[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

I once again committed myself to 0 cigarettes in July and passed that test successfully without any puffs. I was doing good in August as well but fell for the temptation in the last week of August. Since then I have smoked around 10 cigarettes till last Friday. From October again I am targetting 0 cigarettes for this month and if all goes well, I would like to completely give up on smoking from the new year.

I started smoking out of stress, to be honest, and it was helping me to relieve the stress. Don't know if it is just me, I loved smoking during cold weather especially winters. That's why I am worried if I will again start smoking daily with the onset of winters from next month. To curb the temptation, I am focussing on 0 cigarettes in October. I will be turning 28 in a couple of days

PS - To manage temptation, I take a cup of black tea instead of smoking during the targeted 0 cigarettes month.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

My advice to you, bluevolt, would be to fix your target on two months, not one. Or even three! Target the end of the year right now!
ry! Oh wait, trying is not actually good enough: do it!

All the best...

So finally, I think I have won the battle! Since 20th October 2018, I have not touched a cigarette, it's nearly 3 months now

No more cravings, no more urge to go back to smoking. It was not easy, had to struggle in the past 9-10 months before I could achieve this.

2019 will be Zero Cigarette year for me

[Chetan_Rao]

Not a smoker, but an admirer of the sheer will-power of some of the participants on this thread.

A smoke-free 2019 to all of you, to those who've quit already and to those who are somewhere along the way!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

2019 will be Zero Cigarette year for me

Congratulations, bluevolt. Welcome to the club! Life membership, I hope

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Not a smoker, but an admirer of the sheer will-power of some of the participants on this thread.

Some of us consider giving up to be one of the hardest things we ever did; others wonder what all the fuss was about. Some of us: both!

The club doors are always open. New members always welcome!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

So finally, I think I have won the battle! Since 20th October 2018, I have not touched a cigarette, it's nearly 3 months now

Congrats bud!

It was not easy, had to struggle in the past 9-10 months before I could achieve this.

As long as you achieved it. Reminds me of the famous Michael Jordan quote "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Not a smoker, but an admirer of the sheer will-power of some of the participants on this thread.

A smoke-free 2019 to all of you, to those who've quit already and to those who are somewhere along the way!

That is so sweet - thanks Chetan!

[arindambasu13]

No smoking, no vaping, no tobacco for me for more than 9 months now. Difficult initially, but of course, totally worth it!!

Here's to a smoke free 2019 and all years thereafter, and all the best to everyone on this thread who are battling it out, with the objective somewhere at the end of the tunnel!

Congrats to those who have quit and have remained quitters

[Joxster]

Wish everyone a happy, healthy & smoke-free 2019!

I realized that in my previous posts, I forgot to mention the reasons I chose to quit smoking. There were two main driving factors that got me motivated to stop.

1. Was so that I could get the car that I wanted. When my wife pointed out to me that my cigarettes were costing +/- 200 Euros per month, and that I could only afford to get a performance car if I reduced my bills on some front. With smoking being the most expensive of them all, the itch started here.
2. Summer in Belgium came along, and my in laws asked me to join them for their annual mountain biking trail ride, to which I very readily agreed. It was a pretty difficult 32 kilometer trail through a forest, with a lot of elevation changes, and because the terrain wasn't smooth either, pedaling took even more effort than on a normal road. I struggled to keep up with 2 women at the back of the pack, with them even able to pedal up some inclines where I just ran out of steam. I was just dead exhausted by the end of this ride, and barely able to complete the last 2 kilometers. This made me feel very ashamed of myself for being so out of shape, and the itch to quit smoking got even stronger.

My decision was made easy by these situations, because I knew what was more important to me, and I was also tired of being addicted to such a horrible substance. I wanted to get a performance car very badly, and also wanted to get my physical stamina back to where it was when I was in my teens.

Originally Posted by Suraj25

Is there anyone here who went from smoking -> vaping -> completely stopping?

You can count me in this category now!

