What genius decided the Great American Smokeout day which is today should fall immediately before the winter holidays? Are you kidding me? The mere idea of being surrounded by family, booze, mass consumption, other people's children, piles of bad-for-you food and twinkle lights for a couple months without cigarettes makes me want to light up. Why not choose the second of January, or lent? That's when we're supposed to give up stuff. Now ... now we're bracing for the faux holiday merriment that's sure to drive us at least a little mad. Why in the hell would we want to take withdrawal symptoms with us to our dysfunctional family gatherings?
Though I wish all of you wanna be non-smokers all the best in the world, I will not judge you if you re-quit after the New Year. We all know smoking is bad for you and that it is one of the most idiotic things you can do with your time, money and health. All the same, it's important to choose a time to quit when you're most likely to find success. Are the holidays really the best time to quit smoking? Meh. No.
And now, a trailer for one of the more realistic holiday movies, Home for the Holidays.
Rhiannon "Rhi" Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing's CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.