Quitting smoking

[Patti]

I gave up cigs and started vaping.

And then one day I threw all of it in the trash.

If you make up your mind to quit, you’ll quit.

[higgy baby]

I miss nothing more than a cigarette. I smoked most of my early life- well from about 64 to 91. Chewed and dipped Skoal for a few years, but smoking was my big thing.
I started back briefly around 2012- off and on for a year maybe? Tried vaping a couple times- not my thing. I would start back smoking today if I believed it could be made safe.

[Arthur H]

I was a pack-a-day man until I got sick and tired of arranging my activities around every cigarette. Added to that was the insult at the tobacco counter of paying an outrageous amount of money for a carton of Marlboros. When I lived in Chicago and worked at the steel mills in Gary, I'd buy cartons of cigarettes for me, my wife (Kents) and my mother-in-law (Virginia Slims) on the Indiana side and beat the City out of some of its high taxes. It's outrageous to spend big bucks for poison. Furthermore I got tired of stinking and knowing that around people, I was unintentionally offensive. It put me in mind of the smell rum bums had when they came in to cash their welfare checks every two weeks. Very unpleasant.

I started working it down from 20 smokes a day to 19 and on down the line. I would choose an everyday trigger event like coffee breaks, pee breaks, etc. and deny myself the required smoke until the next trigger event. I was down to five a day when I started working at a hospital from which I immediately came down with pneumonia. That was the end of my habit. November 2008.

You have to want to quit. It's a commitment. I believe words have meaning, so I stopped saying, "I'm trying to quit" to "I have quit." If a friend asked if I wanted a smoke, I would not confess to my want. I only admitted that I had quit. Stuff like that. You are not alone. Very many of us have quit, like you have quit, and have happier lives; not to mention the myriad financial benefits. You'll make it if you want to.

[BMcPhe44]

My Wife and I have never smoked and I have never had a tobacco product of any kind in my mouth. My Parents both smoked for 40+ years, Dad passed away with lung related diseases though they both had quit in their 60s. When my Mom quit no-one thought she could do it but she did----cold-turkey, Dad had a little more trouble but he finally got it done. I believe it helped him live another 15 years.

When I was very young my Mom started in on me to never smoke and over the course of my childhood made me promise at least a 100 times that I would never start smoking. I didn't and it was probably one of the best gifts I gave her, and then I finally realized she was actually giving me the gift. I thank her daily, I hope she hears me.

I wish you success Lion, according to my Sister and BIL you will never regret it. Good luck.

[Texas Red]

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.

Wish me luck.

Tons of luck!

All four of my grandparents were smokers. It killed 3 of them. The 4th lived to 93 but the last 30 years weren't good for her. My younger brother was a smoker. Cancer claimed him 13 years ago at age 50.

Tobacco = no good

[The Badger]

Good luck to the OP.

My Dad smoked from age 18 to age 84 and one day quit cold turkey (Feb just after his 84th birthday). I figure he spent $25,000 on his smoking habit.

I'm fortunate in that I never started smoking, (nor do I drink). He died at 91. He never had any smoking related illnesses, no lung disease that I'm aware.

[jmf552]

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If I can give up hot apple cobbler smothered in French vanilla ice cream, you can give up the danged cigarettes. And I didn't even give myself a Christmas card.

But what if you had to give up bourbon? What if your doctor told you "no alcohol?"

I like the joke my Dad used to tell where a doctor tells his patient he would add 30 years to his life if he gave up "wine, women and song." The guy thinks about it for a few moments and says, "I think I'll just add 10 years. I never could sing worth a darn."

[Lionround]

My daddy used to say, "I don't drink anymore. I don't drink any less, either."

[Bama61]

I wish you all the luck in the world. I smoked for 40 years and just quit this year. I just went past 4 months without lighting up and I can tell the difference. The habit is still there and deep, which causes issues, but the desire for nicotine is gone. I hope it sticks for you as I'm hoping it sticks for me.

[oldnfat]

I have never smoked or used tobacco, but I have friends who did. Quitting was a battle for them. Some succeeded and some didn't. Most of the ones who quit did it cold turkey. There are meds that can help such as Chantix or others. Fight the good fight and remember you want to spend every minute with family and friends that tobacco takes away from you.

[Texas Red]

Tobacco, the consumer product that when used as intended, causes great harm or death.

[Hoganbheag]

Good choice, I know you can do it, and if you should fall off that horse, just get back on and go again! Remember these words:

"A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits."

Richard M. Nixon

[high pockets]

Reading this thread reminded me it's been about 35 years since I quit smoking. Like you, @Lionround, it was an illness that prompted my actions. I had a bad case of tonsillitis and was unable to smoke during the episode. I was very fortunate in that I had no real desire to start up again after I recovered. It absolutely drove my wife crazy as it took her several tries before she was able to quit.

Best of luck to you, and just think of how much more ammunition you can buy now.

[Lionround]

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Good choice, I know you can do it, and if you should fall off that horse, just get back on and go again! Remember these words:

"A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits."

Richard M. Nixon

Wait a minute. So since I quit, smoking that is, that means I am finished. I don't think I like that.

[ccw9mm]

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Wait a minute. So since I quit, smoking that is, that means I am finished. I don't think I like that.

Finished challenging the bucking horse, that is.

You've gotten past the "bucking" ... at least, so far. Good job.

I can think of one buddy's who's had a devil of a time kicking the habit. Tried, again and again. Don't know if it's the residual chemicals doing that, or just lack of willpower. (Perhaps the big cig firms know. They've certainly had enough time to fiddle with the contents in order to make it as addictive as possible.)