I Quit Smoking

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Saw an anti-smoking commercial last night that really got to me. The first one I've seen that hit home.

I'm down to one a day, just can't seem to make the final jump no matter how much I want to.
 
It will be 3 years for me in July. With the aid of the vaporizer (they used to call them e-cigarettes) It made my quitting a lot easier. I suggest anyone quitting to turn to the vaporizer first, then get the non-nicotine juice after a bit. You will feel a lot better, but in the 3 years that I have quit, I have put on 30 pounds so you need to watch your snacking
 
Rockn_M said:
Good luck. After the first 3 days it gets easier. I quit about 10 years ago and haven't looked back. I remember taking a shower around day 4 and was like what is that smell, it smells really nice. Then I realized it was my shampoo.
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Mikethepoolguy said:
Hang in there. The rewards are great. Remember Yoda: "Try? Do, or fail. There is no try."
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Thank you both for the well wishes. The eternal wisdom of Master Yoda never ceases to be applicable, even in this galaxy. Today was indeed much better than yesterday. It helped that I was out of town for a project site visit and not sitting in front of a computer for 10 hours straight. I actually enjoyed the smoke free car trip to and from. Every gas station I passed was a serious temptation. I did successfully fill up without going inside to buy a pack. It's the little victories I suppose. Almost done with day 4....
 
I still relapse every now and then. I had a few cigarettes last weekend. First time since last November. I've felt pretty good since, with zero cravings since I threw away the rest of the pack. I usually only get the urge if I'm drinking heavily, or worse, drinking heavily around a bunch of smokers (what got me this time).
 
Cig cravings are weird... haven't smoked for ~4 years, jumped on the interstate the other day to head out of town and reached for my smokes.

I've made that drive a hundred times, and actually thought they'd be there when I grabbed for them.
 
Surprisingly, I've done okay when drinking or around other smokers. Every time I've relapsed, it's been because of stress. Some s**t hit the fan at work or home and I didn't have any healthy coping mechanisms in my playbook, so I made a beeline to the nearest drug store or gas station. I want to really work on that part of it this time.
 
marvinsjunk said:
Surprisingly, I've done okay when drinking or around other smokers. Every time I've relapsed, it's been because of stress. Some s**t hit the fan at work or home and I didn't have any healthy coping mechanisms in my playbook, so I made a beeline to the nearest drug store or gas station. I want to really work on that part of it this time.
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Like I've said in other places in this thread, lace up the running shoes and hit the road. Worked for me. I got so thin after I quit smoking my wife asked me to stop running (!).

If you're not a runner, lace up anyway and walk hard; work in some short intervals of jogging. If you get the pulse rate up, you'll forget about your problems, clear your head, and you won't be smoking.
 
Rockn_M said:
Good luck. After the first 3 days it gets easier. I quit about 10 years ago and haven't looked back. I remember taking a shower around day 4 and was like what is that smell, it smells really nice. Then I realized it was my shampoo.
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Wow! Young folks ought to hear that.
 
I have one cigarette left, I'll have it on the way home after work.
That will mark the start of my attempt to quit. I've tried before, but never made it longer than a week. Its just become such a habit when drinking. Idle hands.
This is going to be hard.

- any advice, tips, motivation, greatly appreciated
 
TheCADJockey said:
I have one cigarette left, I'll have it on the way home after work.
That will mark the start of my attempt to quit. I've tried before, but never made it longer than a week. Its just become such a habit when drinking. Idle hands.
This is going to be hard.

- any advice, tips, motivation, greatly appreciated
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Think I waited 3 or 4 weeks before I had my first drink after quitting smoking.

Turned out drinking without smoking was less difficult than it was just plain weird
 
GrogNerd said:
Turned out drinking without smoking was less difficult than it was just plain weird
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I can't imagine making it through a night of drinking, without it. I was considering getting an e-cig, but I feel like that would just be a catalyst to make me want to eventually just buy another pack.

Bought a jump rope. Going to ramp up the cardio. Its the only idea I've got.
 
I still get an immense urge to smoke while drinking... but as long as I never buy them, I can stay off them.

If I were to find a pack today, I'd probably start smoking them like I never quit until they were gone.

I'll still bum one from a buddy if we're out drinking together though.
 
TheCADJockey said:
I have one cigarette left, I'll have it on the way home after work.
That will mark the start of my attempt to quit. I've tried before, but never made it longer than a week. Its just become such a habit when drinking. Idle hands.
This is going to be hard.

- any advice, tips, motivation, greatly appreciated
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This is coming from someone who smoked when he was a teen, a few times, and never got hooked.

My advice is when you feel the urge, ask someone to slap you in the face. In the very least, talk to someone. Do something physical. Get your mind off of it. Get some interaction.

Jump roping may not be a great plan, I don't know. You're probably still able to think about how much you want a smoke.
 
When drinking is the only time I really miss smoking, especially when around others who are. Had a minor relapse about a month ago, but convinced myself to throw away most of the pack. Been fine since.

I can convince myself not to buy a pack pretty easily when sober, but if I have the druck in an establishment that sells cigarettes, it becomes much more difficult.
 
TheCADJockey said:
I have one cigarette left, I'll have it on the way home after work.
That will mark the start of my attempt to quit. I've tried before, but never made it longer than a week. Its just become such a habit when drinking. Idle hands.
This is going to be hard.

- any advice, tips, motivation, greatly appreciated
Click to expand...

Congratulations on quitting.

The first couple weeks were the worst for me. I was a bit cranky, but people around me knew why and were supportive. Tell everybody in your life--family, friends, coworkers, etc. They will encourage you, and you also have to face up to them if you fall off the wagon. :) My coworkers told me they would give me endless shiat if they ever heard of me firing one up. I've been tobacco-free since 1981.

Good luck!
 
Homercidal said:
My advice is when you feel the urge, ask someone to slap you in the face. In the very least, talk to someone. Do something physical. Get your mind off of it. Get some interaction.
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My friends all smoke like chimneys. Though they would gladly slap the hell out of me if I asked nicely. I'll be avoiding their apartment for a while, or only stopping in for a short visit if I go. There is too much temptation there.
 
TheCADJockey said:
My friends all smoke like chimneys. Though they would gladly slap the hell out of me if I asked nicely. I'll be avoiding their apartment for a while, or only stopping in for a short visit if I go. There is too much temptation there.
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The nicotine gum worked great for me. I followed the instructions to the T, ie chew one every couple of hours for the first couple of weeks then one every four hours, etc. Only had a couple of cravings that were bad I think. I used to be a solid pack a day smoker. More on the weekends.

I think having my wife fully support me was key. I agree with the plan to avoid friends who smoke for a month or so.
 
That's the dilemma about your friends who smoke. They're your friends, so it's hard to blow them off just because they smoke. Yet, it's so easy to be tempted if they are around. Don't abandon your friends. Good friends can help you out in these times.

If they are true friends, ask them this: if you ever try to bum a smoke from them, that they flatly refuse. And they give you a hard time about it.

It'll get better after a while. You might still have cravings from time to time. Eventually, you may even start hating the smell of them. I can't even be around tobacco smoke. I get migraines from it. Funny how one can go a full 180 on something.
 
MaxStout said:
That's the dilemma about your friends who smoke. They're your friends, so it's hard to blow them off just because they smoke. Yet, it's so easy to be tempted if they are around. Don't abandon your friends. Good friends can help you out in these times.

If they are true friends, ask them this: if you ever try to bum a smoke from them, that they flatly refuse. And they give you a hard time about it.

It'll get better after a while. You might still have cravings from time to time. Eventually, you may even start hating the smell of them. I can't even be around tobacco smoke. I get migraines from it. Funny how one can go a full 180 on something.
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IMO if they were friends they would want you to be healthy and do what they can to help, even if that means giving you a hard time (but they probably already do that, so...) refusing to give you a smoke if you ask, and hardest of all, not smoking around you.

Then what you end up with is a group of cranky guys who can't stand being around each other because all they can think of is who they could get a smoke if only they weren't hanging out together! :D
 
See if any of them are willing to quit alongside you. The support system/person can be very helpful and you reduce the temptation sources by at least one. Quitting when your buddies still smoke is hard. There is something about the smell of a freshly lit cigarette.. And I quit 15 years ago.
 
TheCADJockey said:
I have one cigarette left, I'll have it on the way home after work.
That will mark the start of my attempt to quit. I've tried before, but never made it longer than a week. Its just become such a habit when drinking. Idle hands.
This is going to be hard.

- any advice, tips, motivation, greatly appreciated
Click to expand...

Good luck! I'm lucky as I don't have an additive personality, Thank God or I'd be a real mess.
It was will power and wanting to quite, I was smoking up to two packs a day and I thought what else I could do with the money,quit cold turkey, bought a brand new truck, you need a new truck, you wouldn't want your new truck to smell nasty would you;)
Been ten years give or take a few days, made it stick this time, do it!:mug:
 
ChefRex said:
Been ten years give or take a few days, made it stick this time, do it!:mug:
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I have a brutally addictive personality. Was never close to two packs a day. Every now and then if I go on a real bender I'd hit a pack. Just tired of feeling like crap from it.
 
