He wanted to be the kind of dad who didn’t smell like smoke.
David grew up seeing cigarettes as something magical. Becoming a father helped him see things differently.
"I didn’t want my son seeing it as a mystical thing that I used to see with my grandma.”
“Growing up, my grandma was always very happy. She always had a cigarette in her hand. It was like her magic wand. The smoke was like magic,” David says. “If we smelled empanadas in the house, we were also smelling the stale cigarette that was in the living room as well.”
He started smoking when he began working in fine dining. “I wanted to hang out with the cooks. Picked it up, started with cigars, and then menthol cigarettes. And then dipping and chewing.” Like many, he was drawn in by misleading labels. “I remember them marketing American Spirits as natural cigarettes. So I’m thinking these are going to be healthier for me… probably less addictive as well.”
But everything changed when he found out he was going to be a dad. “I was just like, no. We’re done. I don’t want to have to hold Ezra and then he’s smelling the smoke on me. He’s still affected.”
David knew he couldn’t rely on willpower alone. “Willpower isn’t enough. I was aware of nicotine patches and I was aware of the nicotine gum. And I just decided let’s do this. Let’s do the gum.”
He also replaced the habit. “Now I’m just doing usually like Trident or something like that. Tying knots, especially with fishing, has also helped me, keeping my brain more active and my hands busy. I try and go fishing almost every day.”
“Find something that you like, whether it’s exercise, fishing, cooking, and do those things in between when you start having those feelings”
What keeps him going? “I’m making the best choice for me. Making the best choice for my family. Ultimately, my son is going to grow up and have a dad that’s going to be around.”
“If you want to do something, if you really want to do something, you do it.”
