Hey, I'll admit, I smoked for just about 1 year exactly. I always swore I'd never touch the things because my Dad died at 48 and my uncle at 60, partly because they smoked (I think), but curiosity got the best of me...
I bought a pack when I was a bit over 18 and immediately I was swept into smoking a couple a day. Then, a several ciggs every day. Before long, I'd quit going to the gym because smoking didn't go well with physical exertion. The worst I ever got was a half pack per day. But still....sheesh......cigarettes are friggin dangerous!
Back in January I was admittedly a bit drunk one evening and was smoking compulsively. Nicotine w/ alcohol can be a very enjoyable combination. But, I'd had one too many, was feeling a bit sick, and decided that I wouldn't be smoking the next day because I felt something outside my control was forcing me to do something I didn't really want to do. So I quit.
It was a b!tch for a few weeks but my grandpa went cold turkey on his 50th birthday after smoking for 30 years so I figured I could do the same.
This past weekend was the first time I'd smoked in about 4 months. I'd just had a few Red Stripes and my buddies wanted to have a smoke. I was worried that I'd be craving cigarettes again but this time, I felt confident I could scratch the itch. I'll never go back to cigarettes....
"Fun Fact #132": If you intravenously injected 60mg nicotine (the amount in a typical pack), you would die. The tobacco plant makes nicotine as a natural defense against bugs. Nicotine is very bad for you--it's intended to kill things.