[maddy42]

Originally Posted by prasadee

Your friend who does not know you have quit offers you a puff of his lit cigarette - that would be the hardest call you would have to make. If your friends are chain smokers, then you obviously have way too much risk with second hand smoke. Time for new friends??

Well the prob is all friends are trying to quit and the funny and weird part is we hardly meet once in 3-4 months and thats when we end up smoking for old times sake.

New friends is difficult as these are my college buddies am talking bout. Anyways will put my best effort.Don wanna smell bad all my life

[bblost]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Well the prob is all friends are trying to quit

There is no such thing. You either QUIT or you continue smoking.
Setting a future date for quitting is just another backhanded way this devil plays with you.
Will you let someone slap you everyday with a promise of stopping in some future date.
Then why do you do it to your lungs, your circulatory system, your health, your family, your life

Quit NOW. The best time to do something good is NOW.

And once you quit and go smoke free for atleast 6 months, you will realize what a beautiful thing it is. There are such small changes which occur in your body.
Food tastes so much better. You remember how feeling hungry feels. Even minute amounts of spices in food make themselves felt.
With increased blood flow your skin looks and feels much better.

When smoking I would always be worried when sitting close to my family. As honestly I knew even then that I stink. No such issues now. I am so much more comfortable with them.

And if any women is smoking and thinking of getting pregnant, she might as well get ready for a complicated pregnancy. If you find the famous book, what to expect when expecting, just glance thru the section entitled "Managing a difficult pregnancy". Almost all the complication mention smoking as a cause.

And if you are smoking man and planning on being a father someday. Best of luck with getting yourself ready for action. Smoking causes ED. It also changes the structure of of the sperm and can lead to complications in children born to smokers.

The benefits of giving up smoking are second to having never picked up a cigarette ever.
If only I could go back in time and kick myself when I smoked my first cigarette, I would.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Well the prob is all friends are trying to quit and the funny and weird part is we hardly meet once in 3-4 months and thats when we end up smoking for old times sake.

Originally Posted by bblost

There is no such thing. You either QUIT or you continue smoking.

+1 to what bblost says. This is what I posted in this thread one year ago, and would like to repeat it for the sake of those who came much later to this thread, which I myself am re-visiting only now:

I have not gone through the entire thread, but having quit the habit twenty years ago, I think I can safely assume that I am one of the senior most quitters! I stopped smoking the day my marriage was fixed. Prior to that I had been smoking for about 8 - 9 years, and averaged 4 - 5 cigarettes (Wills Filter/Goldflake Kings) a day, not counting the occassional binge. I know it was not high, but a habit is a habit.

I would like to share a few thoughts with guys who are planning to quit:

1) The first is the fact that the urge for a smoke may never go away completely. Even now I get an occassional pang. A smoker in the vicinity does not affect me, but if someone opens a new pack - aaahh, that aroma! Just learn to ignore it.

2) Even if you do give in and have a smoke, don't lose heart. Just having one smoke after abstaining for months / years does not erase your "record' and set the clock to zero. Just tell your self "Ah, that was just one smoke in --- months/years" and carry on. Many people lose heart after having one such smoke and think "what is the use? I can't quit this habit". Don't fall prey to it. It is not virginity, to be lost forever!

I do have the occasional cigar/cigarette (may be 3 - 4 occassions a year ) when I attend parties and think nothing about it. It is statistically insignificant, so I am still a non-smoker!

3) The best time to quit is now, not from this evening / tomorrow morning. Put out that cigarette and throw away the packet in the dust bin, however full it is. Don't think you can reduce gradually and then taper off, that will mostly not work.

4) AFAIK, props / substitutes don't work either. Don't worry about withdrawal symptoms, you are a man and can overcome them by sheer will. Will power does over come Wills power, believe me! If you absolutely must, than pop a Polo / Halls when you feel the urge.

5) Last, but no the least, for God's sake do not switch to Gutka/Pan masala instead of cigarettes. That will be jumping in to the fire from the frying pan.

