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I just quit smoking!

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So, after 4 and a half years of smoking about a pack a day, I've finally gotten disgusted enough with myself to quit.  I smoked my last cigarette about fifteen minutes ago.

So, for the smokers of OT.Com:

- When did you start smoking?
- Why did you start smoking?
- Do you still smoke?  If so:
   - Have you tried quitting before?  How many times?
   - What was the longest amount of time you went without smoking?
- If not:
   - When did you quit?
   - Why did you quit?
   - How do you deal with cravings?
   - Do you have any tips for quitting?

I'll go first:

Started smoking in the summer of 2006, in order to try to win back an ex-girlfriend I was in love with (she was my first love, so I would have done anything to try to win her back).  She'd made an offhand comment about how she thought smoking was sexy, so I asked one of my of-age friends (I was 17 at the time) to buy me a pack.  I started smoking, and she showed no more interest in me than she had before.  Then I kept smoking to deal with her not wanting me anymore, then because I was addicted.

I've tried quitting several times - the longest I went without smoking was 3 months, I believe.  I don't even remember how I started again, but it was probably while I was drunk.

Today, I sat around the apartment doing nothing but watching How I Met Your Mother and smoking cigarettes.  I realized about an hour ago that I'd smoked two entire packs that had previously been unopened.  I've never been a two-pack-a-day guy, and seeing myself do that just got to me in a way nothing else ever had.  So I smoked my last one (after cradling it like a delicate flower for half an hour), threw away anything related to smoking (cigarettes) that I could find, and now here I am.

We'll see how this goes, but for now, I'm optimistic.  At the very least, I'll be saving about $70 per week, which is great since I'm so very broke right now.  So I'm going to try to focus on that to get me through the first couple weeks.

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Good luck!  It will be hell on earth for a while, but that's normal.  It will suck, but will be totally worth it.  I've never smoked and but many of my good friends had and had quit.  They tell me it is very hard but absolutely worth it.

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As someone who's worked years to get his parents to stop smoking*, I can tell you it probably won't be easy even if you want to. I suggest getting someone who can and will embarrass you any time you touch one; it's a good motivator, haha. Aside from that, I have no advice as I've never touched a cigarette. That being said, I noticed everyone else was wishing good luck and I had neglected to do so; I apologize, and now here's a wish of good luck!

*It's worth noting that my parents, as far as I can remember, have never been heavy smokers (1 or 2 a day). Also, they have always been very good about taking it out of the house - which is nice.

A Goon in a Gaggle of 'em

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I'm not one of OT.com's smokers (never tried, never wish to try), but I just want to congratulate you and wish you luck.  Being a theatre major in college and therefore surrounded by actors and singers who use their bodies as their instruments, I was amazed by how many of them were avid smokers.  And one of them once told me that smokers never quit... they just take breaks in between inevitably picking up the habit again.  I certainly hope you prove him wrong because it's obviously not just money (and, wow, does it always amaze me what a costly habit that is) you'll be saving.  So again, very good luck to you.  I believe people can break any habit if they want it badly enough.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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- When did you start smoking?

I had my first cigarette when I was 12 years old. I smoked socially for the next few years. When I was 16 it became a full time habit. A pack a day was generally my limit. If I was around people who smoked like trains, I seemed to smoke more.

- Why did you start smoking?

I tried my first cigarette to be cool. I became a smoker because everyone I knew smoked. I was around it all the time. Plus I had a lot of hard times at school, because I was a little guy (at the time LOL).

  - When did you quit?

Last summer

 - Why did you quit?

I was disgusted with the habit. I hated being controlled by them. I would catch my self thinking about smoking all the time. I would spend time with friends and be more concerned with when I was gonna go out for a smoke. So one day I decided to quit. It was very hard, because the house was full of smokers. 

   - How do you deal with cravings?

I got the spiciest sugar free cinnamon gum I could find. I figured if I could keep my mouth busy, and I had a good tingling sensation on my tongue it would help take the edge off. I still chew gum like a cow, but at least it's good for my teeth. Another thing that helped and still helps is seeing other smokers. They stink, and their teeth are yellow. It's like watching a slave when you see a smoker. I just look at that and it makes me glad I quit.

- Do you have any tips for quitting?

I don't really have anything. Gain a healthy habit or something. Sunflower seeds were an occasional help, along with hefty amounts of sugar free gum. I used to be the guy that had the cigarette in my hand laughing at the people who had pictures of black lungs.

In the end, you have to want to quit more than you want to smoke. You'll never quit if you don't want to. As for me, I have a dad that smokes too much, I can't help him quit, he loves it too much.

