2 роки без куріння та алкоголю // 2 years non-smoking and non-drinking

I remember this page from Alen Carr’s book: “Benefits from smoking” – this page was left intentionally blank – this was quite a powerful and visual statement. As there was none.

I was a smoker for 20 years since I was 16-17. And I had a casual drink just like everyone else since the same age.

Alcohol was never an issue. I could do without alcohol but not without cigarettes. The trick with cigarettes is that they are always with you, they are such a big part of your routine, that is just so indistinguishable from your identity, so intertwined with your personality. You have a smoke with morning coffee, after lunch, during coffee break, before you start something, after you have finished something. Smoking becomes part of yourself in a way. Hence, it is so difficult to quit, it is as if you are betraying yourself, you giving up part of yourself.

Just like Mark Twain once famously said: “Giving up smoking is easy…I've done it hundreds of times”. Ever since I started smoking, I always wanted to quit this habit. There are multiple reasons why I wanted to quit. But one reason particularly stood out. It is the feeling of slavery that was just so annoying.

My first attempt to quit smoking was in 2006 while I was in Cameroon. I’ve read Allen Carr’s book “Easy way to stop smoking” and I quit for 3 days. It was so easy, and then I thought: “Ok, if I can do it so easy then I will quit later, let me enjoy a bit more” (a trap number one).

My second attempt to quit smoking was in Mauritius (likely after re-reading the book again). I did not smoke for five or six days. And then there was Friday and we went out with colleagues and we would drink a beer or two. When you have alcohol you automatically want to smoke (a trap number 2). So, after a few beers I started to smoke again.

My third attempt was in Mauritius in September 2011. At the time I moved to the seaside, bought myself motor-cycle and was enjoying drives around the island. Sometimes I would drive after partying, after drinking. Drinking and driving car is dangerous to say the least, drinking and driving motorcycle is probably a suicide within a short period of time. I thought I’d be better off not drinking or I will kill myself on the road. I knew that I had to stop both at the same time. So, I quit both smoking and drinking altogether. 5 months alcohol and smoke free. It was such a happy period of my life: super productive and very happy. And then end of April 2012, I was on a business trip in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, doing financial due diligence exercise. We had a night out at a buzzling part of town. We had a nice dinner, I was around billiards table and people were smoking. So I just wanted to have that one, just one cigarette (a trap number 3). I asked for a cig, then another one. Then I bought a pack. Lastly, upon my return to Mauritius, my friends came over to celebrate my birthday with a few beers. Here we are again back to normal – smoking, drinking and having fun:).

In my head, to quit smoking cigarettes it was always a day. If can not smoke for a day, you are done, finished. You can then not smoke further. You just do not light it again.

Exactly two years ago I had a casual go-out Friday night with my favourite cocktail Long Island Iced Tea (2 of them) and a pack of Dunhill Blue. Next morning, I had an amazing hangover morning with beautiful headache, and no cigarettes next to me as I ran out last night. Perfect situation to quit – excellent hangover and mesmerising headache to feel miserable and with no cigs. I spent a day at home with no smokes. And then another day. I did not smoke thereafter nor did I drink alcohol ever since.

The first big test for me was in summer 2018 upon my visit to my home country Ukraine. I love meeting people, I love partying and when you get back home you do meet people and you do drink alcohol. It is expected of you by yourself and it is expected of you by others. Somehow, I managed to not meet those expectations. It was not easy especially when I consider last year that I threw a few big ass parties back in Ukraine – o man, I do know how to have those parties! There was a deviation just once. I had a change of flights in Frankfurt on my way back from Ukraine late June 2018. And in Frankfurt I ordered a non-alcoholic beer to go with some Frankfurter sausage. The beer was good but I’ve felt buzz which was weird as this should have been non-alcoholic. I thought that non-alcoholic beer still contains a bit of alcohol anyways (trap number 4). Forgave the Germans with their non-alcoholic beer😊. Don’t drink any beer ever since.

I need to add that giving up smoking was in no way painful physically. It was always a mental dependency, a habit. It was a habit so intertwined in your personality that you can hardly imagine yourself without a cigarette. That is the only work you need to do – to avoid lighting a cigarette and then you are done. As simple as that.

Saving from non-smoking. My average consumption say was a pack a day (keeps doctor away) which at local prices is equal to USD 6.3 which is a saving of USD 4,588 over 2 years.

Saving from non-drinking. I estimate I was spending close to USD 30 per week. This equals to USD 2,972 over two years.

A simple math results in a saving of USD 7,560 to-date of financial gain.

P.S. It is never to late. And anyone can do it.