co-worker enjoys smoking

wMy wife said one of her co-workers said they would never quit smoking because they enjoyed it too much.  I said her co-worker is either a liar or delusional.  No one enjoys smoking.

Smoking is expensive, smelly, inconvenient, embarrassing, and unhealthy.  At $3.00 to $5.00 a pack in NC, the average smoker spends $30.00 a week or more on cigarettes.  Most people would be excited to receive a 75 cent or dollar raise an hour in their paycheck.  There are some people who attend my church who smoke.  They burn one just before coming in and they reek.  Of course they do not realize it but the stench is strong nonetheless.  The smell stays in the home, on their clothing that's hanging in the closet, and in their car.

Inconvenient is an understatement.  Now that smokers are forced outside to smoke, one has to stand in freezing temperatures, in the rain, in the scorching heat. in the dark. alone sometimes. just to have a smoke.  Another inconvenience is wanting a cigarette and not being able to have one.  Smokers can get a little antsy, sometimes a little short with their temper, and somnetimes just plain rude until they get their smoke fix.  Sometimes smokers will just disappear off the job while they satisfy their cravings. 

Any of the above three reasons can cause one to be embarrassed.  Knowing that one smells bad can be embarrassing.  Occasionally a smoker has to choose between purchasing a pack of smokes, lunch, or some gas for his car  or a hot ashe falls off the cigarette and burns a small hole in a persons clothing.
Sometimes the need to smoke a cigarette can lead to embarrassing social situations, especially if the smoker is the only one in the group who does not smoke. 

Of course, there are the health concerns too. Not all smokers get cancer but almost all smokers have more severe and more frequent colds.  As a smoker ages, breathing problems become more and more severe.  And yes, the risks of getting severe illnesses like enphusima and cancer dramatically increase and a persons life expentancy decreases. 

Is there anything in the above statements that a person can point to and say  "I enjoy that?'  No, I didn't think so.  What a person is really saying when he says he enjoys smoking too much to quit is that the withdrawal systems are to harsh to deal with.      There are only too ways to make withdrawal symtoms go away and that is to have another cigarette or quit. Making a withdrawal symtom go away only takes one or two cigarettes, while quitting takes two to three months. 

Quitting is painfull (not quite as much as dieing from lunch cancer though) almost to the point of being unbearable.  No one enjoys that so it will appear in the smokers eye that not quitting is more enjoyable that quitting.  In the short term I would have to agree it is so but within just a few months of quitting, ones health begins to improve. 

The head pounding nicotine withdrawals subside after a few weeks, the coughing up phlem and the stopped up nose clears in about a month, the thoughs of a cigarette almost completely disappear in about three months and after that one can lead an almost normal life. 

The desire for a smoke never ever really leaves a smoker but the truth is, an ex smoker can not ever have another one.  The addiction is too powerful.  And the shame of cigarette additction is that it isn't just a physical addiction.  The physical part dictates that the smoker has a cigarette about every two hours during the day.  But certain activities can trigger the need to smoke more often, like talking on a phone, driving a car, drinking a beer or coffee, eating, or socializing with friends. 

Then there are those awkard moments when one doesn't know what to do with their hands.  Some eat, some fidget, while other smoke.  That is the mental part of the addiction.  Being a three-pronged habit and addiction makes it extremely difficult to give up. 

Even if you don't, you will never really enjoy smoking.  It is too demanding and nasty of a habit to enjoy.