Will inhaled, then continued “I said I was thirteen when I started smoking,
but that’s not quite accurate.” He paused to exhale. “I was raised in a
family of smokers. My dad and mom, three of my grand parents, and all my
aunts and uncles smoke. So I have wanted to smoke for as long as I can
remember. My first cigarette was a Benson & Hedges I managed to sneak from
my mom’s pack when I was 11. She kept her pack in the drawer in the kitchen
and I managed to take one when they were out one evening at a party. I
smoked it in the bathroom late that night. I didn’t really know what I was
doing. I just puffed on it and looked at my self in the mirror holding the
cigarette.”
“I’m impressed you had the courage to try it at that age” Sara said,
fascinated with the story.
Will smiled took a drag on his Marlboro and inhaled deeply, “Yeah well I
had wanted to try it for years by then.” Will’s drag reminded Sara of the
cigarette in her own hand. She placed the slim cigarette between her lips
took a puff and inhaled. Once again the smoke caused a pleasant fullness in
her chest, followed by a tingling euphoria as she exhaled.
“So what happened next” she asked.
“A year later my best friend Robert Schley was staying over at our house we
stole one of my dad cigars and smoked it in the park. That was fun but we
couldn’t do it again because my dad noticed that he was missing a cigar,
and asked me about it. I said that I hadn’t taken it and he believed me but
it was obvious that I couldn’t get away with that again. That fall was my
thirteenth birthday and it was the winter of that year that I really
started smoking.” Will paused and took a puff on his Marlboro. “The family
was skiing up in Maine at a place called Lost Valley. When we went into the
lodge for an early lunch. I noticed a bunch of guys my age and a little
older siting around the fireplace smoking, I knew this was my chance. When
we were done with lunch I told my parents that I wanted to go and ski the
harder slopes that they avoided since they had to ski with my little
sister. They had no problem with this I went off to the lift up to the
harder trails, and they went off to the other side of the mountain. After a
quick run down, I headed straight for the lodge. I had noticed a cigarette
machine in the lobby. I got some change and bought a pack of Marlboros. I
wandered over to where the guys were sitting next to the fire and
introduced myself. I told them what was up. I was a little nervous that
they would make fun of me or something. I was relieved to find that they
were enthusiastic about teaching me to smoke. They told me how to inhale. I
lit the Marlboro took a puff inhaled, and knew that this was something I
wanted to do again. Not only did I enjoy the feeling, but also I felt like
I had taken my first step into adulthood. After I finished my first
cigarette the rest of the group was ready to go back out and hit the
slopes. I joined them and had my second Marlboro on the lift ride up with
Mark who was my age. I skied with them the rest of the day smoking four
more cigarettes. When I met up with my parents I had my first pack of
cigarettes in the inner breast pocket of my ski parka. We skied two more
days at lost valley and I met up with the same group of guys. We skied
together again on the second day and I had a blast. We skied all the
difficult trails that I usually didn’t get to ski on and we hung out in the
lodge and smoked and talked sports and girls. By the end of the day I had
smoked 12 Marlboros. The third day was like the second we skied and smoked
and bonded. I finished my first pack that day and bought my second. Though
I didn’t know it at the time, I had acquired, along with two friends for
life, a life long habit.”
“Are you sorry about that?” Sara asked. Will’s story fascinated her.
“Absolutely not” Will said smiling boyishly and reaching for his pack of
Marlboros. “It’s one of the best decisions I ever made.” He paused and lit
up. “Smoking is one of my great pleasures in life.” He took a drag and
inhaled deeply. “So shall I go on?” he asked through his exhale.
“Please do, it’s a fascinating story” Sara said quietly.
“Well if you insist” Will said, knowing that Sara fascination with his
smoking would lead her to become more interested in smoking herself.
“Every thing about you interests me,” Sara said. Though he didn’t probably
see it that way himself his smoking story was reveling, his own coming of
age story.
Will nodded his head and took another puff. “Well after that I started
smoking regularly, not that much at first, maybe two or three a day. But
slowly over the next six mouths I got up to 5 or 6 a day, but my parents
still didn’t know. Then in July we went down to Florida for the annual
family reunion. It is always a great time. We go to the beach every day and
play cards during the hottest part of the day and cook out at night. Of
course no one knew that I had started smoking and I felt a little shy about
telling the family. But every one older than me was smoking. When Grampa
and Gramma my grand parents would gather the grand children in the card
room to teach them the fine points of bridge, the room would be thick with
smoke. Grampa smoked at least two packs a day of Lucky Strikes and while
Gramma didn’t smoke as much, cards brought out the smoker in her. Adding to
the smoky atmosphere were my six older cousins who all smoked to one degree
or another. There I was a smoker constantly surrounded by smoke but unable
to smoke my self. The kitchen was no escape as my mom and three aunts would
be gossiping and smoking. The living room was always full of a delightful
blend of cigar, cigarette and pipe smoke. I had brought a couple of packs
of my Marlboros with me and I was able to slip away three or four times a
day and sneak a smoke. It was early in the afternoon of the third day that
I got caught.” Will paused and took a drag on his cigarette inhaled deeply
then continued. “I had wandered away from the house after lunch to have a
smoke. I had just taken the first soul satisfying drag from my Marlboro,
when my Uncle Steve came jogging around the bend in the road. I was scared
sick that I was going get in trouble but instead the response was very
positive. All my older cousins thought it was cool that I had started so
young. They took me out to the beach with them for their beach party that
night something that I had been excluded from before. I had my first beer
that night, though they were careful to make sure I didn’t get sick. My
uncles bought me a great zippo lighter and grandpa and grandma gave me an
ashtray for my room. But the best was they way mom sat me down as soon as
she found out, and had a cigarette with me she gave me a light and told me
how proud she was that I was getting grown up. So to make a long story
short I had a great time with the family that summer and by the time we
left I was smoking half a pack a day.” He concluded, and took a sip of
beer.
