Quit Smoking

[Oyster1982]

My father was a cigarette smoker for at least 25 years when he quit due to getting the flu. That was back in 2006 and he doesnt even like them anymore, canr stand the smell. My mom is still a big smoker, and I smoke a Cigar almost everyday.

[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by axxeman01

15 days smoke free now, $75 extra in my pocket.

A work colleague bought me lunch last week, and another is lined up for this week and another at one month. Some motivation there, not just the free lunch, but the fact they are rooting for me.

It's easier than week one, no *extreme* urges, a few mild ones. I am munching on a lot of sunflower seeds now though. I know I will never smoke again on a conscious level, and I'm hoping my subconscious will give up the fight to smoke shortly. I guess 24 years makes it a bit tough.

Chris we (TRF) are ALL rooting for you!

I sincerely wish you continued strength and success. If I may offer a small suggestion, at each stage, one week, one month, whatever you pick, use some of the money you have saved and get yourself a small present. Maybe a dinner, or movie or a hooke- Oh, wait, that would by MY gift to myself...

But in all seriousness, recognize your acomplishments and enjoy them my friend!

[axxeman01]

Thanks guys/gals, hit 3 weeks today, nice milestone. I'm committed to the lifetime change even more now.

I still have some urges, not really to smoke per se, just urges or 'fits', irritation... call it what you will, they pass quite quickly though, and certainly are *nowhere* as near as intense as the first or second week.

Thanks again for all the support!

[Jack's Uncle]

Originally Posted by axxeman01

Thanks guys/gals, hit 3 weeks today, nice milestone. I'm committed to the lifetime change even more now.

I still have some urges, not really to smoke per se, just urges or 'fits', irritation... call it what you will, they pass quite quickly though, and certainly are *nowhere* as near as intense as the first or second week.

Thanks again for all the support!

And as a former addict, I can tell you that you're going to have those urges for a long time, but it does get easier with each passing day. Just take it one day at a time and keep reminding yourself why you're doing this. It stinks, it's ridiculously unhealthy, it's expensive, and most importantly.....for the family.

Best of luck.

[Johny]

Originally Posted by axxeman01

Thanks guys/gals, hit 3 weeks today, nice milestone. I'm committed to the lifetime change even more now.

I still have some urges, not really to smoke per se, just urges or 'fits', irritation... call it what you will, they pass quite quickly though, and certainly are *nowhere* as near as intense as the first or second week.

Thanks again for all the support!

well done chris...stick with it.

[Sherwooddavid]

Originally Posted by axxeman01

Thanks guys/gals, hit 3 weeks today, nice milestone. I'm committed to the lifetime change even more now.

I still have some urges, not really to smoke per se, just urges or 'fits', irritation... call it what you will, they pass quite quickly though, and certainly are *nowhere* as near as intense as the first or second week.

Thanks again for all the support!

Keep up the good work ! They say it eakes 3 weeks to break a habit so your almost there. Congrats.

[johnswatch]

I gave up smoking cigarettes over 8 years ago just before my youngest was born. I did it for health reasons alone.

I was probably not your typical smoker. I actually enjoyed it. I loved trying new brands and sampling them much like a wine connoisseur. I never felt a slave to the addiction (even though I was addicted) and actually looked forward to my 15 mins of downtime every few hours.

I can honestly say Ii miss it. It was many years before i allowed myself the occasional quality cigar. I certainly don't inhale as it makes me sick if I do. I have perhaps a cigar a month, no more than that.

As to my health and sense of taste etc - it made not a jot of difference to me. I didn't suddenly find myself sprinting up stairs or relishing new flavours. main difference was that I no longer got sinus infections which was a huge bonus.

Good luck with quitting and I wish you all the best.

[GradyPhilpott]

I smoked my last cigarette in 1996.

I took up the premium cigars and smoked those up until 2004.

Cigarettes are just a nasty addiction, but the cigars are a real pleasure to smoke.

