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Author: [[Peter Kruse]] Full Title: My Gift to Help You Quit Smoking Category: #books “People do not smoke cigarettes. Cigarettes smoke people.”   (Manfred Hinrich) For forty years of my life, I considered myself a committed and passionate smoker. One package per day was typical, but quite often it was even more, depending on the circumstances and my mood. Every smoker knows what I am talking about.   Smoking was cool when I started… that is what I thought, and why I did it.     My simple motto was:     “The one who smokes, dies. The one, who does not smoke, also dies. So just enjoy life as long as you can.”     I was firmly convinced that consumption of tobacco:   gave me pleasure relaxed me increased my concentration kept me awake made me more sociable gave me self-assurance was cool etc. suddenly realized how I had cheated myself by assigning attributes to tobacco consumption that are simply not applicable. I understood that day, that I had betrayed myself for forty years, just so I could indulge my smoking desire without developing a bad conscience.   The results and consequences of smoking had been completely misinterpreted. I let myself fantasize that the obvious disadvantages would be alleged advantages. I was brainwashed. Luckily, that time has finally ended. Today, a cigarette is about as appealing to me as a hearty swig of warm cod liver oil. Zero desire, zero attraction!     “To quit a habit is purely a matter of willpower. You just have to be fully convinced and strong, and then you can do it” sudDenly silenT     “Really? Well, and how do you explain then that Grandpa Ghoto got to be over 100 years old even though he smoked like a chimney, you wise guy?”   “And Winston Churchill, remember? He turned 90 years by smoking at least 10 cigars every day.”     With these kinds of examples, all of which smokers love to quote, I had so far silenced every well-meaning health apostle. Even now, my well intentioned friend had to admit that smoking apparently does not, in all cases, necessarily lead to an early death. Sensing his insecurity, a self-satisfied smile spread across my face as I skillfully fished a cigarette out of the leather case and lit it with relish. Once again, I had won.     “Well then, do what you want” was his response.   “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to do”, I said. “You only live once and why should I give up something I enjoy? I am not an altar boy. He, who has no vice, does not have a longer life… it just seems longer to him, hahahahahha.” My self-created philosophy was: If you enjoy the cigarette, it will not harm you. Only those who smoke with a guilty conscience, who regret every cigarette in their soul as soon as they light it, will be affected. Any damage caused by smoking was, in my naïve view, psychosomatically caused. I was convinced that only the permanent strain on the soul leads to physical impairment. Since I was guilt free, I was sure that nothing could happen to me.

AI Summary

My Gift to Help You Quit Smoking by Peter Kruse presents wisdom from the contemplative traditions.

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