One thing that I really appreciate about living in the US is the strict smoking laws. There will be no restaurant or club that will greet you with a noseful of “second hand cigarette smoke” when you walk through the door. It’s wonderful!
I have a very profound aversion to cigarettes.
My Mom used to be a chain-smoker when I was little. She would have her first cigarette before breakfast already and I just despised it. Research suggests that children of smokers are much more likely to become smokers themselves. For me (and my sister) my Mom’s smoking had the opposite effect. I hated cigarettes. I hated cigarettes so much that I have not once touched a cigarette in my life! No, I didn’t even try once when I was a teenager and everyone else thought it was cool to smoke.
Thankfully, my Mom stopped smoking many, many years ago. She decided one night at a birthday party with friends that she didn’t want to smoke anymore. Just like that. I had to think about what a strong person she has been when I heard on a random radio program the other day that 90% of smokers who try to quit do not succeed. But my Mom did. She hasn’t touched a cigarette in what I believe has been 22 years. I am so, so proud of her.
Yes, she did gain some weight after she quit (one of the many reasons, I believe, why people have a hard time quitting), but to be honest, I minded the the a cigarette in her hand much more than a few more pounds on the scale.
My sister and I have been on a mission since we were kids on how we could get family members to stop smoking. We somehow convinced our Granddad and our great-aunt to stop smoking, even though their favorite excuse had been for the longest time that they were “already too old to stop”.
We begged and pleaded with my aunt (who has been a heavy smoker ever since we can remember) that we would do this and that if she stopped smoking. To no avail. When my sister was 17, she even offered to pay for a one week vacation for my aunt (who hadn’t been on vacation for a long time) if she stopped smoking. It didn’t work. She lives on a very tight budget and she keeps saying that cigarettes are the only “luxury” that she has.
Come on. I mean, seriously, cigarettes are a ‘luxury’?? Cigarettes are bad for your health, they make you age faster and the smell is disgusting. Why wouldn’t she want to spend her hard-earned money on something else?
I can only hope that my cousin has developed the same aversion as me and my sister and will never pick up a cigarette ever!
Like I said in one of my earlier posts, I don’t think I have an addictive personality and maybe therefore I cannot understand what it’s like to smoke and not be able or willing to stop.
I respect people’s decision to smoke and I have gotten a lot more “passive” when it comes to convincing someone to quit – but if you’re my friend and you smoke, you know now where I stand.
I won’t get in your face about your smoking, but please know that I am only concerned about your health and that I care about you.
ute
November 11, 2008 at 1:42 pmhehe I will second you on that. i HATE smoking. so much!!! so gross, i am so glad they cannot do it in restaurants anymore i hated to go out, not only is it bad for your health but your clothes smelled horrible the next morning. i am proud of your mom too thats a hell of a job to just quit like that! keep trying to get people to stop smoking. thats a good purpose in life!!! :) big hugs
Viviane
November 11, 2008 at 1:48 pmI can’t understand why people smoke either, though I do imagine it must be hard to stop. I just don’t get what makes them start in the first place. Even my roommate smokes and he’s in med school, he knows exactly what the risks are and he’s super careful with things like bug spray [i.e. he complains when I use it saying it probably poisons us more than the bugs]. We also have smoking bans here now, but in Bavaria at least they have loopholes and many places still allow smoking simply by saying they are a private club.
Cathy
November 11, 2008 at 3:05 pmOnce again – I dont know where you come up with your topics but you are very creative….In Australia it only happened recently that clubs became non smoking but it just meant that all clubs built Beer Gardens (outdoor areas that people COULD smoke in) and it also doesnt stop people from smoking outside the entrance to places so you have to walk through the smoke on your way out SO it worked to a degree but you still end up with your clothes smelling smokey….Things I appreciate…. YOU :-) though I suppose you’re not a THING so I guess I mean my friendship with you :-)
Susanne
November 11, 2008 at 4:06 pmLike you, I never have touched a cigerette in my life.
But I do can understand your aunt – I could NEVER stop eating chocolate. Not even for a paid vacation would I stop. ;)
susanne
November 11, 2008 at 8:49 pmHi San,
Guess you are lucky that you live in California..here in Texas there are still many places where you can smoke…. more and more towns are enforcing the smoking ban though..but there are still many places you can smoke….
this comes from an exsmoker..lol
But I really do think that if you never have smoked you can not understand the addiction. Only a smoker can.
I sometimes still have cravings..but I think I am done..takes alot of strength,
And who knows why you ever start, how stupid….it stinks and ruins your health….so why????
I have no idea….
Gruesse aus Texas,
Susanne
Steffi
November 11, 2008 at 10:42 pmI have never really smoked, but yes, I tried a few cigarettes when I was about 13 or 14.
My Mom and my Dad have both been heavy smokers. My Dad stopped it from one day to the other two years before I was born. He just decided it was not worth it and he stopped. I think it must have been very hard, especially because my Mom carried on smoking. But they had an agreement that she was only allowed to smoke outside of the house.
When my Mom got news that she was pregnant with me she stopped too and she never started again.
About 4 years ago on a Birthday Party of one of our neighbours she tried a cigarette and she nearly threw up. ;-)
Antje
November 12, 2008 at 4:16 amRespect to your Mom, it takes a lot of strength to stop smoking just like that! I never smoked before, but like Susi mentioned if I would have to quit chocolate – I don’t think I could do it!
ilka Mueller
November 12, 2008 at 4:55 amboth of my parents have been heavy smokers, when i was a child. and i hated that first cigarette in the mornign as much as you did. i tried a cigarette, but i never liked it and i am getting more and more allergic to the smell. i am pretty glad i dont have to allow anyone in the salon to smoke anymore:-) i hope the smoking law will be more strict over here also. i hated it in restaurants and clubs the most. i mean in a club the air is already not good and heat to it and hen people smoking. eeww. i am really glad my mom stopped smoking also.
i can’t understand that there are so many people that i know who live at a pretty small budget. but they have the money to smoke. ridiculous. great your mom stopped smoking.
san
November 12, 2008 at 11:07 am@ the people with the chocolate addiction: I think eating chocolate is not as unhealthy for you as smoking is ;) (UNLESS, you eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner ;))
katelin
November 12, 2008 at 4:06 pmi love the strict smoking laws now. even though i have friends and a bf that smokes they all try and do it away from me which i highly appreciate.