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[Cronus Protagonist]

This message was self-deleted by its author (Cronus Protagonist) on Sun Sep 29, 2013, 07:07 PM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Good for you, my dear Cronus Protagonist!

You have succeeded in making your life, and the lives of those around you, so much better!



Congratulations!

[NYC_SKP]

2. K and R but why does your sigline say you're a star poster but I don't see your star??

PS, quit smoking myself on November 18 2010, and have never looked back.

[NuclearDem]

3. I'm down to only two cartons a month.

It used to be a carton a week.

Identifying triggers helps, and I expect when winter rolls around, I'll be less incline to go outside and smoke.

[Jesus Malverde]

10. If you haven't consider reading one of Alans Carrs book

Changed my life.

http://allencarr.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Allen-Carr/e/B001XSUEK4/

[Raksha]

25. Thanks for the link - I just read some of the MANY reviews on Amazon

and ordered the book! I take it this really works.

[Jesus Malverde]

46. You'll do it.

His book explained to me everything I experienced/felt, but didn't understand. Nicotine addiction, broken down by Alan just makes sense.

good luck!

[Babel_17]

43. I agree!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/~Babel_17

That journal link has some videos and links to useful resources.

[Jesus Malverde]

47. Your journal post might save someone's life, great videos, great post!...nt

[NRaleighLiberal]

4. well done and congratulations!

[Warpy]

5. If you ever find yourself ready to give in to a craving

rub a paper towel on a window you haven't scrubbed down. What is on the towel is just from diluted ambient smoke. It's just a faint echo of what cigarettes put into your lungs and it is gross beyond belief.

I've watched too many people I like really struggle with quitting to annoy any of them about it. I worked with one nurse who was really sensitive to other people and would spray her uniform down with Febreze after a smoke break. It worked, too, really reducing the smoker stink.

One of the best ways to taper down so one can quit seems to be the e cigs. That's because people take only as many hits as they need instead of feeling compelled to smoke an expensive cigarette down to the butt. They taper themselves down without realizing it, making quitting a lot easier.

However, every single one of the people I know who have managed to quit have said everything has improved once they were off cigarettes completely, my 3 pack a day mother included. What seems to be necessary is looking at the smoldering thing in your hand and realizing you just can't do it any more.

Well, unless you're my mother. What worked on her was my dad telling her she couldn't quit, she didn't have the guts. She never set fire to another one after that.

Congratulations on quitting. I know it's a tough thing to get through.

[Skittles]

57. your mum is my kind of gal

[panader0]

6. I still smoke--about 5 or 6 cigarettes a day.

Years ago, I had a contract to build three "smoking areas" on the nearby army base. They were nice masonry structures with benches.
While I was glad to have the work, I wondered why our federal tax money was being spent on this project.
During the work day, the same 5 or 6 people would come outside to smoke and watch the work on "their" new structure.
I thought about how much these GS 14's and 15's made a day, and how much of that was spent outside smoking.

[sammytko]

75. Some bases are non smoking now

College campuses also

[They_Live]

7. I quit in January of this year

after 30 years and I have no regrets. I feel much better and I encourage all who still smoke to quit.

[Scuba]

8. I've been tobacco-free since 1974. Great, isn't it? Congratulations.

[katmondoo]

9. It takes 3 weeks and you are free

Just hang in no matter how hard and it will end. Do not be afraid to try. You won't miss it and you will be happy.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. Everyone who wants to quit can quit.

It's hard, but everyone can do it.

[bhikkhu]

26. I used the gum myself

for about a month, then just stopped.

My wife doesn't really want to quit, but I got her an e-cig that she uses during the day. I hope it will eventually work out that she quits cigarettes entirely, but at least she has cut way down.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. As Cronus posts, the big benefit is improved quality of life over and above lengthened life. nt

[pipi_k]

17. I say the same

thing to all smokers as well...

Quitting is the best gift they can give themselves and their families, not to mention their wallets.

I quit in 1996.

I feel better all around, except that there was something in the cigarettes that did calm me down (read a list of the ingredients and I saw Valerian Root, so that's probably it), so I'm really not calmer, but anyway...