Best of luck!

[Zombie69]

Been there done that..but not able to quit. My job is so stressful, I'll have to have that cigarette instantly to release that stress otherwise my fuse blows and i have observed I'll be very much ill tempered all day long. But one fine day I'm gonna jump off the wagon

-Z

[Thad E Ginathom]

My job is so stressful, I'll have to have that cigarette instantly to release that stress

No you don't. Part of the stress that you feel is the nicotine addiction: without smoking you feel less stress

Part of you will read this and think it is nonsense. That's the addiction too. Addiction even changes the way you think.

Without smoking, there will be less stress in your life --- but yes, there will be a few days when it will feel extreme. If you must (I did) you can help your body get through this with nicotine patches or gum.

You can give up smoking if you want to. Everything that says you can't, all the excuses, every single one, is just the addiction talking.

Giving up smoking is easy: I've done it lots of times!

Yep... that was me, for years. Half-hearted attempts, sometimes even the best of intentions, but not enough will to beat it.

[vkochar]

I started smoking at the age of 19 - almost 10 years back. Just a fashionable thing we all did not knowing what lay ahead of us.

Started by smoking Marlboro Lights, More Long Cigarettes, Benson & Hedges and the lovely spicy cigarette called Gudang Garam. It was a ball for us young lads to smoke away quitely on terraces, lonely roads, and friends houses.

What started off as a kick, fast became a habit - needed our regular brand which came out to Classic Regulars every few hours. Parents did not know and we thought they did not know but otherwise They also ignored the fact because at least we smoked on the sly and not in the open.

So came a time when I was 21 and the habit was developed and me and my friends used to smoke one after every meal or whenever in the market and in movie halls. You get the idea !

I moved to Delhi for 2 years and worked in a IT / BPO company and the 4-5 cigarettes suddenly became 10 - 15 ciggies a day / night. It was everywhere. From a small town ( Agra ) I suddenly noticed every person smoke ( or at least half of them did ) including females. Suddenly it was everywhere.

There was the occasional urge to leave it BUT in such an environment where veryone has a fashionable smoke break - it was wrong for a young lad to leave. What would he do in his break ? Surf the net or sit at Barista ! So ok let's have that smoke.

Switched from Classic Regulars to Milds. No difference.

Stayed in Delhi for 2 years and then moved back to Agra in the business.

Things were tougher here, I smoked anytime I wished BUT now back in the company of family, it cut down to smokes after dinner with friends.

The BINGE smoking carried on in parties.

So came a time when I got married at the age of 25 ( Love ) and it cut down to a certain extent but still carried on as wifey always knew I liked smoking.

I am overweight, I weigh 95 at 6 ft tall. Not obese BUT yes I am heavily built so my stamina was going for a toss. I stopped a few times BUT always got back.

THEN suddenly in 2008 - I decided to leave smoking, it did not happen overnight. I switched to Ultra Milds and made a pact that I will NOT smoke during the day. Only after dinner. This went on for a few months. I was down to 2 ciggies a day. Very happy I was.

Then in 2009 late I said I have to quit it. Took me another few months to do so.

As of today I can go without a smoke for a week. No problems.

The only time I have a urge is when I drink. That is something I cannot get out of my system. It could be twice a week or once.

So I have narrowed it down to 2 cigarettes in every party where there are drinks.

BUT still I have progressed and I am sure one of these days the urge to smoke even when I drink will go away.

You can QUIT too. You just need to be confident and have great will power.

[prasadee]

Originally Posted by vkochar

So I have narrowed it down to 2 cigarettes in every party where there are drinks. You can QUIT too. You just need to be confident and have great will power.

