Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Quitting Smoking – The CigSaga Chronicles

Day 1

Hello,

This is a subject that I think most people just don't care about because smoking is considered just an evil thing to do, it smells offensive and it has no purpose other than shortening the life of the user... yada yada fill in the blank,.... I Know, I've heard it, please don't e-mail me, I know... I've heard it, yep, yep, I know, please stop, I've heard it before.
I have been addicted to nicotine since I was about 12 or 13 yrs old. And obviously it has stunted my growth as promised by so many people in my life. Anyway I actually enjoy smoking. It is something that I have enjoyed most of my life. The only time I do not enjoy it is when a non-smoker hassles me about it, or if I am making someone else uncomfortable from my smoke. I usually go out of my way to stay clear of the non smokers whilst I partake of my own indulgence. As stupid as it is, some may get their enjoyment from a candy bar, or glass of orange juice.

As you may or may not know, Obama increased the tax on tobacco at a rate of 150% nation wide, and the state of California simultaneously added another dollar or two to the price of every pack. So it is now cheaper to quit than it is to smoke. You may remember that Obama is also a smoker, so what sense is it that he'd support raising the price of tobacco so much, well folks that's because he's not paying for it, you are with you're taxes. No matter how you slice it, it goes from our pockets, to the government, to pay the politicians, who go out and puff it up. I have struggled with trying to quit several times over the years. Lots of times the deciding factor was that I couldn't afford the smoking cessation products. It was just plain ridiculous. I've always thought that if it was so important to quit, then why the hell do they make you pay double to do it? Because Tobacco is a big cash crop for the government. And the wonderful thing is, it's like heroin, people can't just stop once they've started, and to make sure, the tobacco gets treated and soaked in nicotine to ensure that every smoker gets a good dose.

So today is Day One, I am being economically forced to quit, I cannot afford tobacco anymore. I've got the patch, from WALmart, the generic brand, only $21.00 for two weeks supply. I figure that I better get it while the gettin's good, because if they catch on to what I'm up to, they'll most likely raise the price of the patch!

There is also another message here. Today it's OK because those evil smokers are the one's getting to pay the extra taxes. But I wonder what would happen if it was something that YOU enjoy. What then? Maybe there will be a cheeseburger tax. Those fat drenched grease laiden bacon burgers aren't good for anybody, but they sure are addicting!! How about we get to pay $30.00 for a cheeseburger. Is that fair? I don't care, I'm a vegetarian you quickly say, inadvertently in time with Ms. Pelosi.........
Aaaah Good, how about $20.00 for those french fries then and $15.00 for that shake!