Trump is no reason to take up smoking.

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I started smoking again early in 2017 because I was so stressed out over all the chaos Trump and his White House was causing.  In particular, his attempts to repeal Obamacare were turning me into a mental case.

Makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?  My fears about losing healthcare were cured by taking up something that could give me cancer!    Of course it’s stupid.   I knew it was stupid, but I did it anyway.

Since it is Lent, I finally decided it was time to quit again.   Giving up ciggies is my gift to myself and to God.   I feel like this time it will stick.  I am using the Nicoderm system (skin patches) and I’ve been smoke-free for a week!  Very few cravings, and I already feel like I’m breathing better.   I actually feel like my circulation is better too, and is improving the appearance of my complexion.   When I look in the mirror, I feel like I actually look younger than I did as a smoker.   And that’s after only a week.  So what if I gain a few pounds?   That can always be taken off, and besides, chewing lots of gum and drinking a lot of water can curb food cravings.   There’s no reason one has to gain weight!

I think I want to live to be 90 like my dad.   There are so many good reasons to quit and so many bad reasons to not quit.

Why smoking sucks. 

It’s expensive.  Spending even $100/month on cigarettes is like literally burning dollar bills.

It will kill you one way or the other — or at least shorten your life.

It’s messy.

It turns everything in your house an ugly yellowish color (which means more cleaning).

It makes everything dusty.

It’s socially unacceptable in most places.

It ages you prematurely.

It stinks.

And finally (forgive me for this) it makes you appear low class.   I’m no elitist, but I don’t want people to think of me as low class.

It makes you feel like shit.

It does not relieve anxiety — the feeling you get when you first light up when you’re stressed is an illusion.  Cigarettes are actually a stimulant, like coffee.

 

risksofsmoking

 

Good reasons to quit:

If my body is a temple, I want to treat it like one, instead of like an ashtray.

You will feel the health benefits almost immediately.

Food tastes better (I’m not sure that, for me, this is a good thing!)

You are much less likely to die of a smoking-related illness like cancer.

Your circulation will improve, and as a result so will your skin tone.

You will feel proud of yourself as you count the days.

Coffee tastes even better without a cigarette.

You no longer have to deal with the cravings or embarrassment of being in situations where other people are not smoking or where smoking is not allowed.

You will have more money.   You can either keep it and buy something nice for yourself (or save it), or do what I am doing, and donate it to charity (as I am doing for Lent).

Your house/car will be much cleaner.

Eventually the cravings (if you have any) will cease.

You’ll just feel healthier all around, even if at first you’re extra sleepy.

*****

Donald Trump may be doing a lot of things, but I’m not going to let him ruin my health.

33 thoughts on “Trump is no reason to take up smoking.”

  1. I quit smoking many years ago. Smoking was a lot cheaper then and one could smoke in many more places. I don’t know how anyone can stand smoking today. It’s ridiculously expensive and there’s no place where one can even smoke. I used to hate the way my home smelled when I came in from outside. If I was out of cigarettes, I had to run to the store, no matter what time it was. Once, when I was already a non-smoker, I spent a weekend with a couple of smokers. By the time I got home, my clothes stank of tobacco. I’m so glad I don’t smoke.

    Liked by 2 people

    • It’s true, when you’re a smoker, you become a slave to the cigarettes. I’m not going to be a slave to anything, especially something so expensive, dirty, inconvenient, and lethal. Good for you for quitting!

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Congratulations on one week without cigarettes. You never have to smoke again. 😀

    After decades of not smoking, I started again when I was 47 years old. The reason I started smoking was because I was going through a divorce. Which is a very stupid reason to start smoking. Actually, any reason to start smoking is stupid.

    I quit 2 1/2 years later, when someone prayed for me to quit. I did not know that anyone had prayed for me to stop smoking, until my friend told me, about 2 weeks later. Suddenly I just did not feel like smoking anymore. The cigarettes tasted terrible to me all of a sudden, so I stopped. I had been trying unsuccessfully to stop, during the previous 2 years, and could not stop, until my friend secretly prayed that I would.

