The guy in the cubicle next to me is a smoker. I have never seen him smoke. But I know he is. He is around fifty and he often sounds like he can’t catch his breath. He is not overweight and looks to be in pretty good shape. Maybe he has asthma. But asthma doesn’t smell like cigarette smoke. He does. His wheezing and coughing is a constant reminder to me of why I stopped smoking. I didn’t stop smoking because I didn’t enjoy it. I did. Smoking was great. Many of my friends did it. It was a shared enjoyable experience. The losers who didn’t smoke always stayed inside breathing their damn clean air and hogging the beer.

It’s been nearly a decade since I quit smoking.

I have touched my lips to a cigarette - I have even lit one up but I did my best Bill Clinton and I didn’t inhale. Really!

I never really noticed the long-term effects of smoking because most of the smokers I know are young. This is the one of the few hard-core smokers I have actually had to work next to. (The other one got cancer and retired for medical reasons.)

He has coughing spasms.

He horks up loogies.

He sometimes wheezes loudly for no reason.

I am glad I quit smoking.

Do any 8n5ers have any thoughts of quitting smoking? Or, do any 8n5ers have any reasons for NOT quitting smoking?