Sara looked at Will intently, “I’m surprised that your family was so
accepting of your smoking.”
“Accepting!” Will said with a smile. “They were extremely supportive. That
Christmas I got a nice cigarette case from my grandparent, a pipe from my
uncle Jeff, a box of cigars from my uncle Steve, and four cartons of
Marlboro’s from by Uncle Berry. I was the smoking mascot of the family as
the only one of my ten cousins to start smoking before turning fourteen.”
“But didn’t they worry about the health risks?” Sara asked?
“Not really, they just thought that the pleasure of smoking was worth the
risk.” Will replied taking a drag from his Marlboro and inhaling deeply.
“But wouldn’t they change their mind if they got cancer?”
“Grandpa Karl never did, he kept smoking and had no regrets even after he
got lung cancer.”
“When was that?” Sara asked curiously
“I had just turned fifteen when we found out.” Will said taking a puff and
inhaling.
“Didn’t that worry you? I mean as a smoker your self.” Sara asked.
“It didn’t really. You would think it would. I had lost my grandfather
William to lung cancer when I was nine and I knew you got lung cancer from
smoking but it never really worried me.”
“I suprised you would think it would.” Sara said puzzled.
“That reminds me of a story” Will said lighting another cigarette.
“I’m listening” Sara said
“Well as I said it was shortly after my fifteenth birthday that I found out
grandpa Karl had lung cancer.” Will paused took a puff and inhaled. “The
cancer had spread to both lungs by the time it was discovered. So
conventional surgery was out of the question. But Grandpa Karl was never
one to through in the towel so he came up to the Slone Kettering cancer
center to try the new therapies they had developed. I was going to school
at the time of course so I couldn’t visit during the day but I would stop
by for a few hours in the afternoon and play cards with him or read a book
with him or just chat together. I was quite popular with the staff since I
obviously loved my grandpa a lot and took the time to visit. They liked
Grandpa Karl because he was a real fighter never letting his illness get
him down always willing to make things easy for the staff.” Will pause took
a long drag and inhaled deeply then continued. ” So as I say my grandpa and
I were popular with the whole staff, but we were a particular favorite of
one nurse, Lilly Anderson, she would come and visit with us when her duties
permitted. She said it made her very happy to see a grandfather and his
grandson getting along so well and having so much fun together. By that
time I was smoking a pack a day and since the hospital was no smoking I had
to go out and catch a smoke every hour or so. Nurse Anderson also went out
for a few minutes during every shift to get a bagel and a cup of coffee.
But in the six weeks we had known each other we had never run into each
other on our breaks. One day after beating grand pa at chess I when down
for my smoke break. I walked out the sliding glass doors on to York Avenue.
I had leaned against the wall a pulled out my pack of Marlboros, when I saw
Lilly Anderson crossing the street from the deli. I waved at her and
proceeded to light up took the first satisfying drag and smiled as Nurse
Anderson walked up. ‘Hi Lilly’ I said cheerfully. ‘I didn’t know you smoked
Will!’ she said looking shocked. ‘Yep I started right after my thirteenth
birthday, I’m up to a pack a day now’ I answered proudly. ‘A pack a day!
Don’t you know that smoking causes lung cancer?’ she asked concerned.
‘Sure’ I replied quietly, ‘but I enjoy it.’ ‘Enjoy it, Enjoy it!’ she said
in a tone of exasperation ‘your grandfather is upstairs with inoperable
lung cancer and you tell me you enjoy smoking.’ I took a drag and inhaled
before replying ‘But Lilly I do enjoy it, and so dose grandpa he would
still be smoking if you let him. Every one dies of something and surely it
is better to die from doing something you enjoy than from random chance.’
‘But Will I don’t want to see a nice guy like you end up in a place like
this.” She sniffed unshed tears bright in her eyes. ‘If you keep smoking,
having started at thirteen and already smoking a pack a day, you’re almost
sure to get lung cancer.’ ‘I know, I knew the risk when I started, but I
always though I would like being a smoker, and I do.’ I said, ‘Lung cancer
is part of the deal not a good part, but a part. Besides when I get lung
cancer in fifty years or so the medical science will be a lot better, and
if its not good enough well I will have enjoyed a lifetime of smoking.’
