For the record, I'm a non-smoker. But a little while back, a friend of mine suggested I try it, and I did.
I must say, I do enjoy a cigarette. Prior to this, I had smoked a cigar, maybe once every three years.
That being said, I'm not currently addicted to nicotine. But I find myself in the presence of my friends who smoke, wishing to smoke one. I've resolved this by not hanging out with my friends who smoke very much, if at all really, and intend to go the rest of the year without seeing them much, just to ensure I don't become a smoker.
I have heard it said before that quitting smoking is harder than quitting heroin. Insofar as this is true, it's only true because cigarettes are cheap and in abundance - cigarettes are ubiquitous, essentially.
I have also concluded that there is no way I can just smoke one. I realized I couldn't have a pack of cigarettes in my presence, or I would smoke them all, over time.
So my solution was to avoid my friends who smoke, as said above, and to not buy packs of cigarettes.
For perspective, I bought five packs of cigarettes in 2019. Not a huge number by any means, but it always gnaws at me that I will eventually become a full blown smoker, if I treat this with a lax attitude.
After wes' bout with lung cancer [hopefully, his condition has improved, but I'm not sure], I was more committed than ever to not smoking, and I realized that I could probably forgive myself for 10 cigarettes a month. Anything beyond that, and it makes me worry I'm doing irreversible damage to my lungs/body.
I find that smoking is not easy to moderate given how many of my friends smoke, and how ubiquitous cigarettes are, as I mentioned.
Everything is fine now, except for the fact that I do sort of miss hanging out with my friends who smoke...
I don't even know why I'm writing this...it's like I want there to be some way where I can have a couple of cigarettes twice a week, but I know that isn't realistic, since the risk of becoming a heavier smoker is always a possibility.
Basically, I'm just hoping to hear bad experiences from smokers, to get me to stop smoking completely.
While I do know that some things that are bad for us can be good in a certain context, I just don't look at cigarettes as being this way. It all seems bad to me.
If anyone on here can tell me that even one cigarette is going to result in me getting lung cancer by 50, I would be grateful to hear it.
I'm thinking...two cigarettes tonight, then I lock myself in my bedroom for the next 30 days. As I said, I don't smoke much anyway, so it's not like I'll be suffering withdrawals or major cravings or anything. I went 18 days in December between cigarettes, and it wasn't a major issue. I just...like having a cigarette.
My dad smoked for 25 years, and he said it took six months before cravings absolutely disappeared, and he has never had a cigarette since then. That was over 21 years ago now. I think he made it a point to quit on his 40th birthday.
If I absolutely need to hide in my house for six months to lose the memory of smoking, I'll do that.
I don't know exactly what I smoke...I do have it all written down in a logbook I have - it may be three cigarettes every third day, or five every fifth day...maybe averaging a pack a month, but definitely under two packs a month. Under two cigarettes a day, on average, to be sure. And admittedly, I've been "indulging" since the new year. I think once I realized that I wasn't a heavily addicted smoker, I decided to just forgive myself for it.
I'm basically just looking for stories from any Getbiggers to scare me straight here.
