Life Quitting Smoking

Frazod · 08-15-2005, 05:49 PM

Both the wife and I need to quit, and since we've tried to quit at the same time before, and THAT REALLY SUCKED, I took the plunge first.

Haven't had a cigarette since last night. I've quit several times in the past, sometimes for up to three months - quitting ain't the problem - it's staying quit that kicks my ass.

Any advice on non-smoking methods/products or encouragement would be appreciated.

siberian khatru · 08-15-2005, 05:49 PM

Scientology

**mlyonsd** · 08-15-2005, 05:51 PM

Good luck man, I've never had the addiction so I can't give advice. Just wish the best for you and your wife.

chagrin · 08-15-2005, 05:54 PM

OK, I will fix mt errors...

I smoked 2-3 packs of Marlboro "Reds" daily, for 11 years (from 14-25) woke up one morning coughing up blood and quit.
I started smoking again 7 years later for 2 years. I simply tired of it and quit.

Here's what my experience taught me:

You will quit when you are strong enough and ready to quit. You can't win a fight with your body, it's a fight you can't win.

Frazod, you seem like a pretty strong willed dude from what I read on here. It's all about your will - power. Do you believe your will is strong? It is the only thing that will keep you from starting again. Think about how you would like to wake up tomorrow morning coughing blood, or unable to walk 2 blocks. Consider the punishment and IF you are ready inside, you will be successful.

Good luck dude!

P.S. As I have mentioned plenty of times here, I am a cancer survivor. Be strong!

Hydrae · 08-15-2005, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ENDelt260

Boy, you really know how to stretch out a dollar. Didn't they get stale after awhile?

He's also pretty good at stretching time itself:

Quote:

Originally Posted by chagrin

14 years (from 14-25)

ChiefsFan1965 · 08-15-2005, 06:04 PM

It helped me to make small commitments to not smoke. Like in the morning I'd say I wouldn't smoke 'til lunch and then at lunch I'd decided again if I'd commit not to smoke to dinner and thru the evening. I couldn't promise never to smoke again but I could agree not to smoke for a 4 hour period. Then one by one my days added up and I didn't want to ruin my success of not smoking for however many days it was. Also I would add up the number of cigs I'd usually smoke in a day and multiply that number by the # of days. After a short while, that # really got large, like for me it was 25 cigs a day, so after 4 days you'd see I didn't smoke 100 cigs. That was another thing to be proud of and not want to mess up. Hope this helps.

Frazod · 08-15-2005, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chagrin

I smoked 2-3 packs of Marlboro "Reds" for 14 years (from 14-25) woke up one morning coughing up blood and quit.
I started smoking again 7 years later for 2 years. I simply tired of it and quit.

Here's what my experience taught me:

You will quit when you are strong enough and ready to quit. You can't win a fight with your body, it's a fight you can't win.

Frazod, you seem like a pretty strong willed dude from what I read on here. It's all about your will - power. Do you believe your will is strong? It is the only thing that will keep you from starting again. Think about how you would like to wake up tomorrow morning coughing blood, or unable to walk 2 blocks. Consider the punishment and IF you are ready inside, you will be successful.

Good luck dude!

P.S. As I have mentioned plenty of times here, I am a cancer survivor. Be strong!

Wow. That's a fucked up story. Glad you made it through and stayed quit.

I'm not coughing up blood yet, but that greenish-brownish-yellowish shit that greets me every morning is bad enough.

I was strong willed enough to quit coke cold turkey, which was tough. The advice you gave above is pretty much how I felt about that.

Of course, I won't have to walk past people snorting lines outside my office building tomorrow. The hardest part is getting away from smoking, and what's got me everytime I've quit in the past is being around a bunch of smokers at a time when I though I was over it. Unfortunately, several of my friends smoke. Guess I'll be steering clear of them for awhile.

DanT · 08-15-2005, 06:15 PM

Here's the National Library of Medicine's Smoking Cessation page, which is full of useful links:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/s...cessation.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seattle Bus Poetry

Homeless Guy Looking for Cigarettes at the Bus Stop

He picks up a crushed butt,
Doral, with lipstick stain.
“Low tar, less nicotine,” he frowns.
Old adage of beggars and choosers.
Inhaling, his mouth caresses the livid filter,
Color of a blood spoor,
As he dreams of kisses from the legal secretary he dated
All those many years ago.