    Almost 3 years ago, my stepdaughter moved into our trailer in the back yard. She had been smoking for over 30 years. She had tried many times to quit and never could. After she had been living here about 5 months, I secretly prayed and asked God to take cigarettes away from her, the same way that He had taken them away from me. I did not tell my stepdaughter about my prayer.

    That was over 2 years ago. She hasn’t smoked a single cigarette since I prayed!

    Liked by 2 people

  5. Dear LuckyOtter and Friends, my husband quit, but even before that, we stopped smoking in the house, because it is messy – and dealing with a wood-stove is high-maintenance enough. Hopefully soon, we’ll get modern heat, that all you need do, is turn a dial and buck up and pay the bill. Anyway, i still smoke, but i take it outside, and because of that, i smoke less. Downside is: like most everyone who cuts back/quits, i’ve gained weight. Frankly, i think there’s alot worse and more expensive habits, like going to casinos. What people see in that, i have no idea and no interest –
    wow, talk about low-class – thinking you’ll get $$$$$ for $…yeah right. Are people that deluded?
    Yeah, i know, silly question ;/ Subscribing to movie channels, spending nearly a $100 a month to what? Sit on one’s can, and watch rubbish. Ew! Yeah, i know, there’s good stuff out there, and good luck finding that 3%, somewhere in the 97% dung-heap. Have a great evening, i’m going outside to give my lungs a (no calorie) treat. 😉 P.s., i buy the cheap-o smokes; it’s a bad habit, and i don’t want to spend any more than need be.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hey, at least you cut down — nothing wrong with that! I totally get it about the mess in the house — long before I quit, I tried to keep my smoking outside. I didn’t always succeed with t hat, especially in the cold weather.
      I agree there are other expensive wastes of time (like the bad movies you mentioned) but at least they won’t give you cancer. They could kill a few brain cells, though. :/

      Liked by 1 person

  6. That must be another reason everybody seems to look older in old-fashioned movies/TV shows: More people smoked back then. For example, I look at the early episodes of All in the Family and think, the Bunkers were only in their late 40s??? And the Fugitive, they all seem to look a lot older than their actual ages….

    Liked by 1 person

    • Wow! I never thought of how old they were in that show. Even Gloria and Meathead looked old — weren’t they supposed to be college age? Archie and Edith seemed like people in their 60s or even 70s!

      Of course, it was also more common back in the day for older actors to play much younger characters. I think today it’s more common for characters to be played by people of similar or same age.
      I don’t know if smoking is the reason for the old look of people in 1970s TV shows — I think it has more to do with the outdated fashions and hairstyles. Even in the 80s, when a lot of people had quit smoking, people still look “old” to me now because of the way they are dressed or wear their hair. People who were young in earlier decades still wear those styles today (especially hair), so we associate age with those styles, but at the time they weren’t perceived that way. I also notice how in VERY old photos (19th century and early 20th) how people did not smile in photographs. I wonder what the reason for that is? Bad teeth? Attitudes toward smiles?

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      • In an episode of the Fugitive I saw recently, his dad was barely retirement age but looked 80ish. Then there’s the 60-something woman on an old Little Rascals who looks 80ish, with her old-fashioned old-lady’s clothes.

        I’ve also heard theories that they looked older because they piled on the pancake makeup, or because of health/hard living. I remember, senior year in high school, we looked through some old yearbooks and thought those kids–our same age–looked older. As for not smiling, that’s actually because the old cameras took long minutes to take pictures, and nobody can hold fake smiles that long. 😉

        Liked by 2 people

        • I heard that was one reason why people in old photos didn’t smile — because they had to sit for a long time for the camera to “print” the picture.

          I remember as a little girl, “grandmas” were always depicted as little old ladies sitting in rocking chairs knitting, with a shawl draped over them, and always had white hair and glasses, lol. Probably always was a stereotype, but that used to be the general image.
          Now a “grandma” can be youthful, have a career, and even be sexy!

