Last Smoke

That's the last cigarette I ever smoked, which happened five years ago today.

I'm happy to say the cravings don't happen any more, but there is the occasional moment where I'm aware that I would have headed outside back in the day. Also, every once in a while, I find myself reaching toward my pocket for a Zippo lighter that hasn't been there since 2003. Given that I smoked some 17 years, it probably will take a while longer for that to fade. :)

I don't miss smoking, something that is proved every day when I don't wheeze my lungs out going up stairs or on long walks or bicycle rides. Oxygen is good. Carbon monoxide, not so much.

The 600 other ingredients and harmful health effects, not so much either.

More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined. (CDC)