In recognition of National Quitting Smoking week, two of Huffpost's young contributors, Miranda Frum and Daniel Alexandre Portoraro, have volunteered to quit smoking and keep a journal about it. Readers: Support them! And please share your own struggles about trying to kick an addiction, whether it was cigarettes or anything else. Read their first collective post here. You can read Daniel's previous posts here, and Miranda's here. Their journals will now be posted weekly, every Friday.
I woke up the other morning with a cold -- but the type of cold that makes you nervous (aka, prepare to be bedridden for a couple of days). I tried to fight off any need for a cigarette, which was easier than expected because it's not the best experience in the world to smoke when you feel like crap, let alone have a clogged throat. So far I have had zero cigarettes today. My lungs feel good. But I want to punch every one around me.
I feel very agitated. Every time I blow my nose, I get angry. However, an e-cigarette has arrived for me in the mail. My younger brother bought it for me after researching every possible type of e-cigarette available on the market (that's what boys do). It's a stainless steel cylinder with a button and a filter attached. It resembles something that a terrorist would pull out of his carry-on on a plane.
This will be an interesting experiment. Maybe my nicotine dependence will be lowered, and maybe I will be filled with less rage. Certainly the latter will helped by not having to step out into the freezing cold to smoke. I can puff indoors!
Who said quitting was easy? Then again, am I really trying to quit? Or am I looking for a healthier alternative to typical smoking? As I hold my brand new e-cigarette in my hand, I can't help but wonder if this is the end of an addiction, or a more societally accepted version of one?
One thing is for sure, my e-cigarette looks like something the Jetsons would use ...
Stay tuned.