Originally Posted by Joxster

I am confident that I will be able to quit the vaping very soon as well.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Fix an absolute date while the confidence is running strong.

Originally Posted by Joxster

Well, I would initially be reducing the Nicotine content that I am using in my vape, without reducing the frequency that I vape.
Thanks to your suggestion, I have fixed a date to stop vaping as well.
I will drop an update here once I stop vaping.

After this string of messages, I had set the date that I would quit nicotine altogether, and it would be the 1st January 2019. In the meantime, I reduced the nicotine content in my vape liquid from 6 mg to 3 mg, but continued vaping full time.

I quit vaping completely from the 1st January 2019, just like I planned to, and am now completely nicotine free. I didn't find it difficult to quit either. It was just a matter of making up my mind that I was done with it, that's all. I even gave my Vape away to a friend who is also trying to quit smoking, and he vaped in front of me, but there was no temptation whatsoever.

I am proud of myself for the strength and willpower I have shown to kick this disgusting habit. As my reward, I am already much more fit from the time I stopped smoking in April 2018, and I am also getting a Skoda Octavia RS 245

I wish anyone else who is attempting to quit, all the strength in the world! You have what it takes to do it, you just need to put your mind to it!

Cheers

[carboy]

Originally Posted by Joxster

I quit vaping completely from the 1st January 2019, just like I planned to, and am now completely nicotine free. I didn't find it difficult to quit either.

This has been a surprising thing for me & many others also. Back when I was a smoker, it was unimaginable for me to not smoke for a few days. But now when I am traveling abroad, I don't take my vaping stuff with me, so I often don't vape for 2-3 days without much problem. And this is true for others also. It may be that it's not just the nicotine in the cigarette which is addictive. it may be the other stuff combining with nicotine which makes it more addictive.

[KiloAlpha]

On January 15th, 2019, I embarked on a nicotine-free journey. This time, I hope, it is a bit more permanent than all my previous attempts at kicking the habit.

Way back in the early 1990's, I was in college, and experimented with cigarettes. I wasn't exactly hooked, but every now and then, at random, I would smoke a cigarette.

From the time I left college, for about 4-5 years, I didn't smoke. Then, most inexplicably, I morphed into a 40 sticks per day smoker. Then one day, I had a severe bout of food poisoning. Severe enough that I have absolutely no memory of 3 days of my life. When I bounced back from that bout of illness, I stopped smoking. For the next three years, I did not smoke.

And then the relationship with my girlfriend deteriorated. That was enough to push me over the edge again, and I started smoking regularly. This time, though, I restrained myself a bit and limited nicotine intake to 3-4 cigarettes per day. Then one day, I crashed my car (this is a car forum after all, a car must figure somewhere in the story!) and broke a few bones. When I bounced back from those injuries, I stopped smoking. For the next year or so, I did not smoke.

And then I got married. My wife was a smoker. It was the easiest thing in the world to resume smoking. Again, like the previous time, I stuck to the 3-4 cigarettes per day limit. My wife quit eight years ago. I didn't.

Over the past couple of years, my smoking habit has dwindled to an average of about one per day. Many friends I have spoken to shake their head sagely, pronounce me a "recreational" smoker and are even mildly approving of the fact that I don't feel the need to smoke more than the one-a-day.

Last year I ran an experiment. I quit completely between Dasara and Diwali. For about 20 days, I did not smoke even one cigarette. I must have surprised the owner of my regular tea shop, for he was gobsmacked. Whether at my quitting for three weeks, or my resumption of the habit, I shall never know. Anyway, the story of those three weeks was one of sheer physical torment. I suffered from all manner of ailments, ending in a bout of acidity of almost unimaginable pain and suffering. When Diwali was over, I fed my body nicotine again.

Armed with a knowledge of what nicotine withdrawal feels like, and emboldened by the Dasara-to-Diwali experiment, I have now embarked on a Sankranti-to-Ugadi experiment. Two days in. So far, so good.

