Kick'in the Habit

[Tuff Guy 62]

We'll after 31 years, I'm happy to report I've haven't lit up a smoke in two weeks and I'm feeling pretty good.

I've wanted to quit cigarettes for several years and have made several half-hearted attempts but always found myself going back after experiencing the old white knuckle nicotine fit after a day or two. It's really amazing how addictive nicotine can be for some people. I've be able to make it stick by using 4mg nicotine lozenges, popping one between my cheek & gum about every three to four hours. I'll gradually cut back per the guidelines of the proscribed 12 week program.

Talk about taste & smell! Wow, it's all starting to come back. A couple of my co-worker are smokers and it's only now the that I realize how bad it smells on a person. Ms. Tuff Chick is really happy with my progress and is being especially nice to me!

Anyway, I would be interested to hear your success stories from any former smokers who have quit the habit and how you did it. Maybe we can use this as a support group for any other members who want to quit smoking too.

 

[craig333]

When my dad quit (when we were little kids) he paid us a dollar every time we caught him smoking. We were pretty diligent!

Congrats

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Brian,congrats of your stopping.
Not being a "real" smoker I did use a pipe in the navy for a short time,I don't know what you go through when you quit.
About the smell/taste it's interesting how much you notice smokers and rooms/buildings where smoking was allowed,and now banned.
We see in our travels less people smoking. Over the years we have visited Spain we have seen how that country adjusted to the ban.
Keep up the good work. Your health and family will enjoy the stopping.
Frank

 

[takesiteasy]

Congrats Tuff Guy and good luck going forward. Looking back you will be glad you did it. Good idea on the support group.

 

[clikrf8]

Good for you! My husband was banished to the garage after we found out I was pregnant. He quit after about 3 years only to fall off after losing his job. He subsequently quit again for good. Having a child is an incentive. He also quit drinking after 3 DUIs 35 years ago before we were married.

I eat too much which negarptiveky affects my health. After a scare at my doctors a few weeks ago, I am losing weight. I eat the right foods and am vegetarian mostly but just eat too much. And ugly great rainy windy days aren't conducive to getting out there for daily walk. Lucky for us there is a 50+ mile system of trails just a short walk up the hill from our home. That makes it easy.

Continued best wishes on your pursuit as a non-smoker. I am sure it is very difficult and speaks well of your character in making a decision to quit.

 

[Taku]

Congratulations! Not easy, but glad to hear you are feeling better and making it work.

 

[PaulT]

Congratulations, Tuff Guy. I've been told that it's harder to break the smoking addiction than to break a heroin addiction. Family support really helps.

My Dad was a three pack a day smoker for years. Started in WW II. As a nurse, Mom really wanted him to quit. He was working a lot of night shift about 1960 and really wanted one of those nifty new transistor radios to keep him company in the wee hours. Mom calculated that if he put his smokes money in a jar, it would take a year to save enough to buy a radio. (Back then, cigarettes were cheap and transistor radios were expensive.) The catch was that if he started smoking again before the year was up, Mom got to spend the money. There was no way he was going to let her win. He quit for good.

She won anyway.

Paul

 

[K6ON]

I quit smoking back in 1977. I was a patrol deputy in those days and was smoking about 3 packs a day.. On a day off July 5, 1977 I was involved in a motorcycle accident that put me in the hospital for a couple weeks. I used that time to quit and have never looked back.
I'm told that I wasn't the most pleasant person around for about 3 days but after that was back to "normal" ( still not very pleasant ) ;-). Congratulations!

 

[Smokecreek1]

I did it when my doctor told me I had better quit when I developed high BP right after I retired-not from work as most people but as a result of stress from my mom's medical problems. After over 45 years of smoking i had to go on Chantix (smoke for the first week) and yes it works but yes you get real depressed and paranoid start and wanting to do violent things to yourself or other people, (like they say on the warning label); I threw the pills out after three weeks. but i quit and that was nine years ago. It is also true that every day I really miss a smoke with my morning coffee. Yep my smell and apatite are back but it has been real hard just to sit back and relax-where to put my hands-and enjoy things. My dad quit at 65 like me and is still going strong and like me would like one little puff now and then, but know better.

