Strictly opinion articles that respond to the author’s style. These opinion texts must be based on verified data and be respectful of people even if their actions are criticized. All opinion columns by people external to the EL PAÍS editorial team will have, after the last line, a subtitle – no matter how well known – indicating the position, title, political militancy (if applicable) or main occupation, or that which is or was related to the topic covered.
Years can pass without being able to forget that vice that was linked to gestures, emotions, feelings and lifestyles of all kinds.
There are people who have been smoking dictatorship for 40 years and, unaware that it was poison, many even smoked it with pleasure; Others, however, fought to kick that habit because they knew it would cost them their lives. Anyone who stops smoking after having smoked for many years, despite everything, will remain an ex-smoker for the rest of his life and perhaps if one day he lets his guard down without realizing it, he will surprise himself with a cigarette on his lips and he will start again and again. Franco is like tobacco and the bad thing, as happens with Francoism, are the repercussions. When you definitively stop smoking, it happens that after a few days all the nicotine present in the body has been expelled through the urine. The poison has disappeared. The body has been detoxified. Franco is dead. With this you think you have won. After three months without smoking, the capillaries in the lungs, burned by thousands of cigarettes, begin to regenerate and capture oxygen again. It seems that freedom has arrived, but the real problem is freeing the habit from the brain’s circuits. Years can pass without being able to forget that vice that was linked to gestures, emotions, feelings and lifestyles of all kinds. One day you will see that someone is enjoying smoking a cigarette of the brand you smoked and you will feel a tug; The battle to defeat tobacco is very long but you always win when you feel like you have forgotten it. When you celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Franco’s death, they ask you what you were doing when the dictator died. Without a doubt it would be more positive if they were interested in knowing how you experienced your first day of freedom. That famous bottle of champagne was pro-life, not pro-death. Young people should know how that man spent his time, but all he needs to do is name him for Franco to exist again. There are still many people in this country who swear they have quit smoking, but keep a pack on the shelf within reach.
Your subscription is in use on another device
Do you want to add another user to your subscription?
If you continue reading on this device, you won’t be able to read it on the other.
Why do you see this?
Arrow
Your subscription is in use on another device and you can only access EL PAÍS from one device at a time.
If you want to share your account, change your subscription to Premium mode, so you can add another user. Everyone will log in with their own email account, which will allow you to personalize your experience in EL PAÍS.
Do you have a corporate subscription? Go here to sign up for additional accounts.
If you don’t know who is using your account, we recommend changing your password here.
If you decide to continue sharing your account, this message will appear on your device and the device of the other person using your account indefinitely, affecting your reading experience. You can view the digital subscription terms and conditions here.
About the signature
Writer and journalist. Winner, among others, of the Alfaguara and Nadal novel prizes. He started as a journalist working on the newspaper “Madrid” and the magazines “Hermano Lobo” and “Triunfo”. He joined EL PAÍS as a parliamentary columnist. Since then he has published articles, travel chronicles, reports and daguerreotypes of various personalities.
More information
