Have You Quit Smoking?

[Home_and_away]

I am trying to quit yet again. I've done it before for the kids, meaning for someone else. This time - doing it for me. I realized that I really don't like being so addicted and it's like someone constantly tells me what to do, somebody (something) else is in control of me. That is not normal. So I missed a smoke and nothing happened, I missed another and was still here, nice, I felt really proud of myself. Gradually, I missed more and more smoking breaks and managed three days without smoking at all. After those three days, I tried one, but the taste was disgusting! I was surprised just how yucky. That taste and also the way my head spinned really put me off. It was like I finally tasted the poison. BUT the brain gets very creative with nicotine craving, so every other day I am back to half a cigarette because it seems that I really need it, but then it is just disgusting, so I throw it out. The point is just to remind myself that it doesn't give me anything and that I have s choice. Stopping at once is not my way, definitely. Some foods are also of help-like milk or milkshakes-smoking after that feels horrible. I was surprised at how quickly I felt improvement, virtually on the first night without so much smoking I already slept better. And to think that I wasn't even planning to quit... I was very comfortable with my smoking ritual+coffee. And now it just sounds crazy. Life goes on without it just fine. I did start a new addiction though, now I do crunches:)

[PeteC]

....an FYI, today is day 36 for me without a smoke and ties the longest I've ever gone. Last time when I tried to quit a few years ago I was still on patches at day 36, and for some unknown reason simply went out to the store and bought a pack of smokes ...no clue why I caved at that particular time.

This time cold turkey but I admit every few days now I chew one piece of nicotine gum so the urge/addiction is still there to a small degree. I may make it this time, hopefully. Next report in September and if clean.......I think I can say I made it, we'll see. I sure as hell feel better, breath better, sleep better, have more energy, better in bed and family doesn't complain about cigarette smell anymore. Pete

[Bristolian]

Well done Pete. Day 36 and going strong. Keep going!

Never managed it myself, I guess my willpower is simply not there.

Look forward to your next successful report.

[migrant]

Pete, great job!!

I don't smoke cigarettes, just the occasional cigar, but my son, who works for me does. He smoked 6-7 cigs a day at work, not sure how much before and after work.

About a month ago he bought a e cigarette and has cut down his smoking to 1/3 with, he says, he doesn't miss anything.

He says that the e-cigarettes vary in quality and the high end really makes a difference. I guess you refill them with a liquid mix, can pick flavors and nicotene content so can taper off if desired.

[PeteC]

There's a couple things BR to keep in mind which I've found to be true:

1) When it's time your body will tell you. People had told me that for years and I just smiled. But it happened to me as well. There's some mechanism in a person which simply says, "Enough!".

2) You have to do it for yourself first and foremost. Many comments you read say....I did it for my wife, daughter, son, family etc... That's great if it helps you mentally, but at the core you have to do it for yourself.

3) It's scary to think that if you don't stop by the time you reach 60 or so....you may never stop. As we know the body doesn't do well fending off attacks from nasty things as we age, and 10 to 1 if a person is a 50+ year smoker something nasty will make your end days very unpleasant. True that no guarantee even if you stop that the damage hasn't already been done, but at least you can say to yourself that you won by beating an addiction.

A funny story in that I had no intention to go cold turkey. I started off with patches again. However, I've had a load of patches here for years and what I used had expired in 2007. I thought I would try them and psychologically they seemed to work even though I was getting no or very little nicotine from them. I felt terrible the first 3 days as obviously I was going through rapid withdrawal but I felt better because I had a patch on. After 5 days I simply stopped putting them on and by then I had gone cold turkey without really realizing it.

The best part about it now is that on a daily basis I'm having new sensations I probably haven't felt since a teenager. Everything is simply starting to work better, and my energy level is off the charts. I'm also much more patient with things and people. I really loved my smokes, no denying that, but I like myself much better without them. Pete

[London Boy]

Dont want to put a damper on anything but if anyone who thinks the crave for a smoke goes away it does not. I packed up 2 years ago and still feel like a smoke but thankfully I still resisit

[PeteC]

Dont want to put a damper on anything but if anyone who thinks the crave for a smoke goes away it does not. I packed up 2 years ago and still feel like a smoke but thankfully I still resisit

Today is 3 months for me, the longest I've ever gone without. I don't have strong urges for a cigarette any longer, but I do for my piece of nicotine gum. It seems I've traded one for the other, but the gum is only about 5 pieces of 2mg per day. Not a big issue if I'm out for hours without, but there is still a small craving after many hours so in all honesty, I'm still addicted. Sooner or later I'll get a handle on the gum issue. Pete

[Takiap]

Pete, there is always so much said about nicotine addiction, hence the reason we get patches; gum, electronic cigarettes and etc, but to be honest, I actually question the "nicotine addiction" theory. My reason being...........



Even with patches and/or gum, I crave a "cigarette"
Using an electronic cigarette, I still crave a real cigarette
If I change over to rolling my own, I still crave a cigarette


Right now, I'm rolling my own using the little 5 baht packets of tobacco you can buy in the shops, and to be honest, I am craving a cigarette just as much as I do if I go cold turkey. So far (about a week and a half) I've resisted the temptation to buy any regular cigarettes. I feel noticeably better and my cough has virtually disappeared altogether.
Interestingly enough, I have not noticed the same difference in the past when changing from regular cigarettes to rolling my own with tobaccos such as Drum and etc. I can only think that this cheap Thai tobacco I'm using has few additives or whatever.