          Liked by 1 person

      • I checked Wikipedia, and Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton were in their late 40s when the show started, yet they already looked much older. In one episode, her doppleganger wears modern pants etc., and looks younger. Sally Struthers was 23, and Rob Reiner was 24.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. trump derangment syndrome is very real…i cannot believe you dont recognise what a monstrous murderous empty fucking narcissit hilary was…. i used to respect you otter but yur frankly unhinged and gone fll sjw…
    narcissim is rife on the political left,, we even have the studies to prove it, republicans are more compassionate…didnt know that did you?
    i just cannot elieve that ahrmless somatic narc like trump has you riled but the machiaveliian snake that is hilary has your respect,,, seriously…shame on you,,,actinfg the victim of your own hedonism because youy dont like the president.
    maga.

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      • THATS WHAT WE ON THE RIGHT DO, MORE NARCISSISTS ON THE RIGHT? YOU MUST BE INSANE, I READ YOUR BLOG PRECISELY BECUSE YOU DISAGREE, IF YOU ARE CENSORIOUS, BLINKERED AND CANNOT SEE THE DATA?
        PERSONALITY DISORDERS AND MENTAL ILLNESS ARE FAR MORE COMMON ON THE POLITICAL LEFT, THE RIGHT HAVE MORE EMPATHY BUT HENCE STRAICTER BOUNDARIES, AND THEN THERES ISLAM,,, CODIFIED PSYCHOPATHY AND SANCTIONED RPE AND MURDER. MUHAMMED WAS THE ULTIMATE PSYCHOPATH, SECOND ONLY TO THE SEVERE AUTISTIC MARX…..THESE TWO IDEOLOGIES HAVE KILLED FAR MORE PEOPLE THAN ANYTHING THE RIGHT EVER CAME UP WITH. LOOK UP THE HOLOMODOR,

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    • I agree with this woman about what narcissism is, but I see a lot more of it on the far right, tbh and less of it on the left. Yes, there are compassionate conservatives, but Trump and his criminal administration are not compassionate and are not even conservatives — they are fascists and Trump clearly wants to be dictator. The parallels between him and Hitler and other dangerous dictators throughout history are striking and real. Trump has zero eimpathy and no conscience and has committed more crimes and told more lies than any president in history. As for Hillary, no, she isn’t perfect, and wasn’t my favorite, but is a far cry from that wannabe-despot Trump. If she had been elected, this nation would still be aa democracy and not turning into some dystopian fascist dictatorship. Personally though, I preferred Bernie.

      As for me being a SJW — tell me, what’s wrong with social justice?

      Liked by 1 person

      • ITS NOT JUSTICE. ITS VIRTUE SIGNALLING AND PATRONISING MINORITIES, THE CONCEPT OF ” WHITE PRIVELGE” IS A SUP[REMACIST CONCEPT, ANTIFa ARE HORRIFICALLY VIOLENT, SO ARE MUSLIMS.
        JORDAN PETERSON, LISTEN TO HIM.

        Like

      • BERNIE IS A CRACKPOT, USING CHILDREN TO PUSH HIS AGENDA THIS WEEK TOO, THE MOST PROMINENT VOICES ON THE LEFT ARE HANDPICKED OCIALIST SCHOOLKIDS AND A PORNSTAR. AND CRAYZ HILARY WHO JUST INSULTED ALL WHITE WOMEN …HILARY IS STRAIGHT UP PREDATOR… TRAIL OF BODIES ON HER AND A RAPIST HUSBAND , TRUMPS JUST A LETCH.
        FEMINISM IS CANCER.

