So, you want to Quit Smoking...!

Quit Smoking everyone! Misery loves company ... and my name is misery these days! :cool:

Here's the story ... my beautiful wife and I have quite smoking ... two long time smokers. Over 30 years for me and about the same for the wife, all told about a 5+ pack a day household! We smoke ... but not anymore! aahaahhaahhhhhhhhhhhhh :eek:

Today was day 18 ... DAY 18!!! And you know what? We're o.k., it is really strange and odd. Must figure out what I used to do with all my time! :o

Here's what I've gleaned thus far from the experience...

1) Hate it but not that horrible if you're ready...
2) Still want a smoke! Of course... but you must understand. It's pretty much that you're an alcoholic, only you're jonesin' for a smoke not a drink. Maybe it'll be less so in time ... but there will always be moments when I'll begin to reach for a smoke. It'll always be there ... but I am the master now.
3) I'm the cold turkey type ... for the wife's sake we snagged some nicotene gum and the patches too. I don't like the gum at all ... patch is o.k.. (more on that follows)
4) The gum, you can't just chew on it continuously... you chew it for a short time, very short... to get a fix. I'd chew less than a minute and I'd get the hiccups and it would feel like my throat is closing up. Yeah, gimme more! NOT.
5) The patches are o.k., seem to ease the "wanting" but have found that it's best to pull them before going to bed. Bothers my sleep ... and sleep is good!

And I'll add more later ... but for now, it's just flat out late! Quitting smoking is good ... who do you think I'm trying to convince there? :D

I might join ya someday. I’m getting tired of being a second class citizen and watching all the money go up in smoke…Then there’s the fact that it’ll be 30 degrees here today. Was 57 degrees yesterday and smoking outside at work is cold….

GOOD LUCK!

wean off the patches slow, I was a 35 year smoker, off them for 18 months now but thought I didn't need the patches and got crook from the sudden nicotine loss

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Originally Posted by Steve R Jones

30 degrees here today

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It was 37 degrees here in Sydney today.

Celcius !!

26F here when I awoke. Up to 29 now.

I gave up smoking a good few years ago (I don't remember exacly how long). The first 3 days were hell, then after that I was completely cured of my addiction. I couldn't believe how easy giving up was (for me anyway, I realise that many people have a really hard time of it). I've since heard a lot of people say that if you can just get past that 3-day hump then most of the battle is won.

6C (42.8F) here in London :(

I've stopped for a couple months, twice. I think the fulcrum of it is, I didn't really want to stop. I was doing it on a dare.

It's extremely easy to quit smoking. :eek: Staying quit is another thing.
I quit 20 years ago and was a 3/pk/day smoker. More is playing poker all night.
One day while watching Hill Street Blues I saw my cig pack with two cigs still in it. I picked them up and crumbled them and said, "I quit!!!!"
I have my own theory and do not preach to anyone about smoking or drinking but if one asks me (they do all the time) I give my little input.
I believe that if a person wants to quit something as these, there can not be no iffy, shouda, coulda, woulda of, or small steps down to quit. It has to be in you conscience mind, you sub-conscience minds, and un-conscience mind that you will do this with and's, if's or butt's. This worked for me and have never had the urge to go back. The same went for drinking about 8 years ago. I had a little incentive on the drinking stop since my Mom died from drinking and killed her liver. I swore I would quit on her birthday, I did and have not regrets or wanting.

Naturally this is for me only and everyone has different ways to deal with it but if this may help someone, good.
I wish you all the luck. :cool:

Smoked since I was 16(1954). Quit a couple of times for a few months over the years. Went back to it for no 'good' reason each time.

Then came Jan. 2005. Discovered blood in urine. Feb. began a month long series of tests. Finally sent to a Urologist at end of month. Found tumor in bladder. He told me that more than half the cases of bladder cancer are related to tar and nicotine in the blood stream. Then I came across this web site: http://blcwebcafe.org/

March 2005, threw away all tobacco related items including ashtrays. Mine wasn't so much of an addiction, as it was a habit. As others say,about 3 or 4 days and the addiction was gone. Not so the 'habit'! Everything you do makes you reach for a butt. Get in the car,pour a cup-o-joe,finish dinner,etc-etc. . Began looking for a substitute. Found mine. Spangler candy co's lil' lollipops called 'dum-dum's'. It worked! You'll find them in my shirt pocket,on several tables around the house and on the dashboard in the truck. Call me Kojak if you like,but it took the place of a habit that was obviously going to kill me. (and the aftertaste is MUCH better :D )

Spent the rest of the year with the Urologist who did biopsy's,chopped out a tumor,then treatments on a weekly basis. One more biopsy on the 15th of this month. If everything looks ok, then i'm good to go. Except for having to go in for followups every 6 months for the rest of my life,'cause this particular type of cancer has a habit of coming back if not checked for regularly. But(and this is a big one),at least now I may have a longer "rest of a life" to look forward to.