So about the cost...I honestly don't know how people can afford to smoke these days. By Mr Pipi and I both not smoking since 1996, we have saved so much money and have some really neat stuff we might not otherwise had been able to afford if we spent all that money on smoking.

And yeah...the stink. It was pretty much embedded in the walls of the house. Every so often I'll find some papers or whatever stored away before 1996, and they still stink.

Then there's the fact that so many of my family on my father's side died from diseases directly related to either cigarettes or alcohol.

Good enough reason to stop, I think.

anyway, congratulations on your cigarette-free years, and here's hoping others can enjoy a similar smokeless life someday.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. Now all you have to do is discover weed.

[malaise]

19. Great post

Rec

[Tikki]

20. Please understand what the OP is telling you. Also, do NOT believe that it is IMPOSSIBLE to QUIT...

It is not.
This smoking thing is only a tiny bit about your rights and a whole hell of a lot more about
how you are going to live your life and how you will age.




Tikki

[A Simple Game]

72. No, it isn't impossible and you can use my easy 3 step plan.

1. Have a heart attack.
2. Go in the hospital and have them re-plumb your heart.
3. Stay for about 10 days.
Nothing to it, go home smoke free!

Or there are some good ideas in this thread to help you quit.

[Oilwellian]

21. My husband and I recently quit

We each smoked a pack a day for forty years and quit five weeks ago. I have never gone without a cigarette for that length of time and feel so much better now. I had developed constant congestion and a rattling cough and knew I was pushing the limit. Cough is now gone and hope the bullet was successfully dodged. Crossing fingers here.

[pkdu]

68. Well done to you both!... I watched it kill my Dad , at 41 , and then my Grandad , at 75 of

chronic emphysema... one out of the blue , family shattering death , the other a long painful to watch but more painful to experience , Im sure , death.

They should be banned for the death-sticks they are.

[WCGreen]

22. 28 years for smoking and 29 with no booze...

Good to see more people are smoke free...

[Flaxbee]

23. A dear friend of mine just died last night from complications from smoking for 30+ years

He was a wonderful, creative and gentle man, and he's gone.

I'm glad you quit. I know it's a hard thing to do.

[bhikkhu]

24. As an ex-smoker myself, congratulations and I agree very much

I justified it for a long time based on my stressful job and stressful family environment, but after I quit I found that I was able to do more work without feeling stressed out, and at home I could spend more time with my family without being stressed out. Everything was better.

The common line about "cigarettes relieve stress" was a big fat lie; they create the stress in the first place.

[closeupready]

27. Former 3-pack/day smoker here who quit 22 years ago.

So glad I did, on so many levels. K&R

[Zorra]

28. Best of luck to anyone trying to quit.

Been there, done that, you can too.

[dgibby]

29. So glad you were able to quit.

Although I never smoked or even tried it, I now have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma. A common cold rapidly morphs into bronchitis, then pneumonia, and I require oxygen at night. I had to quit work as an RN because I was constantly sick due to a compromised immune system.

Why? According to my Drs., I was exposed to 2nd hand smoke all my life. My mother smoked when she was pregnant with me, both parents smoked 3ppd-unfiltered Camels, my roommates smoked, and believe it or not, the Drs. and nurses I worked with could and did smoke on rounds and at the desks on the wards! I think the fact that my mother smoked when she was pregnant probably made me more succeptable to the effects of 2nd hand smoke, but that is only my theory.

Anyway, I'm happy you were able to quit and sincerely hope you will not suffer any ill effects. Wish I had your resolve. Maybe I could lose weight!

[awoke_in_2003]

31. When I did smoke...

I always did it outside. My wife doesn't smoke, and even if she did it stinks up the house. The main thing, though, is I didn't want to affect others because of my stupidity

[awoke_in_2003]

30. I was a pack a day smoker...

from 1986 until a month ago. I got eGo system e cigarette (large battery, refillable tank). I immediately dropped to three cigs a day, then to 1 every other day or so. I have even cut back on my dependence on the e cig this week. I am breathing better, my "allergies" have gone away, and I don't stink. I think I will reward myself with a nice fly fishing set up.

