Smokers

[pocaracas]

What brand do you smoke?

Don't smoke.

When and how did you start?

In the womb - it was 1980 and Portugal was catching up with the crazy 70's. Both parents smoked round-the-clock.
The apartment had a carpet which made the smell remain longer.
I don't remember noticing the smell until far later in life...
Been a second-hand smoker for most my life... At uni, lots of others kids smoked and I had to take in their smoke.
As a researcher, I still have some smoker colleagues and, once in a while, we have to go outside to discuss some details of work, while they get their fix.

Do you regret it?

Yes.... f'in stupid habit imported from the americas...
America - providing the world with crap since the 16th century!

Are you a quitter(do you find yourself constantly trying to quit and then you go and take it up again)?

Too many people smoking around me... -.-'

Answer whatever you like.

About my dad... after a lifetime of smoking, he had some intestinal problem... which wouldn't go away. One morning, about a year ago, as he was getting his morning fix, something went terribly wrong and he couldn't stop coughing, until something red came out.
That day, he gave up smoking, drinking coffee and other bad habits. All cold turkey and, now, over a year later, he's still going strong!

His problem remained and a month later he went to the hospital where he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, which made the doctors happy, as it was not cancer... but it's almost as bad.
His previous general poor state of health, after carrying around undiagnosed Crohn's for months, left him too weak to withstand the operation required to cut off a piece of his intestine, so that operation didn't go according to plan and he had to stay in the hospital for 4 months... 4 months confined to a hospital bed, without knowing when or how or even IF he would be ok and fit to resume his life.
Had he not quit smoking and drinking coffee prior to his admittance in the hospital, it would have been and even crappier stay than it was and he would probably not have remained willed enough to overcome that temporary setback.

Moral of the story: don't smoke - if you ever need to stay for a while in a hospital, you'll have a far easier time.
The same goes for clipping your toe nails - think of the people who discover your overgrown keratin! :p