Hey reads, back from my nicotine sabbatical. This time off was my last hurrah with my habit, but I can say I have worn down my pack-a-day habit to 16/17 cigarettes roughly. It hasn't been too difficult at this point, mainly from the short amount of time I've been doing this and the small reduction number.
The hardest part is just my regular smoking intervals, I've found. The usual breaks are killing me; post-meal, red lights/driving, and mainly any chance to get a break waiting tables at work. In the restaurant I work at, it's so busy that ducking out for a cigarette is the only chance I get for a couple minutes to myself. I'm trying to recondition myself to just chew gum or at least stand for a couple and catch my breath.
The sad realization is I've been calculating my average spending on these. On average, I'm spending $8.25 on a pack of cigarettes, daily. Weekly, that's $57.75, which comes to $231 a month. That's $2772 a year in total. My pack a day habit has probably been for 4 years now. I've spent at least $11,000 on cigarettes in this past 4 years, never mind before/after/chain-smoking/etc. Just staring at this number on the screen in front of me is a bit shocking, realizing how much I've paid to potentially harm myself (optimistically speaking). Aside from coughing a bit much, my health is good, but I know that can't last forever.
As many anti-smoking aids as there are, I feel self-control is the only way I'm going to potentially succeed in this task.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Let the great experiment begin!
I will say this first off; my name is Brendan Hogan and I enjoy smoking cigarettes. Perhaps not the after-effects of these cancer sticks, but I do enjoy the ritual, the relaxation, and generally, smoking. The goal of this blog though, is to try to kick the habit.
I've been smoking consistently for about 7 years now. It was a gradual progression; I began bumming smokes of my friend Joe in his apartment until he stopped handing them out so freely. I remember having my girlfriend at the time(who was 18 when I was 16) run into various gas stations to support my habit. Even as I began smoking, I remember hanging outside the Worcester Palladium, leaning against the wall in hopes one of the bands I just saw would ask to bum a cigarette, leading to a cool conversation. Eventually, these breaks in my day built themselves up to a pack-a-day habit, leading me to where I am today.
As my voice got a bit raspier, I began to compensate; I started singing the lower harmonies in my band, and insisted on far more Tom Waits covers. At a bar, how else does one meet women; strike up a conversation over the blaring (usually terrible) music, or wait until she goes outside for a smoke and appear as a knight with a Zippo as she was searching for her lighter. I was insistent that my group of smokers were the only group left to fill the pariah role of society, that we were coughing rebels fighting for our insistence to light up wherever we please.
Then I got older. And more out of breath. And started coughing more. And they're now about $8.50 a pack. At this point, it's time to throw the habit away. I'm beginning my process tomorrow. The game plan is to start counting all the cigarettes I smoke in a day, and try to get that number down day by day. I also plan to use/review an electronic cigarette, and move on to the patch if need be. My goal is to go cold turkey by December. We'll see how that goes. More updates after a nicotine fix!
-Brendan
I've been smoking consistently for about 7 years now. It was a gradual progression; I began bumming smokes of my friend Joe in his apartment until he stopped handing them out so freely. I remember having my girlfriend at the time(who was 18 when I was 16) run into various gas stations to support my habit. Even as I began smoking, I remember hanging outside the Worcester Palladium, leaning against the wall in hopes one of the bands I just saw would ask to bum a cigarette, leading to a cool conversation. Eventually, these breaks in my day built themselves up to a pack-a-day habit, leading me to where I am today.
As my voice got a bit raspier, I began to compensate; I started singing the lower harmonies in my band, and insisted on far more Tom Waits covers. At a bar, how else does one meet women; strike up a conversation over the blaring (usually terrible) music, or wait until she goes outside for a smoke and appear as a knight with a Zippo as she was searching for her lighter. I was insistent that my group of smokers were the only group left to fill the pariah role of society, that we were coughing rebels fighting for our insistence to light up wherever we please.
Then I got older. And more out of breath. And started coughing more. And they're now about $8.50 a pack. At this point, it's time to throw the habit away. I'm beginning my process tomorrow. The game plan is to start counting all the cigarettes I smoke in a day, and try to get that number down day by day. I also plan to use/review an electronic cigarette, and move on to the patch if need be. My goal is to go cold turkey by December. We'll see how that goes. More updates after a nicotine fix!
-Brendan
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