Smokin! · 2008-03-11 10:50
I've just survived my fourth weekend in a row of not smoking. I've really done it this time - I realised on Sunday that even though I had been out partying with my mates I hadn't even thought of having a cigarette. Not even once!
I've quit, finally!
Looking through the retrospectoscope, I'm amazed at the effect smoking has had on my health these last few years. A month has gone by since I quit, and suddenly it's no longer a mission to wake up at a reasonable hour anymore. I used to think I just had the metabolism of a teenager or something. But it's the nicotine! My skin already looks healthier...
What's also amazing is just how easy it was. I had friends quit and swear by Allen Carr's easy way to quit smoking and eventually I bought a copy. Reading it is one of the smartest things I've ever done. I was a bit suspicious of it a few chapters in because it sounds very much like a motivational thing which I have always been wary of. But I decided to go along with it anyway, and it actually worked - I got totally excited about when I would have my last cigarette and finally be free of the addiction. It turned out that I could hardly notice the withdrawals from nicotine, and actually started to pity my friends who were still smoking around me. It's really quite amazing the looks I get when they realise I have actually quit, and yes it's OK if you smoke in front of me. It's quite cool!
An interesting thought has occurred to me over the last few weeks. I have stoner friends who seem hopelessly addicted to smoking pot (but mostly don't smoke cigarettes). But they are also mixing their ganga with tobacco! There's a limit to how stoned you can get. I realised that the reason they keep smoking even though they are already totally smashed already is to get a nicotine hit!
One of my friends from Tassie in particular gets very aggressive if he doesn't have weed. I've realised that he is actually addicted to nicotine. I think I might challenge him to take the tobacco out of his bowl to prove to him just what he is addicted to.
Commenting is closed for this article.