I finally did it.

[W3MIV]

Remember, "more doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette."

[w2amr]

Remember, "more doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette."

I can remember ash trays in the doctor's waiting rooms.

[W3MIV]

I can remember ash trays in the doctor's waiting rooms.

Both my doc and my dentist back in the fifties smoked like a house afire. Dentist did smoke Camels. He'd cut them in half with a scalpel, and he'd smoke one half in an FDR-like cigarette holder while he awaited the timer to ring after applying fluoride/antiseptic (obviously a commie) after cleaning my teeth. Ol' Doc Roach always lit up a Lucky when he'd sit at his desk to write out a scrip or make notes in my file.

Nobody much thought about it then. Hospital waiting rooms all had ashtrays, too.

Ralph Bellamy used to have a TV show called "Man Against Crime," at the end of which he used to announce that week's "gift Camels" which were being sent to VA hospitals around the nation.

[n2ize]

Both my doc and my dentist back in the fifties smoked like a house afire. Dentist did smoke Camels. He'd cut them in half with a scalpel, and he'd smoke one half in an FDR-like cigarette holder while he awaited the timer to ring after applying fluoride/antiseptic (obviously a commie) after cleaning my teeth. Ol' Doc Roach always lit up a Lucky when he'd sit at his desk to write out a scrip or make notes in my file.

Nobody much thought about it then. Hospital waiting rooms all had ashtrays, too.

Ralph Bellamy used to have a TV show called "Man Against Crime," at the end of which he used to announce that week's "gift Camels" which were being sent to VA hospitals around the nation.

Yes, I remember those days. Smoking was the norm then. Doctors offices, hospitals, waiting rooms, law offices, banks, department stores, etc. Everyone smoked. Most of my aunts & uncles smoked. My Mom & Dad didn't smoke. I smoked but I was never able to develop a real tobacco habit. Any time I smoked or used tobacco I would stop soon thereafter. These days I might treat myself to a pouch of chewing tobacco or an occasional pipe once in a while. That's about it.

[w2amr]

Everybody in my family smoked, The parents of the kids I hung around with smoked, everybody on TV smoked. You had to smoke just to feel normal.

[W3MIV]

Everybody... smoked

True. I first started when I was either nine or ten. Used to walk to Saint Bernardine's School in the mornings. Passed by a GA store in front of which were usually a bunch of older kids who would dodge mass every morning. They all smoked. Peer pressure. Ol' man Schuman -- he owned the store -- would sell anyone a pack of cigarettes if they could get the money up on the counter. Hiding them was the big problem. Sen-Sen took care of the smell -- or so we thought.

By the time I hit high school in 1957, I was a thoroughly addicted nicotine junky. In the Army, the daily C-ration all contained a sample pack of four cigarettes to keep the spirit going, as well as food to keep the body going.

Built up over the years -- and I smoked EVERYTHING, including pipes and cigars -- until I went down on the xyl's office floor in 1995. Having a bunch of firemen pounding on you, chucking headache inducing pills down your throat and trying to suffocate you with a mask is an eye-opening experience. Had I not been confined to an ICU for a week or so, I would never have managed to quit. That brief "de-tox" and the terror of facing the exit were what I needed to do it. Even then, it was not easy.

[w2amr]

Pretty much the same deal with Kath. After the heart attack she spent a week in the hospital, then months on light duty. She said if not for the heart attack, she probably would still be smoking.

[kc7jty]

Success! Congrats OM.

[w2amr]

Success! Congrats OM.

Tnx Bill, it's a great feeling.

[kd8dey]

My Dad told me the story behind "I'd walk a mile for a Camel".....