Smoke gets in your eyes...

Remember when you said that when you grew up you'd not turn into the drunk/gambler/smoker that adults were? Well, 10 yrs past and you did turn out to be a binge drinker/habitual gambler/"social" smoker that you are, didn't ya?

My first puff was from my Daddy's pants pocket, a stick of Dunhill. Not those new fancy filtered ones that you see at airport duty free, but the original Ah-pek types, in a red box and all. I got caught by my Grandma then, and was given an earful by my 2nd elder Bro the same night.

That didn't stop me from trying to emulate the state of cool that came with smoking in those days. I graduated to Salem, dabbled with Consulates, tried Marlboro Menthol for a long while before settling with Marlboro Menthol Lights.

What gave me the push was when I found out how cheap duty-free ciggies were outta here. Really, one could smoke half a stick and throw it away without feeling the pinch at all. I was getting a puff in between any situations; waiting for a bus, after a meal, while crapping( which is most song-ah, according to a few...), in between drinks at the club, for posing purposes, etc, etc...

Really, to begin with, I was not a natural born smoker. I could halt the habit as and when I wanted to; before a major exercise during NS stint, on long flights on a plane, on a major date, or when I simply ran out and refused to buy those heavily taxed ones available in convenient stores. So quitting was never a problem for me, the only question being when...

It came to a head when I was at a NYE party few years back. The drinks were flowing, people were air-kissing all over the place, and I was puffing up whenever my hands were devoid of a drink. I ended up devouring 20 sticks in less than 3 hours. Now, that may not mean much to regular smokers, but to a social one like me, it meant hell when I woke up on New Year Day with my nose all choked up. I had to breathe through my mouth for a few hours, and that got me thinking of laying off the nicotine for a day or two. It turned into a week, then months, then after 6 months I gave away whatever stock I had and threw away my lighters and ciggy cases.

I've not had to touch one since I gave it up many years ago. In a way, one is better off starting off early and quitting now, what with the low tolerance for smokers by the holier than thou populace and the marked up prices of these li'l stick of fixes. At least I got to taste a bit of hell before the cover charge to it's gates became way too high. Imagine; $300-odd for your monthly fix? That's enough to run your car for a long time, even with high fuel prices! And if you don't drive, it's enough to last you through many a Happy Hour at your favourite watering hole.

Now, if only I could get rid of me beer belly...