Click to use the Talking Dictionary 4. Nothing Cool about a Kool (1)

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4. I smoked cigarettes for 30 years. When I first lit up, a pack was 20 cents. I smoked different brands: filterless Pall Mall and Camel, Benson & Hedges, recessed filter Parliament, Marlboro, Kool, Salem, Newport, Winston, Sherman's, and Bugler roll‐your‐own. I don't know how many times I tried to quit, but it was a lot. I'd quit last thing at night, and first thing in the morning I'd light up. Sometimes, trying to quit, I'd throw out an almost full pack. But after an hour or two, I'd dig it out of the trash and smoke the rest of the pack. So then I started filling the pack with water, soaking the cigarettes, and then squeeze the water out of the pack. Of course, I couldn't smoke that pack anymore. So when I got the urge, I'd just buy a fresh pack.

I used to hide cigarettes around my apartment, hoping that having to search for them would discourage me from smoking them. I managed to quit for a year once. I made a bet with a coworker. If I lost the bet, I would've had to give her $100. A whole year went by, and I didn't smoke one cigarette. But about January 6, I decided to celebrate by having "just one" cigarette. How stupid was that?! That's like trying to eat just one peanut. Although, I knew a woman who actually used to smoke one cigarette a day, after dinner. That still amazes me—how could anyone smoke just one cigarette a day? 4.9, 257

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