I have got to stop smoking

It is a mental thing, a stress thing. I have decided to post in the community and record my daily results here. A selfish hijack of the thread? Maybe, but I need all the help I can get.

Wed. Jun 21, 12:22pm

money motivated me to stop and encouraged me to stay off cigarettes. every two or three days i put enough $ for a pack of butts in a jar-my boyfriend did, too-and after three months of this, we bought a brand spanking new washer and dryer!! we kept up the saving and after another two months, we bought an inflatable boat with life jackets, paddles, and a small motor. i only wish i had continued to save the cash i would have smoked...good luck!

Wednesday, June 21, 2006, 12:37 PM

I quit several months ago when I started to get serious about running. I couldn't make it a mile without huffing and puffing. I was so scared I would gain weight but it has been the oposite... I have lost weight and now I easily run 4 times a week!
For me it was the health benefits... I am no longer short of breath and as a result I am much more active.
Also, it sounds funny but as a treat to myself I buy perfume and smelly good lotions all the time. When I was a smoker I hated the smell of smoke covered up by perfume but now I smell GREAT everyday!!
Good luck and you can do it, you will be SO glad when you do!

Wednesday, June 21, 2006, 12:46 PM

I quit cold turkey 12 years ago after 8 years of 2-packs a day. It was difficult for the first month. but I powered though on an ill-willed resolution that no little burning stick of paper-and-tobacco would control my life and damage my body. I had started coughing in the mornings, my fingers had a yellow tint, my colthes and hair always faintly smelled of it, I was noticing new wrinkles by my mouth and going up the stairs to my apartment on a winter day was enough to cause me to go into a coughing fit. Plus I was getting sick a lot more often and I know smoking drastically weakens your immune system. I crushed the remnants of my last pack in my fist and quit.

I would be lying if I said I never had another cigarette, but I waited long enough that they didn't taste good anymore (1 year) and then I would occasionally have one on the rare occasions I went out to the bars. However even the urge to do that went away and it's been 5 years since I had any urge whatsoever to have one even when i go out. Have a plan for what to do when you quit - how you are going to handle the cravings and how you will respond to other smokers when they offer. For me that hardest thing was watching TV (I used to smoke mindlessly just as people eat mindlessly in front of it), so I quit watching TV too and that was actually pretty easy. I got a lot more active and paid much better attention to my food and activity.

Today I am a much healthier person and I am glad that I won't be one of those 'old smokers' who wears the ravages of their addiction on their faces and in their movements. Those wrinkles by my mouth have gone away and my skin, eyes and hair have all shone with good health since shortly after I quit. I am not a born-again-non-smoking-evangelist, but the benefits from quitting will quietly amaze you for the rest of your life. From time to time I run into someone my age who still smokes regularly and I see the signs of it on them and I think "that could be me", and I count my blessings.

Best wishes to you and if you need motivation I, as well as others will be happy to help.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006, 1:32 PM

Thank you for the responses. Having a plan to deal with the cravings, and the situations where I get stressed and "just have to have one" are what I need to work on. So far so good, my focus is on the rest of the day!

Wednesday, June 21, 2006, 4:42 PM

Good job!! Congrats on no smokes today!!!

Wednesday, June 21, 2006, 4:50 PM

ok, one full day so far. The post about what smoking does to your facial skin really got me. How shallow am I?

Thursday, June 22, 2006, 6:41 AM

congrats!

My dear friend quit smoking this past year. She is only one year older than me but has always looked much older. I cannot tell you how unbelievably youthful and healthy her skin is now. Vanity, coupled with health, is a great motivator for quitting! Hooray for you!

Thursday, June 22, 2006, 9:55 AM

The pucker mouth wrinkles also caused me to quit smoking. Vanity is good in this case.

Thursday, June 22, 2006, 10:32 AM

and keep in mind that your body's odor won't be reminiscent of an ashtray anymore!! a guy in my office smokes and he seriously reeks when he comes inside after having one. not attractive!!

Thursday, June 22, 2006, 11:13 AM

If you want another website that I found really helpful.... quitnet.com I found that it was nice to know how much money I saved and got my teeth whitened with the savings... the expensive one hour bleaching one... It was soo worth it.... Now the weight is next, and that is why I am here!!!!

Thursday, June 22, 2006, 2:18 PM

Yay! Good job on a full day with no smoking! How's today going?