Wish me luck!

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Not a smoker, but an admirer of the sheer will-power of some of the participants on this thread.

Maybe it's because I don't have any other real achievements but personally, I count being able to quit smoking as my proudest achievement.

Started smoking in '98, was up to a pack a day on weekdays and 2 packs a day on weekends by 2002, quit cold turkey in Sept 2005 and haven't taken a single drag (of anything ) since then.

Those considering it, it's totally worth it! I'm sure that had I continued smoking beyond that, my health today would have been totally wrecked. And most importantly, had I continued for a couple of years more, am sure I would not have been able to quit.

So stop today, stop completely, it's worth it.

[Thad E Ginathom]

It's very inspiring to read the success stories.

Welcome, and all the best to those now on the non-smokers' path. Remember: it's an effort you have to keep up for years.

And trying and luck is usually not enough. As Joxster says, it is making your mind up that is the key thing. Failure not an option, and all that. For real, because once you know you are not giving yourself any choice., It actually gets a bit easier.

[dailydriver]

While it is heartening to read successful stories of quitting, an article in The Wire talks about the alarming findings of a recent survey.

Big Tobacco Targeting School Children as Young as Eight in India

Nearly 37% of children in the country start smoking by the age of ten

The study titled ‘Tiny Targets’ surveyed 243 schools and 225 points of sale across 20 cities. It was conducted by Consumer Voice and Voluntary Health Association of India... found that school children were being offered a number of “incentives” by tobacco vendors.

For example, children were being given free tobacco products at these points of sale, the majority of which are street vendors – Investigators saw this practice at 32.5% of sellers. Many also offered discounts on tobacco products. Others had various types of loyalty and reward schemes, gave free gifts or ran contests and competitions.

According to the Union health ministry, 37% of children in India start smoking before the age of ten.

According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey in India, 14.6% of 13-15-year-old students in India use tobacco.

The same issue has been highlighted by Hindustan Times and The Hindu as well.

[roamer012]

Date of Quitting - 13.01.2019 around 2300 hours.

I apologize in advance if this post feels like a rant or a sermon or something else which you did not want to read but it is my story nonetheless which i wanted to share with the forum.

The Beginning:
I started smoking in 7th semester (2007) of engineering that too with Monte Cristo cigars which i had brought back from my internship for my friends. Then graduated to Gudang Garam (Calling it mouth freshener and not a cigarette so that i could maintain a non-smoker tag) which of course later on graduated to serious stuff like 555, classic, B&H etc. Surprisingly never had a signature flavour during 11 years of being a smoker just smoked the lights or mild ones for my mental satisfaction. At the peak I was doing a pack every two days which had slowly settled to 6 sticks a day.

The Attempts:
I cannot say that never tried quitting before but those attempts hardly lasted a day or three at max. Also I was following this thread and during my recent attempts (before the last one) I observed that I was focusing too much on the quitting part which was leading to anxiety. This was resulting in attempts being unsuccessful within a couple of days. I used to restart with 2-3 sticks a day and then would again settle to 6 a day. Being a tech nerd also did not help, spent hours researching vaping solutions etc. thankfully decided against them.

The Traps:
I realized that I was using work related pressures / weather / tension / booze etc. as a crutch and just looking for a reason to smoke. The day I accepted this out loud to myself, my belief in quitting strengthened.
Reducing no. of smokes per day does not helps at all rather gives you a false sense of relief that it is alright since you are not smoking too much and before you know it you are back to square 1 and huffing and puffing.
Though exercising is definitely a good habit but taking up some form of exercise or gymming before you quit again gives you that false comfort that your lungs are fine since you are exercising while not quitting.
These false comforts of reduced numbers of smoking, exercising while not quitting, only smoking lights or milds only delay your goal of stopping.

