heres 2 of things i find funny about smoking.
i’d say in 99% of cases, people start smoking young, and when they start they are condemned by almost everyone they know. but then later in life it becomes ok…i have no idea why.
have you ever noticed how people often drink coffee and smoke at the same time? lol 2 addictive habits at once…great going…
this next part is anything but funny.
many yeshiva bochurim start smoking in high school…dont bother arguing, ive seen it. in high school…in your average yeshivish yeshiva, the english department is seen as a joke. it is seen as something not worth paying attention to. the teachers of secular studies are seen as bums, and not worthy of the respect of the bochurim. many bochurim go and learn during secular studies, (which is a complete abomination, and their learning is worthless during that time) because they see it as bitul zman. AND YET THEY SEE NO PROBLEM IN SMOKING!!! talk about bitul zman!!! wow! the average smoker spends at LEAST an hour a day smoking! if not two! between the shmuzing…the coffee dringing…and whatnot, WHY IS THAT NOT SEEN AS A BITUL ZMAN?!? the answer is because (and this is going a bit off topic here, but equally important…)your average bochur defines bitul zman as whatever he sees as bitul zman. many of them see secular studies as a complete waste of time…and by doing so they think they are greater than many of the gedolei hador who allowed and even advocated secular studies in jewish schools. WHO DO THESE BOCHURIM THINK THEY ARE??? if eminent gedolim could give a psak, that secular studies is so necessary as to take up to 3 hours out of a budding talmid chacham’s day, who does some high school shnook think he is to say otherwise? see my point? if people truly understood bitul zman they wouldnt smoke.
anyway, yes smoking is very addictive, and the withdrawl is very terrible. it is very hard to break a physical addiction. what a person needs is real self control, and more than that…a goal. for example: up to last week i used to watch movies. i no longer do. why? well, one night me and my chavruse were sitting and learning, and we got onto the subject of me watching movies. he was very opposed to me watching movies, and said i should stop. i said (in a joking manner…) “fine…if you stop smoking”. he suddenly got serious, and said “fine”. he set himself a goal. he felt, that me watching movies was so damaging to myself, that he would smoking if it would get ME to stop watching movies…and so far its working.
thats what a person needs to stop smoking. a goal. set yourself a goal, agoal that means something to you, and you will have something to look forward to every time you think about lighting up again 😀
please pardon my rant above…but it is true and needs to be expressed. the state of frum high schools in brooklyn is absolutely disgusting.