I am trying to help myself by asking others how they cope:
1. Were you a heavy (1 pack cigs or more a day) smoker?
2. How long has it been since you quit?
3. What caused you to quit?
4. Do you still crave tobacco and smoking?
5. If you do still crave, how often do you think about it?
6. If you do still crave, what helps you get over it?
7. Do you feel that you may someday fall off the wagon?
I’ll start:
Yes
8 months
Heart attack/heart surgery
YES
Every damn day, several times a day
The certain knowledge that if I start smoking again, I would consider myself one of the dumbest bastards walking the planet.
Were you a heavy (1 pack cigs or more a day) smoker?
1/2 a pack to 1 pack. Depended on how much beer I drank (if any).
How long has it been since you quit?
October 30, 2007
What caused you to quit?
Cut beer out of my diet.
Do you still crave tobacco and smoking?
No.
If you do still crave, how often do you think about it?
I don’t crave them, but some times they smell good to me. My hubby still smokes at least a pack a day.
If you do still crave, what helps you get over it?
I kind of ‘change the subject’ with my mind. The feeling passes.
Do you feel that you may someday fall off the wagon?
Well, a part of me says that one day when I’m ancient I will pick up my bad habits again. So, when I’m, say, 70 you might find me with a beer & cigarette. Or not. I don’t worry about it any way - if by chance I’m at a party and drink a couple beers and have a few cigarettes, I’m not going to think it’s the end of the world; or that I’m going to start back up.
I think quitting drugs back in the 80’s gave me a stubborn desire to ‘never be addicted’. Also, I was not much of a ‘daytime’ smoker - I didn’t have the little rituals like folks do (catch a cig on break, smoke one after lunch, etc.).
I don’t know how much help that will be to you, but I wish you well in your endeavor.
I tried to edit my original post, but time expired.
I did quit once for two years a long time ago (and started again :smack: ), but I don’t remember it being as much a struggle as it is now. Back then, I was able to exercise far more strenuously than I can now, but now, my reasons for staying off the cigs are far more compelling.
I am simply amazed that I think about this terrible habit as much as I now do.
Were you a heavy (1 pack cigs or more a day) smoker?
2 packs a day for 20 years
How long has it been since you quit?
9 years. Yikes.
What caused you to quit?
I’m a cheapskate, cigs went to $2.50 a pack, and I did the “per annum” math
4 (and 5, and 6). Do you still crave tobacco and smoking?
No.
Do you feel that you may someday fall off the wagon?
No.
Were you a heavy (1 pack cigs or more a day) smoker?
25-30 cigs a day
How long has it been since you quit?
5 years
What caused you to quit?
I started dating a doctor. No joke.
Do you still crave tobacco and smoking?
Yes.
If you do still crave, how often do you think about it?
Only when I smell it.
If you do still crave, what helps you get over it?
When someone is smoking nearby I just walk over to them and inhale as deeply as I can. Then I smile and tell them I used to smoke. They smile, and I’m over it.
Do you feel that you may someday fall off the wagon?
I’m like you, looking forward to the day when I’m in my rocker on the porch and can say “fuck it.” It’s nice having a goal.
Were you a heavy (1 pack cigs or more a day) smoker?
Yes–about a pack and a half to two pack a day for 10 years
How long has it been since you quit?
1 year, 7 months, 22 days
What caused you to quit?
Found out I was pregnant
Do you still crave tobacco and smoking?
Occasionally, but it’s pretty rare
If you do still crave, how often do you think about it?
Maybe once a month or so…usually when I’m stressed out
If you do still crave, what helps you get over it?
I just remember that I have someone counting on me to be around for a long time. I tell myself it’d be selfish to start up again, in my case.
Do you feel that you may someday fall off the wagon?
Sometimes, I worry about it, but really doubt it’s likely. I’ve come this far; I’m stronger than that. Oh, and I like taking full breaths of air.
Were you a heavy (1 pack cigs or more a day) smoker?
Yes, a couple packs of unfiltered Camels a day (Lucky Strikes, if they were out) for about 5-6 years
How long has it been since you quit?
about 25 years, but it took almost 4 years to quit completely; I’m counting from the end of that time
What caused you to quit?
I’d wake up in the morning feeling like an elephant had been sitting on my chest.
Do you still crave tobacco and smoking?
no
Do you feel that you may someday fall off the wagon?
never
Were you a heavy (1 pack cigs or more a day) smoker?
2 packs a day for 15 or so years
How long has it been since you quit?
5 years
What caused you to quit?
bunch of stuff, dad died, moved into a new home, money
Do you still crave tobacco and smoking?
I think of it occasionally, if you would call it a craving, it only lasts for a few seconds. More like, ooh, a cig would be good now.
If you do still crave, how often do you think about it?
once or twice a month
If you do still crave, what helps you get over it?
realization of my own stupidity
Do you feel that you may someday fall off the wagon?**
I was stopped before for a 5 year stretch, and started again, so it could definitely happen.
1.1 pack a day for 25 years
2. about 9 years
3. started having tightness in chest, cough.
4,5,6. Not much craving after 1st 3 years.
