[Shiv_1984]

Originally Posted by azeemhafiz

Today marks my 1,000th day away from cigarettes. A thousand days away from smoking.

I still miss it very very deeply, sometimes I wish I hadn't quit but the benefits are here to see for I feel I have grown younger in the last 1,000 days - the food tastes better, I jump higher, swim longer, breath deeper and most of all the happiness in the eyes of my loved ones makes the 1,000 days worth it all.

From an average of 40 cigarettes a day to nothing. This had to be dealt with one day at a time, everyday you defer it.

Kudos to you. I use to smoke a pack a day and now i am down to 3-4 max. For me it's an acheivment. What i feel after smoking close to 7 yrs now is with ppl who take heavy weight oaths of not touching it again are most likely to go back to old school. If you have to quit, there is no time and tide to be waited for, do it then and there. Why finding reasons ?

And whats more important than that is the reason to stick to your promise of not smoking. As long as the reason for not smoking is stronger than the reason for smoking, you are a Hero, the day its the other way round, All ends up.

Thanks.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Smokers who quite by 40...

Hah! I just made it. A couple of weeks before my 40th birthday

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Hah! I just made it. A couple of weeks before my 40th birthday

Well I quit at 41 so maybe I too have a chance...

[bblost]

Originally Posted by carbookie

I thought I would post some encouragement.

Smokers who quit by 40 can live almost as long as non-smokers, new study says

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Hah! I just made it. A couple of weeks before my 40th birthday

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Well I quit at 41 so maybe I too have a chance...

I am not yet 40.

I could have continued smoking for at least a few more years.

Just kidding. Quiting smoking is without any doubt one the best decisions I took to improve my overall health.

[Ketan]

I'm back, its been more than a year now, I quit sometime in the last week of Feb last year, I used to keep the track of number of days using an app on my old phone, co gave us a new phone a few months back and decided not to look at that app anymore.

I had a plan to go for a grand party when I complete 1 year, but busy schedule and ignorance caused it not to happen, will do sometime for sure, whenever I get time to reward myself.

This one year has be wonderful! Like bblost said, this is probably the second best decision I took in my life. Feeling so proud and great about myself. I have also seen a couple of guys from my team quitting in the past couple months, I don't know if I motivated them or not, but I continuously try to do so (quite a few in my team smoke) by sending my experiences, whether they like it or not.
I have been to quite a few parties with friends but never felt like taking "that single puff" << that's the key for me, "that single puff" is what I avoided without giving any trouble to myself. During one such party, towards the end of it, my friend gives me a cigarette, we were on terrace, cool breeze, all emotional talks etc,, I lit the cigarette and gave it back to him, he glanced at me and continued. I didn't find it difficult nor you will.

I didn't find myself adding weight initially, almost for about first 8 months, but since last 3-4 months, I have added about 3-4 kgs, I guess it could be a different reason, I have added some more physical activities to the daily/weekly routines, I hope I will come back or even go a bit lower to be in my ideal weight range.
Guys, its really easy and cold turkey is the way. Go for it. And yes, party is ON

[noopster]

Originally Posted by Ketan

During one such party, towards the end of it, my friend gives me a cigarette, we were on terrace, cool breeze, all emotional talks etc,, I lit the cigarette and gave it back to him, he glanced at me and continued. I didn't find it difficult nor you will.

How did you light the cigarette without inhaling smoke?

The correct protocol when someone offers you a cigarette is to smile and not take it with an "I don't smoke, thanks".

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by noopster

How did you light the cigarette without inhaling smoke?

The correct protocol when someone offers you a cigarette is to smile and not take it with an "I don't smoke, thanks".

LOL, I couldn't help this but perhaps Bill Clinton?


For me I have observed that my smoking occurs mostly during weekends when there is nothing to keep my mind/arms/legs busy. Get something to keep yourself busy and the smoking comes down drastically.

Office breaks - waste time as well as increase the cig consumption.

[Ketan]

Originally Posted by noopster

How did you light the cigarette without inhaling smoke?

The correct protocol when someone offers you a cigarette is to smile and not take it with an "I don't smoke, thanks".

