I have something to say, and its definitely not easy to say it, neither is it to write for this might change the perception of a few people I know that despise cigarettes and maybe myself; for being a smoker.

              Starting way back when in National Service, my camp was one of the best camps in Malaysia. Being brand new and shiny , the facilities were nothing to wow at. However, when the sundry shop opened up, my pocket money wasn’t enough and I resorted to smuggling in cigaretts to sell to people at an amazing RM3 per stick. At that time I was wondering ” why do these people waste so much just for one cigarette?” . Now I know. When I was in National Service, I started smoking to entertain the people that bought cigarettes from me, because no one would buy if they had known you didn’t smoke yourself. For example, would you buy something from someone who knows nothing about something he’s selling? NO!. Definitely. So it started, and went on, and on, and on. Till I ended my National Service.

               It didn’t stop there, my peers started smoking in National Service too! Dang. To top it all up, we started smoking together, from a pack of 14′s to a pack of 21′s a week. Once in the morning, once after school; our daily routine. It was still control-able at that moment. Little did I know , I was about to lose the little control that I had over my habit. The 1 pack per week went to two and then three. I realised it but somehow, did nothing to stop it, regretably.

              After a total of 6 months , I started attending church. Jelutong Methodist Church. Its great. The people are nice and friendly, conflicts are about but still, theres a calming atmostphere about. One day, my fellow smoking peer said to me. ” Lets stop” , I was like HUH? well.. okay.. if you say so. lets stop together =D and we did.

             IT HURTS. The first day. I felt like I was being deprived of food. Tired, sick, headaches and moodswings came to me. I started to reconsider. Then I realised I wasn’t about to let myself die of lung cancer at a young age and be deprived of the joys of life just because of smoke. I admitted my habit to my parents and I told them I quitted. They were supportive. It feels sucky now. My lungs hurt like its being stabbed by a porcupine from the inside, I have a fever, I have flu , my head hurts, I pee yellow pee and worst of all I sneeze every 20 seconds. I went to the clinic just to troubleshoot my condition and the doctor told me ” Congratulations, you stopped smoking. The right way. Cold turkey. Your pains are normal and they are part of the healing process of your lungs and your body. Your body hasnt had this much oxygen in a long time and the blood sugar level is low. Thats why you’re weak. Relax. Give it a few days . It’ll recover and you’ll feel much better.” he said. I smiled. 

                    Thats about it. To the people I know who hate smokers. I tried one and I stuck to it . Im sorry for doing so but I quit. Realised it was doing shit to me and my pocket. To my friends who aren’t smokers. Don’t start. DONT START. If you do, and you get addicted, I’ll say I told you so; because i did. Smoking wont kill you. It’ll kill those around you.