[QUOTE=brjones;118669]I see less and less tobacco users these days. I smoked back when and admit it was tough to quit when the slop chest was selling $10 cartons. I bet a lot of guys on here can remember the day when everyone smoked in every room on the ship.[/QUOTE]
Man, you got that right. How many times do you recall getting down to the galley or dining saloon and it is a haze of smoke. Or the Engineer’s or Captain’s State Room/Day Room? I started smoking when I went to sea and quit when I came ashore because that is what I ex wanted (oops). I tell you I missed smoking every day, and even dreamed about it. After 10 years, I started smoking again away from the house and kept it up after we split. I finally quit for several reasons. The big one was the cost. Geez. Like many, I recall getting them for $2.50 a carton onboard. I also never smoked inside my house, and am basically lazy and don’t want to go outside. There also are fewer and fewer places to smoke. I remember back in '03 when I was out in California on a job and stepped into a joint and couldn’t light up. Then it just got to be too much of a pain in the ass to travel and smoke. Trying to find lighters in places (or even matches at an airport…geez). I remember the last trip I made as a smoker. It was down to Barbados for a job, and I had a five hour Miami layover. Great, I thought. I will just go to the hotel in the terminal, sit at the bar and smoke since they have matches there. Well, much to my disappointment, when I got off the elevator, the bar was closed for Hurricane (Fred?) repairs. Great. Nowhere in the entire airport could I find either matches or a lighter. I stepped out side with all of the other nicotine junkies and rubbed butts for fire. Geez. How pathetic. I finished off the carton that I had already purchased (I just can’t throw out things of value) and haven’t consumed any tobacco product since. Don’t miss it, dream about it, want it. It has been nearly 7 years now. I imagine that it is sticking this time because I quit for me. It makes getting around and traveling so much easier. Oh, yeah, and there is that health benefit thing, too.