Me, my lungs and my habit.

I have tried to quit smoking many times over the years. I was born into a long line of proud and die hard smokers. They all have tried to quit at one time or another before finally falling back into the habit.

I started puffing when I was thirteen years old. Everyone in the house burned cancer sticks, so it was not difficult to find one laying around. I would grab some then sneak them into my backpack to take to school. I never smoked at the house, just in the boys bathroom with the cool kids. Yup...I was one of those. 

I was a young and stupid kid that enjoyed chilling in the bathroom with the popular kids.  It opened all kinds of doors for me. Some good some bad. It helped me improve my social skills, giving me a window of opportunity to talk to people and introduced me to another group of kids....stoners but, thats a story for another time.

 

The only real benefit from this is I honed my social skills and learned the fine art of bullshitting. I was a some-what of a shy kid. I would not say much until I felt comfortable. When I finally felt relaxed enough, I would not hesitate to jump in on the conversation.

Now that I am older than dog snot, I see the flaws of my youth. I tried many times to kick the habit. The nicotine gum tasted horrible and made me gag when I would put a piece in my mouth. When I tried to go cold turkey, those around me enabled my habit. (More for their sanity than mine). 

The dermal patches has been the most successful at aiding me in my endeavor. It gives me the nicotine with out doing further damage to my lungs. I also use minty chewing gum to help with the oral fixation. Otherwise, I would be eating constantly. But, I still was not enough to completely put that horse out of its misery.

Now I have this funny li’l thing called the E-cigarette. An electronic cigarette that delivers nicotine with out the other hazardous chemicals found in cigarettes. At first, I was skeptical of its’ ability and safety. I have had more success using the E-cigarette in conjunction with the patch and chewing gum.

I still smoke a cigarette here and there. No where near the amount I was before. The main  thing for me to over come now is, learning to talk to people with out the crutch. I am learning though, to overcome it with holding the E-cigarette the way I would hold a

regular cowboy killer. I am looking Forward to an older healthier me.