One of the things I most regret doing in life is ever starting smoking. I wish I could be up front and tell you why I ever started to begin with, but there really isn’t any excuse I can give you that would be good enough to warrant a reason to do it.

I tried my first ever cigarette at age 21 after a lifetime declaring I’d never do so. I smoked from time to time from ages 21-22 and stopped for over a year. In the winter of 2005, I started to smoke off and on for the next five years. I went from smoking Marlboro Reds in the beginning to even getting into cigars at one point.

I finally made the decision to stop for good earlier this year. What made me quit was just one simple thing; it’s disgusting. When I smoked, I would brush my teeth each time after I did it so my mouth wouldn’t taste bad. I would also spray myself with deodorant so my clothes wouldn’t smell as bad. I looked at what I was doing and said to myself “What the hell am I doing this for? What’s the point?” not only that, many of my family members have and still do smoke and picking up their bad habits is no way to live.

It also smells bad. It’s so bad that I can smell people smoking from a distance. At ARC where I attend school, you can smell it from someone who is smoking more than 30 yards away from you.

After having been a smoker, I now  wonder why anyone would want to smoke anything whether it is cigarettes, cigars, hookah, marijuana, or really anything. Why the hell does anyone want to pollute their bodies with that kind of crap? Who wants to risk their health to put a stick of tobacco in their mouths and light up? What the hell is that?

To me, smoking is not cool and very unattractive, especially women who do it. I could see a very cute girl driving in her car, but if she has a cigarette in her hand, her attractiveness, in my view, drops. Who would want to kiss someone who smokes? And by the way, flavorizing tobacco products doesn’t make the habit any better. You can add strawberry flavor to dog shit, too, but that doesn’t make it any better.

I propose a challenge to all smokers out there, if I can do it, you can, too. I challenge you to quit the habit once and for all whatever it is you’re smoking, you can stomp the habit out like I did, and do it while you still can. I didn’t chew any gum, I didn’t use any patches, and I didn’t go to a hypnotist, either. If you want to use that, that’s fine, but what I’m proposing costs a lot less.

All I did was told myself No. That’s all you have to do, tell yourself No. Get the will power and the self-discipline to not do it anymore and remember that this is very bad for your body and your health. I understand that this is a hard thing to quit, it took me over a dozen times at least, but I know it can be done. Now that I’ve stopped the habit for a few months, I can safely say that I will never have another cigarette ever again. I’m 28 years old; I have too much life left to live and so much to live for.

The hope I have now for myself is that I can improve my health as a result. I hope if you decide to quit the same thing will happen for you. I can now focus on my new addiction:

Lollipops! YES!