Smoking, how did you quit ?

[JetBlack]

Originally posted by Accumulator
... He was such a heavy smoker that he'd go have a Marlboro in the middle of our workouts, between sets of benchpresses.

Sounds like a heavy smoker alright, he was probably out of breath so he used smoking as an excuse to take a break, that's what I used to do When I smoked I could not run for 5 minutes & I was ashamed of it.

Funny I used to smoke Marlboro too, with high tar + nicotine. But after 15 years of no smoking my lungs are free from all the poison and tar. Last year I had a medical check up for life insurance, let's say my insurance premiums could not be any lower

[RegalGS]

Hey Patrick... you're not losing the mental game. Believe it or not, you're putting up a hell of a fight. You're convinced you need to quit, so your're just about there! One step at a time. Today, don't smoke in the car... tomorrow? we'll figure it out tomorrow.

[PathfinderGuy]

Although only 19, lemme try and offer a bit of advice..
First off, i smoke as well.. been smoking for quite a while, but not regularly.. I only smoke when i go out to clubs, and parties, and are among other friends who smoke, is when i actually light up. been doing this for about 3 or 4 years.. My parents are both heavy smokers, and i always tell them not to smoke.. how hypocritical of me. My dad has been smoke free about 3 weeks now. He realized he was smoking almost 3 packs a day, and owning his own business, he was getting way too stressed out, so he just quit.

As for myself, well, im slowly cutting down... or at least trying.. however, when youre at a club, dacing with beautiful girls, and she offers you a cig, how can you decline..


anyways, back to helping you guys quit.. I saw an ad in Maxim i think about these new 3-step cigrettes. There are 3 different ones, each having sginificantly lesser tar and nicotine than the other.. Not sure if you know what i'm talking about, but if not, i'll check and see if i can find the add..


Good luck guys..

[JasonC8301]

Just like Sascha above..being 19 and experimenting...

Ok, I have to admit it. I tried smoking before. I smoked a few cigarettes (not the whole thing maybe two or three puffs of each.) This was during my visit to 29 Palms in CA. I tried some Marlboro Lights, Newport's, Marlboro Ultra Lights, Marlboros, Black and Milds, and also throw in some Copenhagen and Kodiak smokeless tobacco along with some chewing tobacco.

The verdict, I didn't like any of them. It tasted terrible. I'll stick to polishing my boots

My boots, I take out my Kiwi black boot polish and my old white cotton t-shirt and spend some quality time on my boots. My other hobby besides detailing, flashlights, and the oh so important women.....

Good luck trying to quit!

[Sharkie]

Patrick you sound motivated to quit and for me that was the single most important factor.

I wasn’t a heavy smoker but 14 years of a 1/3 of a pack a day is a lot of smokes. I was hooked, I was a smoker…

I was an outdoor smoker too, so this will be a big help that you’re not thinking of cigs at the computer or watching TV.

I used to chew before I smoked so I chewed Copenhagen for about two weeks to help with the nicotine fix while I was breaking the psychological part of the addiction. Started stinging so bad it wasn’t hard to stop that. Not the most conventional way to quit but worked for me. I think it’s good to have something for your mouth to do, so like others suggested seeds, jerky, carrots sticks etc…

You can do it! It’s 2 years this month for me. It’s a tremendous feeling of freedom to have that monkey off my back.

When you’re ready just set a date and go for it!

Adam

[Intermezzo]

Originally posted by Patrick
I know I have to, I know its not healthy, I just cant seem to do it like you did....I tell myself everyday, "I have to quit, or its going to kill me." What more do I need to know...Its totally disgusting, Im almost embarrased to smoke, my kids hate it...I dont smoke in the house or cars, or around my kids...I have coworkers who smoke, and it makes me think its ok, if everyone else is doing it.....
Its a mental game.....But Im losing...

Patrick, I know the feeling. There were several times when I thought quitting was too tough and resigned myself to being a smoker for the rest of my life. But I look at attempting to quit and failing several times as PART OF THE QUITTING process. I don't know how many times I've tried to quit. It probably numbers in the 30-40 range (i.e. just about every month I was a smoker, I tried to quit).....and I've only been a smoker for 4 years! It was especially tough for me because my wife is a smoker and she refuses to even try quitting. She say's it's "too tough" and she's not ready to try again. Even yesterday night, she lit up right next to me even though she knew I had just quit... I was so upset at her! But I refused to light up. I'm NO LONGER a slave to those cancer/heart-attack sticks. You should try and adopt a similar "defiant" attitude when your co-workers smoke.

