So, I quit smoking. The best thing? Wow! Klondike bars really, really taste great. The worst thing? What the fuck do I do with my hands during social interactions?
Uh, the obvious “insert dirty comment here” can just be e-mailed to me privately. 
Best!
Byz
Well, I wouldn’t say I quit, it was more like I stopped. I do this spontaneously every so often. See, I smoked for a while in college.
Anyway, it was for about 3 years. So then one day I think to myself “Smoking sucks. It makes me out of breath and smell like ass. Plus it tastes like shit and it doesn’t make me look cool, it makes me look like a dipshit.” So I just stopped. This went on for about a year, then I started again. for 3 months. Pack a day, just like before. Then I quit again for about 9 months. Then I started again for about 7 months, and then, a mere 3 months ago stopped again. So I am currently a non smoker. I don’t feel the urge and it makes me nauseuos to smell it and it bugs me, but I don’t say anything because nothing is more annoying then the “ex-smoker cigarette nazi asshole”, except maybe people who post really long sentences. <~~ (case in point.) 
So anyway, I don’t see what the big deal is, I really don’t. There seem to be about
X million people just dying to quit smoking but can’t. The addiction thing has to be bullshit because I have plenty of addictions, just not to nicotine, apparently.
I hope I don’t sound like an ass, I don’t mean to. I just didn’t find it that hard to quit smoking, I quit all the time.
Fat Guy in a Little Coat,
SDMB Self-Righteous Clique
Great, go ahead, post with one of my biggest pet peeves. No spaces, just posting random assed thoughts… oh, yeah, I’m so fucking happy now.
There is this thing, called a paragraph break. But I can’t talk about that now or everyone is going to go, “Gosh, she’s just being a bitch because she doesn’t have a smoke.”
Great. Thanks a lot! You wanker! Can’t post so you just make fun. Fuck you! I’d kick you if I thought I could get a smoke out of it. I’d verbalaly abuse you if I thought it would help… nope, it doesn’t. ARGGGG! No, not ARG220. I’m just saying ARG like I just want a smoke. Blow me. NO, that won’t help either… shit.
One is too many and a million isn’t enough. Anyone get that?
Best!
Byz
The one time I was able two quit for about 2 years was due to a bet with a good friend who also smoked. We were very competetive and there was no way in hell either of us were going to be the first to light up.
It was another asshole for a friend the kept offering me a cigarette in a Texas barroom that got me started again.
Byz, the ‘what do I do with my hands’ thing will go away. I found myself pleasantly wired as a non-smoker. Still, pick the lint off the shoulders of whoever you’re talking to. If they object, tickle them.
Sheesh, how long has it been since you quit Byz? From your tone, I’m guessing about 3 hours and no nicotine patches
Inspired by another thread on quitting that appeared on the SDMB, I enjoyed my last cigarette 14 days, 16 hours, 50 minutes and 44 seconds ago. It hasn’t been easy but the patches have helped. I also haven’t smoked any pot in 10 days but that’s only because I’ve got tons of bills to pay. I feel like my lungs can hold all the air in the world! Food tastes great! Yippee!
Try a good book to take your mind off the smokes. Avoid the movies, though, since there’s always someone blazing up a cig. I rented Summer of Sam last night, and not only did it SUCK NUTS, but it was chock full of chain smokers! I’ve been reading the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy series, which is so truly bizarre that it almost made me forget cigarettes even existed.
The truths of religion are never so well understood as by those who
have lost the power of reasoning.
–Voltaire
I haven’t smoked a cigarette in over ten years, but I do enjoy the occasional cigar if it’s a Cuban.
I quit five times before I finally succeeded.
Don’t quit trying to quit.
I don’t have to do drugs to mess up my head. I went to Catholic school.
I quit on January 2 after 6 years of smoking a pack of Gauloises a day. I was cranky for about three days and experienced insomnia for about a week.
I do smoke an occasional cigar (I did that when I smoked cigs too) though. However, the urge to do so as a “replacement smoke” is decreasing.
You’ll be fine… you must remember it is all in the mind. You don’t need cigarettes, and once you truely believe that, quitting is the easiest thing in the world.
Coldfire
"You know how complex women are"
I stopped smoking on December 20. I smoked a pack a day for about 20 years. That’s a hard habit to break. And it is a habit…aside from the nicotine addiction. For some reason this time it hasn’t been as hard. Maybe because I had my mindset right. I know that I won’t pick another one up now. Sometimes I do get this really strong urge but it passes in a few minutes. I never realized how bad they make you smell until now when I can smell them on someone else. I always thought I was masking the smell with chewing gum and perfume. But it’s there no matter how you try to get rid of it. That in itself is now enough to make me not start back. Plus the number of people I have heard that say how unpleasant it is to see someone smoke is another factor. The thing about it is you have to quit for yourself, because you want to. Once you’ve stopped then you start to realize what a really nasty habit it is.