I'm hoping this post will get some of you smokers into a mind set that will help you take charge and do what's needed to get you off the "weed"...

Thanks for reading :)
Kell~~~~

Quit in my fifties - never looked back. Started running and got to ten miles this year. Pulse in the low fifties. BP excellent. Feel good.

Here's what you do - keep the mind and body exercised and you will live well for the time you have. (No big medical bills either).

And anyone can do it. Just start real easy. If in doubt check with your doctor.

68yrs now and others older in their 70s are running marathons in the Dallas Ft. Worth Metroplex. Next year I want to run in a couple God willin' and the creek don't rise. :) :)

Good points by all ... although I'm not going to get into the running thing greengoose! ;-) Never been one much for that ... but have a Bowflex that's getting more use! And the 6 to 10 inches of snow and freezing temps (14F now with a low of 0F tonight) don't help.

I have found the quitting to be a bit easier than I initially thought ... even then it's still a difficult thing. Yet I have noticed a number of benefits ... can smell and taste better now, although the increased blood flow has caused a few minor nose bleeds. That's the only negative I've seen though regarding blood flow, as it usually does a body good!

Found this list on the 'net shortly before we quite ... quite interesting regarding what happens to you when you quit!

Within ...

20 minutes - Your blood pressure, pulse rate, and the temperature of your hands and feet will all return to normal.

8 hours - Your blood oxygen level will have increased to normal and carbon monoxide levels will have dropped to normal.

24 hours - Your risk of a heart attack will have decreased by 50%.

48 hours - Damaged nerve endings have started to regrow and your sense of smell and taste are beginning to return to normal.

72 hours - Your entire body will test 100% nicotine-free and over 90% of all nicotine metabolites will now have passed from your body via your urine. You can also expect the symptoms of chemical withdrawal to have peaked in intensity. Your bronchial tubes are beginning to relax thus making it easier to breathe. Your lung capacity has also started to increase.

10 days to 2 weeks - Your brain and body have now physically adjusted to again functioning without nicotine and the more than 3,500 chemical particles and 500 gases present in each and every puff.

3 weeks to 3 months - Your circulation has substantially improved. Walking has become easier. Your chronic cough, if any, has likely disappeared. Your overall lung function has improved up to thirty percent.

1 to 9 months - Any sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath have decreased. Cilia have regrown in your lungs thereby increasing their ability to handle mucus, keep your lungs clean, and reduce infections. Your body's overall energy has increased.

1 year - Your excess risk of coronary heart disease has dropped to less than half that of a smoker.

5 to 15 years - Your risk of stroke has declined to that of a non-smoker.

10 years - Your risk of death from lung cancer has declined by almost half if you were an average smoker (one pack per day). Your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat and esophagus is now half that of a smoker's.

15 years - Your risk of coronary heart disease is now that of a person who has never smoked. Your risk of lung cancer has decreased by 80 to 90%. Your overall risk of death has returned to near that of a person who has never smoked.

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It has to be in you conscience mind, you sub-conscience minds, and un-conscience mind that you will do this with and's, if's or butt's.

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Should read:
It has to be in your conscience mind, your sub-conscience mind, and un-conscience mind that you will do this with no and's, if's or butt's.

Good luck, Abhoth. You can do it!!!! ;)

Know what you mean Nick ... you really need to be "ready" and give yourself over to it. No pussy-footing around when it comes to quitting!

Day 21 today and still good to go ... so over the worst of it in theory, now just dealing with the "habit" and the fact that we humans don't really like to deny ourselves of things!!!

Four days from now and I will have been quit smoking cigs for 4 years!!
I have to say though that I loved them so much that I could be just 1 cig away from becoming what I now detest being until 4 years ago. I quit BEFORE being diagnosed as "COPD". Believe me, if you can't breathe, you can't live. For the first 70 years of my life, I was one active dude. Now, very sedentary but, hey I am breathing. At times it is very difficult but I ain't complaining cause my wife and family are "helpers". I am not an invalid by any means--I continue doing what I want to do, I just don't do a great many of the things I formerly did--no golfing among many of my former indulgences and living on a great golf course(1 of 8 championship courses in our city) does not make that any easier!!!!
If anyone reading this is still smoking, let me deeply encourage you to QUIT NOW. Good luck to you.
BTW, cold turkey is hard but I reccomend it. It ain't an easy thing to do.