[brett_jv]

50. Same here ...

Well only for the last 13 years, smoked about the same amount though. I have eGo battery and iSmoka BCC Mega tank. I weaned off the 'analogs' for about 2 weeks before stopping completely, and haven't had another since ... been about 3 months now. So happy I did, it really wasn't that hard, saves a ton of money, doesn't stink, and I'm about 99% sure it's about 1000x less harmful than actual smoke. Food tastes much better now too. Best thing I've done for myself in a long while. I say to anybody who still smokes and wants to quit but hasn't succeeded ... it's REALLY not that tough to switch to vaping, and the benefits are myriad. JUST DO IT!!! Then worry about kicking the nicotine later.

[awoke_in_2003]

51. I started with 18 mg fluid...

Just dropped that to 12.

[Logical]

32. That is why my company will not hire smokers, less productive. n-t

[Ron Green]

33. So many people who are poor or on the streets

are addicted to cigarettes, a habit they can ill afford. The way a smoke both perks you up and calms you down, the anticipation and the small pleasure in an otherwise grim routine of navigating the Crapitalist system; it's just part of the landscape of bus stops and convenience stores that lots if folks never escape. A kind of enslavement for sure.

[dionysus]

34. i'm trying. problem is they good good with beer.

[Skittles]

56. that is considered a trigger

identifying your triggers is part of the process of quitting

[dionysus]

81. i know.. i'll have to quit the beer while quittingt he evil cig...

[Skittles]

86. that's what I did, dionysus

I found I could not enjoy a drink without a cig so I had to quit both for a time - but the good news is, you eventually will be able to enjoy a drink without a cig! I can do it now.

[dionysus]

89. on the plus side i'll shed weight doing it.

[Le Taz Hot]

66. When I quit I had to give up booze

and coffee as both were triggers. Booze was no biggie but coffee? Ayyyy I missed my coffee and cigs in the morning. Now it's coffee and a "breakfast roll" instead.

[madokie]

35. August 14 1977

shortly after 8 am I smoked my last cigarette. Kept a pack with me for the first three months or so just in case.
Used the same strategy to quit the bottle a few years ago. Still have that bottle under the sink in the kitchen

[Theyletmeeatcake2]

36. Well done!! A good result for yourself and you family!

I'm surprised a shill hasn't come out and criticised you for not supporting a legal product...the quicker those bastards at the tobacco companies go under the better....they now concentrate on emerging third world countries to spread their murderous product...they are truly disgusting human beings with no morals for peddling a product that can wreck so many lives outside of the actual smokers....I think of all the families that have been had to go through losing members and the misery attached.....again congrats to you for quitting and good luck in the future..enjoy

[Cha]

37. I commend anyone who quits smoking and is encouraging others to

to do with such an inspiring story!

So much better to be smoke free those 24 years!

[heaven05]

38. quit 1year, 1week ago.

Last edited Sun Sep 22, 2013, 10:30 AM - Edit history (1)

don't miss them. Smoked for 44+ years straight, congratulations to you. Job well done.

[airplaneman]

39. Quitting smoking was the hardest thing I have ever done.

Gained 70 pounds and still have not lost the weight but I will never smoke another cigarette.
Its been 15 years - even after 3 years I was still fighting cravings.
I remember one stage where it made me angry seeing actors smoke on Waterworld or other movies.
Congratulations on doing it permanently - I for one realize how hard it is.
I also know someone who quit for almost 5 years and started again.
I sympathize with anyone trying to quit - its a death trap and I am glad I found a way out.
Cheers,
Airplane

[surrealAmerican]

40. I know this is not your main point ...

... and I do think giving up smoking is admirable for a number of reasons, but ...


... taking some breaks while at work can make workers more productive. There was a study I read some months ago to that effect. Two hours worth is probably excessive, but working continuously is not necessarily increasing your productivity.

[LostinRed]

69. this is actually a good point

I too used to be a smoker and what I always say is that the smoke breaks were what I missed most. The nicotine addiction forced me to take a break. I would step away from my computer and during those break I was usually able to solve problems I was having. Now I try very hard to take a break every couple of hours especially when I'm facing a difficult problem and go take a walk but now it is a conscience effort and sometimes it takes me awhile to say to myself, "time to take a break." The nicotine addiction helped with that but the point is you have to take breaks at work. It really works. Smoking just forces you too.

