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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Kicking Bad Habits Two At A Time

With all the stop-smoking aids on the market these days, it's a wonder anyone still feels compelled to light up. I nearly fell over when I was told that the price of a pack of cigarettes is now over $9!!! My God!  Where do people get the money to buy these things and then just set them on fire?!

Many years ago when I smoked, they had just gone up to $1 per pack when I decided to draw the line in the sand. My six years of smoking had turned into a one and a half pack daily habit and now $1.50 per day at that rate.  Comical now 25 years later but at the time, that $1.50 had meaning!

Nicorette gum had just hit the market and I can tell you from experience, the taste of it could be compared to licking a dirty ashtray. It was disgusting and I knew this was not going to work for me. No way I'd put another stick of that rancid gum in my mouth, a cigarette? Now that was not a problem!  So I kept smoking and then the next increase hit. Wow! Up to a whole $1.10 per pack!

At the time of that increase, I was going out with an unemployed drunk. He smoked too and got his nicotine in the form of bumming cigarettes from me. After all, I was the one who dragged my ass out of bed each day to go to work and earn the money that paid the rent, the car, the groceries and bills. He laid around the apartment and anyone he could find while I was at work.

When I told him that this increase to $1.10 was my breaking point and I would not be smoking any longer, he went into overdrive trying to prevent me from quitting. After all, if I wasn't smoking, who was he going to bum off of? So the next month turned into a power struggle with him trying everything he could think of to get me to smoke and me being too stubborn to give in to him.

With a lot of determination, I managed to kick both habits, him probably being the worse of the two.  When anyone asks how I quit smoking 25 years ago before all of the modern-day aids, I can tell them with complete honesty "For Spite!".

Worked like a charm and I don't think there is such a thing as a bad reason to quit smoking!


37 comments:

Dale & Brennan said...

Good for you!!! I have heard that quitting smoking is harder than quitting heroine (or so says the Discovery Health Channel).

Now if they could just make a "chocolate patch" I might be able to lose weight.....

Liz Mays said...

I can't think of a better motivation to quit! I'm glad you did!

I had no idea they were that expensive now. I remember seeing them in those machines with the pull handles and they were 75 cents a pack.

Corrie Howe said...

What a great reason to give up smoking. Glad you gave up the unemployed bum boyfriend too.

The Four Week Vegan said...

You go girl! Never a bad reason to quit and that dude sounded like a royal arse - he needed to be kicked to the curb. I'm always stunned that people still smoke - I just don't get it.

Lee said...

HA! Great story!! I need some spite in my life.

sitting on the mood swing at the playground said...

Good for you...what a great story!

SPEAKING FROM THE CRIB said...

i am a reformed smoker - here they only cost $5 something a pack, but when i started smoking they were $1.10 a pack. i started out to be cool and then found out i had a nasty little habit that would haunt me the rest of my life. yuck.

Anita said...

You hit the jackpot - getting rid of two bad habits at the same time!
The things we have to go through! :)

Unknown said...

"With a lot of determination, I managed to kick both habits, him probably being the worse of the two."

oh, my! that one had me laughing!

congratulations...on both counts!

Formerly known as Frau said...

Great job two bad habits gone! I can't believe how many people smoke here and young people too. It's shocking like that haven't heard it kills!

Respectfully Yours said...

Great post. Congrats on dropping two bad habits. Quitting anything is such a challenge. Well done, well done!

Heather said...

Weeeell...what to say (with cig hanging from lips)?

I am always glad for those who chose to quit something and stick to it. So, I am happy for your accomplishment on both habits.

I started when smokes (my dad's) were sitting on top of the frig, just waiting for me. 9 yrs old!

Yes, I am slowly killing myself, BUT I have quit waaay worse things than cigs. With the rising cost I will be forced to quit, anyways! What will I do with my fingers then? LOL

G said...

good for you! I equate smoking with tanning. Trashy and unhealthy.

Theta Mom said...

Good for you girl!!! BTW, it feels so good to be back!

Anonymous said...

ah, yes. spite. gotta love it!

MOMSWEB said...

LOL! Good one!

Sincerely Iowa said...

Regardless of WHY you quit, the most important thing is that you quit.

Smokers are icky. I should know, I used to be one... lol

KaLynn ("MiMi") said...

