Smoking, drinking, gambling, and other vices.

“Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world! I’ve done it a thousand times.” Of course, this is an old joke that illustrates how difficult it is to ditch some bad habits— smoking, drinking, gambling, and other vices.

The quote has been attributed to American author and humorist Mark Twain, although some would trace its beginnings to writers such as W. C. Fields and Harris Dickson, even Anonymous. Well, its origin is not as important as the truth it tells about the struggle of any smoker who wants to kick the habit for good.

I have been a smoker for almost 33 years. I never counted the number of times I tried to quit, nor did I keep track of my reasons for trying. The author, who has been smoking for almost 33 years, can no longer remember the number of times he tried to quit the habit.  Karelia cigarettes.

The last time I tried—with the help of the smoking cessation program at the Philippine General Hospital—was on February 24, 2014, my quit date. I succeeded for two weeks. But I’m still willing to set other quit dates, convinced that real success can only come once.

I have the most urgent of reasons to be kicking the habit, more than anyone in my family and my non-smoking circle of friends. I have this irksome cough every morning, which they don’t have, and sometimes I feel a shortness of breath that they have never experienced.

Some time ago, two co-workers approached me to say they can’t stand the smell of cigarette smoke around me as I enter the newsroom every morning. One of them requested to be transferred far from where I was seated. The request was granted, and my smoking continued.

As for other consequences, well, I have been fined twice for smoking and littering. Also, most of my tardiness at work is due to smoking. I linger outside the office as I squeeze in a few last puffs before the hell of a non-smoking environment.

Perhaps more than anyone else, we smokers are aware of the effects of smoking— bad breath, dirty teeth, gum infection, smoker’s cough, lung cancer, and a host of diseases caused by tar, nicotine, and dozens of harmful chemicals found in every cigarette.

I am aware that 20 minutes after quitting, my heart rate and blood pressure will drop. I was told that 12 hours after quitting, the carbon monoxide level in my blood will drop to normal and that two weeks to three months after quitting, circulation improves and my lung function increases.

Moreover, I learned that one to nine months after quitting, coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) start to regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.

We can easily find online a long list of health benefits over time, from the moment a smoker quits the habit to several years on.

I am convinced that I must stop smoking, but I just can’t. In my case, it goes beyond logic, and I know addiction is always illogical. I have been through therapy sessions and counseling that led me to quit for a while. But still, I go back to smoking.

Thousands of smokers, however, have succeeded in kicking the habit through sheer willpower. They decided to quit just like that. I envy them.

I guess people like me deserve a harsher environment. Smoking should be made difficult for us.

In one of my sessions at the PGH, the doctor told me: “Make the act of smoking difficult, it might work for you.” For instance, he said, “If you are right-handed, use your left hand when you smoke.” Also, he said buying a brand I dislike might also help.

None of these techniques worked. Once, I even tried puncturing my cigarettes with a needle. The smoking experience becomes nastier as the number of holes in the butt increases. But this did not work either.

Stricter laws against smoking might work for me. If government would make it a little less than a crime, so much the better.

In the ‘80s, we could smoke while in a jeepney. No one would complain. Now we can’t do that anymore without getting ostracized. When the smoking ban in PUVs became widespread, it translated into four less sticks of cigarettes a day for me.

Maybe the government must strictly implement the sin tax law. Honestly, during the law's first year, I felt that it was working. I might succeed in quitting if a stick of cigarette already costs P10.

But I feel I must stop smoking for good soonest, before it will have the chance to stop me. I know for sure it will stop me without a warning.