Peachy's Ramblings & Muses

Now.

As part of my quit program from Chantix, today is the day I am to write a letter about my experiences as a smoker and as a non-smoker. It has now been 3 weeks and 4 days since I smoked a cigarette.

I smoked for 50 years and am not sure quitting at this point will extend my life, but I am sure that the quality of my life will be infinitely better. As my smoking years passed, the habit of smoking became more and more ingrained into my persona and felt like the normal thing to do. There was a point long before I quit smoking when it did start to seem more like a chore than “pleasure.” Dirty ashtrays, burned car seats and clothes, lingering oppressive smoke film that always seemed to be there no matter how many windows were open. The smell had become unnoticeable to me because one of the things smoking does is suppress your sense of smell. It also dulls your sense of taste which is probably why there were so many foods I didn’t “like.” And money. When I retired, money took on a new meaning, and the amount I was spending on cigarettes would eventually bankrupt me. Seriously.

OK – it wasn’t my idea to quit, it was doctor’s orders. Bless him. He gave me a prescription for Chantix, a wonderful stop smoking aid that blocks nicotine receptors but does not inject nicotine into your body. The program lasts 3 months, and I’m into my second month. I’m not going to claim that quitting was all peaches and cream, but it wasn’t nearly as horrible as the stories I’ve heard. Enough said about that, let’s move on to the good part.

As a non-smoker for 3 weeks and 4 days, I can happily say I did not know all that I was missing when I was a smoker. My sense of smell is way heightened, and food tastes almost too good My hair has more life, and doesn’t get dirty as often, my skin is softer. But what I like the very best is how much more energy I have and how much easier it is to breathe. I don’t have to empty and clean dirty, filthy, astrays filled with black ick. I don’t feel like I’m in a constant fog of smoke. I am more sensitive to the smell of smoke and its leftovers now, making it possible for me to understand what non-smokers have been trying to tell smokers or years – being around smoke makes them nauseous. I know..my husband is a non-smoker, always has been, and is probably more happy than me that I have quit.

I think it’s very very important to understand why the majority of people my age started smoking and why a majority of people gave it up.

Back in the days, early 19th century and onward to the time when cigarette advertising was banned on TV, smoking was considered sophisticated and very mature (really). My parents smoked as did a lot of others, giving me the idea that it was “ok.” Adult examples and peer pressures are the pied pipers of children. Even though a parent could say, do as I say, and not as I do, that does not make sense to a kid. The child will, in most cases, do what the parent does.

People slowly began to give up cigarettes after expansive and consistent campaigns were implemented to educate people on the dangers of smoking. A federal law was passed making it illegal to advertise cigarettes on television as a start. But the campaigns didn’t stop there. There were consistent warnings about the dangers of tobacco on TV, and these warnings had to be printed on every pack of cigarettes sold in this country. However, tobacco companies always knew the key to huge profit was getting someone to smoke that first cigarette, so they devised other methods of subliminal solicitation of this habit (aimed at kids). Movie and TV stars continued to be filmed smoking cigarettes, and the windows and doors of most convenience stores these days are completely blocked by huge paper signs beckoning people to buy this brand or that. They came up with gimmicks like “low-tar,” and “low nicotine.” That’s all these were by the way – gimmicks because they are no safer than regular cigarettes. Another gimmick they used is Menthol cigarettes. Menthol cigarettes numb the throat so it makes you think you’re not really inhaling, and it also suppresses coughing, which too makes one feel there is no consequence. In reality, it is better for a smoker to cough in order to clean his system. Tobacco companies know more about tobacco and addiction than anybody else, and remember this if nothing else: Tobacco companies are for profit, and don’t give a hoot about an individual’s welfare.

Finally, and this is important…to those who think that government should not be involved in general welfare of the public, remember that it was the government who passed the laws, funded the stop smoking and education campaigns. Without that kind of support, I doubt seriously that non-smokers would now be in the majority.