Quitting the smokes

foxtrapper wrote: Did it years ago by accident with pesticides and chewing tobacco. Not exactly the recommended proceedure, but it worked for me.

I quit chewing early on... baseball to the crotch while playing shortstop with a full chaw in high school... highly effective...

I get the feeling I'm one of those guys that will still miss it 25 years from now....especially while sipping a cup of good coffee or cheap whiskey. I truly do enjoy the act of inhaling and exhaling smoke, dumb as that sounds to someone who doesn't.

So far so good. Only weird part is I keep 'expecting' to have one. I spent about 30 seconds looking for my smokes after eating lunch yesterday, and last night I poured a drink, walked out on the porch and said "AAAAHHHH berkeley." While I'm 'only 32' (thanks Dan,) I've been smoking for 20 years. This is going to take some getting used to.

I'd considered the drugs, but after reading some of the horror stories, and being one of those "if you have a history of...." guys, I didn't want to end up driving down the road thinking how fun it would be to swerve into oncoming traffic.

Also considered the electronic cigarette deal, but the non-FDA-approved thing, combined with the fact that I'd still be huffing nicotine didn't work for me.

I'm motivated to make these stupid, worthless pieces of E36 M3 my bitches this time. I'm hopeful and confident that will be enough.

PS: All of your suggestions in this thread and others have been really helpful! Per Jensenman's suggestion, I threw away all the butts, all the 'emergency packs', and scrubbed all the ash-trays. We never smoked in the house anyway, so there was no 'lingering' reminder.

A couple others have mentioned sticking with it even if you fall off, which has been really helpful too. Mrs. poop asked "Do you think you're really ready to quit for good this time?" My response was something like "It doesn't matter. If I slip up, I'll quit again, and again, and again; as many times as it takes."

So, yeah, thanks dudes!

poopshovel wrote: I get the feeling I'm one of those guys that will still miss it 25 years from now....especially while sipping a cup of good coffee or cheap whiskey.

Or after... you know. As well a good meal. It's been almost 30 years now since I smoked, and there are still times I want a smoke, sometimes you'll see my hand holding an imaginary cigarette. Oh heck, there have been times when I've taken a phantom drag off that imaginary cigarette.

Play with fire, and it will burn you. I don't smoke a pipe or cigars, chew, play with nicotine gum, or anything else like that. I know me, that's the proverbial slippery slope.

I have never smoked so I don't have direct experience with quitting. My mother-in-law quit after something like 45 years. She struggled with it a lot until she noticed that coffee triggered her cravings. So she quit coffee as well and most of her cravings went away. I guess the lesson for me is when you trying to quit something, watch out for the things that trigger you and change those as well.

Nice work! Just for you, I'll limit my times-per-year that I smoke down to one this year, to help you resist the urges during the Challenge.

I'm also going to try to limit my times-per-year that I pass out next to a pool in my underwear down to zero this year.

16vCorey wrote: I'm also going to try to limit my times-per-year that I pass out next to a pool in my underwear down to zero this year.

why do you hate America?

Type Q wrote: I have never smoked so I don't have direct experience with quitting. My mother-in-law quit after something like 45 years. She struggled with it a lot until she noticed that coffee triggered her cravings. So she quit coffee as well and most of her cravings went away. I guess the lesson for me is when you trying to quit something, watch out for the things that trigger you and change those as well.

Word. Funny thing is, I'm craving booze and coffee less w/o the smokes. Only drank a half-a-cup this morning. It's not as enjoyable without a smoke, weird as that sounds.

poopshovel wrote: Word. Funny thing is, I'm craving booze and coffee less w/o the smokes. Only drank a half-a-cup this morning. It's not as enjoyable without a smoke, weird as that sounds.

Without smokes I've made it down to a half-a-cup of booze each morning myself. ;-)

wcelliot wrote:

poopshovel wrote: Word. Funny thing is, I'm craving booze and coffee less w/o the smokes. Only drank a half-a-cup this morning. It's not as enjoyable without a smoke, weird as that sounds.

Without smokes I've made it down to a half-a-cup of booze each morning myself. ;-)

well played, sir. well played.

wcelliot wrote:

poopshovel wrote: Word. Funny thing is, I'm craving booze and coffee less w/o the smokes. Only drank a half-a-cup this morning. It's not as enjoyable without a smoke, weird as that sounds.

Without smokes I've made it down to a half-a-cup of booze each morning myself. ;-)

Me too. The other half is coffee. Duh.

I feel like such tea drinking Bob Costas now

poopshovel wrote: Word. Funny thing is, I'm craving booze and coffee less w/o the smokes. Only drank a half-a-cup this morning. It's not as enjoyable without a smoke, weird as that sounds.

Yes. I would use the coffee to clense my palet. And limeaid in the summer.

I had picked up cigars and pipe at 18, and "quit" at 21, but occasionally bumed a smoke up till 2 1/2 years ago. The nick is out of my system, but how I miss the physical sensation of smoking a pipe. I'm almost to the point of an e-pipe if I can find a non-nick liquid.

I too have been trying to quit on and off for about two years now. I was supposed to quit when the wife got pregnant again but kept on going. Latest attempt started two weeks ago tomorrow, right before I had surgery. I guess I got "lucky" in that the blood clots that developed are a powerful motivator to not pick it back up.

I never tried anything but cold turkey, figured all or nothing was the way to go. I've got a buddy who swears by the patch though, says it only took him about half a box of patches to kick the habit. I won't lie, I love smoking, but it's expensive, I don't want the kids to see me doing it, and I don't wanna die.

good luck!

PubBurgers wrote: I've got a buddy who swears by the patch though, says it only took him about half a box of patches to kick the habit.

Hey, give it a shot...

I'd rather say "I had to use these to successfully quit" than say "I'm gonna quit again"

I used the patch and fireball cinnamon candy when ever i had the urge. This helped me kick a 3pak a day habit after 20yrs or so. Any attempt at quiting gets you closer to living a longer life.

My dad never was able to quit, even when he was under dr's orders not to for a heart operation, watching him go through withdrawal while in an induced coma was not fun.

I never picked up the habit, being allergic to dust and smoke, but I had my 1st cigar when I was 26 or 27. I'll smoke a cigar once or twice a year but that's about it.

In reply to poopshovel:

2 1/2 months for me.. it gets better trust me.

I miss smokeing all the time... Been about 6,5 years since I quit. The thing I kept telling myself was that I was a spineless little pansy sissy if I couldn't overcome smoking. And it worked. I never fell off the wagon.

Joey

barnca wrote: In reply to poopshovel: 2 1/2 months for me.. it gets better trust me.

Thanks dude! I had a berkeleying meltdown yesterday. Thought I was over the worst of it, but not so. I seriously considered hopping in the car and running to the quickie-mart, but sat outside and calmed down for a few minutes instead. Almost one week in!

PubBurgers wrote: I've got a buddy who swears by the patch though

Surprising…I could not figure out how to keep those things lit.

Seriously though, I found the gum to work much better than the patch as the lag time between application and effect is reduced to pretty much zero.

Additionally, the duration of the effect is reduced which is helpful when you go to bed.

I've tried the patch and the gum before. Both just made me want to smoke more. I think cutting back (down to less than a half a pack per day for about a month) helped immensely this time. I just kept eliminating a 'routine' smoke here and there until I got down to 6-8 per day.

Eliminating the routines definitely helped me , along with the patch...plus having family to remind me if I looked to be faltering... If you can redirect your focus somewhere else...

Just think of the $ you can spend on other things...

Good luck