Well, I've quit smoking twice. Quit loser A**H*les 4 times. I think the AH's were harder to leave alone than the cigs! But I have been free from cigs for 5 years this time and free of AH's for almost 11!! WOOHOO!

Both are not easy to when you are addicted...Hopefully I have broken the addiction to both. Aren't we lucky girls?!

Ina in Alaska said...

I have never smoked in my life. I am a lifelong nonsmoker. Too bad I did not save all the money up that I would have spent on cigarettes!!!

Maureen@IslandRoar said...

What great incentive to quit!
But really, anyone disciplined enough to quit smoking has my respect! Wish, for my kids' sake, my Ex could be that strong.

ethelmaepotter! said...

It is with the utmost respect that I relay my congratulations to you. Men like the one you describe are not easy to lose; they pull out all the stops to keep their mealticket intact. Good for you, for breaking the nicotine habit and telling the BUM to get out of your life!

Buckeroomama said...

Wow, I didn't realize that cigs can be so expensive. Good for you for kicking the habit and the bum boyfriend!!

Mama-Face said...

oh my gosh...what a horrible boyfriend, but at least you can thank him for helping you quit smoking!!

My mom started smoking when she was 14 and could never truly quit until she was in her 60's! I watched how difficult it was for her...and because of her I NEVER had a desire to even try. She hated it but was truly addicted. She celebrates the anniversary of quitting each year.

Yay for you! I know it is a hard battle to be won. And Yay for getting rid of the boyfriend!!

Tracie said...

I love your punch line! Too funny!

PS I dated one of those, too.

gayle said...

Good for you!! I quit too but this time for only a year. Glad you quit the guy too!!
Oh and thanks for following me ...You really made my day!!

Bridgette said...

$9 oh my goodness! They are $5 here and that seems crazy to me, but $9!?! Wow!

honeypiehorse said...

That is excellent - you didn't break up with him for being a crudball but you did it over $1.10. You go!

Unknown said...

great job on the quitting smoking and the quitting the bum! i found your blog through lee the hot flash queen and pretty sure i will be coming back. have a wonderful day!

abby jenkins said...

I quit cold turkey, four times. What kept me going was the expectation of gaining 20 lbs in a matter of minutes. Seriously had I known I would have blown up like a tick once I kicked the 25 year habit I had been sneaking since 15 I would have bought cartons.

Well, no, I guess I do feel better four years later and God knows I should have saved a ton of money!

Well, off to figure out which tastes better..butterey toasted english muffin cut with knife or peanut butter and honey slathered english muffin pulled with fork..hmmmm...how did I gain this weight?

Samantha said...

My hubby smokes, and I do occasionally, but it is definitely not 9 dollars a pack here, or I'd kill the hubby. Thankfully, it's 3.35, but that's still a pretty big increase since a couple of years ago. When I used to smoke a lot, they were around 3.00 a pack. My Father In Law smokes about 3 packs a day. I don't know how he affords or can handle it. I think my lungs would explode.

Expat Barbie said...

you must tally up how much money you've saved, and go out and treat yourself to a little something :)

Stacy Uncorked said...

Oh I love it! You kicked the habit 'for spite'. You ROCK! :)

Janie B said...

Hello! I'm visiting from the Hot Flash Queen's blog. I love your quit smoking story. Spite is always a strong encourager. Great blog! I'm following you now.

Helene said...

That was awesome motivation right there!! I would've done the same thing, quit just to spite him!

Your comment about him laying around the apt all day and everyone else he could find while you were at work totally cracked me up! Not that the subject matter was funny, just the way you worded it made it hysterical.

HeartsMakeFamilies said...

I think thats the perfect way to give something up sometimes. Except my husband tried it and he quit for like 6 months and then started again because it wasn't for him. Yes its true..grrrr

Anonymous said...

Thats a great story...so many women have problems leaving those types of men!

Just somehow ended up on your blog and love it!

Im not menopausal but most would say I act it!

Annie Z said...

I love it! What a great story!

This morning we came across some left over butts from a couple of weeks ago when we had friends. It was the grossest smell and D said "How can anyone put that in their face!"

While I did smoke in my as a teenager and early 20's, it was before the seriousness of it all really hit home. I can understand the difficulty of quitting. But it amazes me now why people start at all.