Huckleberries Online

Digger: You Can Avoid ‘Sin Taxes’

Posted by DFO

March 17, 2009 1:11 p.m. • 9 comments

Smoking is a nasty habit. I think that’s a pretty widely accepted statement that few folks would disagree with. I smoked heavily for many years - sometimes consuming upwards of a carton per week. My New Year’s resolution in 2007 was to quit, so at midnight Jan. 1 I threw away all my cigarettes and started the year with fresh breath and lungs. That resolution lasted about three days before I was back to puffing those nasty cancer sticks. But I was determined to kick the habit, so I kept trying. I also promised myself that I would do it on my own with no patches or gum to help me along. I’m glad I did it that way, too, because there is no bigger sense of accomplishment than breaking an addiction strictly on willpower. But it wasn’t easy/Henry “Digger” Johnston, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.

Question: Have you ever tried and failed to quit smoking?

Nine comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Charlie on March 17 at 1:23 p.m.
Quit 12 years ago this past December, cold turkey. Many failed attempts prior to winning. My advice, keep at it, you can win.

Food tastes better, new smells abound, congrats Digger, you won, but the temptation will always be there for “just one more.”
Cindy_H on March 17 at 1:25 p.m.
“…but the temptation will always be there for “just one more.”

I’ve never been a smoker, but I sure know what you mean Charlie ;-)
Frum Helen Back on March 17 at 2:05 p.m.
It would take a scroll to list the times I’ve quit and failed.
trishgannon on March 17 at 3:34 p.m.
Right now I’ve dropped from a pack a day to a half of a pack a day. I’m hoping to keep cutting but have tried so many times I’m afraid to be positive.

One day at a time, right?
Stickman on March 17 at 8:04 p.m.
Any one that smokes is defining their death sentence. I gave it up 15 years ago and did it cold turkey, it was just time. I have never looked back, and to this day, I give any and all smokers their due. My father died from such a hideous habit, how can we possibly live each day and love what gives it us and still smoke. I will not buy any excuses. Just stop. Your life will be so much more pure and enjoyable.

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.