Two Smoke-free Years

Today is the 2nd anniversary since I stopped smoking. 24 months. .........Yipeeeee!!!! I started smoking in 1990 and only stopped in the early part of 2005. In those fifteen years I estimated that at the average rate of five sticks a day, I lit up as many as 27,300 cigarettes or 1365 twenty-stick packets. These are not pretty figures and bring nothing but misery and regret to my mind. How could I have been so stupid? Was I deaf to all the facts and reason around me? Anyway, on a chilly March morning two years ago, I finally found the resolve and will to break away from the shackles of nicotine addiction. It did not take too much effort and in retrospect, it seems all the time and effort I had put into a thousand and one attempts to break, may have amounted to nothing. Granted that I am not a very impulsive decision maker and that I usually plan an action in my mind before I can actually do it; I think that the morning of 22nd march was just a culmination of a long process. I had stopped smoking in my mind so many times and all I needed was just a single step in that direction. Though I puffed away without care, deep down I was in turmoil. I hated very many things about smoking. I hated being reduced to a sneaky character who was always on the look out for an opportunity to smoke at the office, in family gatherings. Always on the lookout and anticipating, hoping no one will be offended. I had so many reasons to stop. My mother was one of the reasons. She had prayed and prayed that I would kick the habit. She never gave up on me. She was the happiest person in the world. My wife had also picked my mother’s cue and was on my case. At work I had a trusted coterie of fellow smokers that had accepted its fate of being thrown out of the building and being forced in to the parking lot where we met at least twice in the day to indulge and chat. Another major reason and which broke my heart into small pieces was once when my two year old son picked old filters from the flower bed at our home and started proudly imitating my smoking to a full living room. Hey, you laugh it off, but deep down it nags you. What example was I setting to my kids? Their propensity to emulate anything I did was obvious and high since I was their first port of call in their socialization journey. I am not an extrovert, but I am surrounded by the very best exponents of the touchy-feely philosophy in my social circle. When you are a smoker, you become conscious that your breath and stale tobacco in your clothing may offend people around you. Your clothes absorb and retain smoke like they were a magnet. Adults are hypocritical, but when you deal with children who have no inhibitions or favours needed, then you should expect some blunt truths coming your way. It’s with this in mind that I recall my disdain and dislike for the society peacocks seeking to plant pecks on my cheek. For fear of offending them with my stale smoke odour, over years I developed a defense amour that included obstructing them with an overstretched hand and a stern business look on the face. The romance department also suffers from the excesses of smoking. However deep a ladies feeling for a man are, a smokers kiss does not rank very highly in anyone’s romantic-things-to-do list. On the health front, being slightly overweight and a dedicated smoker was double jeopardy for my health. A recent article in the Standard newspaper bares it all as follows:- Giving up smoking has instant benefits.

Within 20 minutes, blood pressure and pulse fall

Within two hours, lung airways relax, making it easier to breath, and the volume of air our lungs can hold increases

Within eight hours, carbon monoxide levels drop to normal and the oxygen levels go back up to normal

Within 24 hours there is a significant reduction in the risk for heart attack

Within 48 hours, damaged nerve endings start to regenerate, so the senses of smell and taste become stronger

Within 1-3 months, lung function and circulation improve significantly

Within five years, the risk of lung cancer is the same as that of a person who has never smoked

Smoking also causes financial strain as it is an unnecessary expense. I look back with pride at my victory over nicotine, but it is hard to ignore the scars and bruises that the habit leaves behind like stained teeth and unseen damage to the lungs and arteries. Although there is a comforting body of research findings indicating that as soon as you stop, your stains are forgiven and your tired lungs are on the way to regaining their innocence, it is not easy to forget the sooty past. If you are a smoker and trying to quit, don’t give up. One day you will gather round enough resolve to make this very personal decision. Its your lungs, your health your life, your decision. Take control for you. For me this second anniversary is no mean feat and I look forward to another thirteen years to even out the fifteen year damage.