Smoke em if you got em! Or not!

    Let's tackle one of the tough topics, smoking. I smoked for over 25 years. For some of those 25 years I smoked over 2 packs a day, but in recent years I have rarely smoked more than a single pack a day. I told myself I was cutting down. Some days I wanted to quit smoking, but on most days I really didn't want to quit, I enjoyed it. Cigarettes taste so good to a smoker, the calm you down when things are hectic and they curb hunger too. I can tell you all about medical research that proves nicotine causes no ill effects to the heart, which is true but misleading.
    So how does smoking hurt us? First, nicotine causes your blood vessels to constrict or get smaller. That's why your fingers get cold if you are a smoker. The vessels constrict and not as much blood can get through them. Now think about your garden hose. Let's say you have one that is an inch in diameter. You turn on the water and it runs out at a decent rate, right? Now hook up a new 1/2 inch hose and turn on the water, it will really shoot out of there. There is not as much space in the hose, so the pressure is increased by the flow of the water. The same thing happens in your body. The blood vessels are smaller from the nicotine and the pressure is increased. Add to that the fact that I had high blood pressure to begin with and it starts to push the needle into the red. Now let's add in the fact that there is cholesterol and fat building up in my arteries, making them even smaller. Now I am in deep trouble, right?
    The problem is that even though my brain can see what the problem is, and I know that I need to quit smoking, I just can't do it. My body needs the stuff, I am addicted and I need to get off the nicotine and things will be alright. That's what I think anyway. The truth? I have not had a cigarette since February 29th and I had a dream about smoking just about an hour ago. It was SO nice to sit down and smoke one more cigarette. What kind of screwed up mind dreams about something that will kill you and makes you want to do it? I have the urge to smoke every day, but I don't. It would be so nice to just go to the store and buy a pack and smoke one if the urge got really bad, but then my mind would justify the addiction and I would just start smoking more and more.
    I have a prescription for Chantix, it's waiting for me at the pharmacy. I gave it to them but told them not to fill it unless I need it. I want to do this on my own, so I am waiting. Right now I am not allowed to drive and there are no smokes here in the house so I can't smoke, but what happens when I am free to move about and go to the store? I really think I will be fine, sure sometimes I get a hankering for a smoke, but it passes. Even though the Doc says not to drive, my truck is in the driveway and the store is about 2 miles away, so I could go get some cigarettes if I really wanted to, but I haven't and do not plan to.
    I just ordered a new MP3 player and next week when I can drive again I plan on heading down to the track at the fairgrounds and start walking for exercise. I'll get through the non-smoking just fine. I know I can do it and I know that with the medical advances we have available today that anyone can quit.
    My wife Kim has also quit smoking and I am very proud of her for doing so. I told her that she didn't need to quit on my account but she said that she really wanted to get off the things too and that this was a good time to quit. She's the greatest.
   

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