“Just a coffee.”
“Just a beer.”
“Just a cigarette.”
Three tiny opening notes.
Three habits that often start with the volume turned way down.
Nobody wakes up one morning and says, “I’d love to become dependent on this.”
The song usually starts softer than that.
Just a coffee to stay awake.
Just a beer to relax.
Just a cigarette to pass the time.
A few repeats later, the chorus starts playing on its own.
Coffee, beer, and cigarettes often get mentioned in the same conversation, but they’re not playing the same tune.
Coffee mostly messes with the brain, heart, and stomach when the encore goes on too long. Too much can bring anxiety, shaky hands, a racing heartbeat, sleepless nights, heartburn, and a stomach that suddenly files a formal complaint.
Beer plays a heavier tune. The liver takes center stage, blood pressure starts climbing, memory can miss a few notes, and extra weight may join the band without being invited.
Cigarettes don’t even pretend to be gentle. They hit the lungs, stress the heart and blood vessels, lower stamina, and raise the risk of cancer in several parts of the body.
Yet all three usually enter through the same small doorway.
“Just a coffee.”
“Just a beer.”
“Just a cigarette.”
The words sound like a short intro.
Sometimes they’re the first track on a very long album.
Then, when the body’s harmony starts drifting out of tune, somebody eventually books a visit to the doctor.
Funny thing is, if these three walked into a doctor’s office together, coffee would probably be the one saying, “Why am I even here?” while beer and cigarettes quietly avoid eye contact.
⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ
