How I became Hooked on Cigarettes

I had never smoked a single cigarette before I got to college. So what ever possessed me to embark on THAT bad habit, I will never understand. But everyone was doing it, and seemingly enjoying it.

I bought a pack of Larks for my induction. I don't remember where I smoked it, (or tried to smoke it), but it seems it was a dark corridor somewhere. My first couple of puffs sickened me, and I ran to the bathroom and vomited. Same with the second cigarette. By the third one, though, I became hooked.

By the time I was 33, I was smoking three packs a day, coughing, smelling bad, burning myself... I recall driving with the window open and wearing shorts one day. I was smoking and when the cigarette burned down I tossed it out the window. But it flew back in, landing on my thigh and burning a hole while I was making a turn. I could smell my own flesh burning. I also caused a few upholstery burns.

When I was 33 I had braces put on the INSIDE surfaces of my teeth, and decided to quit (for real this time) because it would be hard to keep my teeth clean. When I came home from the orthodontist after the metal installation, I smoked one cigarette and threw the rest in the toilet. And never smoked again.