Thursday, June 22, 2006, 2:25 PM

quitting

I quit when I was 25 (started at 15) when my daughter was born prematurely due to smoking while pregnant. However, TEN years later I fell into a deep depression & started smoking again! The doc could not believe it. It took ten years for me to finally be diagnosed with bipolar & put on correct medication & I quit again on the fourth day of medication. It's been three years now of no smoking & no depression.

Friday, June 23, 2006, 10:04 AM

I had one last night. In my defense it was a party smoke and not a stress smoke. Need to work on the party thing, but I am happy because I am really doing better with the stress. Thanks!

Friday, June 23, 2006, 10:12 AM

One cigarette in two days - not bad! Great job! How are you feeling today?

Friday, June 23, 2006, 10:24 AM

feel pretty good, thanks for asking.

Friday, June 23, 2006, 10:27 AM

I quit smoking in October of 1991. almost 15 years. Great job to all of you who are making a committment to your health. You smell better, your skin stops rapidly aging, and you'll find, after a year or 2, you really don't think about it anymore.

Friday, June 23, 2006, 10:47 AM

Aren't the horrible things smoking does to your health reason enough to stop smoking and stick to it?!?!!!! Not to mention smokers stink, they usually have a grey color to their complexion, and they are so full of deep wrinkles. YUCK! I know that was harsh, but I don't want to hear about another person that died of lung cancer. It is a slow horrible death. I watched my grandpa go through it. Good luck! You can do this!

Saturday, June 24, 2006, 11:40 AM

1:32 poster here...

First - I am sorry for the loss of your grandfather.

Then to answer your initial question.....

>>>>Aren't the horrible things smoking does to your health reason enough to stop smoking and stick to it?!?!!!! <<<<<<

No and being harangued about it generally only stiffens the smokers resolve to say "F* you - I'm gonna go have a cigarette!" At least that was generally my knee-jerk reaction to all the well-meaning strangers who would get in my face without so much as a 'hello' and start berating me about my 'filthy habit' and how it was going to kill me. Lecturing someone and trying to fill them with dread are not usually terribly effective motivators or church attendance would be way up ;-)

Just as with weight loss every smoker has that one set of personal motivators that stiffens their resolve and makes it possible for them to change their behaviors and make it stick. Plus once the initial steps are taken new benefits and reasons are discovered which help strengthen that resolve, but this is a personal thing and what works for one doesn't work for others. Yeah, theoretically every smoker knows they would be healtier if they quit, but sometimes you need something more immediate as motivation.

now look at this question another way.....

>>Aren't the horrible things POOR DIET AND EXERCISE does to your health reason enough to stop EATING POORLY, START EXERCISING and stick to it?!?!!!! <<

How many of us 'know' this and yet still do it? Sometimes the little 'vanity' things like having toned arms to wear tank tops this summer are the better short term motivators.

Saturday, June 24, 2006, 3:07 PM

smoking

If I quit anyone can quit! I always denied that nicotine is a drug but I felt at times I was withdrawing from heroin (although I never have used heroin). I had wierd dreams and physical symptoms. I had support from a dear friend who kept naming it as my nicotine addiction. I joined a gym and worked out. I bummed one when I could stand it no longer. It took 4 months but finally I had no desire to bum one. It is a second by second process. I chewed on straws a lot! Remember one step at a time. I am proud of you!

Link

Saturday, June 24, 2006, 3:55 PM

I'm the op - no smokes Friday, none today.

Saturday, June 24, 2006, 5:16 PM

GREAT JOB OP!

We;re here for you- keep it up.
I want to see your post say NO smokes today and its sunday! :)

Saturday, June 24, 2006, 5:54 PM

You can do it!!! Keep it up!

Saturday, June 24, 2006, 10:56 PM

I have got to say well said! It is not easy throwing your best friend out the window. You exsmokers know what I mean!

Sunday, June 25, 2006, 12:14 PM

I'm doing pretty good so far. I have started to run at night which is such a stress reliever.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006, 12:26 PM

Excellent! That is good to hear :-)

Keep on checking in with us - I for one look every morning to see if this thread has been updated. We are rooting for you!

Tuesday, June 27, 2006, 12:54 PM

kudos to you for going strong!! remember that it's not the urges that you must fight-it's the follow-thru of those urges...it is natural to want things that you're used to having, so my advise is to not try to fight your desire, but to recognize it, and take control of your behavior. i think it is easier to control one's behavior than to stop feeling certain emotions or having urges, so don't beat yourself up if you still "want" a butt-just don't give in to that desire...good luck!

Tuesday, June 27, 2006, 1:14 PM

Thursday morning and going strong!!

