Surprise!

Surprise!

A few months ago I was talking to the beloved one in England about my smoking and I made the statement, “I am going to quit smoking. I am going to quit smoking soon because it messes with my running and it’s time for me to quit.”

See, I have always hated smoking. I never started until I was 25 and honestly, I can’t tell you why I started. Somedays I think I started because everyone that we knew smoked. Other times I think I smoked because I had nothing better to do. I got divorced and I kept smoking. Sometimes it felt like the only thing I had left of that previous life of mine, but I hated it still the same. I have never liked how it smelled. If you aren’t careful, you burn things with stray ashes. It makes you cough and it’s just so bad for you. I still did it anyway though.

Anyway…back to the point. The sweet one, being the most fabulous, amazing and supportive man I have ever met, says to me, “Good! That is really good because I don’t want to be sat up in hospital with you in 10 years because you’ve had a heart attack or need a new lung.”

Man, did that hit home for me. What he said damn near made me cry, but it was true. If I keep smoking, I might end up in the hospital later. I don’t like hospitals and I hate being sick. Oh and we might have a really nice future here that we didn’t expect. How fabulous is that?

After that revelation, I knew I had to quit. It was a moral imperative so for several weeks after that, I tried the patch and the gum. I hated both. The patches gave me huge welts on my skin that blistered and itched for weeks. The gum gave me headaches and tummy aches. Neither of them made me want my beloved cigarettes any less. In fact, on the days I didn’t smoke, I longed and obsessed for my cigarettes.

So many times I would sneak off and get a pack, try to smoke only a few only to find myself with an empty pack at the end of the night. I felt like a failure because when I say I’m going to do something, I do it to the end and I do not falter except in the case of the cigarettes. They’ve held me hostage for years.

Until….

I came to Alaska.

Since I’ve been in Alaska, I’ve quit smoking.

I’ve graduated to vaping and I don’t think I could smoke a regular cigarette now if I tried.

I’ve been working in the lab with some other travelers and one day, one of my co-workers pulls out his ecigarette. He starts taking drags off this silver tube with a light at the end of it and we’re all exclaiming, "What the hell are you doing? We’re in a hospital! You’re going to be fired!”

Of course, he’s laughing and saying, “Um, no I’m not smoking. I’m vaping.”

Vaping

Yes, vaping.

So later on, I started to ask him about the vaping business. It's not smoke so what the hell is it? Water vapor and nicotine. He then proceeds to tell me the whole story about how he had quit cigarettes, but always craved them when he drank. A few months ago, he was out and heard about these ecigarettes so he figured he’d order one and try it out for himself.

After a few weeks, he was hooked. He could have his drink and nico’s too without the nasty stinky and mostly illegal smoke that goes with it.

Now I being the nosy parker that I am had to have a ‘hit’ from his cigarette because well, I am a nosy parker and have been trying to find an alternative to smoking for years now. Yes, I am a quitter at quitting. I can go for months without a cigarette only to pick them back up after a night of drinking or stress or who knows what.

One drag was all it took. The vapor was warm, but not hot like smoke from a cigarette. It didn’t burn and get in my eyes. The juice he had in his ecigarette was berry flavoured and tasted so good. I wanted to keep sucking on his ecigarette because it was giving me the nicotine, but not all the other garbage.

A few weeks ago, I ordered one of these ecigarettes and had it delivered here. I opened it up, put it together and started puffing away. I’ve been in pure bliss since that night!

No stinky smoke! No ashes or ashtray to clean. No lighters. No mess. No butts. And best of all no nastiness.

It’s been just over a week and I’ve had a few cigarettes just for the hell of it and now I cannot stand them. They ‘hurt’ to smoke. They give me a huge headache and make me dizzy after I’ve smoked one. The ecigarette doesn’t. The vapor tastes good and I can vape pretty much everywhere, even at work! I don’t have to go outside to get my nico and it’s great!

I can tell my lungs are healing because I don’t have a cough anymore. I’m not sneezing like I used to when I smoked. In fact, the beloved one made a comment that I wasn’t coughing at all which is so wonderful. Maybe he’ll want to kiss me more now that I no longer smell or taste like an asstray. I can smell things again like fabric softener and soap. When I cook and eat, food is starting to taste and smell better.

Granted, I am still addicted to nicotine, but I am working on reducing my levels so that one day I may be nicotine free as well. It’s a good thing and I'm enjoying myself!

Surprise! I’m not smoking. I’m vaping and I couldn’t be happier!

www.asmartsmoke.com