d take my lungs out and clean it up if I can. I saw pictures of damaged lungs and wondered how mine looked.

The saddest information that I found out, is that I already lost a year of my life due to cigarette smoking. When my time comes, I sure will be thinking of that extra year that I wasted. Do you want to know how many years you’ve lost already? Insurance companies computed that for every cigarette consumed you lose 10.7 minutes of your life. It’s a scary thought but I’m pretty sure it is true.

This brought me to get myself together, quit smoking and try to recover the life I lost. That’s also the main reason why I made this blog, to keep myself informed about the dangers of cigarette smoking. I know for a fact that I will forget about what I read and learned and might get back to smoking again. So, this blog will help me quit forever and keep me scared to pick up that pack of cigarettes.