“Do or do not, there is no try” - Yoda
Senior Intern to
El Presidente
Self-Righteous Clique *
Apparently there is a lot of misinformation regarding nicotine addiction. If you wish to quit and stay quit you must approach it with the seriousness it deserves.
Nicotine addiction is DRUG addiction and the restlessness and unease you feel are withdrawls. A cigarette delivers nicotine just as a needle delivers heroine. Don’t make the mistake of thinking just because it’s legal it’s benign.
I quit smoking for 4 years, relapsed for 3 months, and now have quit for 5 years. As I have posted before, not a day goes by when I don’t want a cigarette. It has, though, become manageable.
I attended Nicotine Anonymous meetings for the first 2 years. There I found out the truth about nicotine and the way cigarettes have been chemically manipulated by the manufactures. Nicotine Anonymous is on-line and in most large cities. There are other support programs, most costing money. Remember: no pill, patch, hypnotist, or magic wand will make you quit smoking. You MUST stop putting them in your mouth and lighting them. By the way, I believe most quit smoking aids say on the package that effectiveness increases with a support group.
Many people find it reletively easy to “quit”. The trick is staying stopped. Please seek out help. It is out there and it is free. It could be that part of the quitting process is trying and failing over and over again. That’s what happened to me. I pretended I was “tough” and it didn’t bother me and was usually smoking again in a few days, weeks, or months.
For now, though, get rid of all ashtrays, matches, lighters, etc. Identify your triggers. If you smoke and read the paper, switch to TV news for awhile. Coffee and cigarettes? Change to tea. Do whatever it takes. The quality of your life will improve almost at once. The coughing, stinking, finding a place to smoke, low self-esteem, and feeling like a failure will disappear. If you gain a few pounds, so what? You can loose it later. Don’t give up. The urge to smoke will pass whether you smoke or not.
I’m done preaching now, best of luck!
If chickens could pee, they would be wet on the bottom.
Nothing to add but a phrase to use when the urge hits you. It has helped me a lot in the past 5 months.
‘Whether I smoke or not, this urge will pass.’
Best of luck Byz ! I have some links I will post later since they are at work.
Hey, good luck to you guys!
I’m not sure how I avoided smoking. My parents smoked (I’ll spare you the stories of the yucky black stuff they sucked out of my dad’s lungs when he was dying . . . ), my sister still smokes, and my husband smoked when I married him (my family say they knew it was true love because of how much I HATE smoking). He quit after my parents died within a year of each other AND after I admittedly went ballistic when he left an ashtray on the piano bench and Eldest Son, then just a toddler, came by and picked up and tried to eat a cigarette butt.
I’m very sensitive to cigarette smoke now. Being around it makes it difficult for me to breathe; my throat closes up. Whenever I get a package from my sister (she sends clothes her kids have outgrown), we open the box and it reeks of stale smoke, even though I know my sister has washed everything before packing it.
And I don’t know about where you guys live, but somebody told me a couple of weeks ago that the price of a carton of cigarettes here in California was some ungodly amount of money. Was it maybe $40? That alone sounds like a good incentive to quit!
Hang in there, Byz!
-Melin
Just past seven months for me… and it’s still hard at times. But it gets to be managable, and I don’t want to go through those first few days again. You can do it - in fact, you’ve already done it - you just need to stop starting. Congrats!
I am a redhead, you see, and I do not tempt. I insist. -Cristi
I’ve tried everything. Hypnosis didn’t work, I’m allergic to the patch, the gum was havoc on my ulcer, and cold turkey, well lets just say that was hell on earth for me and all of the people that have to associate with me. I think my record is 2 weeks without a cigarette.
I am really ready to quit this time. My birthday is in 2 1/2 weeks, and I think that I am going to quit as a present to myself. My friend told me that she used Zyban and it really took the edge off the quitting for her. I’m not really big on taking pills, but if it’s as good as she says, it’s worth a try. I sure hope it works.
Congratulations on quitting, Byz, I hope you stay quit!
Princess of the Time and Space Continuum since 1969 (upgraded to Goddess 01/07/00)
Senior S.S.D.A., SDMB Self-Righteous Clique =^…^=
i tried quitting a few times before i did this time.
each time i would get started again by that notorious “just one more” smoke.
this time, as i was about to have that damned cigarette, i would remember how dissapointed i am with myself after the (oh
so great) nicotine wears off. and once it did wear off, i would still have that craving for another.
this helped me get through the first while of strong cravings. remember that your long term goals outweigh the short term cravings.
but anyway, good luck.
what is essential is invisible to the eye -the fox
Byzantine, That’s great! Congrats!
I quit smoking at the end of last year for two months, then I got sick in January and started again. I’m back up to a pack a day, but I want to quit again. My SO and I are planning on quitting together. He wants to take Zyban and I’m going cold turkey (since it worked for me before). It will really help if we do it together.
