Read the fine print on one

Just one is the oldest free trial there is. Tiny commitment. Cancel anytime. Back to normal tomorrow. You know how free trials end. The card on file gets charged, and then it gets charged again. Ask yourself how often one has stayed one.

The first cigarette doesn't end the wanting. It restarts it. Soon it wears off, and the same pull comes back holding a new argument. You did it yesterday, so why not today? That's the fine print nobody reads. It advertises one and bills you for all of them.

Hold up one finger. That's the one it's offering. Now keep counting what really comes with it. The first one tomorrow. The ones you'd hide. The money. The guilt afterward. Starting over from zero. Keep going until the offer looks silly. You'll run out of fingers before it runs out of charges.

Fold those fingers into a fist and say one word. No. That single word protects everything you just counted, every clear head and every dollar. You're not holding the line alone, either. God's got His hand on it too. One no, and you keep all of it.