I quit the cigars when I bought my computer and got so caught up in the internet that I would just forget to carve 45 minutes out of my day to smoke and I just decided that if that was the case, I didn't need to smoke them anymore.

That saves me a lot of money, which of course, I waste on watches now.

I'm not much on regret, but sometimes I think about all the money I spent on booze and smokes and wonder how things might have been different, but then again, there was something about those days of reckless abandon that I would not change, even if I could.

It seems that even my greatest misfortunes and lapses in judgement have ultimately worked out pretty well.

[axxeman01]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

It seems that even my greatest misfortunes and lapses in judgement have ultimately worked out pretty well.

Grady - I feel the same way as well (Well... except for this one time at a bar down in Panama). Personally I feel great, I can afford it, I don't feel it inconveniences me, and I don't consider myself a social outcast.

My main reason for quitting is for my kids; tough to tell them not to when you are. Also, there is too much of a chance of contracting cancer or some other disease that, if it doesn't kill one outright, will decrease the quality of life to the point one might wish they were dead.

Finally, with so many kids being diagnosed with cancer each day and they've never smoked, I started to feel guilty that I have a healthy body but was smoking.

[jamesisajeweler]

I've never been a smoker, nor a drinker but I do feel that anyone who does smoke or drink and wants to stop doing it, has to do it at their own pace.

Only you know what it will take to stop smoking and if you've taken those steps to do so, then good for you.

[axxeman01]

According to my iphone app ... it's officially 35 days quit now. I've saved $177 and not smoked 710 cigarettes. The stats sound amazing, but the one that really sticks out to me is the TIME I've saved by not smoking.

Assuming a *quick* smoke is 3 minutes, I've not wasted 35 hours (One entire hour a day towards smoking). Truth be told I've probably still wasted them, albeit on TRF instead of smokes!

If you are thinking about quitting, now is the time, in just over a month I've gotten the following benefits:

1) Better breath
2) Food taste better (or worse, depending on the dish!)
3) My skin... this is a great one, my skin feels more moist.
4) Cash not spent.

Thanks all for the support, it's a ton easier than the first couple of weeks now!

[Johny]

well done chris. stick with it.

[Explorer 2011]

I used "easyway to stop smoking" and it really was EASY. Biggest thing I took from it was to not keep reminding yourself, such as "i've gone 2 weeks..." because this feels like you have had to make a sacrifice for 2 weeks.

The best way is to just think you have woke up today and you ARE a NON SMOKER because you have made that decision already. The first day you make that choice you are a non smoker straight away. What a relief !...

I don't need to wish you luck, you have made the choice now, so well done for that!...

[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by Johny

well done chris. stick with it.

X 2!

[STEELINOX]

Good job Chris ~ !

[Jack's Uncle]

Good for you. Keep up the good work.

[axxeman01]

Well, it's getting better. Still having smoking nightmares, and it feels like it's been a year quit already.

[Kringkily]

For some reason I feel the urge to smoke when I drink. I don't smoke either cigs or the green grass when I'm sober. Just for some weird reason I see people smoking when drinking and I'm like hey "why not"... but I don't smoke. Just a funny weird demon behind that bottle of Patron

[Timber Loftis]

Our societal relationship with cigarettes is F'd up. A "smoker" is easily expected to smoke a pack a day, and a "non-smoker" has absolutely zero.

Why is it that our definitions regarding smoking are so retarded? Someone who drinks all day long is a lousy drunk and needs help. But someone who has 4-6 drinks a week is a typical social drinker, which is acceptable. No one expects you to drink absolutely zero alcoholic beverages to be healthy.

Smoking, as with any recreational drug, should be managed in moderation. I can have a cigarette when I drink without having to put the pack back in my pocket and choke down 20 miniature brush fires every day. I don't get it, I don't get why cigarettes get this special treatment and why we don't treat them like other socially acceptable and normal drugs.

[TheVTCGuy]

I only smoke after sex...... .........



