With the new surgeon general's statement that no amount of second hand smoke is safe, it's not hard to predict the outcome for smokers.
The current social climate has been the number one reason for me to quit smoking. I know there are a multitude of health reasons not to smoke, but like most junkies, those weren't on the top of my list. When a person's every emotion is entwined with a drug, "health" isn't really that big of a deal.
I still romanticize about "the good old days" where I could maintain my level of nicotine level everywhere. I liked the 70's and 80's a lot. Not just for smoking; politically and socially, those days seemed a lot kinder. Maybe I was just younger.
But....those days are gone, as are so many wonderful people in my life who I can't get back either.
The point I'm trying to make here is that as much as I struggle with this addiction and the craves that come and go, there is no point in actually re-engaging the cigarette. That, more than anything, has kept me quit.I am ahead of the game here, as are we all, in that social barriers to smoking will only get much more stringent. More and more smokers will have no place to smoke and will HAVE to quit and go through this horrible thing we are going through now. Some businesses won't hire you and will fire you for smoking. It's only going to get more restrictive.
While I think that it is hypocritical for governments to allow the production and distribution of cigarettes, A great outcome of this "passive-aggressive" approach will be that governments and health care providers are going to have to look very seriously at just how addictive nicotine is -and they will need to help a huge amount of people get help quitting.
We can be glad that we have a solid head start! ;)
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/18/2006
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 129
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 5,178
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1161
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 21 [B]Hrs:[/B] 6 [B]Mins:[/B] 28 [B]Seconds:[/B] 2
