The Great Straight Dope SMOKE-OUT Topic

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Today is Day 1.

Besides me, I believe we have weirddave and Jeannie also quitting today. Cristi will be joining us some time either later this week or next, after she’s been on the Zyban a while. Lissa announced she’s quitting, but is reluctant to go cold turkey right now.

And of course we have Satan, Bucky & Delta who all quit 3 weeks ago.

Any other quitters out there? AuntiePam?

Does everyone have their meters?

Some things to remember as we battle this demon…

Wally’s Words of Wisdom: smoking is dumb… smoking is dangerous… smoking is expensive… smoking is an addiction… You will stop this nonsensical habit now… You’ll never be sorry if you beat this.

Butt-Out Benefits Checklist.

From the Canadian Council on Smoking and Health & the University of California.

After 20 minutes without a cigarette: pulse rate drops to normal.

After 8 hours without a cigarette: carbon monoxide blood levels returns to normal.

After one day: risk of heart attack decreases.

After two days: sense of taste and smell improves. Nerve endings start to adjust to the absence of nicotine.

After three days: bronchial tubes relax. Breathing is easier. Lung capacity increases.

From after a month to nine months: exercise becomes easier, smokers cough decreases, energy is up and sleep quality improves.

After a year: risk of heart disease is cut in half.

After five years: significant reduction in risk of lung cancer. Death rate from heart disease drops to that of non-smokers.

After ten years: risk of mouth and esophagus cancer decreases. Risk of lung cancer is almost the same as if you’d never smoked. Precancerous cells are replaced.

GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!

2

Shayna, let me be the first to welcome you to our little “clique”!

I can’t speak for the others, but this time around was pretty easy for me. I’ve quit several times before. Most recently, I was only smoking for a couple of months.

Good luck, and remember that we’re all behind you!!

Still a former smoker

3

Thanks, Delta! And congratulations on your 3 smoke-free weeks! This is one clique I’ll gladly become a member of.

I replaced my morning cigarette with a brisk walk on the beach, filling my lungs with fresh sea air instead of smoke. And I feel great! And this is the first morning I actually have no craving for a cigarette whatsoever. Woo Hoo - I hope it lasts!

My last cigarette was last night at 11:15pm PST. My meter now reads:

8 hours, 0 minutes and 47 seconds.
4 cigarettes not smoked, saving $0.62.
Life saved: 20 minutes.

That’s not exactly accurate because they take the number of cigarettes you smoked per day and divide it by 24 hours - and no one smokes while they sleep. I would have smoked only 1 cigarette so far today if I were still a smoker. But the meter will ‘even out’ as the day continues.

Dave and Jeannie, how are you guys doing today?

4

Shayna, you’re over the first hurdle. You’ve made the decision. You’ve put it off a dozen times. A hundred times.

Now, finally, you’re on your way. Stay strong.

Smoking has, in recent years, become a pain in the ass. Everywhere you go, there are No Smoking signs. People huddle outside in the cold to snatch a few puffs because they work in a smoke-free office. You can’t go to the theatre and light up. Hell, I can give you dozens of examples, but the point is, when you’re out in the world, you’re on edge. Waiting for that opportunity to have a smoke. It’s a form of slavery.

After you’ve stopped for a few weeks, You’ll begin to experience a sense of freedom. You won’t have to worry if you have enough cigarettes or when and where you can have your next smoke.

You’ll walk into a smoker’s house and wonder how that person can stand the smell. Then you’ll remember that the person practically has no sense of smell.

You’ll bite into an apple and wonder how they managed to improve the taste. Actually, your sense of taste is returning.

I could go on and on, but you know all this stuff.

Do this and I promise that you will believe that this is the best thing you have ever done.

Stay strong. You can do it.

5

I’ve done pretty well today, I think. I’ve made one cigarette last me all day by only taking one or two puffs and then putting it out. I also left all of my cash at home, so I can’t “drop by the store” and pick up another pack. Wish me luck, guys!