I did not inhale. I'd say it wont make a big difference even if I'd. I wrote on this thread earlier about it, I am feeling lot more confident and controlled that even if I'd smoke one/puff one, it wont make me an addict. However, this may sound like an overconfidence, Thud told me not to try that, we have examples where people started again after about 4+ years. So, though I feel confident, I have decided not to do try it again ever. Don't want to contradict this with what I said earlier about "that single puff" the two situations are completely different, very subjective and should not be confused.
I do get exposed to passive smoking when I go with my team mates on tea-breaks, but I'm working on reducing it.

funny instance:
My neighbor (a lady/girl) comes out to smoke in the common area between the apartments, I can easily get that smell from distance, while sitting in the bedroom and feel awkward about it, my wife was surprised to see my sniffing dog capabilities I grew over a period of time

[comfortablynumb]

Found this on facebook. Hope it gets the message across!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...type=2&theater

Cheers,
Vikram

[cataclysm]

I've been a smoker for 6 years now and from the last year I've been thinking about quitting but couldn't manage. More specifically, I didn't even try. So finally on the 11th of this month, had my last smoke before dinner and haven't smoked till yet! Feels good. From smoking 13-14 cigarettes a day to zero. Day 1 of quitting was bad, I felt sleepy all day and couldn't concentrate on my work but after day 1 the craving has gone and now it's more habitual, like I used to have a smoke at around 1130-12 and I still feel like having one at specific times and then I realize that I've quit. And also I'm surrounded by smokers! Everyone I know smokes but surprisingly no craving even in their company.

Life is good now.

[govigov]

The first three weeks are supposed to be hell. The cravings will get harder. Dont go for break with your smoking buddies atleast till the initial phase is over. thad, bblost and noopster have given lots of advices. go through them.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by alpha1

LOL, I couldn't help this but perhaps Bill Clinton?

Hehe funny. But my point was that it's difficult to light a cigarette without tasting some smoke. Relatively easier to take a lit cig from someone and have a drag without inhaling.

Originally Posted by Ketan

I did not inhale. I'd say it wont make a big difference even if I'd. I wrote on this thread earlier about it, I am feeling lot more confident and controlled that even if I'd smoke one/puff one, it wont make me an addict. However, this may sound like an overconfidence, Thud told me not to try that, we have examples where people started again after about 4+ years. So, though I feel confident, I have decided not to do try it again ever. Don't want to contradict this with what I said earlier about "that single puff" the two situations are completely different, very subjective and should not be confused.

There are a lot of signals in your post that are cause for concern. Have you quit because of pressure from someone else? If that is the case there is a chance you may go back to the habit. I am not trying to discourage you but the use of words like "overconfidence" in your post gave me that feeling.

Take my advice...stay clear about your goal no matter what anyone else says. It will help.

[DudeWithaFiat]

Its been two months since I last smoked . The longest 'non-smoking-period' ever since I started smoking about 10 years back.

[Thad E Ginathom]

The longest 'non-smoking-period' ever since I started smoking about 10 years back.

Time for a reminder of the old joke:

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

Don't waste the effort: do it just once


~

[Equus]

Originally Posted by Equus

PS: I might sound biased against smokers below. Its purely intentional.
PPS: I smoked for 16+ yrs.

Good suggestion but smokers wont care a hoot, i can guarantee that. They know all the health risks. If you tell any smoker about the health risks, the first thing he does is to light up (i am proof of that a thousand times). If even by mistake a smoker happens to read "smoking causes cancer", the first thing he does is light up. This wont work - else it would have worked the day cancer was detected. Talking about money "wasted" or "being wasted" is also useless. Everything is useless.. Dont tell people what they know - they dont like it and it never works anyways.

Smoking is not a habbit - its addiction. Thats what makes it tricky. Getting rid of a habbit is a piece of cake (maybe not, but its not the same as addiction for sure).. Getting rid of addiction takes some effort. A lifetime seems not enough, as is the case for millions. The only thing that works is - a genuine interest to quit smoking. And some help from folks who have done it (Allen Carr in my case).

Now that you have decided to quit, and are pretty firm, go pick up Allen Carr's book "ALLEN CARR'S EASY WAY TO STOP SMOKING". I can send you one if you want - well worth it

Best part - make sure to continue smoking till you finish reading the complete book!

A small addition from my side - smoke the last cigarette of your life at night just before you go to sleep. And sleep well - atleast for 8 hrs. A fresh day and already 8 hrs of not having smoked - great start!! The withdrawal pangs are not going to hurt much if you are already liking being a non-smoker. Be brave - you can do it.
If you are egoistic, then its even better You Vs Nicotine, like a game right? There has to be only one winner - you!

And then, slowly, you do start feeling better. Go hit the gym, and you will really feel the change in your life. 2 weeks later, you will feel bad about other smokers and want to help them

But as millions have said, be careful. You dont want to go thru this crap all over again, do you?

Game on!

Its been over 9 months since I smoked! I feel so good, both physically and mentally as well. Reclaimed my life, in some ways honestly!

My dear friends, if I can quit, any of you can. Pls read Allen Carr's book. PM me your address and I will give you the url for download OR ship you a hardcopy if you prefer that.

Whatever your method, pls do try - wish you the very best and god bless!