I am an ex-smoker. I was on about 37 cigarettes a day, give or take a few, when I was inspired by a "stop-smoking" advert on television by my great idol John Cleese to give up this lethal habit. This was in November of 1994 and now I feel richer, healthier and above all, very glad about kicking the habit for good!
Giving up certainly wasn't easy and I encountered my fair share of major replases. The worst one was in february this year: I woke up at 4:30 ish in the morning craving, yes CRAVING, for a cigarette. I got dressed and walked to the nearest petrol station in the bitter cold to get my fix of nicotine (I had none at home)! I was disgusted at myself and I simply became ever more determined to give up for good. Hurrah, hurrah!!
A London based organisation called QuitLine helped me in my endeavour to become a non-smoker. They are are charity and offer free advice.
Nicotine is only one small component of cigarette smoke; there are over 4,700 chemicals in it of which 43 are carcogenic (cancer-causing).
Through smoking, you greatly risk aquiring the following: lung cancers, cancers of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, uterine, kidneys, ureter, bladder, colon. In addition to these you also become prone to suffer from strokes, sudden death, heart disease, bronchitis, ulcers, skin wrinkles, and brain hemorrhages. Still feel good about smoking?
(Source: Scientific American, May 1995, page 31.)
