One man's experience

Former RD Gustavo Burkett offers a perspective on smoking (and quitting) in the Bangor, Maine "Daily News".

I started college and got involved in many things. I joined Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity which taught me a lot about life in general but also showed me the benefits of keeping a healthy body and a healthy mind. I went through college without smoking except for a very minimum occasional "social smoke." I finished college and went to work for the National Fraternity as a regional director, or what is called a chapter consultant. A stressful job in many ways dealing with 30 fraternities in different college campuses through the upper Midwest.

Long drives, alone time, and the lack of time to have succulent meals created an opportunity to pick up a cigarette as a "time to relax." Smoking was keeping me away from having to stop so often to eat, so it seemed as a perfect "tool" to use every so often. I realized also, that I started using smoking as a social mechanism. I was using smoking to connect with those individuals that I couldn't connect with otherwise

One man's experience - Bangornews.com Staff