# Smoke-free for nearly 24 hours now **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 6, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389 "2005-09-06T19:20:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/21 "2005-09-07T21:14:55Z")
Good for you, THespos! Fuck Cancer! I quit smoking five years, 7 months and 17:30 hours ago. ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/22 "2005-09-07T21:28:09Z")
> [@Dolores Reborn](#): > > You can do it! > Man, I wish I really had that $2600. šŸ˜ƒ Thanks. I wonder if I should get a jar or something and put $5 into it every day, such that when I reach the same milestone, I actually DO get the $2,600. Hmmmmā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/23 "2005-09-07T21:39:58Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > Good for you, THespos! Fuck Cancer! Seconded. Read [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=332036) and [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=333849) if you need extra motivation. If you were spending $5 on cigarettes each day, and you put that amount in the jar each day for two years, you wouldnā€™t have $2600. More like $3600 by my calculations. ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/24 "2005-09-07T21:55:26Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#): > > If you were spending $5 on cigarettes each day, and you put that amount in the jar each day for two years, you wouldnā€™t have $2600. More like $3600 by my calculations. Roughly. Cigs at my local gas station cost me $4.60. Less at the Shinnecock Indian Reservation. Now, if I buy them on Long Island before I go to work, I saved money. At the delis and bodegas next to my office, the prices are anywhere between $6.50 and $8.00. Damn. What was I thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/25 "2005-09-07T22:04:30Z")
> [@THespos](#): > > Roughly. Cigs at my local gas station cost me $4.60. Less at the Shinnecock Indian Reservation. Now, if I buy them on Long Island before I go to work, I saved money. At the delis and bodegas next to my office, the prices are anywhere between $6.50 and $8.00. > > Damn. What was I thinking? Soā€¦ after two years, youā€™d have somewhere between $3358 (at $4.60/pack) and $5840 (at $8/pack). Heck, after 2 weeks at $8/pack, youā€™d have $112. You could certainly buy yourself something nice with that. ---
**Author:** ![Wallflower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Wallflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallflower)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/26 "2005-09-07T22:29:02Z")
Good luck **THespos**! When I quit, I did use the patch that gradually lowers the dosage of nicotine, and it was a cinch. by the time I was done with the last box of the lowest dose patches, I just had a couple of very mild cranky days, no crazyness like every time I had tried to quit previously. I use the [SilkQuit](http://www.silkquit.org/) meter. One year, six months, two days, 17 hours, 28 minutes and 35 seconds. 11034 cigarettes not smoked, saving $1,930.90. Life saved: 5 weeks, 3 days, 7 hours, 30 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/27 "2005-09-07T22:48:40Z")
> [@peedin](#): > > Congratulations. May your quit last forever. I thought about doing my annual ā€œday after Labor Day quitā€ but just couldnā€™t. > > For those of you who have used Allen Carrā€™s method, please talk about it. Iā€™m re-reading the book after skimming it. What Iā€™m getting is that Iā€™m not quitting because of fear and nicotine addiction. The addiction is easy to get through (according to him) and I shouldnā€™t be afraid to quit because thereā€™s no benefits to smoking. Is this his message? I quit after reading his book. I needed to change the way I thought about quitting. I couldnā€™t think of quitting as some big sacrifice I was making:rolleyes:; I couldnā€™t think I was giving something up; I had to think of it as freeing myself from the slavery of having to smoke. Once I worked thorugh the mind games that tripped me up before when I tried to quit smoking, overcoming the physical withdrawal symptoms was a piece of cake. Honestly, it was easier than I had thought. One common trigger is ā€œIā€™m all stressed out, a cig will calm me downā€. Uh, no. A cigarette does nothing to calm one down; it is actually a stimulant. I had to get rid of all the stupid excuses I could possibly make up to have a cigarette and realize that there really isnā€™t a good reason to light up, ever. It all boiled down to winning over my own mind to a different way of thinking, but to actually read the book takes some degree of commitment - if you are reading the book you probably are serious about quitting. That is half the battle right there. Good luck! šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![pestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@pestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pestie)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/28 "2005-09-07T23:55:44Z")
Smoking sure is a pisser. Iā€™m also in the midst of yet another attempt to quit. Smoking was making me feel more and more physically ill, so I decided it was time to give it up. This was about a week and a half ago. In the past Iā€™ve quit cold turkey and Iā€™ve used nicotine gum - this time it was cold turkey. I know that irritable feeling that lasts for about 3 days. I was _so_ edgy! But Iā€™d been through it before, so at least I knew what to expect, and that it would let up. My problem has never been quitting, itā€™s been not starting again. I have to keep reminding myself of certain things. Thereā€™s nothing at all good about smoking. I do _not_ need a cigarette to help deal with stress, no matter how stressed I am. I keep telling myself that I donā€™t miss it, and I really _donā€™t_ miss the stomach aches, the coughing, the sore throats, etc. Iā€™m pretty much rambling now, so Iā€™ll stop. I just wanted to let you know that I sympathize. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/29 "2005-09-08T01:42:00Z")
Gods, I want a cigarette. ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/30 "2005-09-08T17:34:33Z")
Next update: Snapped at my mom for absolutely no reason last night. She asked me to open the door that goes out onto the roof deck outside my room and I just flipped for no reason. Five minutes later I apologized to her. Couldnā€™t tell her that I was quitting. (We have this unspoken thing about cigarettes. I pretend I donā€™t smoke and she pretends she never sees me smoking. Itā€™s a freakishly weird arrangement that seems to work for us both.) Today, I feel much better. I have cravings, but theyā€™re easily ignored. I can concentrate much better today. Yesterday before I left the office, it was getting difficult to put coherent thoughts together. Today I feel clear-headed. The only time Iā€™ve craved a cigarette is during my typical break period. Sometimes, when Iā€™m multitasking and have a dozen windows open on my computer at once, I stop everything in mid-task and run outside for a smoke so I can clear my head. This morning I caught myself heading for the fire escape, reminding myself that I donā€™t smoke anymore. So I walked over to the water cooler instead and paced back and forth in the kitchen for a bit while I gathered my thoughts. Tonight will be the true test, as Iā€™m heading out for a barbecue with a friend after work and there will be plenty of smoking and drinking going on. I might skip the beer/wine/liquor because I know this will make me want a smoke, even though I donā€™t want one right now. I cleaned all the ashes off my truckā€™s ash tray yesterday. Instead of holding butts it now houses my iPod Mini and iTrip. Perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/31 "2005-09-08T17:56:51Z")
I love the idea of getting a jar and putting money in. It could be an added motivater. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/32 "2005-09-08T18:12:50Z")
Good to hear that youā€™re still going strong! > [@THespos](#): > > Couldnā€™t tell her that I was quitting. (We have this unspoken thing about cigarettes. I pretend I donā€™t smoke and she pretends she never sees me smoking. Itā€™s a freakishly weird arrangement that seems to work for us both.) I have a similar arrangement with my mother on a whole lot of topics. Itā€™s kind of good to know Iā€™m not the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/33 "2005-09-08T19:38:55Z")
> [@THespos](#): > > I want to start Pit rants about everything. I started a mini-rants thread [over here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=333998). Rant away. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389/34 "2005-09-09T03:07:11Z")
Over 48 hours here. Still want a cig. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-free-for-nearly-24-hours-now/320389.md?page=1)