[4th Year of Quitting Smoking] The Trigger That Allowed a Heavy Smoker of 20 Years to 'Quit Smoking in an Instant'

Hello, this is Su-san.

This time, I would like to talk about "cigarettes." Whether you currently smoke, don't smoke, or have already quit, I would be happy if you could stay with me until the end.

Cigarettes, my partner for 20 years

I had been smoking since I was 20 years old.

Back then, they were cheaper and easier to get than they are now. It was an era where you could just go to the liquor store in the neighborhood and buy them right away.

For about 20 years after that, having worked as a truck driver, "coffee and cigarettes" became an essential part of my daily life, so to speak, my partners. I smoked about one pack a day. That was my routine.

I completely quit smoking in October 2022. This year marks my fourth year since quitting.

The trigger that allowed me, who couldn't quit, to stop smoking

It was my daughter's "cough-cough" sound.

On a cold night, my daughter chasing me outside

At the time, we were living in an apartment. Since I didn't want the wallpaper to get dirty, I had set a rule for myself: "Never smoke inside the house."

I made sure to go outside whenever I wanted to smoke.

However, back then, my daughter would stay up late, sometimes until nearly midnight, waiting for me to come home from work. And when I went outside to smoke, she would open the screen door to invite me back in or start following me outside.

Under the chilly night sky, my daughter would stand next to me, smiling, coughing, and refusing to leave my side. Then, she would stare intently at my face.

"I have to change."

At that moment, it hit me.

"I shouldn't be exposing my daughter to secondhand smoke in this cold." "It's bad for her health, and I am truly doing something terrible to my precious daughter's body..."

The face of my daughter, who wanted to be near her beloved father even while coughing painfully. The moment I saw that, I felt a tightening in my chest.

"I have to change."

With that strong determination, I cut off cigarettes completely from that day forward.

4th year of quitting smoking, what I think now

Four years have passed since that day's decision, and now, I don't feel like smoking at all.

I don't think I will ever forget the look on my daughter's face that night as she approached me, looking distressed with a cold. But it was precisely because of that face that I was able to quit smoking.

I feel firsthand that the presence of loved ones and a moment of realization can change a person.

Thank you so much for reading until the end this time as well!