Saturday, July 26, 2008

Kick It!

The first time I met Philip, it was during the annual "alay lakad" on a Maundy Thursday. My friends and I were preparing for the hours-long trek to the church in Antipolo. It was a Catholic tradition where devotees walk together for hours to converge at the end point of the trek: the Antipolo church.

But for me and my friends, it was a leisure trip. We were armed with our bottles of water, backpacks filled with food and change clothes, plus a pole with a custom-made banner bearinig all of our names. At eight in the evening, we were already on our way to Antipolo. There was really nothing else to do but chat while walking. And at certain times, we would stop somewhere to rest, buy a drink, or for others to puff a smoke.

I was not yet a smoker that time. I was intrigued by my friends' obvious pleasure while lighting sticks of cigarette.

I egged one of my friends to give me some and let me try it. He wouldn't. "'Wag na Wowie," he said. I tried the others, they all said the same thing. For something that was known for being caused by peer=pressure, it was certainly not the case for us.

Hours passed and we were still walking, and I was still pestering my friend to let me have some, and he still wouldn't let me. It was a Marlboro, red. Others puffed a Winston, much lighter than Marlboro.

Then I saw an opportunity when I saw a neighbor with a long white stick. I asked him for one and he gave me one. Excitedly, I grabbed a lighter and lit my very first smoke. The first puff sent me coughing. But there was something cool in the cigarette, like a menthol candy. I looked at it and saw it was a Philip.

One of my friends saw me and was obviously pissed. But there was nothing they can really do because I was already devirginized by the little cigarette stick. When they saw what I was smoking, they couldn't help but laugh. That was when I found out that if you are a teenager who wants to smoke and be cool, shun away from Philips or Hopes--they were said to be prostitutes' preference for a cigarette stick. If you are familiar with the way they do business, and the long waiting time they have to endure, you'll get why these menthol cigarettes got that preconceived notion.

So I immediately switched to Marlboro (red at first, god, what a head ache!) and Winston. Then eventually, after years of being exposed, I switched to Winston and Marlboro lights.

Fast forward to years later, I am still a smoker, although I really try to keep it down. I wanted to quit for a very long time, obviously for health concerns. But there are times when I couldn't resist the urge to light a cigarette. I'm sure all smokers share the same sentiments, no matter how hard they want to try to kick the habit.

It really takes a lot of determination and discipline. And of course, support from people who care about you. Those who care enough to punch you when you are like a junkie trembling to have a stick.

In a way I am successful in trying to quit, but there are still times when I succumb to the temptation.

Quit now before you regret it. You can really get sick. I used to handle an account that dealt with kicking the smoking habit and that was when I realized the effects smoking can have on us. So now, I am really fighting eacch urge.

Kick it!

http://www.healthmad.com/Addiction/The-Dangers-of-Smoking-and-How-to-Effectively-Quit.129253

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