I had quit for several months two years ago then started up again. I’ve been meaning to quit again since last September. It’s not like I’m really enjoying smoking anymore and the cost is outrageous and just going to get worse. You all have inspired me. I just ordered the Allen Carr book. When it gets here I will read it right away and jump on this bandwagon.
I had about 3 tries before I quit for good. I think the patch was what did the trick for me.
But the Carr book definitely helped me too. And a book called the Nicotine Trick.
The big thing is to never give up. Nobody really quits on the first try!
I miss smoking, but I’m soooo glad I quit. For me it was the money. I saved over $2000 so far and I have all the money. I’m going to invest it. I think about the money all the time. It’s what keeps me from starting again. The way I think of it, if I smoke, it’s as if someone who hates me is taking my money and I don’t have any choice but to give them my money ever day. It’s like a bully is stealing my lunch money or something. Every time I say no to it, it’s like I stood up to a bully. It sounds stupid, but that’s my secret to staying quit.
Quitnet.com is great too. Here are my stats:
Time Smoke-Free: 271 days, 3 hours, 32 minutes and 8 seconds
Cigarettes NOT smoked: 8134
Lifetime Saved: 2 months, 2 days, 3 hours
Money Saved: $2,474.77
I think if you go to that site, they have tips on how to deal with a slip.
I slipped. 
After 4 days of not smoking, I smoked one. One of the two I had in my drawer. It was stale and nasty and it made my chest feel tight and you’d be amazed at the headrush you get when you smoke a cig while wearing a patch.
Come to think of it, day 4 is when I cracked the last time I tried this. Oh, well. Back on the wagon I go.
I’ve been wanting to quit for sometime, but I’m a hella wimp. Invariably, I get all positive about it when I’ve got a couple of packs in my purse, but about a half hour after I’ve smoked that last cigarette, I freak. Big time!
Unfortunately, I’ve bought into the idea that I won’t really ever quit until I want to body and soul, but there’s still a part of me that likes it, damn it! It’s mine. I don’t care what you say. I’m an adult. I can do what I want. You’re not my mother. Mind your own effin biz. sigh I don’t think that aspect of my personality will ever go away.
That being the case, I’ll keep trying to work up the initiative.
I just signed up at QuitNet (thanks, Hal Briston) and I’ve one full pack (unopened for about another 10 minutes). QuitNet set my quit date for Jan. 18, but honestly I’ll finish this pack sometime tomorrow night, no doubt. So, I’m wondering should I buy a few more packs and psych myself up for the 18th or should I just quit when this last pack is done? Either way, I’m going to be a pill. I’m going to hate every second of it. (I know. I’ve quit twice before for over a year both times.)
JohnBckWLD, you may have given me an idea. When I left my ex, he said in a very condesending way, “You’ll be back.” Boy, did that ever inspire me to stay away for good. Perhaps I should try to find the most annoying person I love to hate (one of my health-nut co-workers, perhaps) and have them badger me about what a loser I am and how I’ll never succeed at quitting. Proving them wrong may be the impetus I need to do it. Just don’t tell me I can, because I can assure you, I can’t. I have a stellar self-defeating attitude.
Props to all of you who’ve taken the plunge. I wish you the best and I’m crossing my fingers for all.
Ultra, what kind of piece of shit inspiration do you think you are anyhow? Drop that cancer stick and gimme twenty! Hang in there, hon. I’ll be with you soon. 
Do you think the cigarette companies have upped some kind of double-secret, extra addicting ingredient? Because I’ve had to quit for months at a time before (because of surgery) and it was no problem at all. Went on the patch for a week, and then smooth sailing for 3-6 months until I decided I wanted to smoke. (Not I had to. I wanted to.)
But now. Oh, god, now. Even with the patch it’s a bitch. Could it be all psychological? With the surgery, it’s quit smoking or end up with your flesh just dying instead of healing (a major incentive, really). But here with the quitting just because it’s good for me??? It’s like tiny little needles in my eyes! Okay, it’s not that bad, but it seems to be harder. I seem to be thinking about it more.
Well, I went to the health food store and bought some “cleansing tea” and herbal cigarettes. The cleansing tea tastes all right, but I can understand why people stop smoking rather than smoke the herbal cigarettes. They taste like dogshit and smell like pot! At least I’m in a more positive frame of mind about quitting today. All is going okay right now. Good luck to us all!
“Health” stores sell herbal cigarettes??
Good luck all.
QtM, nicotine-free for over 7 and a half years. An IV nitroglycerine drip did the trick!
Wow. I’ve considered some unusual smoking cessation methods, but that’s some drastic measures there, sport. Glad you made it.*
I assume this must have been related to a heart attack. Good reason to quit.
I quit…when was the last time I quit?