7. If I smoked one I’d be hooked again. This is terrifying. I won’t take that chance.
Were you a heavy (1 pack cigs or more a day) smoker? Yes, I was up to 2 packs at the end. I smoked for 25 years.
How long has it been since you quit? It will be 3 years in May.
What caused you to quit? I always said I’d quit at 40. Also, I wanted a new car and what I was spending on cigarettes a month was enough to pay the car payment on the car I wanted.
Do you still crave tobacco and smoking? Not really, but once in awhile, like while watching Bridget Jones smoke in Bridget Jones Diary, I had a slight pang.
If you do still crave, how often do you think about it? Not often, and the feeling is gone in a flash.
If you do still crave, what helps you get over it? I don’t really crave; like I mentioned it is quick pangs.
Do you feel that you may someday fall off the wagon? If I found out the world was going to end tomorrow I’d head to the nearest store and buy enough smokes to last me until the end of the world. Otherwise, no.
Were you a heavy (1 pack cigs or more a day) smoker?
No
How long has it been since you quit?
1990-something
What caused you to quit?
allergies - I’d get horrible headaches, sore throats, & sneeze attacks. I would only smoke outside w/the exception of a bar.
Do you still crave tobacco and smoking?
No - but funny thing is that when I was pregnant w/the youngest I craved ciggs. No, not eating them but smoking them & being around smoke. It was odd because I was a casual smoker beforehand & 'bout the only time I smoked was when I was partying.
If you do still crave, how often do you think about it?
no. yuck. I’m so allergic I cant even be around someone who smokes.
If you do still crave, what helps you get over it?
My mom recently stopped by going on Wellbutrin & she said it’s ceased her cravings.
Do you feel that you may someday fall off the wagon?
well… maybe if it’s a mary-jane (for medicinal purposes, of course!)
Surprisingly, I am the black sheep of the family - Mom, dad, brother, cousins, aunts & uncles all smoke.
Were you a heavy (1 pack cigs or more a day) smoker?
1 pack, maybe 1 1/2 if drinking
How long has it been since you quit?
May will be 4 years
What caused you to quit?
It built up over time. Always knew it was bad for me, but it took time until I ‘wanted’ to quit.
Do you still crave tobacco and smoking?
Every now and then I get a little urge.
If you do still crave, how often do you think about it?
I’d say once every couple of weeks.
If you do still crave, what helps you get over it?
It’s such a minor urge (compared to quitting) that I just take a deep breath and wait a minute. It goes away
Do you feel that you may someday fall off the wagon?
Nope. No way, no how. Quitting was such a bitch, and I never want to go through that again.
Were you a heavy (1 pack cigs or more a day) smoker?
A little less than a pack a day on average for 16 years.
How long has it been since you quit?
I quit January 1, 2008.
What caused you to quit?
I was driving home and smoking the last cigarette in my pack. I got down the the filter, looked at it, and said “I’m not going to buy any more of these.” I flicked it out the window and didn’t buy another pack on the drive home.
Do you still crave tobacco and smoking?
Occasionally, but not often.
If you do still crave, how often do you think about it?
Maybe once a week now.
If you do still crave, what helps you get over it?
Telling myself I don’t want to lose the time I have invested, that I don’t want to start spending all the money I’ve saved so far, and I don’t want to start the coughing, hacking , wheezing ritual up again.
Do you feel that you may someday fall off the wagon?
Were you a heavy (1 pack cigs or more a day) smoker?
1 to 1 1/2 packs a day x 28 years
How long has it been since you quit?
September 1, 2002
What caused you to quit?
The last straw was not being able to smoke at a job I loved. Either I could quit the job or quit smoking. Other things went into the decision like not wanting to smoke around my potential grandkids but the job was the push I needed.
Do you still crave tobacco and smoking?
Not anymore. I did for the first year or so on the really stressful days.
If you do still crave, how often do you think about it?
N/A these days
If you do still crave, what helps you get over it?
N/A
Do you feel that you may someday fall off the wagon?
No, but that’s why I can’t even experiment with one cigarette on a really bad day. I know I would be back to a pack a day in a heartbeat.
Some people think this is really strange, but I still have the half-pack of cigs I had when I quit. For the first six months, just knowing they were in the house in case I decided I had to smoke one comforted and strengthened me. Now I keep them out of habit.
Just returned from a trip to Iceland where I realized I was terribly out of shape.
On occasion. Mostly at this time of the year, when the snow is melting and the sun is warm and all you want to be is outside again. But then I get over it.
Were you a heavy (1 pack cigs or more a day) smoker?
1.5 to 2 packs a day, for decades.
How long has it been since you quit?
Will be one year Wednesday.
What caused you to quit?
I’d wanted to quit for years and couldn’t get it done. Chantix made it possible.
Do you still crave tobacco and smoking?
No
If you do still crave, how often do you think about it?
No craving, once or twice a day it may occur to me that I’m doing something that I used to do while smoking, but that’s not a crave.
If you do still crave, what helps you get over it?
N/A
Do you feel that you may someday fall off the wagon?
No. I honestly do not want to smoke one. I can’t imagine ever wanting to smoke another one.