If you really want to, you will. If you really don't want to, you won't.
I see that in people smoking through the hole in their throat from cancer.
"A hole in my throat ain't gonna stop me. I'll (choke, choke, wheeze, wheeze) show them." :o
From the sad but true real life. :cool:
Good luck to all that accomplish what they feel is necessary.
(+ or -) :rolleyes:

Maybe this will be an incentive to quit :rolleyes:

Smokers are out in the cold and now out of work

Unfortunately everyone seems to have a spy camera shoved up their a$$ or down their throats nowadays. What's next? Eating habits? Sleeping habits?
Thinking habits?
I live close to military bases and our government offices are usually driven by pretty often. The amount of people standing outside the gates or buildings to grab a smoke gets more and more astounding. I think they take the postman's credo, “Neither rain, nor hail, nor sleet nor snow can stop me from drag'n on my cig."

You don't exercise enough. You're fired.
You don't smell or look right. You're fired.

It can only get worse.
Thanks, S/S. :cool:

Yeah, first off ... still hanging in there and doing well regarding the quit smoking thing.

Second, don't even get me started on our politically correct world... what's the next thing I will be outlawed from doing? People do not understand the precedent that they set by voting to ban smoking everywhere and firing people for what they do in private.

If I had an opportunity to be employed by such an employer I'd have to take a pass on it....... the county I live in does not hire smokers, thus I will never work for the county I live in.

People need to just stop or not stop. Decide and make a choice. ;)

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Originally Posted by Abhoth

People do not understand the precedent that they set by voting to ban smoking everywhere

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Presumably this was a democratic vote and thus the majority voted for banning it ?

I was amazed recently when they changed the rules for smoking in pubs here in Australia so that there is only allowed to be one smoking room.

Some guy on the TV was spouting about how unfair it was and "why should those who choose not to smoke, just because they are a majority, make the rules".

WTF ?

"Choose not to smoke" - it's not like it's something you do from birth and then decide not to, I choose not to breath or I choose not to eat, "choosing not to smoke" - what a fu^*&$* idiot.

As for his his comment about the majority...............

Anyway I'm not about to get into a slanging match about smoking or non smoking.

I don't smoke and have only tried two puffs in my life at which point I almost coughed my guts up, my wife smokes about 1/2 - 1 pack a day (actually I don't have a clue how much) and that's her choice. She knows I don't like it, but I don't get on her case about it. Because I don't smoke and because of our boys she only smokes outside and that's even in the middle of winter.

Btw Abhoth, well done on giving up.

That's all.

The thing that rubs is that they banned it in pubs/bars, and most of the people who are IN pubs and bars aren't particularly concerned about their health to begin with. In other public places, I can easily understand, but a bar? Sure, you're lungs are squeaky clean, and your liver looks like new jersey.

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Originally Posted by YellowDucky1981

People need to just stop or not stop. Decide and make a choice. ;)

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Spoken like a true non-smoker there! :D Could be wrong but sure sounds that way...

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Originally Posted by Nix

Btw Abhoth, well done on giving up.

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Thanks Nix ... still not smoking so that's cool! :cool:

On the side of the politics involved ... yes, a very democratic vote by quite a number of ignorant folk. I may have to find another country... at least we can't vote Bush in again! :o

The law that was voted on was the toughest in any state of the USA... and now you can't smoke pretty much anywhere. If I were a smoker still and I was walking around in the downtown area I would have to give all public doorways a 25 foot berth. Or risk arrest.... so I'd be walking down the middle of the street me thinks! :rolleyes:

The funny thing is, there's a very large charity here in town and the vast majority of their funding comes from a huge Bingo hall they run. 99% of the players are smokers ... they don't get to smoke inside any longer, or within 25 feet of any doorway don't forget! They're going down now ...

I am all for not smoking if that's your choice ... I am NOT for attempting to legislate morality or health.

...nuff said...

So why shouldn't smoking be curbed as hard as it is becoming? With more and more evidence about the hazards of second hand smoke, some protection has to be held for the majority.
Yeah, as I think I stated, 25 year smoker with 20 years not smoking. I didn't think anything of it for the first number of years. Smoke 'em if you've got 'em.
(old Army term) But I and many others cleaned up their act only to be invaded by people who really don't give a $hiite about us as long as their joint is smoking.

I don't know who started the non-smoking areas here, but I do remember flying into Minneapolis once and walked down the corridor with a butt and was stopped by officials who guided me to a smoking section. This was in about 1975-1977 time period. I was definitely PO'd.

I remember taking my kids to a skating rink here in Pensacola, mid '80s, and after being told I couldn't smoke in there at all, I grabbed my kids and left. That'll show them. That should have showed me. I was selfish. I wanted to do what I wanted to do regardless of anyone else's health, including my kids.

