I don't consider myself a very "new" member anymore - which is great (isn't it wonderful?!?), but I do consider myself a pretty young smoker, so I am going to respond to this.

I started smoking when I was 17, 10 years ago. Joel, you didn't name the brand you were talking about in your last post, a variation on a popular brand, but what comes to mind when I hear that is my favorite cigarette of all time, one I discovered in college -- because a select group of friends smoked them -- Kamel Red Lights. The box is sort of red and orange with the famous camel on it.

I graduated from college in 1998 and still up until the time I quit, "treated myself" to those. I don't know why I considered them a treat -- maybe it was the nostalgia factor or something. They were sort of like Camel Lights but a little bit less… harsh.

I started as most college students start -- on Marlboro Lights. Then I heard that the filter in Parliaments prevented your teeth from getting yellow, so I switched to those. Then, a few years later, when I really started smoking full-time, I decided I wanted to start smoking menthols, so I switched to Newport Lights. But then I remembered the Parliament non-yellow teeth thing, and I switched to Parliament Menthols. I was hooked on Paliament Menthols until a boyfriend came to visit me one weekend. The boyfriend smoked Camel Lights. I bummed one from him as he was leaving after the weekend, and it tasted SOOO good to not have that menthol factor added. I will never forget the taste of that Camel Light. I loved it. So I switched to Camel Lights. Then, about a year later, a friend of mine and her friends started smoking Kamel Red Lights. So I tried those. Loved them.

After the Kamel Red Lights I went back to Parliaments again. Once I had this variety of enjoyable brands, I switched between Parliaments, Kamel Red Lights, and Camel Lights, depending on my mood. I never smoked just one particular brand for any length of time. Never a menthol, though. Of course, when Marlboro Ultra Lights came out I smoked those for a while.

I moved to NYC for about a year, and while I was there I sort of knew I wanted to quit, so I switched to Capris… thinking that they were slim and light, and just "not as bad"… turns out, those babies were pretty harsh! But I stuck with them, alternating between them and Camel Lights for the next few years.

By the time I quit, I was back to plain old Marlboro Lights. It just seemed like they were sort of the "norm"… middle of the road cigs. But interspersed with those were always Camel Lights, and every so often, as a treat, Kamel Red Lights.

My last cigarette was a Marlboro Light, if I remember correctly. Yes, I think it was.

ComicForces
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