Sorry, this is not quitting. This can probably be classified as - reducing the frequency of smoking. When you stay away from smoking for at least a year, (if you have smoked for a decade) one can say I have quit. 2 years for 2 decades and so on. When you have quit there cannot be any exceptions. When there is an exception, you will only want to pull out this exception card every day. If you were to drink everyday, because that is the only time you can smoke, wouldn't that be worse? Same deal with old times sake excuse. There was a mistake in judgement made in the old times, why repeat it? I am not trying to be critical of your thoughts, but having been there, I am trying to help with another line of thought.

[vkochar]

Originally Posted by vkochar

As of today I can go without a smoke for a week. No problems.

The only time I have a urge is when I drink. That is something I cannot get out of my system. It could be twice a week or once.

So I have narrowed it down to 2 cigarettes in every party where there are drinks.

BUT still I have progressed and I am sure one of these days the urge to smoke even when I drink will go away.

You can QUIT too. You just need to be confident and have great will power.

Originally Posted by prasadee

Sorry, this is not quitting. This can probably be classified as - reducing the frequency of smoking. When you stay away from smoking for at least a year, (if you have smoked for a decade) one can say I have quit. 2 years for 2 decades and so on. When you have quit there cannot be any exceptions. When there is an exception, you will only want to pull out this exception card every day. If you were to drink everyday, because that is the only time you can smoke, wouldn't that be worse? Same deal with old times sake excuse. There was a mistake in judgement made in the old times, why repeat it? I am not trying to be critical of your thoughts, but having been there, I am trying to help with another line of thought.

Prasadee - Read my lines again in the order I have written I never said I quit completely. Its happening and I am getting there.

Sorry BUT I am not that strong on will power that I get up one fine morning and say OK I am finished and done with smoking. Everyone has his own way of quitting. Just shared my way.

I respect your definition of quitting. I know I have not done it completely. Just sharing my experience.

[DRIV3R]

Finally, an organization that supports this cause.

Hats off to Shamjibhai Khunt, Chairman of the bank.

If you are like your cigarette or gutkha, the Rajkot People’s Co-operative Bank has no job for you. The bank does not hire anyone who smokes or chews tobacco.

And, customers with these habits have to pay higher interest if availing a loan.


“It is my belief that a person not addicted to smoking or chewing pan, gutkha or tobacco performs his/her duties in a far more better way than those who are addicted,” says Shamjibhai Khunt, chairman.

TOBACCO-FREE

* An employee has to give in writing that he/she has no habit of smoking or chewing tobacco
* An employee can be terminated if found to have such addiction later
* Even a customer with these habits has to pay 1% higher rate of interest for a financial service
* The bank’s chairman applies these rules on students and their parents in schools run by him

Adding: “I hate bad habits; hence, I believe it is my priority to ensure my staffers are not addicted. They are allowed to have only tea in the bank. If anyone smokes or chews tobacco, they are not allowed to work in my bank. It is strictly prohibited.”

Shamjibhai believes an addiction-free working environment saves time, money and one’s life.

Employees are required to give an assurance that they do not smoke or chew tobacco or gutkha. “The board of the bank has the rights to make rules and regulations for smooth functioning of the bank. As far as this perticular rule is concerned, the prospective employee is informed well before his joining and he is inducted in the bank only after he agrees to abide by the rule in writing,” Khunt explained.

The bank also reserves the right to terminate the job of an employee who gets addicted after joining the bank.

As noted earlier, even customers who deal with the bank are not spared. A customer with these habits has to pay one per cent more interest on a loan.

Banking sources here say that barring one incident, nobody had till now objected to this rule. About 15 years earlier, an employee who was dismissed on these grounds took legal recourse. However, the bank won the legal battle against its former employee.

However, cooperative bank experts say the move could later prove detrimental. “While the RBI may not have a direct guideline against smoking or any addiction, someone can lodge a complaint against the cooperative bank with the apex bank,” says an expert.

The bank has five branches in Rajkot and 75-odd employees. It proposes to start five new branches near Rajkot. It has 17,000 accounts, with Rs 96 crore of deposits.

Apart from the bank, Shamjibhai runs a boarding school here with the same rules for staffers, students and their parents.

