QuittingMichele started smoking at the age of twelve.

QuittingMichele started smoking at the age of twelve.

QuittingMichele Williams PSY150 2905FA The target behavior that I would like to change is smoking. I have been a smoker for twenty years now. I am so embarrassed to admit that considering I am only thirty-two years old.

I started smoking at the age of twelve. I actually remember the first cigarette I ever smoked. Throughout the years it not only became an oral sensation, but I became addicted. Those reasons are the main reasons I still smoke today. Throw in the fact that I feel like it helps to bring my stress level down after I smoke (which I know is actually not true) it’s just a hard thing to quit.I really would like to change this behavior not only for my health, but for my daughter as well.

She is 3 and very observant. She used to grab my cigarette pack all the time when she was younger. I would look at her and tell her no; those are poison! One day I was standing outside smoking at a friend’s house, and she looked up at me and said mommy you have poison.

That just killed me inside. I knew that day that I would have to quit and soon. I didn’t want my daughter to pick up my bad habit.I think that the statistics are that if a child has one parent that smokes that child is fifty percent more likely to smoke. I do not regret many things in my life, but I do regret picking up that first cigarette.

I never in a million years thought that I would still be smoking. I actually quit once before. One day I just said I hate smoking and I do not want to do it anymore. That morning I smoked a half a cigarette. I went to work and a girl asked me for a smoke.

I gave her one and I asked for a drag off of it. She gave it to me and I took one drag.It tasted disgusting to me. I gave her the rest of my pack and I did not have a single drag for a year and eight months.

I started bartending at a new bar, and they allowed smoking behind the bar. I remember going up to the bar one night when I was not working and having some drinks with my best friend. I ended up getting very intoxicated. I went home and do not remember the whole second half of the night. My best friend, who was my roommate at the time, told me the next morning that I had actually smoked a cigarette.She said she begged me not to, but I was very insistent on it.

I still to this day do not remember smoking that cigarette, but I know from that incident I started smoking every now and then behind the bar. I thought I could control it and only smoke at work. Well that was not the case. I started smoking more and more until I was back to a pack a day. Now here I am thirty two with a daughter. I have huge reasons to quit. I do not want my daughter to see me smoking poison as I have taught her.

I will be a much healthier person if I quit.Even though I do not smoke in the house or around my daughter I know the smell and chemicals linger on my cloths. I do not want my daughter to have any negative effects from my filthy habit. I want her chances of being a smoker to be as low as possible. The smell of cigarettes does not smell nice on my clothes or in my hair. I want to live as long as I can, so I can see my daughter grow into the beautiful and smart woman I know she is going to be.

My daughter needs me, so I need to quit smoking.