The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-03-24
MAGAZINE REVIEW
How One Man Got Rid of the Cigarette
Habit.

The American Magazine has been of
fering prizes for the best letters oil
Overcoming Bad Habits The follow
ing letter from a man who cured himself
OF the cigarette habit won third prize
1t is published in the March number;
1T was at the age of six that | first
began to smoke cigarettes.
AT the age of fifteen they sent me
away to school. At eighteen | went tc
college. Freed OF all home ties and re.
straint, ! smoked to my hearts content
AT twenty-five ] was a nervous wreck.
The doctors thumped me over the heart
and shook their heads gravely. / had
tobacco heart, they told me, and my
only hope OF evading premature grave
was to stop smoking absolutely.
Il had figured that | smoked from
fifty to sixty day. ] resolved to cut
this number down. | did manage to get
along with about half that number, but
below that / could not 60.
"Then one day | took stock of myself.
Life was sweet and | had no desire
ITO die. / resolved to master the cigar
cite habit or die in the attempt. Ii /
didn't, was going to die anyway. Once
pers. And this time / did not retrieve
them. Time after time / returned to
the place where | knew they lay, Just
over hedge fence, but each time man
aged to control myself, and walk away
from the spot. That first night was one
crescendo Of horror. | tossed restless
ly upon my bed. | thought of the pleas
ure which one puff would give me. Again
and again / sat upon the edge of my
couch, fighting against the desire to get
up and search my pockets for 'scrapings
enough to roll just one cigarette. How
/ kept from doing so is more than |
know. Morning found me gaunt and
hollow-eyed. The craving had me in its
grip. Breakfast siekened me because
hadn't braced my stomach to receive it
with my morning cigarette. ] ate no
dinner and no supper Water alone
would stay down.
This is only q portion of the torment
that | suffered for weeks They seemed
like ages to me. The smell of cigar
cite would drive me frantic. Cigars and
pipe had never appealed to me before.
Now, would have almost parted with
life itself to have dared to smoke one.
Ny nights were one long series OF toss
ngs and ttimblings upon my bed, drop
,ing off into doing only to awaken be-
,ause of the nightmares which pursued |
me- And in each of them the central
igure was cigarette. BY day time |
vas grouchy and irritable. Harsh words
anne more readily to my lips than kind. |
almost hated myself. What my /
riends and relatives must have endured /
hen only the love for one of your blood
ould have borne.
And then one day the habit left me-
ot gradually, for the night before, +
an recall, | had one of my hardest bat
les against getting up, casting all the
round that / had won behind me, and
making and smoking cigarette, even
hough my life should pay forfeit. The
ext morning | was surprised to find
hat | had slept well and that / was
craving which / had not
experienced in years. TO my astonish-
rent [ discovered that | wanted break
asst. And after the meal / did not
ave cigarette | have never craved
ne since. | can sit by and watch oth-F
s smoke them without the least de-
re to indulge myself. Ny taste for
garettes has been broken, but not Tor
orlds would / 90 again through che
lrgatory into which my battle with
le little thin paper rolls OF tobacco
st me-"