Marlboro 100s. Wait, no, Mores - those long thin, dark brown lovelies. Or, Balkan Sobranies, expensive, elite, spiffy, different. No, Marlboro Lights. Better for you. Marlboro Light 100s because you never got enough puffs with the regular size. What was before that? Hmmm, chocolate cigarettes? Those were good. Wish I’d stuck with those. Never did try a Camel unfiltered. I think that’s what my mother smoked originally. Though I did try something unfiltered at some point because I remember all those bits of tobacco all over my tongue. Yetch. Probably one I’d bummed. Never could get into the menthol ones. Seemed like smoking cough drops. But if that were my only choice - I would have smoked those. Tried clove cigarettes for a while. Thought, well, they’re not tobacco, they must be better for us, right? Wrong. Found out the sticky stuff (clove oil) they put on your lungs was far worse than the tar of cigarettes.
The perfect cigarette? I think to an addict it’s the next one we smoke. The one that alleviates the craving. And since all cigarettes do - is alleviate cravings - that perfect one is always that next one.
It’s amazing to me how many years I smoked. And it’s also amazing how many years I’ve now been quit. Fifteen today. Add in the 20 years before I ever started, and the 1 year quit I had in my 20s, that makes about 35 years I haven’t smoked in all my life. And 36 years I have. Next year will be the break even point. From then on I’ll have more smoke-free years than smoke-filled ones. That’s kind of neat to think about. Another goal to aim for.
We have to keep aiming for those goals. It keeps our quits active. And active quits are safe ones.
You know what I’ve discovered? The perfect cigarette is no cigarette.
Cheers to all on this journey. Keep your perfect cigarette the one that says NO on it.
Special shout out to MartyO on your One Year Anniversary (welcome to the /blogs/Giulia-blog/2017/06/18/elders-list-ao-december-7-2016?sr=search&searchId=1bf8b7e4-8b04-459e-b...) and to Storm.3.1.14 on your Magnificent 7! Great to be celebrating with you today!
