[Mr_Bean]

This is my 3rd attempt at quitting & it looks like I will succeed.. As of now it has been smoke free for the past 6 days.

Between what are the ways to overcome the temptation to smoke when having a drink? Most of my earlier attempt failed primarly because of this.

To test my commitment, I had a drink yesterday & remained smoke free, that has given me more confidence

[the-rare-one]

Q. What I smoked ?
A. Started with a brand called LEGEND, then moved on to MORE, then 555, then GOLD-FLAKE and then WILLS.

Q. When did I start smoking ?
A. Got ragged in my college by senior girls and was asked to puff away creating rings. (yes LEGEND was a girly brand )

Q. How much did I smoke ?
A. Last count when I had switched to WILLS was over 25 cigs/day.

Q. Why did I give up ?
A. Simple, got engaged

Q. When was the last time I smoked ?
A. Over 14 years ago!

Q. Do I still indulge ?
A. Yes ! Daily, Can't help being a passive smoker. (There were few instances when I puffed a cigar just to try its taste)

Q. What keeps me away ?
A. Do not feel like it anymore as its been a long time and when I look at my kiddo I even forget I am getting any older. My daughter has inspired me to be a more better person - always !

[ghodlur]

I have neven been a chain smoker in my life. As long as I can recall never more than 4 cigs a day. It had neven been a habit. I could stay without it for days together and when I felt like I need to have, I would have 5 cigs a day.

The only thing which helps me put off cigarattes is exercise. Whenever I start my fitness routine, I tend to stop/reduce smoking. But when my fitness regime goes for a toss (due to whatever reason) I tend to start smoking again. Because of this my weight keeps going like a roller coaster ride.

[noopster]

@ghodlur- there's no reason 5 cigarettes/day is a less harmful habit than "chain smoking". I hope you see that and quit for good, soon!

Exercise gives you a high that probably compensates for the lack of nicotine in your system. I wish I could exercise that easily. But that's another thread

[bblost]

@ghodlur: I vaguely recollect a research that found its actually safe to smoke x number of cigarettes. If I recall it was around 1 a year or so.

[Thad E Ginathom]

its actually safe to smoke x number of cigarettes.

where x is equal to or less than zero.

[msupercool]

I'm not a chain smoker. I have quit smoking several times and I have become so used to it that I can just do it anytime I feel like. Once I start my workouts and diet I completely quit smoking then even if a person next to me is smoking it doesn't affect me. So the thing is you just need to keep urself busy and not think about smoking. Another way of reducing it is by not carrying cigarettes along or even when you go to buy just buy one and try delaying it whenever you feel like having one. It is said that the human body is so good that the moment u finish the cigarette it starts healing itself. But quitting smoking really feels good.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

I have neven been a chain smoker in my life....

... I could stay without it for days together and when I felt like I need to have, I would have 5 cigs a day.

Well, I too have never been a chain smoker, and somewhat similar to ghodlur. I cant smoke in office, and same at home. So, the only place I smoke is in between. Nowadays its just one or two(max).

However, gulp a peg, and things change. I just cant do without a cig. The count easily goes over a pack of kings(10).

Originally Posted by bblost

@ghodlur: I vaguely recollect a research that found its actually safe to smoke x number of cigarettes. If I recall it was around 1 a year or so.

Now, that's comforting.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

where x is equal to or less than zero.

Or equal to one?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

I cant smoke in office, and same at home. So, the only place I smoke is in between. Nowadays its just one or two(max).

Me too, no smoking during office time or at home coz I am simply pre occupied. Cant think of smoking. Also I make it a point never to smoke in front of my kid. Even if I have to I move away from his sight and smoke. The fact that he can imitate my actions faster than i think scares me and puts me off.

Anybody tried Nicorette? Does it really work or a temporary thing?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Or equal to one?

No, not even one.

Anybody tried Nicorette? Does it really work or a temporary thing?

Depends on how you define "work".

It's an alternative way for your body to get a measured dose of nicotine, so you don't suffer the physical withdrawal effects so badly.

Any method of giving up is temporary if you start smoking again

[noopster]

Hey guys, with all the excitement of the Mumbai-Pune mega meet and the fact that I got laid up with a stomach bug right after (seemingly no connection between the two ), I forgot an important announcement on this thread.

On Monday June 13th 2011 I completed one year smoke-free.

I'd quit cold turkey the day after a mega wet brunch celebrating a good friend's promotion to MD at a Juhu hotel. We had an excellent spread to devour and the poolside setting and the fact that it was boys only meant that between the 3 of us we finished about two 20's packs of cigarettes that day. Or maybe 3- it doesn't really matter.

When I woke up the next morning, I told myself: this is it. A very wise friend of mine had advised me (in my numerous attemts to quit smoking dating back to my mid-20s), "Do what Osho said: if you want to quit, smoke more than you have ever smoked in your life".

