The first time I tried a cigarette I was 10 years old. I was playing cards with some family members and I remembering grabbing it from my aunt. Of course, it felt awful and I thought to myself I would never do it again.
Two years later, however, I started paying attention to the colorful packs each time I had to go to buy the newspaper. I learned the names of all the brands available.
One day, I was able to buy a pack at a machine in a bar, even though it had an advertisement that clearly said that tobacco was not to be sold to minors. However, nobody called my attention.
Nonetheless, this adventure was cut short, as I was caught by my sister buying the next pack. The scolding kept me away from trying for many years.
I went back to trying cigarettes, though, once I left home when I was 19. It started as an occasional habit I would only do when partying on the weekends. However, as an adult now, I was being exposed to a more tobacco-prone environment (roommates, college, friends), as opposed to my previous years - neither my parents nor my siblings were smokers (at least not at home).
By age 20, I was smoking everyday and the addiction lasted until I was 30. I was never a heavy smoker and my average daily count was between 5 and 10 cigarettes. I knew I was addicted the first time I wanted to quit smoking and failed. I was still only 20.
Since then, I do not know how many times I tried quitting. Some attempts would last hours or a few days. There were, though, a couple of more successful attempts. One was when I was 23, that lasted 4 months; another one, when I was 25, that lasted 6 months.
