Smoke them if you've got them

Basic training is where they take away all your rights and give them back to you, one at a time, as privileges.

That was my take on basic training at Lackland Air Force Base 40 years ago. Smoking is now banned during basic, but in my day it was one of those meted out privileges. It was torture in those early days of basic, watching our TIs puff away as they did their best to rid us of our disgusting civilian habits before molding us into proper airmen.

I can’t tell you how long we went without a smoke, but I remember well the moment at mail call when we were first allowed to light up. A few short moments later we were told to put them out, but we finally were on the road to recovery, tobacco-wise.

I never regained my smoking form after that. My two-pack-a-day habit was cut at least in half and I started entertaining, half-heartedly, the idea of quitting altogether. But military cigarettes were cheap, even in the states. At that time, a carton of king-size filter cigarettes was available at the base commissary for under $2. That’s less than a penny per cigarette.

Within three years, I was married and the father of a young child. At that point, the hypocrisy of a military organization that was preaching physical well-being on the one hand while subsidizing cheap cigarettes on the other, was just too much. Vowing to be a better (and healthier) role model for my children, I decided to quit. It wasn’t as hard as I thought.

I discovered a most effective technique for quelling the inevitable cravings of my addiction that dogged me in the first few days of my recovery. Whenever the need for a smoke came up, I’d light up and puff as fast as I could, never inhaling. This frantic puffing left such a hot, bitter taste in my mouth that, after just a short time, the craving went away.

Smoking is more complicated and addictive than most nonsmokers realize. This site has information on why we smoke and this site offers a history of tobacco use. By the way, Tex Williams, a heavy smoker who had the hit with “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)” that opened this series, eventually died of cancer.

Larry Lehmer is a personal historian who helps people preserve their family histories. To learn more, visit his web site or send him an e-mail.

Flickr photo of World War I doughboy courtesy of paws22.

Comments

[tori]

I was a smoker in the Air Force as well. My service was in the early 80s and I was also lured by the frequent promise and privilege of a break from tedium ("smoke 'em if you got 'em"). If you didn't smoke you remained in formation and as everyone knows, one of the things military service teaches you is how to manage long stretches of boredom punctuated with moments of extreme stress. Nicotine is the perfect drug for that. The habit kills time, and keeps you alert. It even encourages sharing and camaraderie (ask any group standing in the cold outside a bar sharing a smoke and they'll agree).

When I was an airman it was insidious. Really almost everyone I knew smoked and that included the women. It took me years after I was discharged to kick the habit, not once, not twice, but three times. I kept falling off the wagon at every stressful life event. And I think that's part of the key. Like life, you just can't give in to the stress and if you do, give yourself a break, dust yourself off and try again. It will stick, all it requires is determination and a kind of built in grit that makes you angry enough to shake something you know inside is self-destructive. Thanks for sharing your story and allowing me to post mine!

[Larry Lehmer]

Thanks, Tori, and congratulations on having the perseverance to kick the habit. That's a major achievement.

[Denise Olson]

Another Lackland survivor - 1972 - and former smoker. One of my favorite memories is being sent to Keesler's LP "store" to spend the last of our end-of-year money. The only thing left to buy was ashtrays so that's what we got. A month into the new fiscal year, smoking was outlawed in all offices and classrooms.

[Larry Lehmer]

And people wonder where the term SNAFU came from! I'll bet you've got more stories like that one, right? Thanks for this one, Denise.