4 - Sunday, December 4, 1988 - North Shore News I’M A guy who “‘quit smok- ing’’ 10 years ago. -Ten years! I had quit before. About a hun- dred times. I don’t think I’m even exaggerating. The first time I tried to quit, I was 17. I had been smoking for all of a year by then. The reason I wanted to quit had nothing to do with health back then. It was a recognition, stark and simple, that I had become a slave to the tobacco companies. From the first time ! tried to quit until the time when I finally “succeeded,”’ there was a 20-year gap during which I blew a fortune, and most of all, in which I did enormous physical damage to myself, not only to my lungs. IT have a friend, a fellow named Dave Berner, who worked for years with heroin addicts, helping them to kick their habit. He insists that nicotine is harder to kick in the long run than heroin.’’ As I say, 10 years have passed since I ‘‘quit.”* The reason I put that in quota- tion marks is that an odd and ter- rible thing happened to me a cou- ple of months ago. I was at.a party, someone of- fered me a cigarette, and, thinking, “Ho ho, no problem, I’ve got this one beat,’ I accepted. It was a little test of my ‘‘iron will,’’ I figured by then I could laugh in the face of nicotine addiction. . There was no way I would go back to smoking. Just no way. But, gawG, that cigarette tasted good! : I was a bit shocked at just how delicious it was. Geez, I’d forgot- ten. : This was peculiar because I had long since reached the point where the mere smell of nicotine made me ill. I tried to control the impulse to be rude to smokers, but the truth was I felt a certain contempt for them. After all, unlike me, they had no will power. They were therefore, in at least that one respect, inferior. I tried to remind myself as often as possible that what was involved BoB HUNTER was a serious drug addiction and in no way a reflection on their char- acter. But, deep down, I didn’t buy it. It was a reflection on their character. Needless to say, some of my best friends smoke. Some of my favorite relatives smoke. My mother, in fact, smoked — right up until the time of her lung cancer operation. She survived the operation. But in a perverse way I took a certain pride in her obstinancy. She smoked right up to the day of the operation itself. My favorite uncle smoked, right up until the time of his death, caused by a massive heart attack, which was in turn caused by him having to use a little inhalator device to help his respiration, which had gone down the tubes thanks to heavy smoking. I asked him once — the last time 1 saw him, actually — if maybe, since he was wheezing so much, he might consider quitting. He said: “‘A guy’s got to have a few pleasures in life.** I could go on — mentioning, for instance, a favorite editor of mine, a guy named Bill Galt, who was brilliant, but could never shake the habit. Dead of lung cancer while he was just at the peak of his career. But me, no problem! | had it licked. . Just one little cigarette couldn’t possibly hurt... A week or so later, an unusual situation came up, and someone offered me a smoke again. And I took it. Again. And then a week after that, another unusual situation came up, something involving a certain amount of stress. And this time I asked for a cigarette. And a couple of days Jater, another one. And then, a day later, another. The excuses I could give you would fill a phone book. But the reality was that just the other day I realized I had been in a meeting and had smoked half a dozen ciga- rettes — all of them bummed from other people. And I hardly even noticed I had smoked them! Except that when I got home, I had a craving. I found myself on the verge of going to a store and buying a pack. I wanted that hit. Real bad. Okay. Deep breath. Cold Turkey City all over again. Whew. What a drug! What an addiction! I have a friend, a fellow named Dave Berner, who worked for years with heroin addicts, helping them to kick their habit. He insists that nicotine is harder to kick in the long run than heroin. I thought he was being overly dramatic. But now I’m not so sure. Maybe the only thing to do is to ban the stuff. Only give it out on a prescription basis to admitted ad- dicts. Scary junk. Very scary @ Dog helps find car A WEST Vancouver Police dog was instrumental in tracking down two people suspected in a theft of auto case Nov. 25. Police responded at approx- imately 9:32 p.m. to a report of a suspicious vehicle, an abandoned "85 Ford Thunderbird, in the 2700-block of Ottawa Ave. Police dog Kanus tracked from the car to some bushes in the 2500-block of Palmerston Ave. Police found two people hiding in the bushes. The car was found to be stolen from Vancouver. Charged with possession of stolen property over $1,000 are Shirley Anne Johnston, 30, of 2112 East 50th Ave. in Vancouver and a 15-year-old young offender from Vancouver. WV entrepreneur to go on trial A WEST Vancouver entrepreneur will appear for trial Feb. 23 in West Vancouver provincial court on a charge of unlawfully selling merchandise in a marina-zoned area. Marilyn Diligenti was originally charged in connection with a Sept. 14 incident in which ladies’ clothing was alleged to have been sold from her Champagne Tastes business at 6223 Imperial Ave. in West Vancouver contrary to the area's marina zoning bylaw. She initially ran her business from the living room of her house, but moved the operation to an ad- jacent former boathouse after she was fined for selling ladies’ clothes and fashions without a business licence. The initial charge was laid IMPAIRED DRIVING Turner Ardagh Hunter Barristers & Solicitors #300-1401 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver 986-4366 “Working For Your Success.” Office: 984-9711 Pager: 645-9549 CHERRY SUSSEX GROUP - S.R.C. Kealty Corporation 2996 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. Free Initial Consultation BOUTON el against Diligenti after other West Vancouver retailers complained. The new charge of operating a business contrary to the area zon- ing carries a maximum fine of $2,000. Diligenti has said she is entitled to use her property to generate in- come because she continues to pay annual taxes of $10,000 on the property even:though it has not been used for marina purposes for years. CORRECTION NOTICE In our Zellers Sale Fiyer Sale dated December 7-10th, the descripticn for the Christmas dinnerware featured on page # 22 is incorrect. The poinsettia pattern (shown on the feft) is available only ina 16 piece set, which does not inciude salad bowls. The 20 piece set is available only in the Holly pattern shown on the right. Prices are correct as stated. We apologize for any iconvenience this may cause our customers. (Sho Province Lempty Stacking Gand The Polo Ralph Lauren Store 1123 Robson Street (604) 688-7656 ‘Trim our Christmas tree with a festive ribbon and make your donation tothe empty stocking | Polo Country Store The Landing: 375 Water Street (604) 669-7656 Ail proceeds from the gift wrapping service are donated to The Province Empty Stocking Fund