This thread inspires me to quit, yet makes me want a cigarette. I’m going to resist, though.
“Don’t look at me–I’m irrelevant.”
I quit smoking on Christmas day. I got sick. I felt not the need to smoke. Inhibited the breathing function. Made cold turkey pretty darn easy.
I smoked Winstons. Most people either love’em or hate’em. Personally I hate smoking anything else. It’s all natural (so they say) and I don’t get headaches or anything else. I also don’t feel like I have to have one. Now, when I’m drinking, I need cig usually. I get the urges to light up now and again. After eating. When I’m driving (sometimes.) Occasionally I’ll get the urge. And, less than occasionally I’ll indulge in a smoke. I’ll enjoy it. And I’ll go without for however long. I don’t feel the need to tell others to quit. I’m not a jerk about things. I usually didn’t smoke at work, because I had too much crap to do to take time to go smoke. Plus, smokers are looked down upon at work. I know, I used to look down upon them. It’s the one that smokes every 20 mins that irritates me. I could have gutted that fat old man…
I know you can quit. It can be done. I guess I’ve not officially quit, because I still smoke from time to time, but I don’t smoke but maybe 1-2 cigs every two weeks or so. Usually on Friday/Sat. nites when I’m out at the club I’ll have a cig or two. Just depends.
Byz, I’m rootin’ for ya, but remember, “Quitters Never Win!”
“Rolling with the dopes you know. Rolling with the wrong gun on you”
“I dream that she aims to be the bloom upon my misery”
The first time I quit was in the Fall of '93. My (loser) boyfriend at the time was a chronic pot smoker, but made me a deal: “You quit cigarettes, and I’ll quit pot” So I quit cigarettes.
I put away 2.00 a day (which is what I would have been paying for a pack a day of smokes) until I had enough to buy the mountain bike I wanted.
He made no effort to quit smoking pot.
I was a non smoker that time for about a year and a half, and started again mainly to piss the jerk off. (Best thing I did was dump that guy for Prince Charming, who is now my loving husband!!!)
The last cigarette I had was Sept. 30, 1998. This time I quit because I found out I was pregnant. I do not plan to ever smoke again. I didn’t have a very hard time quitting either time. I don’t know why.
I did it cold turkey both times, without the aid of gum, patch, or any other aid, aside from doing crafts to otherwise occupy my hands when I found myself fidgeting for a smoke. (And staying away from all of the usual smoke-time activities like going to my favorite bar to see my favorite band… 
)
It is definitely a good thing, and I wish all quitters the best of luck!! It is definitely worth the temporary aggravation! (As long as you don’t go and commit any major crimes, now, Byz!!)
Voted “Most Popular Small Appliance” on the SDMB 1999
(ok, so I made it up!)
Chrome Toaster
byzantine:
Oh well allow me to retort:
<font size=+3 face=“impact” color=blue>
EXCYOOOOOOOOSE ME, PRINCESS!</font>
I am sooo sorry my reply didn’t fit in your little happy 1970’s retro art deco bullshit style thread.
So sorry about paragraphs and spacing and all that sorry bullshit that no one but you seems to care about.
I’m sorry I didn’t answer your lame fucking question about what to do with your hands. I didn’t think you were supposed to take questions that stupid seriously.
You want to know what to do with your jaundiced hands? Try switching which thumb is up your ass so your brain can get some air.
And another thing–huh? Wha? Oh yeah! Just kidding, so don’t take this too seriously. I think I am just sub-conciously trying to get someone to take me to the pit. 
Noonch.
There’s NO excuse. And don’t call me princess, you may call me QUEEN! Just don’t call me a smoker! Actually, my post was supposed to be a joke but my edge is a little sharp right now… gee, I wonder why? I’m glad there are no hard feelings. Next time I get really bitchy I’ll give you a ring and we’ll go play in the PIT!
I’m on day 19 and I feel pretty good. My throat feels like someone shoved a brush down it and scrubbed it with comet but I’m actually starting to feel like my old self (here, feel me). I’m not nearly as bitchy as I was.
I did use the patch for a few days but I had some kind of allergic reaction to the adhesive and had to stop. That wasn’t so bad. My addiction appears to be more psychological than chemical.
Best!
Byz
Right now I’m sick for longer than a day for the first time in about twenty years. I’ve had mild sniffles for a couple of days a couple of other times this last year.
Last night, I threw away my cigarettes. I LIKE being immune to disease, and I know that they are finally taking that away from me. It’s been about 15 hours. I’ve quit before, started again many times.
For me, it’s not letting myself give in that will be the problem. If I could find a way to have just a couple a week, I would, but I don’t seem to be able to do that.
Good luck, Byz!
Bucky
Oh, well. We can always make more killbots.