A Most Welcome Decline
June 8, 2004, was a big day for me. Twenty-one months ago to the day I put down my last cigarette and never looked back after over 15 years of smoking 1-2 packs a day. I may yet pay the price for my ignorance, though I of course hope and pray I quit in time. I’m not a Nazi about it – I don’t like smoking bans, and I don’t like people who make smokers feel guilty. It’s an addiction, and I’m glad I was able to kick it – doesn’t make me better than someone who wasn’t.
The Washington Post reports the following excellent news:
Americans smoked fewer cigarettes last year than at any time since 1951, and the nation’s per capita consumption of tobacco fell to levels not seen since the early 1930s, the association of state attorneys general reported yesterday.
Using data the federal government gathers when it collects taxes on cigarette sales, the group found a 4.2 percent decline in 2005 alone and an overall drop of more than 20 percent since tobacco companies reached a legal settlement with the states in 1998.
…The association’s study found that about 378 billion cigarettes were sold in the United States last year — the lowest number since 1951, when the population was half of what it is today. Although the official 2005 total did not take into account growing but untraceable Internet sales and other black-market supplies, officials said those sources remain minuscule compared with legal purchases.
That’s an absolutely astonishing one-year drop…now if we can just do something about the rise in obesity…it’s a serious problem, and one that could end up eating up every penny we save in health care costs from declines in smoking.
UPDATE 03/09/06 10:40 a.m.: The MinuteMan is skeptical…
Since 1951! That is astonishing. And congratulations on quitting.
As far as obesity, I blame it on the corn lobby.
Thank you, sir..
Good for you Mark!
Did you do it cold turkey?
I’ve tried several times and gained 15-20 lbs each time!
I think the longest I have gone without smoking is 6 months.
On a petite 5’3″ frame and normally about 118 to 123 lbs, that is a big jump!
Way to go Mark!
I now have a new hero!
Well, cold turkey, with the help of a prescription to the antidepressant Wellbutrin, which, marketed under the name Zyban, I think, is the only FDA-approved smoking cessation drug…I took the pills for 2 or 3 months, then took the plunge one night out of the blue…just decided I had smoked my last cigarette – and what do you know, I had!…
And yes, I gained weight – a lot of weight, so I can relate…
Mark, Congratulations on never wanting another cigarette. Quite an accomplishment!
Thanks – it’s not so much that I’ve never wanted another cigarette, but more like never wanted one for more than a couple of minutes…I do have cravings, but they’re very fleeting and not hard to resist…