6

Wally, your words here have been so incredibly helpful to me. I just can’t thank you enough. You always seem to know the right thing to say at the right time. You rock!

Lissa, that is awesome! You know I’m pulling for you all the way. Come post here if you start going nuts and need to vent, ok?

I’ve managed to make it through the morning, although the cravings have been a bugger. I’m doing a lot of deep breathing and I’m drinking a ton of water. I drank a whole 24oz sport bottle just on the short trip to work this morning. I think before the week is out my cancer and heart disease risk may go down, but I might drown instead.

I have a splitting headache. At least I’m not bitchy yet. :smiley:

12 hours, 59 minutes and 9 seconds.
6 cigarettes not smoked, saving $1.01.
Life saved: 30 minutes.

7

Shayna, I did a quick calculation, and determined that you were paying $3.36 per pack for your cigs.

What on earth did you smoke that was that expensive? And aren’t you glad you’re not smoking it now?

8

Oh Drain, that’s nothing. That’s what I was paying for an “off” brand (Misty). The big name brands, like Benson & Hedges, Virginia Slims, etc. are well over $4.00/pack here.

And if you think that’s bad, try being a smoker in Canada. My sister, who lives in Alberta, pays over $7.00/pack!

And yes, I’m very happy not to be lighting that money on fire anymore. Now if I could just have the strength to keep this up. I’m dying for a cigarette. This Zyban isn’t helping at all. :frowning:

9

Well, I did it. I amde it through the work day with no cigarettes. My last one was at about 9PM (Central Time) last night. I am having trouble installing the meter, but I’m trying to download it again. When I have some numbers, I’ll let you know.

Now, the hardest part comes. My biggest smoke time is when I’m on the computer. So, you may see more posts from me, as I have to keep my hands busy doing something.

I also have a supply of sunflower seeds, corn nuts, gum, and a LOT of lollipops to keep my hands and mouth busy. I know, it’s not the best stuff for me, but in comparison to what I’m getting rid of…

I am also taking an herbal supplement called Kudzu. It’s supposed to help you get over addictions. I may have to start taking another supplement to help me relax (like Kava or something). I am so on edge today.

10

Okay, I got it all set up. Here’s my meter:

18 hours, 35 minutes and 37 seconds.
11 cigarettes not smoked,
saving $2.32.
Life saved: 55 minutes.
That’s based on 15 cigarettes a day, which is probably average, depending on where I am and if I’m around smokers. And, if anyone’s interested, it’s based on $4.00 a pack, which is about what I’ve been paying lately.

11

Just wanted to say Good Luck to all of you! It’s really very inspiring for me - I haven’t been able to quit. I’m really happy for you all. :slight_smile:

12

Way to go, Jeannie! It’s nice to know I’m not alone in what I’m going through today.

I don’t really have the hand-to-mouth problem, so using other oral substitutes to cigarettes won’t help me. I’m physically going through withdrawal right now. I’m light-headed and a bit disoriented. I can’t concentrate on anything for any length of time. I have a headache. And I’m now starting to get irritable.

I’m going for another walk when I get home from work tonight. I can’t sit still.

I’ve tried this a dozen times before and the longest I’ve been able to go is 5 days before I started digging butts out of the trash. I filled my trash can with dirty cat litter this morning and plan on taking it to the dumpster tonight when I get home.

I’m trying. I hate this.

14 hours, 51 minutes and 14 seconds.
7 cigarettes not smoked, saving $1.15.
Life saved: 35 minutes.

13

Thanks, Missy! Believe me, I know what you mean about not having been able to quit. If we can inspire you, that would be great. Just pick a date to quit and come in here and rant with us!

Jeannie, we were smoking about the same. I ran a Quicken report to see how many cartons of cigarettes I’ve bought from the place I get them. I went back 10 months and had bought 18 cartons. That worked out to 12 cigarettes a day (which is about what I thought it was already, without the calculation). I paid, on average, $31.00/carton.

How are you feeling tonight?

