Silent Smoker Subculture

An Ex-Smoker’s View on the Deadliest Trend

OpinionsDavid Easey — Published November 9, 2015 | Updated November 10, 2015 at 4:40am

Just as Gollum is drawn to the ring of power, I am bound to this substance. My mind is corrupted by the thought of getting my hands on my precious. Schemes start to unfold in my head and the single motivator that gets me out of bed is the thought of satisfying this persistent and aggressive craving.

I can barely contain my excitement as I race outside into the freezing Canadian hinterland and reach into my jacket, fumbling for a small rectangular box. Satisfaction at last.
I’m talking about tobacco consumption, the substance that’s widely available at every local dépanneur.

There are a lot of anti-smoking campaigns in this province right now, yet that doesn’t seem to deter Montrealers from lighting up these batons of death.

Throughout my life I’ve known that smoking is a bad habit. Teachers and parents always harped the negative side effects of tobacco use. But that never really deterred me from cigarettes; in fact I began to romanticize the idea of smoking from an early age.

Through certain films such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Inglorious Bastards, this romance blossomed until one fateful day when I was 17, I decided to fully inhale my very first cancer stick.
Fast forward three years and I hadn’t gone a day without having a cigarette.

Numerous trips to a smoking specialist at Concordia Health Services couldn’t break the cycle, nor could the endless supply of patches and nicotine gum I had purchased from my pharmacy.

I knew I should quit, but I had no idea how hard it would be.

I was simply a lonely arts student puffing away outside the Hall building during the desolate winter months, enduring the bone-chilling cold that sweeps over this urban concrete wasteland.

Montreal is sadly a smoking city. True, there have been many initiatives to try and curb smoking consumption, but walk outside of the Library Building at Concordia and you’ll think otherwise.

Concordia is merely a microcosm. Cigarettes are deeply engrained into Montreal society and they pose a real and imminent threat to our health. According to Statistics Canada, 21.4 per cent of the Quebec population over 12 years old smokes. Quebec has the third highest provincial rate of smoking after Saskatchewan (22.8 per cent) and New Brunswick (21.8 per cent).

Our capitalist government clearly does not have our best interests in mind—Quebec has the lowest prices for cigarettes in Canada, according to the Non-Smokers’ Rights Association. The average price of 200 cigarettes in Quebec is $84 compared to $117 in New Brunswick.

“Withdrawal symptoms are rough and include irritability, sleeplessness, depression and anxiety.”

In Canada, we throw billions of dollars away annually to feed this addiction, both for buying cigarettes and for direct health-care costs. Smoking cessation is difficult, and research indicates that quitting can be harder than kicking cocaine addiction—a testament to the true potency of this legal substance. Withdrawal symptoms are rough and include irritability, sleeplessness, depression and anxiety.

“I felt immense anxiety and anger, and I was always irritable,” said Solange Statsevich, an ex-smoker. “Walking on Ste. Catherine St. is now a horrible experience because it’s like walking through a toxic cloud.”

Needless to say that while quitting is possible, it’s not easy. I’ve been smoke-free for six months now, something that amazes me on a daily basis. How did I do it? Cold turkey.

I was tired of living the smoker’s life. Tired of having to create endless excuses to go outside for a few minutes every day, tired of the trap that sucked thousands of dollars of my hard-earned money.

I never felt glamorous like Kate Moss or looked classy like Coco Chanel, I felt gross and tired. My clothes always reeked and I constantly carried mints with me to hide my embarrassing crutch.

If I had known about all the bullshit you have to go through just to stop, I would never have touched a cigarette in the first place. But life is about experimentation and making mistakes, and smoking is a grave mistake.

Fewer Canadians are smoking now compared to 1999 according to Health Canada. If you’re a smoker reading this, then know that it’s never too late to defeat your addiction. If the government is reading this, then shame on you for capitalizing on a substance that causes addiction, cancer and misery.

For tips on how to quit visit www.concordia.ca/students/health/topics/smoking-cessation.html