David Fewster
Tacoma
Poetry on the Buses, 2004

http://transit.metrokc.gov/prog/poet...1_fewster.html

memyselfI · 08-16-2005, 06:37 AM

The gratification of knowing that you are doing society, your family and loved ones, and most importantly YOURSELF a huge service by quitting really should be motivation enough to help people quit. But it's not, and thus it's important to recognize that. This is a minute by minute battle in the beginning, then hour by hour, then day by day, month by month and before you know it it will be year by year until you are at the point of revulsion at the thought of a cigarette. It is then that you know you are home free...(hubby has been there for four years now)

So, in the early minute by minute stages just realize that every step you take away from cigarettes is a step closer to being free from them. You need to reward yourself for your successes (seemingly small as they might be in the beginning, they are HUGE) and feel free to indulge yourself in other guilty pleasures while you are quitting.

My husband put the money he'd spend on cigarettes into a jar. In the beginning he rewarded himself with ice cream (oral gratifcation) or a different kind of treat at the end of the day. Then after he could make it through a few days he'd save up the money and at the end of the week by a book or CD. After a couple of weeks a really nice dinner to celebrate, etc. Pretty soon he got to the point where he could just save the money as the reward. But until he got there he needed to indulge himself in other ways that not only rewarded his good choices but kept him tangibly focused on what he was trying to do long term.

In the end the material rewards meant little compared to those that he got from quitting to benefit society, his family and loved ones, and himself.

Calcountry · 08-16-2005, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chagrin

OK, I will fix mt errors...

I smoked 2-3 packs of Marlboro "Reds" daily, for 11 years (from 14-25) woke up one morning coughing up blood and quit.
I started smoking again 7 years later for 2 years. I simply tired of it and quit.

Here's what my experience taught me:

You will quit when you are strong enough and ready to quit. You can't win a fight with your body, it's a fight you can't win.

Frazod, you seem like a pretty strong willed dude from what I read on here. It's all about your will - power. Do you believe your will is strong? It is the only thing that will keep you from starting again. Think about how you would like to wake up tomorrow morning coughing blood, or unable to walk 2 blocks. Consider the punishment and IF you are ready inside, you will be successful.

Good luck dude!

P.S. As I have mentioned plenty of times here, I am a cancer survivor. Be strong!

I use to sell smokes out of my shop, and I have heard it all. IMO, you will quit when you have "willed" yourself into being a "nonsmoker". You cannot look at it like, "I haven't had a smoke for a month." That just means your dieing for a smoke and haven't had one for a while.

You have to get to the point of, "smoking, whats that anyways, those filthy rotten smokers, they should quit and clean up the worlds air and save a lot of money."

Hope I helped.

For your retirement fund, put the 3 bucks a day in your IRA for the rest of your working life and see how much money you retire with, AND have healthy lungs.

BE a non smoker now.

Good luck.

chagrin · 08-15-2005, 05:59 PM

HA, sorry, I will say it myself...Frankth and Beanth!!

I started when I was 14, quit when I was 25...11 years.
I apologize. thank you for correcting me

**Bowser** · 08-15-2005, 06:06 PM

Good luck, Tim.

After a month or so, you'll be able to breathe easier and actually smell things. So I'm told.

Frazod · 08-15-2005, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowser

Good luck, Tim.

After a month or so, you'll be able to breathe easier and actually smell things. So I'm told.

The sense of smell actually starts to improve almost immediately. The breathing will take quite a bit longer (I've been doing this for almost 21 years).

One immediate benefit is no more chronic heartburn (direct result of smoking inflation). I generally pop about 20 tums a day. Haven't need to take one yet today.

08-15-2005, 05:49 PM	Topic Starter
Frazod Did you hear what I said? Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $-636615	Quitting Smoking Both the wife and I need to quit, and since we've tried to quit at the same time before, and THAT REALLY SUCKED, I took the plunge first. Haven't had a cigarette since last night. I've quit several times in the past, sometimes for up to three months - quitting ain't the problem - it's staying quit that kicks my ass. Any advice on non-smoking methods/products or encouragement would be appreciated.
Posts: 121,722

08-15-2005, 05:49 PM	#2
siberian khatru 21st Century Schizoid Fan Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: The Gates of Delirium Casino cash: $-1215050	Scientology
Posts: 71,881

