Quitting smoking isn't really
about using some other nicotine
based diversion to break the habit.
It isn't about some "quit date"
that becomes more intimidating
as the time grows closer; and it
isn't about instilling fear as the
tool to force someone to quit.
And it sure isn't about keeping
the habit in place with a fake
cigarette. It's about making a
clear-headed positive choice to
approach life from a healthy
point of view and outlook for
the future. I quit believing that,
if I did, I stood a good chance
of recovering the health I was
rapidly losing. One morning,
I could no longer breathe. In
addition, my skin had been
turning grey, faster than my
hair. My sense of smell had
been gone for a couple of years.
My mind wasn't far behind.
But it was the not-being-able-to-
breathe thing that did it. Lucky
for me my lungs won. I made
a pact with Whoever to give me
more air. I replaced cigarettes
with raisins, honey roasted
peanuts, turkey sandwiches
and chocolate. COLD TURKEY
sandwiches. I threw tantrums,
screamed, shook, and tried to
chew on furniture. I refused to
leave the house. I wrote and
drew like it was the last thing I
was ever going to do, because I
wasn't exactly sure if it wasn't
actually the last thing I was
ever going to do... I created
this graphic piece as a mantra;
and recall those first three days
as being the worst/best of my
life. They are chronicled in
Chapter 6 of my book,
Romancing The Smoke.
Willpower in quitting smoking
is when your mind has finally
had enough of your brain trying
to tell you what you need... -J.A.
Romancing The Smoke is John Aaron's blog about his lifelong battle to quit smoking (which he did more than nine years ago) and the stories, history and news in the absurd world of Tobacco and Nicotine. Author of Romancing The Smoke: Reflections of a Nicotine Addict, John illustrated writer Sean Daly's memoir and completed his second book, Aaron's Book of Contemporary Demons. Romancing The Smoke can be found on Amazon. Twitter: @romancethesmoke
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