ahhh, kk, i understand now
i'd like to clarify what i mean, but i'm not sure it will help because there is still a difference of opinion. the majority of smokers are addicted to smoking (and i say the majority because as i said earlier, it doesn't happen with one puff--you have to choose to keep doing it until you finally become addicted). i do not deny that i am addicted to smoking, i've been smoking for years so i'm quite confident that i am! what i mean by "hiding" behind the term addicted, is that being addicted in no way justifies my choice to smoke. if i were trying to quit and struggling, then yes--it explains why i would be struggling. but if there were a magic pill that would allow me to quit smoking instantly, i wouldn't take it.
i don't smoke because i'm addicted, i became addicted because i choose to smoke. i enjoy it. i continue to enjoy it as much now as i did way back when i started--for that reason, i continue to smoke. i can go a complete weekend (and do so regularly) without smoking--i don't get nic fits or feel that if i don't have a smoke i'm gonna explode. i get along just fine, except i do tend to drink more when i'm not smoking (liquids in general, not talking booze binge lol). but i'm quite happy to come home and resume my habit because i like it.
you may continue to say it is denial and there's really no way for me to argue against that. if i quit today and picked it back up 5 years from now--those who feel strongly that smoking is an addiction and no one would do it if they could help it, would just say i'd fallen off the wagon. but addiction or no, i'm still making the choice to do it--that is why i won't say i smoke simply because i am addicted. plenty of people quit smoking, if i chose to quit, i have no doubt that i could do so as well--but until i decide i want to quit, it isn't going to happen. denial? if you insist--but it isn't a matter of denying i'm addicted, just denying that i have any desire to quit.