I still think about cigarettes. I think about just having one more. I am still addicted in my mind. I've lit up a cigarette hundreds of times in my dreams. You just have to focus on what is good in life. You just have to fight it. 

Now about the weight gain, that was the sucky part. I used to could go most of the day without eating anything just riding on nicotine.

"The other versions will disappear. Even the 35 million tapes of Star Wars out there won’t last more than 30 or 40 years. A hundred years from now, the only version of the movie that anyone will remember will be the DVD version [of the Special Edition], and you’ll be able to project it on a 20’ by 40’ screen with perfect quality. I think it’s the director’s prerogative, not the studio’s to go back and reinvent a movie." - George Lucas

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I didn't smoke for long, I started when I was in my mid thirties and I gave up about three years later.

I quit using an inhalator (a little plastic thing which gave my fingers something to fiddle with a sharp hit of nicotine when I really needed it) but it didn't really work for me so I went cold turkey.

I went from 10 stone to 15 stone in a very short period of time and on a shorter than average guy it didn't look pretty.

I tried to go back to smoking but I just could inhale the stuff anymore so I moved onto nicotine gum.

My weight went back to normal, I became much more agreeable to be with and I now have a much more expensive addiction.

The best advice I can give people is just don't start.

There are benefits to nicotine use (it really does aid concentration, it speeds up your metabolism and it helped with my seizures before the I was properly diagnosed with epilepsy) but it's genuinely addictive stuff and if you smoke it, it wrecks your lung capacity for years.

My mother went cold turkey after smoking for thirty years (prompted by my father's Cancer diagnosis and eventual demise). She was only tempted to return to it during moments of extreme stress but held back by thinking of her grandchildren.

If you are trying to quit my advice is A) find a focus to shame you to sticking to your chosen path and B) when you feel the urge to buy a packet stick the money you would have spent in a jar and at the end of the year take a nice deep breath and look at the money you have saved.

 

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ChainsawAsh, I've never smoked, so I can't advice you as to how to keep from going back the habit, but I do wish you the best of luck.   Just think of how your clothes won't stink and how you teeth won't be yellow and how your lungs will thankyou and of the money you won't waste on the cancer sticks.   Good luck, ChainsawAsh.      

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Man, I've smoked for about 18 years...Gave up for about 3 months..err..3 months ago, but had a load of shit and stress over the new year, I started again.

But....just before I gave up I was only smoking about 6-8 fags a day....

And...They were roll ups....

No...They were not joints (although I've had my fair share of the whacky backy..God I miss that)

I am gonna give up again in the next few weeks....I want to, my kids want me to, so I will...And it felt good not to stink of that shit

But one thing you all need to know....

Smoking is cool!!! 

 

Haha

 

http://www.facebook.com/DirtyWookie

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HotRod said:

smoking about 6-8 fags a day....

 

LOL You smoked fags? I have never heard them called that before.

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HotRod said:

You mean to tell me you've never smoked a fag??

Just remember to blow

LOL, but still I have never heard of cigarettes being called fags.

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I used to smoke Benson And Hedges Superqueens :-D

In the UK, Eire and Australasia calling smokes fags is common parlance.

We get a hoot when you refer to your backsides as fannies as it means something quite different over here.

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ChainsawAsh, I never would have guessed you were a smoker, shame on you. Wow, $70 a week?

I hate cigarettes, everytime I've tried one I feel like throwing up. $70 a week is $280 a month? That's ridiculous. Although smokers tend to replace cigarettes with food so you're probably thin and don't eat much?

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Bingowings said:

I used to smoke Benson And Hedges Superqueens :-D

In the UK, Eire and Australasia calling smokes fags is common parlance.

We get a hoot when you refer to your backsides as fannies as it means something quite different over here.

Most of us don't use the word "fannies" we use ass or butt, fanny sounds to femmy.

But to get on topic LOL, Good luck with your quitting CA.

 

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ChainsawAsh, maybe you can use that saved money and donate it to Adywan. I'm not trying to tell you what to do with your money, but that is what you should do. jk

That's $2960 over the course of a year and you've been doing this for a little over 4 years? That's approximately $12000 wasted on Cigarettes!

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HotRod said:

But....just before I gave up I was only smoking about 6-8 fags cancer sticks a day....

fixed. 

HotRod said:

Smoking is cool!!!

*sigh*

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Lots of things can increase the risks of getting cancer Warb (car exhaust fumes, a sedentary lifestyle, growing older, too much sunlight exposure, certain viruses, too much booze) and smoking isn't cancer guaranteed.

If people want to quit smoking, good on them it will lower their chances of getting a smoking related disease and will increase their lung capacity.

In about a decade the damage will be mostly reversed.

