TrekJapan

I smoked from high school through a four year tour in the Navy. I was a "cool" smoker. I never enjoyed it, I just thought it was cool and then of course you get addicted.

I got a job in Miami after my first stint in the Navy and worked with a Peruvian guy named Alex who was a huge soccer fan and we played pick up soccer at lunch in the field out back at work.

One day in the heat of summer we had a good game going. I over did it and towards the end of lunch fell down going for the ball. I absolutely, positively, could not get back up. I actually thought I was dying and I'm not kidding.

I was a 2 pack a day smoker. I came back in our shop and crushed my cigarettes and have never smoked since.

Okay, that's a lie. I quit for a couple years. I went back in the Navy a couple years later and went on a Med cruise. Got pitifully drunk in Naples Italy one night and smoked a whole pack of cigarettes. Got back to the ship and passed out in my rack and then got up a couple hours later and had the worst bout of vomiting I've ever had in my life. I know it was mostly from the alcohol but all I could taste was cigarettes.

And that my friend was the last time I ever smoked. First round of quitting was 1987, followed by the slip up in 1990. Haven't smoked since.

Once you decide to quit, and I mean really decide to quit, you'll quit.

John