08-15-2005, 05:51 PM	#4
mlyonsd Supporter Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Spink, SD Casino cash: $-2076238	Good luck man, I've never had the addiction so I can't give advice. Just wish the best for you and your wife.
Posts: 39,471

08-15-2005, 05:54 PM	#5
chagrin Giggitty! Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Missoula, Mt Casino cash: $9804905	OK, I will fix mt errors... I smoked 2-3 packs of Marlboro "Reds" daily, for 11 years (from 14-25) woke up one morning coughing up blood and quit. I started smoking again 7 years later for 2 years. I simply tired of it and quit. Here's what my experience taught me: You will quit when you are strong enough and ready to quit. You can't win a fight with your body, it's a fight you can't win. Frazod, you seem like a pretty strong willed dude from what I read on here. It's all about your will - power. Do you believe your will is strong? It is the only thing that will keep you from starting again. Think about how you would like to wake up tomorrow morning coughing blood, or unable to walk 2 blocks. Consider the punishment and IF you are ready inside, you will be successful. Good luck dude! P.S. As I have mentioned plenty of times here, I am a cancer survivor. Be strong! __________________ Times have changed, so have I, things are better now. Last edited by chagrin; 08-15-2005 at 06:00 PM..
Posts: 13,414

08-15-2005, 06:04 PM	#8
ChiefsFan1965 Rookie Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Overland Park Casino cash: $10004900	It helped me to make small commitments to not smoke. Like in the morning I'd say I wouldn't smoke 'til lunch and then at lunch I'd decided again if I'd commit not to smoke to dinner and thru the evening. I couldn't promise never to smoke again but I could agree not to smoke for a 4 hour period. Then one by one my days added up and I didn't want to ruin my success of not smoking for however many days it was. Also I would add up the number of cigs I'd usually smoke in a day and multiply that number by the # of days. After a short while, that # really got large, like for me it was 25 cigs a day, so after 4 days you'd see I didn't smoke 100 cigs. That was another thing to be proud of and not want to mess up. Hope this helps.
Posts: 25

08-16-2005, 06:37 AM	#11
memyselfI CHANGEd your mind yet???? Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Lunatics Anonymous Casino cash: $10005234	The gratification of knowing that you are doing society, your family and loved ones, and most importantly YOURSELF a huge service by quitting really should be motivation enough to help people quit. But it's not, and thus it's important to recognize that. This is a minute by minute battle in the beginning, then hour by hour, then day by day, month by month and before you know it it will be year by year until you are at the point of revulsion at the thought of a cigarette. It is then that you know you are home free...(hubby has been there for four years now) So, in the early minute by minute stages just realize that every step you take away from cigarettes is a step closer to being free from them. You need to reward yourself for your successes (seemingly small as they might be in the beginning, they are HUGE) and feel free to indulge yourself in other guilty pleasures while you are quitting. My husband put the money he'd spend on cigarettes into a jar. In the beginning he rewarded himself with ice cream (oral gratifcation) or a different kind of treat at the end of the day. Then after he could make it through a few days he'd save up the money and at the end of the week by a book or CD. After a couple of weeks a really nice dinner to celebrate, etc. Pretty soon he got to the point where he could just save the money as the reward. But until he got there he needed to indulge himself in other ways that not only rewarded his good choices but kept him tangibly focused on what he was trying to do long term. In the end the material rewards meant little compared to those that he got from quitting to benefit society, his family and loved ones, and himself. __________________ Meet the new boss same as the old boss. BigChiefDave:"Anyone who thought we would only be in Iraq for a few years is either stoned or just stoopid." "It is unknowable how long that conflict will last. It could last 6 days, 6 wks. I doubt 6 mths." Rummy 2/7/03
Posts: 32,000

08-15-2005, 05:59 PM	#13
chagrin Giggitty! Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Missoula, Mt Casino cash: $9804905	HA, sorry, I will say it myself...Frankth and Beanth!! I started when I was 14, quit when I was 25...11 years. I apologize. thank you for correcting me __________________ Times have changed, so have I, things are better now.
Posts: 13,414

08-15-2005, 06:06 PM	#14
Bowser sorta mod-ish Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: KC North Casino cash: $-98384	Good luck, Tim. After a month or so, you'll be able to breathe easier and actually smell things. So I'm told.
Posts: 106,692