I Became Addicted To Cigarettes And Got Dumped By A Girl

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**I Became Addicted To Cigarettes And Got Dumped By A Girl** is the 41st episode of ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

## Original description

Hi, this is Dan. He wants to tell you a story about how he started smoking – and why he will never, ever do it again.

There are lots of people who have tried smoking once out of curiosity and never do it again. Many of you have probably done so as well. There’s nothing bad about it, because as they say it’s worth trying anything that’s legal so long as it doesn’t become an obsession. In many cases, people try cigarettes, alcohol or other substances when they’re with their peers, so that they can publicly prove just how cool they are. Well...This is exactly what happened to Dan.

He was friends with a group of kids from his neighborhood. They grew up together – and that’s why they shared everything with each other. He remembers the day that one of his buddies bought a pack of cigarettes. They were like, “Oh no dude, that’s illegal! What if anyone sees us?! Where did you get them?” Dan’s friend said that he had stolen them from his older brother. He said that they needed to find out what all the hype was about. So each of them took a cigarette from the pack and gave it a try.

Then something strange happened. Everyone around was coughing their lungs out...while Dan was calmly inhaling and experiencing this pleasant feeling inside him. He didn’t understand whether it was him who did something wrong or his friends, because he seemed to be the only one enjoying the experience. With tears in their eyes, they heroically finished their cigarettes and threw them away. The common conclusion was that it was gross, it felt horrible, it stank, and all in all...never ever again. Dan was the only one who disagreed, so they gave him the pack with the remaining cigarettes. They made him promise that he would never smoke around them.

From the very beginning, Dan became addicted both to nicotine and to the process of smoking itself. He felt so cool when he was standing somewhere with a cigarette between his fingers, watching everyone arrogantly like some Hollywood star from the 1960s. Of course he made sure there were no adults around, otherwise he would have gotten himself into big trouble. He tried to use any convenient moment to smoke a cig or two, and didn’t notice that before too long he had become a chain smoker. Dan didn’t even take the time to stop and think about how it was unhealthy or dangerous – he just enjoyed it so much!

But inevitably, he couldn’t avoid experiencing some problems. First of all, he was underage, so it was a pain to try and get the cigarettes every time. He had to find some older guys every time and ask them to do him a favor – and obviously he didn’t get that for free. Then there was the money. Cigarettes are expensive, and as with all teenagers, Dan never had enough money. And the hardest part was having to hide his habit from his parents. This involved trying hard to get rid of the smell. Mints became Dan’s best friends, but they didn’t help much. He was constantly paranoid that his parents suspected something.

But when he smoked, he enjoyed it a lot and forgot about all his difficulties. At some point however, he began to think that maybe he should cut it out. But he just didn\'t have the willpower – and more importantly, the desire – to quit.

Dan remembers very clearly what really did make him quit once and for all though. He fell madly in love with a girl called Ann. She seemed to like Dan a lot as well. They went on a couple of dates, and he made sure not to smoke in order not to put her off. But on their third date he thought it was time to come out with it. With his best James Dean look, he came up to her with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth. He was sure he looked ultra-cool, but then he saw her disapproving look, although she didn’t actually say anything. Ok, he thought, I’ll just throw the cigarette away. They had been walking along for some time when he thought it would be a good idea to give her a kiss. She didn’t seem to hate the idea. So that’s what he did, but then something strange happened. She pushed him away and started spitting, saying “Ewwww, that’s disgusting!” Well, she didn’t appreciate the smell of cigarettes, and unfortunately that was the end of his first love story.

Dan was really shocked and embarrassed. He was also scared that she would reveal the shameful story to her friends, and everyone would find out about that pathetic first kiss. But in the end things turned out for the better. She didn’t tell anyone, and Dan’s thankful to her for that. And for him it was as good an incentive as any to quit smoking, because being humiliated this way was something he didn’t want to experience again. At the risk of saying the obvious, smoking is a dubious pleasure that isn’t worth all the suffering that comes with it. Dan now knows that for sure now.