buns3000, thank you! I bought the book, read it (loved it) and haven’t smoked since.
If this keeps up (I am so confident it will), I’ll have to think of something to show my appreciation to you for your suggestion. I never would have even considered a book (how the hell is a book supposed to help me quit smoking?) if you hadn’t suggested it.
Perhaps a donation to your favorite charity? The amount of money it’d take to buy my cigarettes for 6 months, maybe.
As of right now, I’m officially going to second buns3000’s suggestion of The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, by Allen Carr. I picked it up for under $20 at Barnes & Noble. It’s a good book, funny, and very smart. Perhaps it won’t work for everyone but if it doesn’t work, give it to someone who might benefit from it.
chatelaine, it’s good to have you. I wish you the best of luck in your quest to be a non-smoker. How’s everyone doing? Anyone? Guys??
“There is a wind of change in society. A snowball has started that I hope this book will help turn into an avalanche.” - Allen Carr
I’m a long-time failure at quitting smoking, but this year I seem to have done it.
I guess having a close family member die of lung cancer helped supply the necessary motivation, but it still wasn’t easy.
You are going to gain weight. I don’t care how much you work out. Unless you just quit eating altogether, you will gain weight.
I used the patch. Two weeks at 21 mg, two weeks at 14 mg, then two weeks at 7 mg. I am coming up on a full month without a patch ot any kind of nicotine substitute. I do okay until I get around other people who are smoking. This has pretty much cut down on socializing with my family. Or going out. Or drinking alcohol.
I’m hoping I don’t gain weight, but becoming a non-smoker is just one part of a larger plan; to be a healthier person for myself and my son, so I can keep up with him and stay around for him for a real long time. This includes eating better (NOT dieting in the “Low Carb, Low Fat, Subway, Grapefruit Only, etc” way, just healthier food in smaller portions), exercising more, taking vitamins, etc. So the weight thing shouldn’t be too big a deal and, if it is… :shrugs: I’ll just have to work harder, that’s all.
Still smoke free, but I did have to take the time to read the book again because I didn’t feel great about it. I’m better now. Bringing this back to page one so buns3000 sees it, and so everyone else can report back. How’s everyone doing?
In relaying the feelings & experiences on the 8th day of going cold turkey, I’m wonering if I should downplay them - or tell the truth (no pun intended).
Flips coin - Heads (i e Truth).
Do I miss smoking? Fuck yes.
I loved my cigarettes; Winston during the day, Camel Exotic Blends at night. On the ride to work in the morning. At my desk as I concentrated. After a good meal. With a cocktail or beer. On the back patio of all my favorite taverns. After sex. Damn…I miss em. I miss lighting em, making sure I had em with me wherever I went, blowing smoke rings, french exhaling.
Will I Go Back? No.
To be honest, I can’t really say why, but I know I won’t. Did I feel any negative health affects from smoking for nearly 20 years? No. Was I worried about cancer? No…All the smokers in my family lived into their 90’s cancer-free. Did any non-smokers I was close with I ever comment I smelled like an ashtray? No. Were my teeth or fingers yellow? No. Did I think cigarettes cost too much? What price pleasure, I guess. Like I said, I can’t really come up with a good reason for quitting - It’s probably a combination of the fact I’m a headstrong kraut who went and promised my 2 young daughters that I’d quit and now that I have, I can’t go back.
What will I be saying a year from now?
I’m still a non-smoker who enjoys an occasional cheap Hava-Tampa Jewel cigar or a bong hit every once in a while. I’ll continue to admire cigarette smoking from afar and try to understand the whole psychology behind what makes some reformed smokers such militant cigaphobes. Maybe some day, I can even look forward to becoming a social (<1 pack a month) smoker.
I got my Wellbutrin and have been on it almost 2 weeks now. I was amazed at how fast it worked. The first few days I told myself only 1 cig every hour and was counting the seconds to that next hour. I kept weaning and now I’m down to 1 per day. Not sure why I feel the need to have 1 per day, but I do.
I don’t even miss it. I thought I would. I think part of me not missing it is a VERY timely cold that makes smoking less fun. Plus the Wellbutrin makes cigs taste horrible and smoke is even worse.
I can also go really long spans without even thinking of cigs.
My reward for myself will be getting my car detailed to get that “new car” smell back. It’s not even a year old and it smells like a barroom!
