Quitting smoking

congrats dude! #stickwithit

http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/regulation/2010-11-10-tobacco-labels_N.htm

US cigarette packs may soon get the warning labels w/ imagery that is used in other countries.

I quit earlier this year, but then started again after about a month. Hoping I can knock it off for good before I have to start looking at cancerous lung photos on my pack.

like violence in film, you get desensitised very fast.

It is your archetypical crisp, clear autumn day here in the nation's capital and the cigarettes that people are smoking smell just perfect.

it's like that here in san francisco, too. i walked by like four groups of smokers on the way to pick up lunch and the smell was divine.

here in berlin it's getting cold now and i pity the people smoking in the streets a little bit. it's so obvious that they are unhappy, that they are only outside because of their addiction. maybe i am over-interpreting. but i know that nice smell too. and i smell it more these days than when i used to smoke 20 roll-ups per day.

over-interpreting. sometimes the cold is a bother but i always loved being outside in the crisp, cold air having a cigarette.

i'm guessing. i always liked it, anyway.

I had about ten hours without a cigarette. I started at 8 PM and made it clear to six thirty without one. Thanks to my relapse I have a massive stash of gum. I just shoved lots of gum in my mouth until it was time for bed. It worked however I had a minor relapse this morning. But this is progress, the gum is working!! I hope the two packs I bought this morning are the last!!

I still have my last pack from 2007. For me, "stopping" smoking was easier than "quitting" smoking.

Whenever I get an urge, I just tell myself, "Oh, I'm just not going to smoke right now."

exactly, that's how it works for me too. i tell myself that one day i will smoke again, but not today. my love story with the fags isn'tb finished, it is just postponed...

for me, 'stopping' smoking resulted in my starting again, after finding an old backup pack and thinking 'fuck it, i'm stressed'. and then a few months before i could stop again. Still, a couple of weeks back I went out on the red wine with a friend who I always end up smoking with, and we both managed to avoid buying a pack, so... maybe this time i'll be stopped for a while.

is it weird that i don't remember when it was i stopped (the most recent time)?

gah giving this another try then. day 3 kill me

me too tpp, only second day. all the best.

not had one since nye

still going, feeling ok on it. Had drunken nights, & still resisted. Want one now and then, but just tell myself that that craving will pass. It always does.

Disgusted when walking behind smokers now.

2 months now. not a drag

never quitting

how many packs a day are u

I really need to quit. I was doing so well but then I got stressed and was more than happy to use that as an excuse to slip up. Bah.

of course im on the patch, chewing the gum and using an electronic cig. Charlie Nicotine

Sweet jesus! Are you allowed to use the patch and gum at the same time? I didn't think you were for some reason. For me the nicotine isn't even so much of an issue. I swear at least 1/2 the cigarettes I smoke are done out of either nervousness or boredom.

yes, i asked my doctor if it was ok to use both. He said its fine, but if your heart starts feeling like its going to explode or you feel like your going to throw up, get rid of one.

I associated my smoking with video games, drinking and boredom. I also decided to quit once my son picked up a crayon and put it in his mouth and said "like daddy". I was done the next day.

I know a woman that quit 12 years ago using the gum, she's been using the gum for 12 years...addicted to that now.

the only way

http://www.moxxienetwork.com/Portals/0/turkey.jpg

valentine's day resolution = quit smoking, as a show of love towards my body

I have been smoking a lot less lately (spending time around grandparents will do that, heh), and noticed today that my singing voice is stronger already, which makes me feel like I've made the right call. we'll see how I feel after I actually go a couple of days without a cig, though.

the most stupid thing for me is that last time i quit (last december, for about 6 months) i told everyone at work and they were so happy for me and continue to congratulate me to this day (they are all super healthy non drinking non smoking lovely-if-boring ppl). then i started again and didn't have the heart to tell them i was a dirty smoker again so i've just been putting myself through cycles of smoking furiously when i'm at home and then nothing at work. kind of exhausting....

*last-last december

4 months for me
cold turkey, haven’t had one puff since
today has been a depressing, stressful mess and i almost bummed one :/

congrats Aerosol!

thanks bro!

we all know it's so difficult but it's been worth it for me.

still love cigs though and always will i think

i have a problem to believe people who say it has been easy to quit. the whole allen carr school in fact. there is a colleague who has quit maybe 4 weeks ago. and she says it was piss-easy. i bet she will smoke again in one year's time. because if it is simple to stop it is even simpler to start again.

otm
just thinking about how hard it was for me plays a big part in discouraging me to start up again.

day 4. went to the pub with a 'trigger' friend. he went out to smoke and i stayed firmly inside. feel drunk but proud :D

day 5 even!!!

:D

I still think s1ocki should write a book about this!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH

Went on weekend vacation with new ladyperson, don't smoke around her generally, noticed I hadn't had one in a day and a half, decided to ride it, now on day 3, have I mentioned

WAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH

Doin' it though.

good luck!

I am out of cigs and almost-out of chewing gum (which I have attempted to substitute in order to placate oral fixation) and trying to decide what I should buy when I step out to the store later today (probably end up with both though, who'm I kidding)

3 months now.

CHRIS! GOOD JOB

its actually easier when you put your mind to it.

Keep it up!

When I smoked I had anxiety when I couldn't smoke for a while (visiting family, air travel, severe illness, etc.) and when I knew I wanted to quit I had massive anxiety about that as well.

I found the anxiety over quitting was worse than the actual physical withdrawal from nicotine and the habits associated with smoking.

For months prior to stopping, I deliberately interrupted certain routines developed over years and years, things like smoking while driving, smoking after a big meal, etc. so that later on it wasn't so sad.

Day 6. Been doing something that really helps, I find: I actually carry a pack around, and when a craving is really bad, I get it out, look at it, and tell myself "I can totally smoke one if I want to. Nothing bad will happen. I'm just not going to, because I'd rather quit smoking." or something to that effect. Removes the anxiety I associate with even the shortest periods of not smoking.

Also I've made $3 from people wanting to buy one from me.

I still have my last pack of cigarettes in my desk from three years ago. If I ever want one, there they are.

Right. This time I'm going to make this public so I have more at stake. I'm having another crack at quitting. I have a cheer squad behind me threatening to kick my ass, this time.

And a likely new bf who is a non smoker, so I have a very good motivation :D

I really hope I can do this, I'm so sick of being tired and smelly and broke.

new love interest definitely helps. seratonin runnin' etc

Didn't think of that angle, good point!

Reading this thread reminds me of my nursing assistant class: Nine people and the instructor, all of whom smoked except for me and one woman who was pregnant. We all hung out together outside in the smoking area, of course.

I didn't originally quit just because of the price of cigs, but that really helped keep me from cheating.