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Thoughts from ex-smoker:
A smoke-free life is the way to go
Guest Columnist
While smoking can be hard to quit, due to an addiction that doctors say can be the hardest habit to kick, cigarettes are also one of the easiest habits to pick up — especially during a time when experimentation is making a comeback reminiscent of the 1960s. Remember the “Summer of Love”? I sure as hell don’t but I know enough about history.
I say this with four years of experience of smoking under my belt. Not something I am proud of, yet not something I regret. Like everything in life, it’s trial and error. We live and we learn.
It started at age 19 during my first year of college in Glendale, Ariz. It was overwhelming the number of college students who smoked there. What started as “social smoking” became a day-by-day downward spiral in my health.
Until September — when I found out I had Crohn’s disease. My doctor looked me in the eye, with intimidation, and said, “Absolutely no smoking. It will only make things worse.” From that moment on (going on three months), I have been smoke free. It wasn’t easy but it was the right choice.
Not everyone will have an experience where you are forced out of smoking. But if you look at it in the bigger picture, you will soon realize what you’re doing to your body. Look past the myths that claim that smoking cures anxiety and helps stress. Plain and simple, it doesn’t.
Not to mention the clear-cut consequences that have been preached to us on a regular basis: emphysema, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, heart disease and stroke. Why do we put our bodies and lives at such high risk for failure? The answer isn’t always clear. It took four years of pounding my body with tar to realize the stupidity behind my smoking habit.
According to the American Lung Association, 430,000 Americans die each year from the effects of cigarette smoking. To paint a picture in your head, 20 percent (or 1 in 5) of all deaths are caused from cigarette smoking. Isn’t that enough to seriously consider quitting?
I know it’s easier said than done, and I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I think from time to time about lighting up for old times sake. I thank God that I was given a second chance to get this whole smoking thing right and to move forward by quitting cold turkey. It’s well worth it in the end, not to state the obvious.
I breathe better, I smell better, I feel better. I have saved lots of money and have put my body to better use.
A funny fact — or maybe not so funny — is that smoking costs the nation more than $100 billion a year in health care costs. That’s a loss of $398 a year per American. The smoker and non-smoker are stuck in a lose-lose situation.
This is one of the hottest topics in our country: HEALTH CARE.
It’s sad that bars beat schools, parks and other social places to the punch. Just how far does this have to go before people realize enough is enough. A tobacco-free campus is a better campus for all. I believe in smoker’s rights but not to the point where it makes these places a health hazard for all.
The Advocate reserves the right to not publish comments based on their appropriateness.
Comments
Thank you for telling your personal story, and congrats on staying smoke-free for so long.