No, really, smoked a pack a day for 8 years. Quit for no particular reason about 4 years ago. I pick 'em up every once in a while, maybe a pack a week instead of a day, and quitting them again sucks every time.
Best of luck to all the quitters out there. Don’t quit because someone told you it would be better for you; quit because you don’t feel like being a butt-head anymore.
C’mon guys, quitting smoking is easy. I do it all the time.*
Anyway. The longest I lasted was six months +. Cold turkey, no patches, no nothing. For me at least, it’s mental - the cravings are the easiest part (or so I think). I started again because I wanted to. Just out of boredom. Fool that I was! Now I’ll have to (try to) quit again (it’s beginning to become a health issue).
Even if you manage to get past the cravings, do NOT believe you are out of the woods. Do not indulge, ever, in an occasional smoke believing that you are in control - it will come back and get you.
*IIRC Mark Twain said it first, but I dont have a cite
Hey all, just so you know there is light at the end of the tunnel. I quit smoking almost 3 years ago (in April) after being a heavy (1.5-2 packs per day) smoker for years. I now have absolutely no desire for cigarettes (see also the second paragraph for additional reasonings behind this.) I used the nicotine gum, which delayed the nicotine withdrawal problems for quite a while so that the addiction was no longer associated with the cigarettes. I think this is what finally worked for me, having futilely tried to quit so many times. I chewed the gum for 2 years, but so what. I know I will never smoke a cigarette again.
One huge motivator for me (besides the coughing and stinking) was/is the fact that everyone I’ve known in the family who has died, was killed by a smoking-related illness. Also, my mom now has COPD from smoking and has to use an inhaler and breathing treatments, and she’s still short of breath a lot. …I’ll never go back.
Trust me – the puppies do not have cigarettes …
Now that guy across the parking lot – HE does have 'em …
101 days, 12 hrs gone … only slipped a half dozen times, and it was always that guy across the parking lot or one of his evil brethren that gave me one. :wally
Good luck has nothing to do with it. Determination is the only key.
Remember my heros - Wile E. Coyote and the Saber-tooth squirrel from *Ice Age * … keep your eye on the prize!!!
Never give up - Never surrender your right to stop paying the tobacco companies and the government for those weeds.
I’ll take reality for $500, Alex …
Look no further than your own mind my dear … you’re doing a bang-up job of beatin’ yourself up already … 
Seriously, Prove it to yourself – no one but yourself – for in the end you can be the harshest judge of all.
I smoked 3 to 4.5 packs a day for more than 40 years. (Why I ain’t dead yet is a bit of a mystery …)
Smoke-away helped for the first 3 - 5 days, but it’s been me against the addiction one-on-one since then. (See above for # of slips – I’m still way out in front on the scoreboard!!! 
)
BTW – Ultra … no matter how many times you slip - As soon as you realize you slipped, get back on the horse and show 'em who’s boss! DO NOT wait 'till tomorrow to quit again. Do It Now!
[Ohhhh … I hate that! — make it “Do it immediately” …]
P.S.
Still kinda new 'round these parts – lurking for over a year and still haven’t learned to read all the posts before I hit the reply …
I’ll take reality for $500, Alex …
ARGH!! My mouse conspires against me! My post got ate. :mad:
Lucy, thanks for coming out of lurk mode to give us your support. I welcome you to post more often. You’re quite right about me. I’m stubborn, but with a streak of poor self-esteem. Sometimes I’m too stubborn to admit what I *am *perfectly capable of achieving.
Here’s an update:
Yesterday I had a four-hour shift, so I thought I’d be fine if I left my cigs at home. I nearly took one with me for the ride home but figured I could make it the three blocks to my house after going four hours without.
It was an hour-and-a-half into my shift before I realized I wanted to smoke. And I wanted one bad. I almost cried. I almost went home to get my cigs. My boss took pity on me and offered me one her nasty Camel Lights (I only smoke cloves), and I took her up on it. To my astonishment, it didn’t taste as bad to me as they usually do. It was a delicious smoke. I made it through the rest of my shift with only mild distress that I didn’t have any, but we were pretty busy so I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it anyway.
Then I discovered I’d be making a trip to another store to pick up and return with some supplies. As I was leaving, I discovered an open, but mostly full pack in my purse. I almost cried (this time with tears of joy). I smoked two in the car. I just finished the pack minutes ago. (I only had two cigarettes during my 7-hour shift tonight, plus two while on my break.) That is an improvement. Well a little bit at least. Unfortunately, I make up for it at home while sitting at my computer when I practically chain smoke.
I’ve decided that my addiction is more mental than physical, since I can go without nicotine for long periods of time when I’m busy, but smoke like a fiend when I’m bored or in an area in which I can smoke with abandon.