Yeah, so anyway.... Chris, I don't want to make fun of your fantastic achievement. congratualtions, continued success and don't give up!



P.S. Could you maybe explain the charts and graphs on the I-phone app.. I'd be interested to see what they are describing.

[axxeman01]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

I only smoke after sex...... .........



Yeah, so anyway.... Chris, I don't want to make fun of your fantastic achievement. congratualtions, continued success and don't give up!



P.S. Could you maybe explain the charts and graphs on the I-phone app.. I'd be interested to see what they are describing.

No problem, I get it

So the legend:

The heart + at the top, is the additional days of life added due to quitting.

The skull is the number of people who have died from smoking related illnesses since I've quit (According to the WHO).

The heart and lungs are supposed to be my risk of heart attack and lung cancer respectively compared to if I had not quit.

I'm still waiting for the 'Craving' bar to plummet!

[chris_1001]

Need to quit myself, what App did you use above??

And congrats, I quit for 16 years, and Ex G/F got me back into it 2 years ago... Now I need to quit again

[Kringkily]

Originally Posted by Timber Loftis

Our societal relationship with cigarettes is F'd up. A "smoker" is easily expected to smoke a pack a day, and a "non-smoker" has absolutely zero.

Why is it that our definitions regarding smoking are so retarded? Someone who drinks all day long is a lousy drunk and needs help. But someone who has 4-6 drinks a week is a typical social drinker, which is acceptable. No one expects you to drink absolutely zero alcoholic beverages to be healthy.

Smoking, as with any recreational drug, should be managed in moderation. I can have a cigarette when I drink without having to put the pack back in my pocket and choke down 20 miniature brush fires every day. I don't get it, I don't get why cigarettes get this special treatment and why we don't treat them like other socially acceptable and normal drugs.

Dunno maybe the whole idea that smoking is the actually inhalation of hundreds of chemical by products besides that actual nicotine which comes from tobacco? I don't know but that's what I would put my money on.

[axxeman01]

Originally Posted by chris_1001

Need to quit myself, what App did you use above??

And congrats, I quit for 16 years, and Ex G/F got me back into it 2 years ago... Now I need to quit again

It's an Iphone app called 'MLC' (My last cigarette). The main thing for me though was the book above (the Easy Method).

[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by axxeman01

No problem, I get it

So the legend:

The heart + at the top, is the additional days of life added due to quitting.

The skull is the number of people who have died from smoking related illnesses since I've quit (According to the WHO).

The heart and lungs are supposed to be my risk of heart attack and lung cancer respectively compared to if I had not quit.

I'm still waiting for the 'Craving' bar to plummet!

Very Cool Chris! Again, congratulations and continued success!

[Timber Loftis]

Originally Posted by Kringkily

Dunno maybe the whole idea that smoking is the actually inhalation of hundreds of chemical by products besides that actual nicotine which comes from tobacco? I don't know but that's what I would put my money on.

That's true with pipes and cigars as well. Yet no insurer lumps you the horrid "smoker" category if you have 1 cigar a month.

Chris, one thing about your app that I thought was very much an incentive for someone trying to quit is that it looks like it measures $$$ saved. That's the shocker for most people. Can you input prices based on geography? Because in Chicago a single pack runs for ~$9 ea.

[axxeman01]

Originally Posted by Timber Loftis

Can you input prices based on geography? Because in Chicago a single pack runs for ~$9 ea.

Yes, that part is configurable, they are $5 here. I've heard in NYC a pack is $11, now *that* would be some serious savings!

[brkanand]

I quit smoking and drinking alcohol in one go - in 1986. In 1994 I began to drink alcoholic beverages but did not crave for cigarettes. I again stopped alcohol - in every form- in January 2007 and have not had any desire to succumb to temptations. I am a teetotaller.

[paddy_crow]

At a pack a day, I would have smoked somewhere around a quarter million cigarettes in the time since I quit.

[BarkMaster]

A guy at work has an "e cigarette"... what he calls his USB rechargable pacifier.