Actually, I may be talking too soon because I'm certainly not out of the woods myself.... I've been nicotine free for 3 days now.... This is the first time any of my attempts has gone over 1 day and I thnk I've got a pretty good handle on my situation now. My withdrawal symptoms are starting to die down and I'm feeling healthier than ever! That's the greatest joy so far!! Actually feeling your body getting healthier and having more energy during the day has been terrific. Exercise has been great as well....even every-day breathing in general has been much better too!

I'm really starting to get that feeling of freedom that Sharkie mentioned. Patrick, you can quit too, you just got to be committed... Make your reasons more personal and specific than "It'll kill me". For example:

1. Breathing is much more enjoyable now b/c there's no carbon monoxide in my blood.
2. I often run out of steam when detailing and need frequent smoking breaks. As a non-smoker, I'll have more energy to detail.
3. I feel like an IDIOT smoking all the time outside my office building in full view of the security guard and other tenants.
4. Sometimes I get heartburn b/c of smoking.
5. Maybe my wife will follow in my footsteps. I love her and I want her to be healthy as well.

and on and on. My list goes to 27 items.

Congrats Inetrrmezo, on 3 days ! I recall, being sick once, and not smoking for that long too. I really did feal a huge difference in my health, even though I was coming off a bad case of influenza.
Its amazing how quickly the body can repair and recover.....Sometimes I think if i have to fight it, Im not ready....Still finding "not being able to resist buying a pack", difficult...

I havent quit yet, but am looking forward to the day here, soon....Its inspirational testimonies, like the above that get me closer to that day....

[RegalGS]

Intermezzo,

Congrats on your quit! Don't be mad at your wife, the addiction does some funny things to folks. My husband still lights up in front of me, and doesn't even realize he's blowing his stink right in my face. Even worse, he has a habit of lighting up in the car with the windows closed... I just open them for him, and point his hand out the window. I try not to make an issue of it, because it's hard enough.

[Intermezzo]

RegalGS, thanks for the advice. You're absolutely right. No need to get mad at her......I'm sure I was guilty of similar things back when I was smoking. I guess we all have our little stories that harrass us and make life difficult in our attempts to remain smoke-free, but the bottom line is that temptations will always happen and triggers will always hit us from time to time...just got to find a way to ignore them.

Patrick, I'm still nicotine free (7th day now) and most of my physical withdrawal has completely abated. I still get hit from time to time with certain situations or routines that trigger urges (like my morning coffee or coming out of a movie theater).....but I believe I have them under control. I even went to Starbuck's Sunday afternoon with my wife and felt fine while drinking coffee in their outside patio and my wife smoked one cig after another right in front of me.

[RegalGS]

Triggers? Oooh, absolutely. I found out Friday that meetings were a trigger for me. Had some bigwigs in the office for an informal staff meeting. About 45 minutes into it, I was getting kinda bored and WHAM! Craving city. Couldn't really get up and go anywhere, and by then, my coffee cup was empty. Only thing to do was fight through it, get my mind back into the meeting, and get past it. Cravings can show up when you least expect it, and usually when we get cocky about the quit.

It's amazing what we can do when we put our minds to something, though. Wow. May 13 was my quit date... According to my calendar, tonight makes 6 weeks! At roughly a pack a day, $3 (roughly - taxes went up $0.30 a pack after I quit), that's... over $125 saved. I treated myself to some new supplies last week.

C'mon Patrick! Jump in!

[JasonC8301]

Imagine if you live in NY, around 6.25-7.00 a pack....thank goodness I don't get my triggers on buying cigarettes but I seem to keep on spending endless wads of credit on detailing supplies....

over $125 saved. I treated myself to some new supplies last week.

Thats another way to look at it, second to improved health.....
Inter....Way to go, a whole week without, good for you....!

Man oh man, this is getting worse, I just bought a new travel trailer, pick it up thursday...I cant seem to get smoking out of my head, sitting there on the beach, by the shore, in a chair....feet danglin in the surf....No Ciggy ??? ARGH !!!