So, I’ve decided to call my doctor tomorrow to request a prescription for Zyban. Since I’ve read that you start Zyban at least a week before throwing the wrench into the works, I’m a bit more relaxed. I had NorwegianBlue pick up a pack for me tonight. But I’m going to refrain from buying any more cartons. They just make me complacent. One pack at a time until the Target Date. But I MUST call my doctor tomorrow. Last time, I kept conveniently forgetting to do so.
I’m hoping that the anti-depressant helps ADHD and OCPD also (my son has been treated with Wellbutrin of ADHD). I haven’t officially been diagnosed (due to insurance issues), but I fit the profile for both disorders to a tee. If it has any positive effect, it may give me the encouragement I need to find a way around the obstacles in getting diagnosis and treatment. If Zyban helps and I have to give it up once I’ve successfully quit smoking, then I may want to seriously consider treatment for ADHD/OCPD longer term.
So, I’m still smoking (although a little less), I’m serious about quitting, and I’m calling the doctor tomorrow. I’ll keep y’all up-to-date on my progress.
Baby steps.
Ultra, how you doin’? Does skank tobacco make you smoke less? My wheels are turning.
CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!
I just burned a whole in my brand new Spongebob Santapants pajamas when a cherry fell into my lap.
:mad: :mad: :mad:
Let’s add this to the list of things we won’t miss when we’re smoke-free.
CG, when I quit 5 and a half years ago - on 12 July 1999, to put a finer point on it - it was after reading the Allen Carr book mentioned earlier in this thread. This book is all about the mental side of the addiction (and you are right, IMHO - nicotine addiction is mostly in your mind). I won’t go on and on about it (though I could, happily) but I strongly urge anyone who is trying to quit and hasn’t read the Carr book to pick up a copy. I never thought I would quit until I read it. After reading it, I quit with ease! Ease, I tells ya! The biggest difference between that and my previous (lame-ass) attempts to quit was that the book kind of de-brainwashes you of the idea that you enjoy smoking and want to do it (which is your brain’s way of rationalising smoking to itself) so that when you stop you genuinely do not want to smoke. I never would’ve believed it would be possible that I could rid myself of the desire to smoke, but it can be done and the Allen Carr book is very good at doing that. To illustrate, I had my last cigarette ever before going to bed that night and I could not wait until I got up the next morning when I would have the first opportunity to not have one when I would’ve otherwise had one.
I wrote to the good Mr Carr to thank him after reading the book and he wrote back straight away. What a guy! sniff
I read the experiences of people here who still want to smoke years after they’ve quit and I know how much hell thats gotta be. I have never wanted to smoke since I bogarted my last and so its been pain-free. I stress that I’m not big-noting myself there and I owe most if not all of it to Mr Carr. I am sure I would be sucking one back right now if not for that guy.
What ya gotta do is get bronchial pneumonia and cough up a little blood. That’s what turned me around. I was a smoker since age 16 (1938) up until 1971 and had achieved the rate of 3 packs a day. After my scare I decided to quit.
And then I dedided that I would smoke Tiparillos (sp?) because I wouldn’t inhale them. So I bought a box of 5. The first one tasted so bad to me (personal opinion I can’t say they are objectively bad) that I thought, “Nothing at all is better than this.” I threw the other 4 away and haven’t smoked since.
In quitting drinking I found it helpful to not say I was going to never drink. Rather I would just put of this drink for a little while. Then put it off for another little while. And it worked.
I just quit two months ago after swearing that I never would. I stopped after hearing of a guy who has to get his leg amputated because of smoking. Lung cancer is other people but that really hit home and scared me enough to quit.
It’s soooo boring though!
It’s been one week for me without a cigarette. Had one evening of heavy cravings over the weekend and I tried a Commit lozenge for that which seemed to do the trick.
The thing that’s currently motivating me is that I added up how much my husband and I smoked between us (about 2 packs a day, him a little more than a pack a day and me a little less) and it added up to $200 + per month. We’re so tight on money right now and I can’t imagine having an extra $200 to spend on anything each month. If I feel like smoking now I remind myself how I can’t really afford it.
I’m using the money saved from not smoking to justify keeping my gym membership. I like my gym membership and don’t want to give it up unless I really have to. Knowing that I’m saving $200+ each month not smoking feels very good.
For me, though, the cravings hit hardest on the weekend. Purely psychological I’m sure.
I have to say that I’m in a much better mood than I was 1 week ago. Quitting really makes me cranky at first.
Well, here I go again. I cut up $10 worth of cigarettes before I went to bed last night. I’m wearing a patch, and I successfully made it to work without stopping and getting any. (Also threw away yet another lighter, and all my ashtrays but one. It was my grandfather’s - I can’t can it.) So, we’ll see.