Days 8, 9
(Time lapse explanation: I actually had my last cig last thursday. So last friday = Day 1….dont look at me like I can count right or do Math cjust cuz I’m asian, yo.)
Physiological change:
I had grown accustomed to habit and regularity.
And by regularity, I mean regularity.
Coffee. Cigarette. Wait a half hour. Go poop. Fairly clockwork.
I no longer have this.
My digestive system is extraordinarily confused and does not know how to respond. I become a pooting machine.
(Not a pooping machine. A pooter. *Poot* *put put put poot*)
Flowers start wilting along my path and random birds start falling from the sky. I trip over a family of pigeons. I’ve never liked pigeons anyway. When walking in groups, I yeild and settle in towards the back of the pack. This is both a result of total embarassment and a mindfulness to be merciful.
Two smokers whom I’m friends with share the following.
“Great job!” (puff)
“I wish I were you” (puff)
“I’ve quit twice (puff) before”
“If you’re constipated (puff) just drink (puff) lots of coffee”
“I used to (puff) smoke while *in* the can… that was the only way (puff) I could take a really satisfying (puff) dump”
“Yerba Mate … chew on that…”
I consider to myself what an *unsatisfying* dump might entail.
The coughing of foreign objects has begin.
I feel l ike tiny tobacco gnomes are within my lungs and mining for gold.
The detritis left loose by their efforts is an odd flavor and texture of phlegm. To spare you, dear reader, I will not go into further dettails.
Share this information with all young children susceptile to smoking. You do *not* want to start a coughing fit in front of someone cute and have hack out from your lips something that looks like it might dissolve metal and bone a la Alien spittle. It’s not quite sexy. And heaven knows we’re all about sexy.
When Smokers Quit - What Are the Benefits Over Time?
20 minutes after quitting: Your blood pressure drops to a level close to that before the last cigarette. The temperature of your hands and feet increases to normal.
(US Surgeon General’s Report,1988, pp. 39, 202)8 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
(US Surgeon General’s Report,1988, p. 202)24 hours after quitting: Your chance of a heart attack decreases.
(US Surgeon General’s Report,1988, p. 202)2 weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases up to 30%.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, pp.193,194,196,285,323)1 to 9 months after quitting: Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce infection.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, pp. 304, 307, 319, 322)1 year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, p. vi)5 years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5-15 years after quitting.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, p.79)10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker’s. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decrease.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, p.110, 147, 152, 155, 159,172)15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker’s.
(US Surgeon General’s Report, 1990, p.79)
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