15 hours, 1 minute and 13 seconds.
7 cigarettes not smoked, saving $1.16.
Life saved: 35 minutes.

14

Shayna, good luck! You can do it if you really want to. Especially with you living in California, you realize more than most the ostracism that comes nowadays with being a smoker. (See Wally’s post)

Take all the money you used to spend on cigarettes and put it in a piggy bank. At the end of a pre-determined period of time (e.g. one or two years) do something fun with the money!

How’s it going so far? Are you happy as a lark, or are your co-workers tiptoeing around you with fear etched in their faces? Either way, there’s a benefit.

Good luck!

P.S. Have you ever seen the Kenneth Branagh/Emma Thompson film “Never Again” ? If so, go rent it, it’s a great story and there’s a scene in there that will help strengthen your resolve.

15

D’oh! Not “Never Again”, it’s “Dead Again”, directed by Kenneth Branagh, starring Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson.

16

Arnold, honey, I’m in agony here! But so far, no one’s been on the receiving end of my frustration, thank goodness.

I can’t focus. And I’m tired. And it’s going to get worse before it gets better. I’m hanging in there, though.

I keep thinking about you and Elizabeth smoking those fake, chocolate cigarettes the night we all got together. I wish I had me some of those right now. LOL

I’m setting up a separate account to put my former cigarette money in. I’m not sure yet, but I may use it to help put a downpayment on a car next year.

Thanks for the encouragement - you’re a doll.

And yes, I’ve not only seen Dead Again, I have it on video tape. Loved that movie. I haven’t seen it in a long time, though. Remind me what scene you’re talking about.

16 hours, 5 minutes and 39 seconds.
8 cigarettes not smoked, saving $1.25.
Life saved: 40 minutes.

17

The scene in Dead Again: The detective (Branagh) goes to interview an old man in a nursing home. The nurse says “whatever you do, don’t give him any cigarettes.” The man has a hole in his trachea to allow him to breathe. KB gives him a cigarette for information, the man smokes the cigarette through the hole in his throat, and when he tries to return the pack to KB, KB says “no thanks, I just quit.”

I don’t know that those chocolate cigarettes would be a good replacement. Maybe celery sticks! You don’t want to lose your beautiful figure now that you’re looking for cigarette substitutes.

18

Oh yeah, I do remember that scene. That was gross. Thanks for reminding me - I’m now over this latest craving. :smiley:

16 hours, 26 minutes and 5 seconds.
8 cigarettes not smoked, saving $1.27.
Life saved: 40 minutes.

19

This thread is making me wistful.
I threw out my pipe collection 3 years ago when I moved, after never going anywhere wthout a pocketful of pipe and tobacco.

Don’t know why I picked that time to quit, but I was having a garage sale. I was trying to set prices based on how much I would pay for the item at someone else’s sale.
I realized no one would want old pipes, even me.

I know it’s not logical, but somehow, it worked.

Now I only want a smoke when I watch old Sherlock Holmes movies or read a random thread like this one. The mood always passes before I’m next out of the house.

The nice thing about quitting pipes over cigarettes is that it’s a lot harder to bum one at a bar.

20

I am doing okay. I went with my husband for his doctor appointment (nothing big, just a check-up). While I was there, I asked the doctor how long this withdrawal will last. He said about a month. A month!? I was discouraged when I heard that. I can’t stand this today, much less for a month.

The nurse told me, though, that every time we have a craving, there is a window of opportunity to let it pass. Once it passes, we’re okay for a while. And she said the cravings get to be fewer and fewer.

I was irritable at work earlier. Now I guess I’m a little high strung. That’s what my husband says. He says I’m talking fast and rushing around a lot. I just want to smoke. But I know I can stop.

Hey, Satan…how are things with you now? Are you still having cravings at all?

My meter now reads:

I have been smoke free for: 22 hours, 25 minutes and 27 seconds.
14 cigarettes not smoked,
Money saved: $2.80.
Life saved: 1 hour, 10 minutes.

I can do this.