You see old movies all the time where smoking looked cool or glamorous.
Time changes with new knowledge. I still go into to bars and pool rooms where smoking is ok but that's my choice. Some, where smoking is not curbed, have no choice. (I do make quite a bit more money shooting pool now that I've been on the wagon for almost 8 years. (and not smoking can't do any harm either :D)

I give people rides in my car as in "designated driver" at times. Then my car smells like an ashtray for a couple of days even though I don't allow drinking or smoking in my car at all. Just the stench should be enough to make one quit. My leather jacket has to be hung in the garage for a couple of days after going to a bar for 4-6 hours doing my pool thing just to get the smell out. I spray it with air freshener.

One more and I'll quit...Nothing turns me on more than dancing with a pretty lady and having her smoke filled hair in my nose. Kissing is out. Like licking an ashtray.
I still say if you want to smoke your lungs and throat out, fine. That's your choice. But let me have my choice of inhaling your smoke or not. :rolleyes:
Rant over. Flame on. :D

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Originally Posted by Nick Grana

So why shouldn't smoking be curbed as hard as it is becoming?

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Because we have a certain document here called The Constitution ... simple as that.

I was always a polite smoker ... would never even think of bothering a non-smoker with my habit! Sure, there are jerks ... I do not suffer them well and an impolite smoker around me would know it very quickly.

But in reality it's not just about smokers rights ... it's about rights in general. If I want to open a cigar bar I'd have to go across the border into another state. I'm all for protecting the safety of others but things are getting a bit out of hand...

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I was always a polite smoker ... would never even think of bothering a non-smoker with my habit!

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But that's the thing. You can't help but bother others with smoking. Smoke does not confine itself to a certain area. It's so pitiful, it's funny, as some restaurants have no smoking sections and smoking sections sitting right next to each other.
Some just don't give a crap except to please themselves.
Real nice people ask, "Mind if I smoke?"
I simply answer, "Why no. Mind if I fart?"

I hate change but it comes whether I hate it or not.
I refused to wear seat belts.
I feel uncomfortable without one on now.
I refused to wear safety glasses.
Saw a piece of slag go through a guys eye. I wear safety glasses now.
I hated motorcycle helmet laws,
Florida repealed the helmet law.
I ride with a helmet even though the law says I don't have to.

I am, always was, for smokers rights. But now I am for my children's rights and my grand children's rights, as well as my own rights.

There is an abundance of laws in this country that need to BE re-evaluated.
We have too many laws. And the many we have are not enforced. Take 7-8 thousand of them off the books. May be more. Our laws are like some psychotic people that can't seem to throw anything away way past it's usefulness. "Wait, we might need this stupid one again." :eek:

I am not on the bandwagon. But after years of non-smoking, I can't help but see things in a different smoky colored light now.

Don't read this because it will not change any minds. It just an article that I found interesting in some of the statistics:
SMOKING 101

Happy New Year Everyone. It's right around the corner. At least it's cheap. :D

Obviously you do not "get it" ... regarding what I'm talking about Nick. Thus I'll let sleeping dogs lay...

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Obviously you do not "get it" ... regarding what I'm talking about Nick.

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I think I speak English well enough and am intellectual enough to know exactly what you mean. :)
I'm lying beside my dog right now. :cool: It's a good feeling. :cool:

Wow ... self ingratiation and an attempt at satire all in one post, you are smart! Or is there some sort of perversion going on in that last part ... no, nevermind, sorry I asked.

Guys, can we please keep the antagonistic remarks out of the thread?

Thanks.

TOUCHÉ fink. Good words of wisdom before 'things' start happening.

I was glad when I got my computer to stop smoking!


http://img1.travelblog.org/Photos/31...Computer-0.jpg

Just kidding, it's not mine. Good luck to all!

Mine always goes off with the people who want to smoke and talk on the phone http://www.soundbyte.uk.com/images/smoking_computer.jpg
This one smoked a bit to much https://discussions.virtualdr.com/im.../2005/12/6.jpg

And here's what happens to many computers etc that die.

Those are some problem smokers for certain!

Nix, interesting read on "computers that die". I never thought about it :eek:

NOW, about the second picture above; it appears to me that you over modded , especially the keyboard. How do you use that "thing"? :p

Who's antagonistic? Surely not I or Abhoth. He made a statement and I made a statement. I did tell a little white lie about lying by my dog. I had to quit typing first and then lie and cuddle with my dog. And it does give me a good feeling. ;)

Love the smoking computers guys. Great and funny pics. :D
Computers smoking is much more hazardous to one's health than cigs. :rolleyes: I love the smell of burning wires in the morning. :eek:

Old tech support event:
My computer is on the blink.
What's wrong?
Everything.
Do you have lights or noise.
No, nothing.
When did this start?
Right after the fire.
What fire?
The computer was on fire and I hosed it out and now I have problems.
You have problems all right, but none that I could possible help with....Click. :D