Why I Became A Smoker And Now Choose To Quit

I've been a smoker for 14 years and by the time I quit it will have been 15 years. I had smoked one at 17, but I didn't become hooked when I did. It was at 18 that I became a full-fledged smoker. I was having a really stressful day, and went to what I thought was a friend's house that day. He gave me a cigarette and I got a high off it, and when it wore off I asked for another. Before I knew it I had gone through six of them in an hour. From that point on I was hooked. So why did I do it?

    Hell I'd been lectured all my life that it was bad for me, but at the same time people around me did it. The people I was supposed to respect and look up to did it while at the same time saying I wasn't supposed to. Of course some of them quit, but it still said to me it was alright to do it for a little while. Of course that still doesn't mean I made a smart choice. And yes I was stressed out, but I could have made a smarter choice. Yes I had more major issues back then, but that doesn't excuse my poor choice. So the real answer is I don't know why I did it. Now the next question is why did I keep doing it?

    Because it was easier than quitting. I tried the patch as a way out, but was allergic to it. The Chantix that was supposed to be the answer cost a ton of money. As did every other method. To me it was like if they want you to quit why not make it cheaper than it is to smoke. I kept saying to myself it's just cheaper to keep smoking versus paying more in a month to quit than I was paying for my smoking habit. Over time I didn't think about quitting much. So what has changed now?

    In the past few months my grandfather has had two heart attacks, which my grandmother says is due to his forty years of smoking. That got me thinking to quit after twenty years of smoking initially. Then I read a blog post on quitting smoking that a friend posted on Facebook, which focused on the mentality on quitting. This got me thinking about why I'm putting it off. More importantly what good does it do me to wait?

    I came to the conclusion that it does me no good to put it off. So I started planning my quit date, and how I would go about doing it. I began seeking out advice, and made my announcement. Now I'm making preparations for that day, and getting ready for the challenge. I hope this has helped explain some of what is going on in my head and past in regards to smoking and me. On a side note the book review will be out later today. I hope you have a good day or night depending on when you read this. Bye for now.