Screw the Marlboro Man and the camel he rode in on.
I've stopped smoking again.
I use the word "stop" rather than "quit" because I've settled in an odd pattern over the past few years; a few months of smoking (usually started by a work-related stress trigger), and then a few months off it (usually started by the realization I can save 20 dollars a week and NOT stain my teeth the color of teak). I guess this way I get to experience frequent nicotine withdrawal and the throat-scorching reacclimation process.
Which, admittedly, is stupid.
The main reason I can't completely seem to quit, though, is pretty simple: I enjoy the social aspects of smoking. It's nice to get a cigarette break every couple of hours at work. It's easier to converse with people over a smoke, as you have an instant ice-breaker.
"Boy, do I love smoking!"
"So do I. And that goiter looks nice on you..."
And it doesn't work smokeless. On my last non-smoking cycle, I would head out to the smoking area for five-minute smokeless breaks, and it was simply not the same. You feel like an interloper. And it's fair enough, I don't begrudge smokers being territorial at all, considering the places where they can light up are less and less.
But, despite any empathy I have for smokers, I'm not enjoying it that much these days, and it's expensive as hell in New Jersey, so screw it. I'll find other outlets for stress relief.
Like going to the truth website and giving it the finger for their obnoxious commercials.
I use the word "stop" rather than "quit" because I've settled in an odd pattern over the past few years; a few months of smoking (usually started by a work-related stress trigger), and then a few months off it (usually started by the realization I can save 20 dollars a week and NOT stain my teeth the color of teak). I guess this way I get to experience frequent nicotine withdrawal and the throat-scorching reacclimation process.
Which, admittedly, is stupid.
The main reason I can't completely seem to quit, though, is pretty simple: I enjoy the social aspects of smoking. It's nice to get a cigarette break every couple of hours at work. It's easier to converse with people over a smoke, as you have an instant ice-breaker.
"Boy, do I love smoking!"
"So do I. And that goiter looks nice on you..."
And it doesn't work smokeless. On my last non-smoking cycle, I would head out to the smoking area for five-minute smokeless breaks, and it was simply not the same. You feel like an interloper. And it's fair enough, I don't begrudge smokers being territorial at all, considering the places where they can light up are less and less.
But, despite any empathy I have for smokers, I'm not enjoying it that much these days, and it's expensive as hell in New Jersey, so screw it. I'll find other outlets for stress relief.
Like going to the truth website and giving it the finger for their obnoxious commercials.
posted by sixthdoctor at 6:14 PM
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