DOSE:

smoked

Tobacco - Cigarettes

BODY WEIGHT:

135 lb

When I was a young kid, I despised smoking. My mom smoked and I vowed I would never do it.

I was always very close friends with my sister, she is the best friend you could ask for, but one thing caused a slight, temporary snag in that friendship. She is 3 years older than me, and when I was 11, she started smoking.

For 2 years, I would nag her to quit every time she lit up when we were together, when I was 13, we were hanging out, staying up late and playing a board game in the basement. After our parents went to bed, she opened a window and lit a cigarette, at this point, I had grown passive to her smoking and I sat with her we chatted when she asked the inevitable question. “Do you want to try?” All the sudden, every bit of anti-smoking in me was suddenly gone, I was just extremely curious and wanted to know why she smoked, why my mom smoked, why anyone smoked. My heart beat racing I told her yes. She showed me the basics, told me how to hold it, how to puff, and everything. She lit it for me and I puffed and blew it out the window. A lot of people don’t, but I liked the taste. I took a few puffs then my sister told me I had to inhale, she told me how, I tried it and while it irritated my throat a bit, I didn’t burst into a coughing fit, I just blew it out and cleared my throat a bit and all was good. I tried a few more times and relaxed into the feeling. After we were done, we went to bed. Over the next couple years I smoked as any smoker does, I hid it from my parents but I was completely open about it in public, I would smoke while walking anywhere, I'd smoke when my sister and I would go to a restaurant. When I was 15, my sister was now an adult so she came out about smoking to my parents and that was that, not long after, I came out to my parents as well. I got the typical stern lecturing over it, but at the end of the day, I was allowed to smoke.

Just a normal life after that, I’m now 43, I’ll be 44 later this year, and I still enjoy my cigarettes, I can’t believe I was once adamantly against smoking. Yeah, there are negative health effects, I run out of breath easier and I have to brush my teeth very often to stave off bad breath. Of course it’s a deadly habit, but let’s be honest. Eating a great cheeseburger from a fast food place is also a very negative thing, and it can lead to health problems that are just as deadly.

My sister still smokes, her daughter smokes, both my daughters smoke. I gave my daughters the same stern lecturing my parents gave me and told them all the bad things that can happen, but in the end, they chose to continue smoking just like I did.

I love my cigarettes, and while it’s bad for me, many other things are too, but it’s something I enjoy and wouldn’t give up.

Exp Year: 1980-2010	ExpID: 84991
Gender: Female
Age at time of experience: 43
Published: May 12, 2018	Views: 1,301
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Tobacco - Cigarettes (266) : First Times (2), Retrospective / Summary (11), Various (28)