[a kennedy]

41. Hardest thing I ever did was to quit smoking.....and I loved smoking....

just couldn't afford it anymore.....and it WAS the hardest thing I ever did. Good for me.

[tandot]

42. I quit 1995

I had the same problem ... I was in an office where people smoked...tried to quit several times but couldn't. If you are in a small office people smoking, there is no reason to quit.

I appreciate people not being able to smoke in offices anymore. I am more sensitive to smoke now. Where I work (a large University) will go completely smoke free in 2014. That means I can walk across campus without inhaling that nasty stuff. Exercising will be so much better

If you don't quit for your own health ... think about the big Tobacco corporations who'll lie to you and keep you addicted to get rich.

[lunatica]

44. I quit a three pack a day addiction

I was in the study group that was successful and is now called Chantix. It's been almost 20 years. I also had help because smoking indoors was illegal. It made it much easier for me.

[ejpoeta]

76. I'd say my husband smoked about that much.

He had quit for a year once as a side effect of taking welbutrin. but then he started up again. I wanted to kill him!! he finally was able to kick it with chantix. He has been smoke free for like 5 years now... or 4. but he quit. I was so happy!! I quit while I was pregnant with my oldest.... I didn't know I was pregnant and couldn't even smoke a whole cigarette! She loves to hear how she helped me quit smoking. After I had her and went back to work I would bum smokes off people on breaks. I ended up having to make that decision.... I stopped going outside during breaks because I didn't want to be a smoker again. Best decision I ever made. My oldest is 14 now.

[love_katz]

45. Congratulations...

and thank you, from a life-long non-smoker.

I wish the people who live in my neighborhood would quit. Can't seem to keep that stuff from filtering into my house, even in the winter when the doors and windows are closed.

The smell makes me sick. I had to buy an expensive ion generator for my bedroom, because the neighbor next door would usually fire up her cigs about the time I would go to bed.

Thanks for the effort you made to quit, and kudos to you for your courage in quitting.

[DeSwiss]

48. Quit January 31, 2009.

After over 40+ years and I haven't looked back.

- It can be done.

K&R

[quinnox]

49. A friend of mine quite smoking, and then blew up like a balloon

I guess he substituted food for cigarettes. He still has not lost the weight, and it has been years now. I have heard this is not so uncommon to happen, when hard core smokers quit smoking.

[RebelOne]

53. I am a hard core smoker.

And that is why I have not quit because I do not want to substitute food for cigarettes. I have seen a lot of friends gain a lot of weight after quitting smoking. I am 74 years old and have been smoking since I was 16 and so far it has not killed me.

[ErikJ]

58. Try nicotine gum or lozenges

They supply the nicotine and the oral satisfaction without the carcinogenic smoke. I quit Jan 1. 1990 and have been on gum now lozenges ever since. All the nicotine with none of the cancer.

[Le Taz Hot]

67. The problem is that you discover food and how good it tastes.

Cigarettes kill your taste buds and once they're back EVERYTHING tastes so good! I used to smoke INSTEAD of eating. I was always skinny but I was also living on nicotine, caffeine and stress. I may be 50 pounds heavier but I can lose weight MUCH easier than it was to quit smoking. (Losing 50 lbs is my next goal.)

[Bigredhunk]

79. IDK Because I've Never Smoked

But my parents both quit smoking after doing it all their lives. Both of them say losing weight is much harder than quitting smoking. For them, quitting smoking was a line-in-the-sand decision. They went cold turkey. It was hard, but it passed. Losing weight/staying fit is an every day, 3-6 times a day decision. You have to decide to eat well at every meal (or most meals). You have to decide to exercise every day (or however often you do it). You can't abstain from eating like you can from smoking/drinking.

[JEFF9K]

52. If there's one thing that Ayn Rand and her followers loved ...

... it was cigarettes. She promoted them in ATLAS SHRUGGED, then wouldn't let anyone reveal that she had contracted lung cancer.

[Flying Squirrel]

54. My girlfriend and I quit together 2 weeks ago..

Quitting cigarettes has always been easy for me. As Mark Twain once said, I've done it hundreds of times. But it's especially hard when your S. O. smokes. So I hatched a scheme, because she wants to go to Disneyland with me (I am not thrilled with the prospect, but she is.) So we started by gradually reducing the daily cigarettes, then took the leap. Now every week we each will put $25 into the Disneyland fund instead of buying cigarettes, and if all goes well we should have over $2,500 saved in a year.