Lilly smiled at me sadly, ‘well I see your mind is made up. At least you
know what you are getting into.’ A glint of rueful humor showed in her
eyes, ‘and I have to say you do look good with a cigarette. Makes you look
more mature.’ ‘Thanks’ I replied. ‘Your welcome, I’ll wait till you finish
your cigarette then we can go up and sit with your grandpa.’ We sat out
side for a while as I finished my Marlboro. I told her a little about how I
started smoking. After that we would always go on our breaks together. When
grandpa died 6 months later she attended the funeral and we have kept in
touch ever since.” Will concluded.
“So you don’t worry about the health risks because you don’t let your self
worry.” Sara said.
“Right I’m a smoker, I like being a smoker, smokers have an increased
chance of getting lung cancer and that’s that” Will confirmed taking a long
drag on his Marlboro and inhaling deeply.
“And your grandfather never regretted smoking?”
“Nope, I talked with him about it and he told me it was something he never
regretted and he encouraged me to keep smoking”
“So you didn’t try quit or cut back?”
“On the contrary” William chuckled, “By the time I was a senior in high
school I was smoking two packs a day.”
“But you don’t smoke that much now.” Sara said
“Well when I decided to join the Marine Corps, I knew that I would have to
cut back, and I did. As I say by the time I was a senior in high school, I
was a solid two pack a day smoker, despite the fact that my varsity coaches
were always nagging me to quit.” Will took another relaxing drag on his
Marlboro, the continued, “But I knew that to be in the shape the marines
required I’d have to cut back and actually quit during OCS. So I started to
work at cutting back, while I started to increase the length of my runs.”
Was it hard to cut back?” Sara asked.
“You better believe it. Smoking really gets into your system. Not only was
I smoking two packs a day, I was using smoking as a study aid, and a way of
rewarding my self, when I accomplished goals.
“What do you mean?” said inquired
Well smoking is a very effective way of helping your concentration. So I
would smoke a lot while I was studying, to help me concentrate. Plus I
would use it as a reward for finishing a peace of work. You know how
smoking makes you feel good, right?”
“Yeah, It feels nice,” Sara said. The thought caused her to reach for the
pack of Virginia Slims. Will lit her cigarette then lit a Marlboro for
himself. Will watched contentedly as Sara took a tentative drag and
inhaled, a smile crossing her face as the nicotine stimulated the pleasure
centers of her brain.
Will took a drag and inhaled deeply then continued. “Since smoking is so
pleasurable it is a good way to reward your self for a job well done. There
is nothing like relaxing after a job well done with a celebratory
cigarette. Smoking becomes a part of your life and letting go of it is no
fun, especially since while you are missing the pleasure of smoking you
body is telling you that it doesn’t want to quit. So cutting back is hard
and quitting is even worse. But I really wanted to be a marine so I started
working at cutting back smoking a cigarette less per day cigarette every
two or three weeks and running farther and farther each week. By the end of
my sophomore year of collage I was down to half a pack a day and my running
times were coming down too. I continued to smoke about that much until the
beginning of spring semester senior year. I cut back to five cigarettes a
day, two at breakfast with my coffee one after lunch and one after diner
plus one after working out.”
“So you were still using smoking as a way to reward yourself even then.”
Sara Asked.
“Sure” Will replied taking a long drag before inhaling deeply. “Pleasure is
an important part of psychological motivation. It just makes good sense to
use a pleasure like smoking as a reward to help build motivation. Take my
smoking after working out. When I’m running for example I know that the
faster I run my daily route the sooner I can enjoy a cigarette, so I push
my self harder than I might other wise.”
That makes sense.” Sara agreed taking a puff inhaling shallowly then
blowing a plume of smoke into the night sky.
“It makes all the sense in the world pleasure is one of the fundamental
forces that drive human beings. Since human goals are long range and
abstract, it is important for people to have more immediate pleasures that
allow them to experience the present moment as a reward for their present
effort. The reason people smoke is akin to the reason they enjoy the arts
and articles on the achievements of others, the same reason that sex is so
important for healthy human psychology. That is one of the reasons I’m so
opposed to the antismoking movement, its view of why people smoke is just
pain wrong, and as a result they are trying to suppress one of the greatest
discoveries in human history, tobacco!” Will stopped and grinned sheepishly
“sorry I guess I get a little emotional about the subject.”
Sara looked at him silently took a drag on the long all white cigarette and
inhaled causing her breasts to push against her shirt. She exhaled sending
a stream of smoke toward the stars. Then said quietly, “Will one of the
things I like about you is what a passionate person you are.” She paused
took another puff. Again the inhale caused her breasts to swell against her
shirt. The sight of this caused a swelling in Will’s cock, which Sara
noticed as she exhaled. She smiled roguishly at him “Talking about the
importance of sex to healthy human psychology.”