It does get easier. I quit smoking on January 4th (3:30 AM, to be exact) and while I’ve backslid once or twice, and I still have a craving every now and then, I’m now at the point where I don’t even think about cigarettes most of the time - and I was a smoker for 21 years. Last night I when I was at a friend’s house getting plowed I smoked a few. But today I’m back to not thinking about them.
I know I’ve posted this story before, but what finally did it for me was having to dispatch an ambulance to an elderly man on oxygen who set his face and hands on fire while lighting a cigarette. I decided I didn’t want that to be me in 40 years.
Patches worked for me. Other people swear by gum, lozenges, or cold turkey. I’ve heard nothing but raves about the Allen Carr book, although I’ve never read it. Eventually, you’ll find whatever works best for you, and you’ll get it done.
Bonus tip: I’d tried to quit smoking numerous times, and each time I went into a panic when all the cigarettes were gone; I just became fixated on the fact that THERE WERE NO SMOKES IN THE HOUSE, OHMYGOD, WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO?!? This last time, I had two left, and I put them away in a drawer. For some reason, just knowing they were there, and I could smoke them if I needed to, made me not need to. I ended up smoking one, but the other one is still there; I’m trying to think of something bizarre and symbolic to do with it when January 4th rolls around again.
I actually do have a cigarette in the house, but it is inscribed with the names of a couple of girls I met one night about 5 months ago. Can’t smoke that one.
I am really tempted to slide back once in awhile. From past experience, I’ve found that its ok for me to smoke while quitting if I don’t have a craving at the moment. Then its more pleasurable (sic), and not as addictive, for some reason. If I give in to a momentary craving, then I find myself up to a pack a day in short order. The first way, I don’t have another craving for a few days at least.
There’s no other way than to just quit. If you want to stop, there is no middle ground.
I smoked for twenty-something years, quit for five, then smoked again for three years. I’ve quit again, and I think this time it might stick. But if it does, it will be because I realize that there’s no way to be a “social smoker”, and you never really quit…you’re just between smokes at the moment.
I still get the urge for a cigarette now and then. It does get easier, though.
I’ll have to agree that smoking is an all or nothing affair. I used to tell myself that I only smoked when I drank then I found myself having a drink every night so I could light up.
I thought I enjoyed smoking too. I didn’t want to quit my husband did and I resented that fact that he couldn’t do it alone and wanted me to quit with him.
But I did manage to quit and you can too.
I haven’t smoked since January 2, 2005. So this is four months today for me. Yay!
I am fortunate enought that my body refuses to let me smoke more than a few cigs a month…I get really sick after a week or so of regular smoking.
If you are looking for something to help ease the tension, try cinnamon sticks. Seriously. Same size as a cigarette, you can fiddle with it incessantly, and you can nibble small bites off of it. Not the end-all-be-all solution, but it helps a bit.
Well, good for you for recognizing that there’s no such thing as a “momentary craving” for you. Sure, there are people who can have just one or two without its becoming an addiction, but you’ve already established you’re not one of those people.
So you still like to smoke, and want a cigarette. Big deal; that’s not the reason you’ve quit. You’ve quit not because you hate smoking, but simply because there are a million reasons not to do it. Cancer. The stink. Bad breath. Stains on your teeth. Emphysema. Cancer (it’s worth mentioning twice). Shortness of breath. Ash all over your car. Cigarette butts everywhere. Having to go outside. Just the social stigma in general. Impotence. Poor circulation. Heart strain. The high cost. Just the idea of being addicted to something – having to do it instead of wanting to do it. And cancer.
Don’t think of it as denying yourself something that you enjoy doing – think of it as getting rid of something that’s unquestionably, undeniably bad for you, and that you just don’t need.
And yeah, that’s easier said than done – I’m still addicted and still haven’t been able to even resolve to break the habit. But I do know that every time I’ve had any success at all, it was because I had the mindset not of denying myself something pleasurable, but freeing myself of something awful.
Good luck Gabe. I just passed 14 months, and can say it gets easier. Lots easier. Smoked for most of 30 years, and really saw my self as a Smoker, it was a part of my identity. I am getting over that now, and can honestly say there are days i don’t even think about a smoke anymore.
