No coughing at ALL last night - CHECK!
Email from Andy's specialist yesterday to say he can take Champix - CHECK!
Pill number one floating round in my tummy saying STOP SMOKINGGGGGG - CHECK!

So Day 1*! 

Apparently I shouldn't expect too much - Champix starts to really kick in around days 8 - 14, and you should choose a day within that timeframe to say "By that day, I won't smoke".  Because I'm a heavy smoker, I've opted for Day 13, hehe, but any earlier would be a definite bonus.

That, however, adds nothing to the Drama elements of this blog.  If I just type Day 2, Day 3 et al for the next few days, then I'm going to bore MYSELF silly, let alone anyone else who stumbled in here and started reading.  So I thought I'd do a daily "What's Gross about Smoking" fact, in the hopes it also reminds me why I'm doing this.  Realise this - non-smokers - you're going to be a little revolted by this, and I'm pretty sure I'm letting the Brotherhood of Smokers down, as some/most will have experienced this, and kept it as their Dirty Little Secret.

Fact 1:
Over the winter, the fashion victim in me, fell a little in love with very dark burgundy, almost black Sally Hansen nailpolish.  So every few days, I'd remove the old, and reapply two dark, shiny, glossy coats.  My talons looked BEAUTIFUL.  It's not a lie to say there'd be several minutes/hours wasted a day while I wriggled my fingers in the air, admiring their beauty.  Anyway, after 5 or 6 weeks, while removing the old coat one evening, I noticed, on my "smoker's finger" (right hand, finger beside thumb, I want to call it index, but anatomy isn't a strength), a yellow line down the side.  A NICOTINE stain.  After almost 20 years of smoking, you'd think I'd have seen one before, but I hadn't.  I can only imagine that revolting nicotine penetrated my pretty nailpolish, and soap didn't.  So I had to cease and desist wearing the dark colour *sob*, and spend the time spent admiring said nail SCRUBBING it with a nail brush.  And I can still see it - in certain lights.  Now have hands of revolting old smoking alcoholic from Gardies, I remember looking at back at university years ago.

There.

So anyway.  Day 1.  Back tomorrow with astonishing/stomach churning fact number 2.

*For those that thought I would NEVER start, I'd like to say I understand, but instead will stick with nah nah nah naaaaahhh naaaahhhhh