Source: Don't bank here if you smoke

[Thad E Ginathom]

Hmmm. Mixed feelings about that. Ban such consumption on premisses by all means, but (apart from personal freedom issues) there is a good concept that addiction is a sickness, not something to be victimised.

But, would I like to sit next to someone, all day, who stinks of tobacco? No, I wouldn't, and I feel the same about the stench of that other legal drug, the one we don't talk about here!

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please take the time to use proper punctuation as per Team-BHP rules. Avoid...typing...like...this. Thanks.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by prasadee

Sorry, this is not quitting. This can probably be classified as - reducing the frequency of smoking.

Still a huge achievement. Vkochar went from a "daily" smoker to a "social" smoker. At one time, he blew 15 cigarettes a day (or 105 a week). Now, he's down to 2 a week.

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Finally, an organization that supports this cause.

Hats off to Shamjibhai Khunt, Chairman of the bank.

Hats off? I'd say he is the biggest idiot I have heard of in recent time. Firstly, his belief that non-smokers would contribute more (work wise) than smokers is completely off the mark. Second, he does NOT have the right to discriminate between employees or customers based on whether they smoke or not.

Thanks for the headsup. I do have an office branch in Rajkot and will be sure to steer clear of the Rajkot Co-Operative Bank. His stance on smokers shows that he is a man of extremely limited thinking.

[Surprise]

1345 days without a puff & counting.

Originally Posted by Gansan

I have not gone through the entire thread, but having quit the habit twenty years ago, I think I can safely assume that I am one of the senior most quitters!

20+ years. Now I know whom to follow..ofcourse without even a puff, else I know where I would end up as I do not have that sort of finer control over it (one or two cigs or puffs)

Originally Posted by Gansan

1) The first is the fact that the urge for a smoke may never go away completely

+ 1. With failures of getting started even after 1.5-2 years of quitting, I knew the first puff would spoil all the effort.

It is very important to get into the awareness mode when such thoughts occur & smile at those, instead of falling prey to those thoughts. I knew what I will miss if I get back to the smoking habits...

Originally Posted by Gansan

5) Last, but no the least, for God's sake do not switch to Gutka/Pan masala instead of cigarettes. That will be jumping in to the fire from the frying pan.
Best of luck!

Been there & done that. I always ended up with an additional problem...good that you have pointed it out

Originally Posted by GTO

Firstly, his belief that non-smokers would contribute more (work wise) than smokers is completely off the mark. Second, he does NOT have the right to discriminate between employees or customers based on whether they smoke or not.

+1. As an employer it is accepted to expect employees to maintain their health on long run & motivate them to get into healthier habits, but differentiating performance or selection based on whether one is a smoking or not is better to be avoided.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Gansan beats me by three years. It is easy for to remember how long ago it was, because my resolution was to be a non smoker by my 40th birthday. I was and remain so. Do I ever feel the urge? I sometimes have the thought, but it it is not really an urge. Still, I would never risk it, either by smoke, chewing or sucking, not even just once.

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by GTO

Firstly, his belief that non-smokers would contribute more (work wise) than smokers is completely off the mark.

Well, no offense to smokers, but there are research articles proving that. Discriminating smokers and non smokers is only an effort to make smokers leave the habit of smoking. Do we really need all that smoke and tar within us?

bblost has clearly pointed the ill effects of smoking which set me thinking and now on I put forth all those points to my friends who smoke, whenever possible.

Second, he does NOT have the right to discriminate between employees or customers based on whether they smoke or not.

Customers need not be discriminated. That is unwanted. And i don't support that part either.

Doesn't the employer have the right to write his own terms and conditions for his organization and design his employee contract terms?

People can take it in the right perspective that it is all for a good cause and not to discriminate or highlight smokers.

[Thad E Ginathom]

When I smoked, it took up a lot of my working time, especially when I used to roll my own. Still, after I gave up I just found other ways to waste time!