So, why do I want to stop smoking ?

I have a LOT of reasons. It's nothing to do with the anti-smoking police who are making smoking life in the UK a misery, in fact they made me smoke for longer in sheer defiance !

Nope, here are my reasons which might sound familiar to some other smokers...

1) I want my freedom back and I'm sick of the inconvenience.

Nipping down to the shop before it closes to make sure I have some smokes. Sitting in my garden to smoke in the rain, snow, cold. Popping out at work to smoke (no smoking rooms anymore, or in fact anywhere undercover that I can light up). Finding time to light up in anti-smoking company (I assume everyone is now anti-smoking so make myself scarce when I want to light up).


2) I don't want to feel like a loser anymore

Our nanny-state has well and truly made us smokers feel like lepers. I felt quite defiant about all their anti-smoking fascism for quite sometime. The media simply propogate all the "THIS is how you will live" bully boy tactics which comes out of these government sponsored health reports.

I have tried to ignore it as much as possible but, to be frank, it's really becoming an effort now. I feel like I've been ground down, everyone thinks you're a moron now if you smoke and it starts to rub off on you after a while.


3) It's bloody expensive in the UK

Enough said.


4) I don't want to feel so slobbish

It never used to affect me but nowadays smoking kind of makes me feel tired. I can have a smoke on a Saturday morning and end up back in bed for a kip !


5) I don't want as many hangovers

They say you can't have a drink without a smoke and I agree, it's not easy to drink without smoking. I have developed such a close association between the two that I now find it difficult to smoke without drinking. Yep drinking is another vice of mine. Anyway, I figure stopping smoking should also significantly reduce my alcohol intake. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love drinking or "binge drinking" as they call it nowdays. The problem is, I now find that the after effects outweight the previous evening's enjoyment. I'll never manage to stop drinking... ever ! but I would like to reduce the frequency and reclaim some of my mornings :)


6) Health reasons (I suppose !)

This is the one I am supposed to be most concerned with but to be frank it's the last on my list. I don't particularly have a death wish but I don't think that smoking is the killer they keep saying. It's dangerous in the long term for sure but they make out it's like playing with dynamite and if you smoke you will have a horrible painful death years before your time.