Thursday, June 29, 2006, 9:08 AM

Congrats on your quitting smoking. I can't tell you how many times I stopped, then started again. I even stopped for 8 years and do to a bad marriage etc. started agarin. The doctor told me it takes 5 years for it to get out of your system. You think I would know better having breast cancer 19 years ago and plus my mother died of lung cancer at the age of 60. Good luck on your quest to quit smoking it's alot easier than losing weight trust me.

Thursday, June 29, 2006, 9:28 AM

I agree with the above poster. Losing weight is the hardest thing I've ever done. I went cold turkey with smoking and found the first week the hardest after that it was a breeze.

To me losing weight is alot harder cause you have to eat you don't have to smoke. Good luck on your journey.

Thursday, June 29, 2006, 9:31 AM

Friday, feeling great. Now I need to make sure I keep following through.

Friday, June 30, 2006, 1:20 PM

good for you-no, GREAT for you!!! it's hard, but i'm sure you feel it's worth it!! keep up the great work! we are here for you!

Friday, June 30, 2006, 1:25 PM

well, hope this is going well for you! best of luck and please post before you smoke!

Sunday, July 2, 2006, 10:08 AM

arrrrgh, I had one last night at a party. This is my second "party smoke" in a week and a half. I was doing so well. But onward, I am going for a run today!

Sunday, July 2, 2006, 10:38 AM

Yep - parties are hard. Alcohol and smoking friends together make it very difficult to resist. Kind of like going to the grocery store when you're starved.

However today is a new day :-) Enjoy your run and keep up the great work!

Sunday, July 2, 2006, 10:49 AM

I had another round of party smokes on Thursday, and that was the first in almost 2 weeks. Stress smoking is out, party smoking is still a problem.

Saturday, July 15, 2006, 11:10 AM

glad to read that you are continuing to pay close attention to your smoking habit! it is very hard to do. every smoke-free breath counts! please try not to be so hard on yourself while you are going through the quitting process...best wishes!

Saturday, July 15, 2006, 10:19 PM

It all adds up to what's important to you

I quite smoking the day after Thanksgiving 2005. I had one smoke and just quit cold turkey.

Here's some things I found useful:

1. Don't have any big ceremony about quitting smoking, celebrating your last cigarette or anything like that. Just smoke your last cigarette, then clean everything - car, house, wherever smoke is - and wash all your clothes.

2. Medical professionals will tell you it only takes three days for nicotine to leave the body, which is true. But it takes about 30 days before smoking begins to leave the mind. After about three months, I was well on my way to freedom. But you can't get to the next day if you have a smoke today.

3. You can't quit if you don't really, really want to do it. It's all about what's important to you. Find a reason that's important enough to you to quit: job, spouse, friends, family, health, whatever. Use that as your motivator. But I wouldn't even suggest you start unless you're serious.

4. Don't give up.

Sunday, July 16, 2006, 2:16 AM

Thank you for quitting!

I have never smoked a cigarette a day in my life. I watched my grandfather waste away to nothing and die from cancer when I was in 8th grade. He had black masses on his back where the cancer had eaten through his lungs and was just taking over. I vowed to never smoke or to purposefully be around anyone who did.

From a non-smoker, thank you for quitting. You are doing yourself and everyone around you a big favor! :)

Sunday, July 16, 2006, 9:04 AM

When you quit smoking

you have to have all the help you can get. It's hard but you can do it.

Link

Sunday, January 4, 2009, 11:39 AM

How To Quit Smoking

New PEERtrainer article on a methodology to follow that will help you quit smoking:

Link

Friday, June 19, 2009, 12:28 PM

Hi

You have made a right decision.
Health is the word used to describe how your body feels.
Being healthy is important because it makes you feel good and live longer.
Keep up the good work.

__________
Kefuie

Link

Friday, May 7, 2010, 4:52 AM

hi

You have made a right decision! Congratulations! Maybe you have learned your lesson now. Smoking is a useless desire! Smoking is bad for your health. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths.

Link

Friday, May 14, 2010, 4:52 AM

hi

You have made a right decision! I salute you! Smoking is bad for your health. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of these problems. The earlier you quit, the greater the health benefit.
_________________
Kefuie

Link

Friday, May 14, 2010, 4:54 AM

hi

You have made a right decision! I salute you for that. Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of these problems. The earlier you quit, the greater the health benefit.

Link

Friday, May 14, 2010, 4:57 AM

hi

You have made a right choice! I salute you. The earlier you quit the greater the benefits.

Link

Friday, May 14, 2010, 4:58 AM

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