The bottom line is, I'm convinced cigarette manufacturers use certain tricks/substances to make cigarettes more addictive than they would otherwise be.

Anyway, I'm going to hang in here with these awful hand rolled things and then try to drop the habit completely in a month or two.

[PeteC]

Good for you Takiap everyone has their own method and if yours works, great.

I've always questioned what is in Thai tobacco, or if what's in manufactured Thai cigarettes like Krong Thip, Falling Rain etc., is really tobacco at all. The difference is hugely distinct compared to a major brand manufactured cigarette IMO. Maybe it's vegetable matter of other origins. Pete

[Big Boy]

I'm still addicted. Sooner or later I'll get a handle on the gum issue. Pete

Keep at it Pete, you'll get there eventually.

I actually question the "nicotine addiction" theory. My reason being...........

Even with patches and/or gum, I crave a "cigarette"
Using an electronic cigarette, I still crave a real cigarette
If I change over to rolling my own, I still crave a cigarette

Mrs BB was told by the medics that she would never be able to give up, yet she persisted. It was lozenges that helped her in the end. If she didn't have a lozenge when she needed one, her cravings for a cigarette were extremely strong (read she got very angry). She would pop a lozenge, and return to her normal state within a minute. It took over 2 years to get her off the lozenges.

At the end of the day, it's what works for you. She went through all the gum, patches etc. For her, the answer was lozenges, and a lot of determination. You need to keep experimenting until you find the aid that works for you. However, don't even think about it until you have prepared mentally, and have enough self determination.

[Terry]

Keep at it Pete

You'll know when you're really kicking it.

It's when you stand / sit next to a smoker and smell the nicotine stained clothes.
Then say to yourself - SHITE - I USED TO SMELL LIKE THAT!

It works - believe me

[PeteC]

Keep at it Pete

You'll know when you're really kicking it.

It's when you stand / sit next to a smoker and smell the nicotine stained clothes.
Then say to yourself - SHITE - I USED TO SMELL LIKE THAT!

It works - believe me

It has already in airports during my trip east in July. I also notice it on things like sofa pillows in our living room that I use to prop up my back. The cigarette smell is still in them, and I never smoked in the house or anywhere near the pillows. The smell came off of me after the fact.

The smell of a cigarette does not lure me to smoke, but it is not yet totally repulsive either. I would say it's unpleasant, which I guess puts me in the middle somewhere in this process. Pete

[Bamboo Grove]

prcscct wrote:

Today is 3 months for me, the longest I've ever gone without. I don't have strong urges for a cigarette any longer, but I do for my piece of nicotine gum. It seems I've traded one for the other, but the gum is only about 5 pieces of 2mg per day. Not a big issue if I'm out for hours without, but there is still a small craving after many hours so in all honesty, I'm still addicted. Sooner or later I'll get a handle on the gum issue. Pete

Good on you, Pete. The toughest part should be behind of you now. I ate gum for more than six months, can't remember for how many exactly but in the end I switched from nicotine gum to norma, which had a strong taste. After about a year quit the gum use as well and have neveer since fancied....gum. Even after 17 years without cigarettes, if there's only one person smoking, sometimes the fragrance of the smoke brings back old memories.

[AhFarangJa]

January 1995,
I guess I was very lucky, just decided to stop as where I was living was hot and humid so it affected my breathing. Never touched another one since
The strangest thing before that, was that every time I went to a country where the weed was dirt cheap, i stopped, then when I went back to England, I started again!! figure that one out!!
I too am like Terry now, I cannot stand the smell of the things, and I agree with you Terry, a reformed smoker is the worst kind of moaner!
I just want to say to all of you out there trying to quit, you have my utmost respect and best wishes for a successful outcome

[PeteC]

Back to this old thread again. As indicated I quit on May 12, 2012 after 45 years of smoking, cold turkey and have had no tobacco since. Interesting event happened today. Per our other thread on how to get rid of garden pests eating everything, I've mixed up a batch of Thai loose tobacco soaking in water, then transfer the liquid to a sprayer. It has kept anything and everything off the yellow lemon trees I'm trying to grow from seed. Today however I got a bit sloppy and spilled a lot of the substance on my hand, but continued on with my chore before washing it off. Within about 2 minutes I got a nicotine buzz the likes I haven felt since my last cigarette 3 years 4 months ago! I'm here to tell you that if a long term tobacco user, I don't think you ever lose the feeling of satisfaction when you happen to get a dose of nicotine. I now have to make sure I don't take a bath in my spray stuff anytime soon! Pete

Where are we with this thread now concerning all those then who were in the process of quitting, success or failure? Those who failed...have you tried again since last posts perhaps with better results?

I'm a few weeks in now having gone cold turkey this time and I agree, it's really the only way to get feeling "normal" again without a lot of repeat symptoms when using patches or gum. I am no way cured though. I could fall through the ice at any moment, not from a craving for nicotine, but simply because I really liked to smoke. Having said that, the list of benefits of stopping is massive, the list of negatives of stopping is empty except for that old rush of pleasantness with the first few smokes....followed by a week of misery once again when trying to stop again. Not worth the roller coaster ride any longer. I think a time comes for all of us when it's simply time, and our body and mind tell us so. Continued good luck to those who are trying. Pete