Smoking is addictive and expensive.

But to demonise a risky behaviour when there are so many that people do that are just as bad and can bring some benefits is counter-productive.

People wouldn't smoke at all if there weren't certain attractions to the drug the same is true of all the other substances people snort, slurp, scoff, puff and inject into themselves.

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Ghostbusters said:

ChainsawAsh, maybe you can use that saved money and donate it to Adywan. I'm not trying to tell you what to do with your money, but that is what you should do. jk

That's $2960 over the course of a year and you've been doing this for a little over 4 years? That's approximately $12000 wasted on Cigarettes!

Oh yeah, I know.  That $12,000 would cure all my debt problems, too.

And that's why I can't donate to Adywan - because that money I'm saving by not smoking needs to go toward bills, rent, and food (my smoking habit was pretty much funded by my food budget).

Thanks for your replies, everyone - glad to know I'm not the only ex-smoker here.

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To ChainsawAsh I say, "Good luck, you're gonna need it"

I started smoking when I was 16, the main reason being because a girl I liked smoked at the time (the things we do for love).

I had my last cigarette at 12.30pm on October 1st, 2009 when I was the young age of 31.

The reason I quit was because my Mum had a stroke. She was in hospital for 3 months and had to quit herself. It was a wake up call for me and I decided to quit myself.

I went cold turkey in the sense that I didn't have another cigarette but I used an inhaler and patches for about a fortnight. I gave up on those though when a nurse told me that having not had a single cigarette, the patches where probably pumping too much nicotine into my system and where probably affecting my concentration.

That can be a bit of a nuisance like when you walk into a room and forget what you went in there for but I took it to the next level and drove straight through a red light because I wasn't concentrating (don't worry, there wasn't an accident but it scared the shit out of me).

I must admit I was a bit of an arsehole to be around for the 1st month. Yelling at my family and co-workers for no reason at all but they where all understanding. I calmed down after a month though.

I still get cravings from time to time but I'm proud of quitting, I've done very well and having one would undo all the hard work I put into quitting.

I'm still going to celebrate England winning the World Cup with a Cuban Cigar though. Luckily,  that's never gonna happen again.

Your brain just makes s**t up!

A fate worse than death? Having your head digitally replaced with that of Hayden Christensen!

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ChainsawAsh, I did the math wrong. $70 a week = $3654 a year x 4 1/2 years = $16,443, ouch.

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Back when I first started, a pack of Marlboro Reds cost $2.50 a pack. I would get my lunch money all gathered up and would buy 2 packs a week. I could make those 2 packs last me from Monday to the next Monday.

It's funny though, I thought I was cool for smoking "Cowboy Killers".

"The other versions will disappear. Even the 35 million tapes of Star Wars out there won’t last more than 30 or 40 years. A hundred years from now, the only version of the movie that anyone will remember will be the DVD version [of the Special Edition], and you’ll be able to project it on a 20’ by 40’ screen with perfect quality. I think it’s the director’s prerogative, not the studio’s to go back and reinvent a movie." - George Lucas

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Bobby Jay said:

I'm still going to celebrate England winning the World Cup with a Cuban Cigar though. Luckily,  that's never gonna happen again.

there are better ways to celebrate a championship than smoking a cancer stick.

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Chainsaw, I really hope you make it work.  I've never smoked and never had any thoughts of starting.  I attribute that to growing up in a household where both parents smoked. For as long as I can remember throughout my childhood, I always had my bedroom door closed and my window open - no small feat in the Houston summers.

I just couldn't stand the smell. Dinners, family road trips, everywhere, all the time.  My father quit, cold turkey, when I was about 15.  My mom - no way.  She'd been at least a pack-a-day since she was 14 and had no interest in quitting.  In fact, she had a sort of cavalier attitude about it.  12 years ago she was diagnosed with lung cancer, treatments were somewhat successful, but it had already metastasized to her brain. She only lived seven more years.

I watched her gurgle her last few breaths, before becoming comatose, looking much older than her 65 years. I honestly can't figure out why people still do it.  I find it particularly strange that people only in their twenties smoke.  It's no longer a maybe it's bad for you deal.  All I can figure is that maybe it's because it's such a slow process.  People seem to have plenty of time to joke - "you gotta go sometime".  That was a favorite saying of a co-worker of mine, after he'd already had one lung removed. He died about 5 years ago, in his late fifties. I couldn't comprehend that one at all.

Anyway, my point with the whole deal is that I hope you succeed.

I've seen a list just like this one at my doctor's office.  Very interesting how fast your body starts to recover.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/smoking-cessation/immediate-and-long-term-benefits.aspx

 

 

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