She already tried to back out but I didn't let her - I said this is an agreement we made together, and you don't back out of agreements lightly. And it's not just her health, it's mine too. So she got an e-cigarette, no nicotine just the menthol flavoring.

We shall see

[Vanje]

59. I havnt had one for 3 weeks

I feel good.

[Behind the Aegis]

60. Good for you!

I am working on it. Having ups and downs, but the vapor cig helps a bit. I may have to supplement something in addition, but I am not sure what, especially as I hate chewing gum. But I am down to a pack and less than half (usually 5) as opposed to two packs (or more) a day!

[Vanje]

61. I'm using patches

They itch a little.

[Behind the Aegis]

62. I have really sensitive skin, but that was the direction I was leaning.

Fingers crossed!

[Vanje]

63. I think its a very worthwhile project.

and. It doesn't suck as much as I thought it would.

[Behind the Aegis]

64. Yeah, the time has come.

I have been lucky this far (except for the high blood pressure), and the cost is just getting out of control, almost $3000 a year! Yeah, time to quit. But, damn, this is not easy.

[Vanje]

65. It really DOES get easy.

But it doesnt start out that way.

[Cleita]

70. Me too. I didn't smoke that many but it was hard to quit when everyone in the office

smoked. I did quit but had to share an office with a chain smoker. It was about that time that the boss decided to ban smoking in the offices and the woman decided to retire. I went back to smoking and quitting for a couple of decades, but never at work anymore, then finally made it permanent in 1992. By that time it was easier because smoking was pretty much banned everywhere.

[tavernier]

71. I switched to e cigs

and never went back to tobacco. From there it was very easy to quit altogether because the addiction to nicotine in that form just wasn't the same (which did make me wonder what the tobacco companies add to further increase the urge).
Now I keep an e cig in my purse and when I party with my wine drinking, smoking pals, about every two weeks, I puff on it from time to time. I don't want to become a TOTAL goody-two-shoes.

[Coyotl]

73. It is really easy to quit smoking.

So easy, I lost track of how many times I did it

[Coyotl]

87. Me too. I finally realized the trick was not touching even one evil stick ever again.

I loath the stuff now and hate it when I get a whiff from 100 feet off.

[bluestate10]

74. I didn't take up smoking. That was one of the best decisions that I made as a young person. nt

[Faygo Kid]

77. Quit in 2005, after 37 years of smoking

What was I thinking all those years? The ad agencies were relentless in promoting smoking, and I took it up because I was thought a "wimp" by peers if I didn't.

Anyway, it's behind me, and I'm grateful for that.

[LittleGirl]

78. I'm smoke free since Jan 3 2010

and will never smoke again. ever. I fell down once and bought a pack 6 months after I quit and they were horrible. It was stressful and I hated myself for it.

[Doctor_J]

80. 24 years here also

I don't understand how today's smokers afford the cost. Especially since it seems many or most of them are certainly not among the affluent or owning class.

Edit: I smoked for 15 years

[LibDemAlways]

82. Spoke with a woman yesterday I knew when we

were children and our parents were good friends. She had an older sister I remember as being very pretty and personable. Was shocked to earn that the older sister died last year of lung cancer. Apparently smoked like a chimney for years. Diagnosed and gone 5 weeks later at age 59.

The best present a smoker can give himself and others is to quit. Life's short enough anyway.

[WinkyDink]

88. Wait; your boss let you smoke outside for TWO HRS/DAY?! Well, that boss was a NIT-WIT!

[WinkyDink]

92. Heh, heh. Yes, he would not have wanted to be perceived as such.

[davidpdx]

91. Wow, congrats on continuing to stay smoke free

I've heard that for everyday you quit that your lungs regenerate some of the lost capacity from smoking.

Both my mom and dad smoked. My mom quit in the mid 90s and hasn't smoked since. Dad had a major stroke in 1991 which he survived and went on to live another 12 years. He was able to get around by himself and even drive, but never gave up smoking. He died 10 years ago of a stroke.

It's never too late.