Prescription Gum ... !

You know, I've got to admit, I’m writing this post at Brentwood Library.

Which mean’s ... ?

Which means I’ll probably copy edit it — and add photos — when I get home.

The version of Internet Explorer on the library’s systems being clunky, even compared to newer versions of Internet Explorer.

But I thought I’d let you know two things.

Firstly … ?

I can’t believe I got through the box of thirty pieces of nicotine replacement gum I got prescribed to help me pack up smoking, by this morning!

And I'm grateful the Smoking Nurse did me a repeat prescription.

For a box of one hundred and five … !

I’ve had one already.

Heigh-HO ... !

»»•««

Hmmm …

Actually …

Can I make a confession … ?

I’m like a lot of smokers.

Recovering smokers … ??

Quitters … ?

Attempted Recovery smokers … ?

Whatever … !

At any rate, I think I’ve managed to come up with something that helps me cope.

Although if it helps anyone else, is something else.

But I know that — like many smokers — I tend to keep my cigarettes near me.

Or tobacco tin, I should say.

At the moment … ?

At the moment, I’m writing this part of the post at my computer desk, at home.

Most of the time, I’d have my tobacco tin right in front of me.

But to be frank, I figured that if I’m going to try and give up smoking by replacing cigarettes with the patchesª and gum, then having the gum in front of me, instead of the fags*, would mean I’d be reaching for those, first.

So far … ?

So far, it’s working, touch wood … !

* Now I know my American readers will raise and eyebrow at that one, but I also remember something that Oscar Wilde’s supposed to have said: that England and America are two countries separated by a common language …

ª There’s an old phrase you hear a lot, at AA meetings: that it’s the first one that does the damage. You hear variations at any given 12-step group. I know it’s a cliqué, but cliqués become cliqués because there‘s a certain truth to them: to quote an old phrase I heard, somewhere, cliqués are the hammers and nails in the communications toolbox. In this case … ? The patches don’t half help me avoid that first one.