Cigarettes and Alcohol

Aaaaaaaaaaah.... vodka...

I've finished my on call week, and I'm pleased to say that I have a rather large drink in front of me. And very refreshing and nice it is too.

It may not seem likely, given the frequent references I make to drinking and general unhealthy living, but until a year or so ago I was actually fairly fit. I think this may have been despite my lifestyle rather than as a result of it, but nevertheless, I could walk for miles and stomp up hills with a reasonable degree of dignity. The current situation is a bit different - the last significant hill I walked up left me a panting, wheezing, sweating mess, and to be honest, that upset me a bit. Especially as my asthmatic son was running rings around me.

So a thought has been fermenting in my mind for the last month: perhaps I should try to give up smoking. I smoke quite a lot, mostly out of boredom and habit. I have been sat here since about 5 this evening, and in the last two hours the evidence in my ashtray shows I have managed to smoke 5 cigarettes. This is not a good thing.

And there are a few other things as well as my current inability to walk up hills without feeling I'm going to die at any moment. There's the occasional (like right now) chest pains. There's the slight smoker's cough I've started to develop. And there's snoring. Yes, I admit it. I snore. Not all the time, but often enough. I didn't used to, or at least certainly not like I do now. I am basically destroying the very system my body uses to provide me with oxygen, and I've come to the conclusion that this is no longer a viable state of affairs.

The real kick up the backside was a quick calculation I did which showed that I was spending more than £200 a month on cigarettes. I am paying to kill myself, and to do it slowly, which really seems a little odd. Especially given how broke I am.

Soon, the time for real will power will be upon me. Sunday is the day. Tomorrow night I smoke my last cigarette. Ever. I have Monday and Tuesday off work, so I can get through the worst of it in the privacy of my own home. I am ready to do this...