The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1913-03-20
How One Man Col Rid Of The
Cigarette Habit.

The American Magazine has been
offering prizes for the best letters
on overcoming Bad Habits" The
following letter from man who
cured himself of the Cigarette habit
won third prize. 1t Is published In
the March number:
ct 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 l
went to college. Freed of all home
ties and restraint, l smoked to my
hearts content At twenty-five
was a nervous wreck. The doctors
thImped ME over the heart and
shook their heads gravely. l had
. tobacco heart, they told me, and my
only hope of evading a premature
grave was to stop smoking abso-
lutely
Il had figured that l smoked
from fifty to sixty a day. l re-
solved to cut this number down.
did manage to get along with about
half that number, but below that
could not go.
Then one day l took stock of
myself. Life was sweet and 1 had
no desire to die. l resolved to mas
ter the cigarette habit or die in
the attempt. If l didn't, 1 was
going to die anyway. Once more
l threw away my tobacco and pa
pers. And this time l did not re-
trievs them. Time after time
returned to the place where l knew
they lay just over a hedge fence,
but each time l managed to con-
troll myself and walk away from
the spot. That first night was one
crescendo of horror. tossed rest
lessly upon my bed. 1 thought of
the pleasure which one puff would
give me. Again and again 1 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 l kept from doing so is more
than l know. Morning found me
gaunt and hollow-eyed. The crav-
ing had me in its grip. Breakfast
sickened me because l hadn't brac-
ed my stomach to receive it with
my morning cigarette. l ate no
dinner and no supper. Water alone
would stay down.
This is only a portion of the
torment that l suffered for weeks.
They seemed like ages to me. The
smell of a cigarette 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.
My nights were one long series of
.tossings and tumblings upon my
bed, dropping off into doing only
to awaken because of the night
mares which pursued me. And in
each of them the central figure was
a cigarette. By daytime l was grou-
chy and irritable. Harsh words
came more readily to my lips than
kind. I almost hated myself. What
my friends and relatives must have
endured then only the love for one
of your own blood could have borne.
And then one day the habit left
me-not gradually, for the night be-
fore, l can recall, l had one of my
hardest battles against getting up,
casting all the ground that 1 had
won behind me, and making and
smoking cigarette, even though
my life should pay forfeit The
next morning 1 was surprised to
find that 1 had slept we'll and that
| was undergoing craving which i
had not experienced in years. To
my establishment / discovered that
l wanted breakfast. And after the
meal l did not crave a cigarette l
have never craved one since. l can
sit by and watch others smoke them
Without the least desire to indulge
myself. My taste for cigarettes has
been broken, but not for worlds
would l go again through the purga-
tory into which my battle with the
little thin paper rolls of tobacco cast
me-