Smoke

 

[Tuff Guy 62]

Mom calculated that if he put his smokes money in a jar, it would take a year to save enough to buy a radio. (Back then, cigarettes were cheap and transistor radios were expensive.) The catch was that if he started smoking again before the year was up, Mom got to spend the money. There was no way he was going to let her win. He quit for good.

She won anyway.

Paul

Great story Paul.

Cigarettes are going up an additional $2.00 a pack in California on April 1, 2017 as a results of the passage of Proposition 56 back in November.

As such, cigarettes will run about $8.00/pack. I'm definitely already feeling the economic effects of my decision. I still have the same $20.00 in my wallet that I did two weeks ago. $8.00/day X 365 days = a down payment on a new truck for Tuff Guy!!

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Very nice stories about the "habit".
Nice to hear the good results stories.
I guess I am a non smoking snob,can't stand the habit,but to each his own.
Good luck to all who want to quit.

Frank

 

[Cayuse]

Quit 17 years ago, shortly after Cayusette was born. Used to go back and forth between chewing and smoking depending on the environment, guiding rivers chewing was pretty well accepted at the time...

Anyways, one of the things that helped was the SilkQuit Meter tracks numner of days and dollars saved.

I used the patch when I was quitting and one day was on my way to a funeral out of town when i realized that I hadn't put a patch on that morning, this was after about a week, never looked back.

 

[chopslot]

Nice Job man! Keep on truckin'. I'm pulling for anyone trying to kick the habit. After 25 years and numerous failed attempts (including a relapse after having quit for two years) I was finally able to quit. I haven't smoked in over 8 years. The day I quit for good, I went on a 4 day river trip on the Snake and Salmon...the peace, scenery, and rowing helped me get past the worst of it and I was able to gain momentum and traction. I can't say that I ever felt more lung capacity, saw colors more vividly, or my sense of taste intensified. What I did notice was a major decrease in the negative messages I bombarded myself for smoking. Do it.

 

[Wango]

Tough Guy,
In 1989, I bet my Mother that if she quit, I would cut my hair off. She did, cold turkey.
My father, whom I have always called the toughest man I knew, tried and tried. He once told me quitting drinking was easy compared to smoking. Two heart attacks, a quadruple bi-pass, two bouts of lung cancer and he still could not quit. In dec, he was diagnosed stage 4. I had a bucket list vacation planned over dec and jan of this year. We spoke long into an evening about me not going. In the end he told me to go.
Dad passed away two weeks ago, I couldn't get back in the country in time to say goodbye.
I hate to lay this on you, and I am not trying to be an ass here, but please for the sake of those who love you quit.
I wish you much luck with this struggle.
w

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Tuff Guy, good for you!!!! We are wishing you the best in your efforts. I haven't had a cigarette since 1971, when I quit what was nearly a three pack of Pall Malls a day kind of habit. I know how hard it can be, but hang in there, you'll like the results.

 

[LuckyDan]

My Dad fought with smoking, or rather quitting on and off for all of his middle years. Finally quit when he started showing symptoms of COPD. What I think helped him frankly was the sheer will of not wanting to get sick, knowing he would if he didn't quit, and a bit of faith. That and my mother telling him if he didn't get his act together she was leaving and taking him for everything she could. She lost her father prematurely to addiction and wasn't going through it again. Seems to have worked. He's still here and still my Dad. To my knowledge he never did patches or gum and such.

In short, addiction to anything unhealthy and/or hazardous is a b$&@! I truly hope you find what works for you, saddle up again if you fall off, and find lasting success in the end.

Take care and good luck.

 

[Advmoto18]

Congratulations!

Living tobacco free is a great life style!

 

[cwdtmmrs]

My mom and dad both worked for me back in the late 1980's. They were probably 5 packs a day between them. I offered them both $1,000.00 bonus if they could quit smoking for 30 days. Thirty days later my mom was back in my office with her hand out! My dad didn't even try. He later died of lung cancer. My mom never did smoke again, but said she always missed it.

Good job to everyone who quits.

cwd

 

[ski3pin]

Tuff Guy 62, we're cheering you on! Keep at it!

 

[Lighthawk]

Cool beans! It takes some bravery to break a habit and announce it.
Keep up the good work!