The Fears:
I did not want to write here on forum or announce this out loud to my wife but I finally did a couple of days to my wife and now sharing here on the forum. I used to think that if I announced this and restarted then I would feel like a failure but now I realize that this is one failure we should be afraid of and we should definitely announce this to someone who can kick our butt in case we again pick up the butt (Your wife in case you are married or that non-smoker friend who is always after your life to quit smoking)

The Help:
The advice which has been shared by many (and helped me a lot) - I have not quit smoking, I just won't smoke today but tomorrow may be and follow this on loop.
Taking up some form of exercise just after quitting also helps (As shared by GTO and others). Since it makes you not want to smoke as any slippages will undo all the good you have done. Slightly OT - Buddy system while joining gym also helps
Cold turkey is the way to go as per me but then again whatever works or helps you get there is most welcome.
Lastly there are apps like Kwit & Smoke Free (Using the free versions on iOS) which do help you keep track of your performance but I feel that they come in to picture after 3-4 days once you have quit smoking or else you again start to focus more on some aspect which again leads to anxiety. However once the initial days are over, these apps provide you good motivation.

The End or The New Beginning:
Finally in this New Year I thought why not give myself a real shot. Stopped keeping a pack on me immediately and then on the night of 13th after lohri celebration went for a last smoke at nearby Paan shop. And that was that. My usual joints are on my way to work so it was difficult for first few days not to stop. In fact one day I stopped in front of the shop and parked there for 5-10 minutes before deciding to ride on. I still accompany my colleague to his post lunch smoke but never felt like asking for one since I quit on the 13th.
I hope that I can stay smoke free forever or if I do smoke one again (the elusive ones, too far too few) then it is on my terms and not due to some crutch which I use to justify it (This is just in my mind and not something which I actively want to act on and definitely not a fall back option of any sorts). Also I would like to thank all the members here for posting their experiences which helped me a lot.
It is never too early to quit smoking. Just do it.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Hi roamer012! Hoping to welcome you to the world of non-smokers very soon!

My friend's mother, who said, "I haven't given up smoking, I just won't smoke again until..." set a date waaay in the future. Decades in the future. Maybe it was her 60th or 70th birthday! She also figured that, if it was going to ruin her health, that would matter less towards the end of her life. Of course, she never smoked again. One day at a time might work for you: for me it had to be never, never again, come what may.

Anxiety is part of the withdrawal symptoms. You may get all sorts of mental symptoms, like, as you mention this or that making it a bad time to give up. You may feel easily stressed, by small things, or no things, or even by not smoking. The mental stuff is much harder to deal with than any physical discomfort. But, believe me, it passes. And if you do lapse and smoke (not necessarily the end of giving up) you may find that, after the initial relief, the symptoms get worse.

Be prepared, live through it. life as a non-smoker beckons!

And, of course, none-of-the-above is also possible. A lot of quitters, once they actually decide to do it, find it is actually much easier than they expected, and wonder what all the fuss was about.

All the best

[roamer012]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Hi roamer012! Hoping to welcome you to the world of non-smokers very soon!

Well sir, you can welcome me today since in next 3 days i will be completing a month of not touching a stick or unless there is minimum eligibility criterion to be called a non-smoker then i will strive for that.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Anxiety is part of the withdrawal symptoms. You may get all sorts of mental symptoms, like, as you mention this or that making it a bad time to give up. You may feel easily stressed, by small things, or no things, or even by not smoking. The mental stuff is much harder to deal with than any physical discomfort. But, believe me, it passes. And if you do lapse and smoke (not necessarily the end of giving up) you may find that, after the initial relief, the symptoms get worse.

Truly said, taking matters one day at a time was what worked for me. In fact I got to know this couple of hours back that now everyone in my office knows that i have quit and there is no point in even inviting me to evening sessions before heading home. And i surely do not want to lapse and smoke even that one elusive time because now i really want to uphold my rep of being a non-smoker

[Thad E Ginathom]

Welcome and congratulations, then!

You have passed the worst; well done. Do, though, be ready to face temptation. What a waste of all that work it is when people light up again after six months or even a year or three.