Those darn cigarettes...

Well I guess I'm different ,I started at 15 and quit at 45. I like the smell and taste and started back at 67 and am smoking at 73 now. There's nothing that taste as good as a cig first thing in the morning. So please do not talk bad about smokers,we have the right to smoke as you have the right not to. I do not smoke around non smokers as that is their right also. We like the taste or we would not smoke,there's two sides to everything. By the way my parents were non smokers. We are all not alike. I also drank for forty yrs and quit,but have never started back.

 

I can understand you. I like the taste of it too, that made it so hard for me to resist to start again. Maybe, when I am down to my last years on this beautiful planet i´ll smoke some last cigs.
But I dont want the risk of shortening my life, maybe there´s something good yet to come that I wouldnt have lived to expieriene.
Everyone to it´s own and if you like it do it. Its our life

 

December 1st was my 3 year anniversary of being an exsmoker.

Kajun

 

TWT/Leah, once you're past the first week without nicotine, the physical part is done. Nicotine is a self-feeding habit, meaning, that when you get it, it gives your brain that sense of euphoria that it likes so much (similar to the rush you get, working out or running, from endorphins). When the nicotine level goes down in your body, that little voice inside your head tells you to pump it back up, and you have another smoke. Nicotine goes back up, you have that good feeling again!

A week without it, and you won't crave it any more, PHYSICALLY. But you already know that, having gone a year without.

After that, it's just a mental thing to conquer. For me, I just imagined every craving as that little devil, standing on my shoulder, whispering in my ear, "HEY! WOULDN'T A CIG BE GREAT, RIGHT ABOUT NOW??" So then I would mentally reach up, and flick that little sucker off my shoulder, then find something to keep me occupied a few minutes, until that craving settled down. And now, as of this past Thanksgiving, I've gone 12 years without any nicotine!

I will say this, though, and I believe it's the God's solemn truth of the matter. You can't quit smoking, for anyone but YOU. You can't quit for your relatives, your friends, your kids, your pets, the neighbor down the street, or the mailman. And the reason is simple: if you quit smoking, for anyone else, it makes it too easy, when you're really Jones'in' for a smoke, to cop the attitude of, "SCREW THEM! WHY SHOULD I QUIT FOR THAT PERSON? IF I WANT TO SMOKE, I WILL SMOKE!!", and put the blame on them.

In reality, though, that's just blame transferal, because you know, deep in your heart, that you're failing yourself, if you go back. I'm not trying to place blame, it's just a matter of the truth. And that's why I tell people, YOU HAVE TO MAKE QUITTING CIGARETTES THE MOST SELFISH DECISION YOU'VE EVER MADE. It's all about YOU. And I honestly believe, if you're doing it for you, and are willing to adopt that attitude, you will succeed.

If you ever need to talk to someone about quitting, or having cravings, please feel free to contact me.

 

natshare, you are telling it like it is. What helped me a whole bunch was realizing that the cravings only lasted 4 to 7 minutes. A LOOONNGGG 4 to 7 minutes, though, so I did like you and found something to occupy myself for a couple of minutes. Then the craving was gone.

One thing......my sense of smell is awesome now! Sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse. Ha.

Kajun

 

The only cigarette I enjoyed smoking is a Camel unfiltered cigarette.
Haven't had one in 20 years.

 

I have never had to agonise over giving up what I never took up in the first place. I do comprehend how difficult it can be to give up the habit, and I sympathise with those who try earnestly to give up the practice. More power to those who succeed.

 

after thirty years I gave cigs the boot back in '08. I just decided to do it. Had a few other hobbies I wanted to spend the money on instead, so I did. Really didn't have too bad of a time with it, I understand that may not be the same for everybody.
Now I have a cigar a few times a week, but I like to say that that's not a habit, it's a hobby. Going without for a few days is not a painful thing.