It’s been 1 month, 1 week, 15 hours, 52 minutes and 27 seconds. I have not smoked 764 cigarettes. Make that 763 because I had one over the weekend. One. It was so good it made me realize I could start smoking again right that minute. I have been having cravings pretty regularly. And I even think of starting again. I miss it especially in the mornings with coffee and in the evenings before I go to bed. Then I take a deep breath, realize that the smoke smell is gone from my hair and clothes and breath and car (even though my apartment still has a bit of a smell). And I have saved over $150 and my purse doesn’t have bits of tobacco in the bottom and I don’t have to worry about having enough cigs and I don’t have to bother going out to get them. This is my 3rd quit and it is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I pray that there is no emotional crisis in my life because it would give me an excuse to start again. I have a few mantras that help me. The most powerful one is: “Is smoking an acceptable reaction to xxxx?” The answer in all cases is NO.
I hadn’t checked this thread again and missed it when it got bumped back.
Well done, Silver Fire and everybody else! I’m so glad that book has helped you, SF ! I must say I had a similar reaction to the idea that a book could help. I also didn’t believe the claim Carr makes early in the book that you will quit at the end of the book and you won’t need any willpower. I remember reading that and thinking “bullshit”, but it turned out to be true (for me, anyway).
After reading the book, I wrote to Carr to tell him how grateful I was for helping me quit and he wrote me back straight away. What a guy! sniff
I don’t want to be a wet blanket–and I truly do wish you well–but if the above is true, then it’s not gonna happen. You just cannot quit unless you really WANT to. Trust me, I’ve been there. I only finally DID quit about a year and a half ago because I really, really wanted to. The other thing is, a habit smoker cannot ever become a social smoker. If you do quit, STAY quit. If you ever smoke a single cigarette ever again, you WILL go back to your old habitual level again in short order.
Q.E.D. I don’t know that I agree 100% with your statement. I used to think this was an absolute but there’s a lot more to quitting smoking than just wanting to. I really didn’t want to quit, but I realized I had to quit. Most people quit because they want to, but some quit because they have to, usually for health reasons. I have days where I know I could easily start smoking again but some subconscious thought keeps me quit. My sinus problems and allergies aren’t the worst the doctor has ever seen and if I started smoking again I probably wouldn’t feel a whole lot worse (since I don’t feel a whole lot better not smoking). But I still feel I have to stay quit. A person does have a better chance of staying quit if they reallyreallyreally wanna but won’t necessarily fail if they don’t. I do agree that if you quit, never have another one. Ever. Although I did not practice what I preach and had one 2 weeks ago. It was so good that I knew I could start again. So quitters, lissen to me. Don’t have one. One is too many and 1,000 isn’t enough.
I’m starting day 10 - with a nicotine patch. I entirely agree that one cannot become a social smoker after quitting. That’s what did me in back in 2001 when I quit for three months. “Oh, just one won’t hurt.” Before I knew it, I was back to three packs a day. So now I’m doing the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life for a second time. Not a lot of fun.
The good news is, I haven’t given the book to my mom yet, so I can read it again. I have a list of excuses a mile long for why I smoke again, but I know they aren’t valid, so I’ll spare this group. At the same time, I really have no idea why I did. Anyway, despite this setback, I’m still pretty optimistic.
I think we weaklings like to have temptation removed from our presence.
Okay, 6 weeks nicotine free, and the weight is finally starting to drop a bit. Of course, I’m more active (just walking now, and light weights; I’m still kind of weak in some respects from the motorcycle accident back in July) and the sudden, irrational cravings for Bacon Double Cheeseburger, Super-Size Onion Rings and Jumbo Shake have subsided enough that I can ignore them to some degree.
But I know that if I am out drinking and having a good time on a Saturday night, it will be a monumental act of will to avoid lighting up.
Good luck on the trials and congratulations for the successes all around.
I quit smoking cigarettes a few weeks before my 18th birthday (isn’t that something) because I realized that I didn’t smoke for enjoyment, I smoked to smoke; and for something that detrimental to my health, I damn well better enjoy it to do it. I don’t think I was ever addicted, because I didn’t (and don’t) miss them and never had a craving or withdrawal. I’d still smoke one every once in a while if I was out with my friends and they were all smoking, but it’s mostly a “bleah” reaction when I do, so I’ve pretty much stopped entirely just out of lack of enjoyment.
I still smoke shisha (no-tar, low-nicotine flavored tobacco out of a hookah) sometimes, and I tried dipping yesterday (free samples at the Circle K before the football game) and might try it again, although I don’t plan to make it a habit.