E cigs helped me eventually quit. Not the new ones they have out, but the old crappy kind. Granted I've always been in the gym, I started smoking when I was young. So I was still able to quit after smoking for 15 yrs. Now I won't lied I still crave a cig when I drink, but the smell is what repels me. After going so long without it (4 yrs) I recall the feeling and smell of going through a pack or two in a night.

I still puff on an e cig here and there when I drink, but I feel it's better than some heaters... We went out for a buddy's birthday this past weekend and the last bar (which we spent the most time at) still allowed smoking. Reminded me how much I didn't like smelling like an ash tray the next day...
 
My wife and I smoked for 35 years. Two years ago one of her doctors told her she needed to quit. He suggested getting an ecig with the highest amount of nicotine she could stand and to use it as much as she wanted. We bought one for each of us, and two days later when we smoked the last of the cigarettes we had left, we started our ecigs. 4 months later we were down to juice with no nicotine. Three months after that, she wasn't using her ecig anymore. Two months after she put hers down, I did the same. Haven't had a problem or craving, even going out to a bar. My wife gets out her ecig when her best friend comes to visit, because she smokes. But that's just in case she gets tempted. My advice for an ecig is, don't cut back on your cigarettes while you are using your ecig, IT DOES NOT WORK. Have your last cigarette, then use your ecig as often and as much as you like. I have known MANY people who have tried to do both, and not one of them has quit. They say it has helped them cut back and they are almost there, and a week later, they are back to a pack a day and the ecig is in a drawer.
 
GaBrewZoo said:
My wife and I smoked for 35 years. Two years ago one of her doctors told her she needed to quit. He suggested getting an ecig with the highest amount of nicotine she could stand and to use it as much as she wanted. We bought one for each of us, and two days later when we smoked the last of the cigarettes we had left, we started our ecigs. 4 months later we were down to juice with no nicotine. Three months after that, she wasn't using her ecig anymore. Two months after she put hers down, I did the same. Haven't had a problem or craving, even going out to a bar. My wife gets out her ecig when her best friend comes to visit, because she smokes. But that's just in case she gets tempted. My advice for an ecig is, don't cut back on your cigarettes while you are using your ecig, IT DOES NOT WORK. Have your last cigarette, then use your ecig as often and as much as you like. I have known MANY people who have tried to do both, and not one of them has quit. They say it has helped them cut back and they are almost there, and a week later, they are back to a pack a day and the ecig is in a drawer.
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I dunno. I had a roommate who used one of the ecigs. One of the fancy light saber looking ones. He actually complained that he smoked it so much that his throat started hurting and as a result mixed regular cigarettes in as well.
 
TheCADJockey said:
Ready to cut people after 12 hrs. Not looking good.
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I want to do that on a regular basis even 10 years post-quitting. Think it's just my low tolerance for humans. ;)

I ended up replacing one habit with several others.

MOAR Chocolate, MOAR beer, MOAR video games (when the So permits :p)

Few friends are cutting down by vaping instead. Though that still keeps the hand to mouth habit going.
 
Opiate42 said:
Few friends are cutting down by vaping instead. Though that still keeps the hand to mouth habit going.
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I didn't want to use vaping to help quit, but if I feel the need to buy a pack... I'll buy one of those with really high nic content so I won't have to rely on it. I just need to keep busy.
 
I just found an unopened case of Tea Tree Chewing Sticks in my desk that someone had given me a long time ago that is supposed to help with quitting... unbelievable.

edit: I don't even know how or why they are in my desk, I would've never had a reason to bring them here. Especially since I never have had one.
 
As a former smoker and current Vapor user, I highly recommend going that route if you can't do cold turkey. I started with a pen mod in February '14, moved to a mechanical mod in july of that same year. Smoked my last cigarette last September. Actually let me change that and say that I lit a cigarette, that I bummed from a buddy, took a drag off it and handed it back to him. I honestly just couldn't stand the taste of them anymore.

I tried quitting several times over the course of 15-20 years of smoking, but once I started vaping it was super easy. I can still hang out with my friends that smoke and it doesn't bother me in the least, other than the fact that I can't stand the smell of cigarettes anymore. No cravings for cigarettes because I hate the way they taste/smell now. Also took up jogging last year and can now jog 2-3 miles without coughing my lungs up.
 

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