        Like

      • YOU AGREE WITH HER? SHES A LESBIAN, WAS A LEFTIST HERSELF, THEN SHE HAD HER AHA MOMENT , NOT FROM A FAMILY MEMBER OR PARTNER, BUT FROM AN ENTIRE POLITICAL STANCE SHE HAD THOUGHT ALTRUISTIC.
        ,LET THAT SINK IN.
        ONE CAN TAKE A HORSE TO WATER BUT YOU CANNOT AKE IT DRINK….THOUGH IF THE HORSE IS A GOOD ONE AND IT MIGHT DIE IF IT DONT HYDRATE YOU CAN HAVE A GO AT RAGGING ITS HEAD UNDER THE WATER…
        WHAT RIGHTS HAS TRUMP TAKEN FROM WOMEN?
        FROM BLACKS?
        FROM ANYONE?
        LOOK WHAT MIGARTION HAS DONE TO SWEDEN
        THE UK.
        I HAVE SEEN IN MY LIFETIME PSYCHOPATHGIC RAPING MURDEOUS FOREIGNERS BECOME A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN MY LIFE BECAUSE OF THE NAIVETE AND BLOODYMINDEDNESS OF THE LEFT.
        LOOK UP DOUGLAS MURRAY.
        MILO.
        BEN SHAPIRO.
        LAUREN SOUTHERN.
        BEARING
        SARGON
        PAM GELLER
        AYAN HIRSI ALI
        SAM HARRIS
        JORDAN PETERSON
        ROBERTSPENCER
        I AM NOT ALT RIGHT, IM NOT FAR RIGHT.
        NEITHER ARE THESE PEOPLE BUT THEY ARE BEING CALLED NAZIS

        Like

      • TRUMP WANTS NO SUCH THING… HES PREPARING TO FIGHT ANOTHER ELECTION, ON THE BACK OF WHAT HES DOING ALREADY, DEMOCRATICALLY.
        ITS CONSRVATIVES WHO ARE BEING SILENCED ON TWITTER FACEBOOK YOUTUBE AND IN GOOGLE SEARCHES…
        YOUR TECH GIANTS ARE LEFTIST MONSTERS PROMOTING ISLAM TO EUROPE AND TO CANADA.
        COMPELLED SPEECH IN CANADA,
        “CRIMES OF OPINION ” AKA THOUGHT CRIMES IN SWEDEN.
        BALSPHEMY LAWS IN THE UK.
        MEN DYING IN PRISON BECAUSE THEY CRITICSED ISLAM….
        IN THE UK.
        20000 CAES OF FEMLE GENITAL MUTILATION IGNORED BY LEFTIST COUCILS IN THE UK OUT OF NARCISTIC WANT TO NOT APPEAR RACIST AS ALL THE PERPETRATORS WERE PAKISTANI MUSLIMS.
        JOURNALISTS BANNED ROM THE UK FROM OUR OWN COMMONWELATH FOR MAKING AN ALLAH IS GAY JOKE.
        THE LEFT ISNT EVEN THE LEFT ANYMORE, THEY ARE AUTHORITARIAN FAR LEFT COMMUNISTS WHO SEEM TO ADORE ISLAM BECAUSE TO NOT TO IS RACIST.
        PSYCHOPATHY NARCISSIM AND AGGRESSION ARE RIFE IN INBRED POULATIONS…
        ISLAM AND JEWS – WELCOME TO HELL, IT WLL GET WOSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER,
        JUST YOU WAIT TIL YOUR COUNTRY STARTS LETTING PSYCHOPATHS OVER THE BORDER TO RAPE YOUR FUCKING DUAGHTERS..
        MAGA.

        Like

  10. Giving up any addiction is not easy but it comes with a bunch of benefits and in the end makes you realize that you are a stronger person and need no dependence on others.

    Congrats on your victory!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. While one might exist apart from ‘the foul weed’ (isert type of weed here – “there are other weeds”, not merely the one mentioned) it is altogether a different matter to try to exist without ***food*** – and in my case, I must get fairly close to that situation if I do not wish to gain weight.

    (Diagnosed hypothyroid ~ 20 years ago, hypoadrenal about nine years, and other matters of a related nature necessitate near-pathological dieting to lose any weight at all, and something akin to ***anorexia*** to lose ‘a lot’/become ‘fashionably thin’.)

    Liked by 2 people

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