Nicotine Addiction
Okay, I have to talk about this, because it goes hand in hand with alcohol for so many people. My story – I went to rehab in August 0f 1986 for alcohol and I was a smoker at the time. Those were the days you could still smoke pretty much anywhere other than airplanes and public transit. We all puffed our cigarettes between groups and the like. We clung to them like little security blankets frankly. There were a lot of us.
About 11 months into sobriety I decided I couldn’t stand it anymore. I was waking up having coughing attacks and I would have to breathe in steam to clear my lungs. How sick was that – to be 25 years old and barely be able to breathe? I decided to quit. My doctor gave me a prescription for Nicorette and I tapered down to one piece of gum in a few weeks, then I was done with it. It wasn’t easy but I was determined to stick with it. And I did for a long time.
About 15 years later a series of semi-traumatic events occurred (loss of a relationship, career problems etc) and I happened to have a good friend who was a smoker, so one day I said, “Lemme have one of those.”
I wouldn’t really smoke much after that. Maybe one here, one there. I would buy a pack, smoke two, douse the pack in water and throw it out so I wouldn’t be tempted to ferret it out of the trash bin (hey, smokers know what I’m talking about).
I got frustrated by the back and forth and decided to try the nicotine gum route again. Then I couldn’t stop chewing the darn gum. So I tried the patch to stop the gum. That part of the story has been a great source of amusement to my friends.
That worked for a while. Then, once again, exposure to someone smoking, life stress – and I said, “Gimme one of those.”
Nicotine addiction is a bear! I mean, really, how many times can a person go through that garbage? That nicotine gum is as addictive as smoking, you just spare your lungs (but I have to wonder if it’s good for your mouth and throat).
For someone who is just shy of 23 years without alcohol it’s stunning to me just how strong a grip nicotine has on me. Once I went to rehab, I stayed sober. I never said, “Gimme one of those.” Yet nicotine remains a persistent issue that pops up every few years – and I have to go through it all over again.
I’m not sure why Phillip Morris didn’t get into the nicotine gum business – probably would have made up for their losses in cigarette sales. Ugh.