I don't know if Osho actually said that but I sure felt then that I had reached that point. And there was only one way to go: back.

I had attended a self-development program back in February of 2010 where I had identified my health as one of the areas to focus on. Quitting smoking was the obvious tick item. In fact it surprised me that I hadn't completely quit right after. But all goes to show, when you will something, it takes time maybe but it happens.

Today I don't "avoid smoking", "try not to smoke", "resist temptation" etc. I still hang out with people who smoke, some excessively so. I don't pester them to quit. I also tell them when one breaks into the oh-so-familiar "I want/need/have been told to quit..." song, "Oh shut up, you'll know when you're ready!"

Thanks to each one of you faceless, mostly nameless, buddies whom I'll never share smokes with! BBlost, Thad, all of you who posted on this thread. You rock!

[harit]

Coming here after a long time.
I feel for those who need a stick to go with drink, because that, in my opinion is all in the mind. Just get rid of it, and still enjoy

What no one seems to remember is that when you regularly inhale smoke of a cigarette, or live in a very polluted environment so that you breathe a lot of filth (both are the same), your lungs create a mucus lining as a protection. So while a regular smoker does have the benfit of this, a casual smoker may not. And to the passive smoker, please be informed that this is not a freebie, it will cost you in the long run.

I am so glad about these newish anti-smoke laws. Wish they had been in place earlier. And it is so nice to see these sponsored (by ciggy companies, who else) smokers sections in some places like airports abroad, these are called "aquariums". You can stare into them, but do not try tapping the glass.

But, having said that, I do not mind the smell of a decent cigar once in a while.

Cheers harit

[Thad E Ginathom]

Congatulations Noopster.

At first I read your first line up to the "L" word, and thought, wow, this is not like T-BHP: those Mumbai-Pune meets must be quite something! Then I finished the sentence and suddenly it didn't sound like so much fun

[SajiNSalin]

It is interesting to see smokers try to give up, may be quit for a few days and then go back to the usual pack(s) of cigarettes. It takes solid will power to give up this addiction.

I am an ex smoker who used to puff away at a couple of packs a day. Smoked for about seventeen years, and tried to quit several times without success. While a bachelor, it was ok; no real need to stop. Once I had a fall from the bike and was on bed rest for a week, no smokes. Afterwards, I found three cigarettes in my drawer and decided to finish them before finally stopping. It did not work and I continued to be a smoker.

Then got engaged, fiancee didn't care for smoke rings or the 'stink' of cigarettes; kept on requesting to quit. Ok, but after marriage. Got married and then postponed the quit date; gave lots of cock and bull stories about slow transition from a pack to nil cigarettes. Worked my way to one cig a day, but the next day without a smoke looked like the end of the world!. So bargained for one cigarette a day but never kept my word when I was out of her sight.

She used to smell smoke all around, never once suspecting it was me with the stolen and undeclared puffs. After a few years she got wise to the deception going on and declared war. I would think up all kinds of reasons to be out of the house; all saturdays were busy days in the office, sundays meant for veggie shopping to keep smoking.
Then went to a doctor for some health problem; doc asked me if I smoked. Said yes, but not many a day. Doc took one look at my teeth and declared me a chain smoker. Wife was very upset, me too as doc declared that I would not get well unless I quit. This happened on a friday evening.

So I thought, let me quit. Told her I will not step out of the house on the weekend and kept my word. Believe me it was very difficult; this withdrawal symptoms, but I was determined. Monday I went to office and declared to all that I had quit and stayed in my room all day and avoided all smoker friends.

The first day of quitting was the hardest, the subsequent days progressively easier. After one week I had almost forgotten about smoking. A month passed and I continued to be free of smoking. Slowly the years passed and I have never touched a cigarette in the last seventeen years!

So, how do you stop?

1. You have to be convinced about quitting
2. Plan ahead to stop and fix D Day
3. Finish all the cigarettes in your stock
4. Inform all friends and relatives about your decision and ask them to support you; should have a trusted person to support you and encourage you in your 'distress'
5. take each non smoking day at a time; don't think of the end of the world
6. Avoid smoking friends for a couple of weeks and all parties for a month
7. At the end of each triumphant day reflect on the good health you have obtained by not poisoning your lungs.
8. The importance of smoking should be given very little weightage, eg. don't think or brood about it.


This is just a few suggestions on stopping. Other members can add more important suggestions.

All the best in your efforts to quit. I know it can be done, cos I have been there and done that.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Congratulations on your personal victory.

I think the methods and techniques may vary for each one of us, but I do believe in your number 1. The way I put it is an absolute and irrevocable decision.

The way I thought about it, at the time, was, I might loose my job, have my house burn down, a plane might crash on my parents' house, my girl friend might dump me but I will not start smoking again.

"With this stuff going on, it's just a bad time to be giving up" is one of Nicotine's favourite mental power plays.