I tried it first at 12, my older brother gave me one of his camels to use for lighting fireworks so I decided I'd try it. Started sneaking the occasional Marlboro with a friend of mine who smoked and just seemed so much cooler then me.

I bought my first pack at 15...mostly for something to do while walking around town that was "shocking" to my mostly uppity christian town we'd moved to when I started high school.

I gradually got hooked...longest I've ever gone without a cigarette since then is 6-9 months when I tried to quit at 19.

This time, I'm going to quit. I've been working on it since January...haven't been 100% successfull, I've still bought 3 packs during that time, but it's an improvement. It's hard to walk into a convience store though...It's a battle every time I don't ask our local clerk (nice little old hindu guy!) for a pack of smokes.