Helms91

After looking around, i couldn't find a thread that was dedicated to quitting smoking. After all, I think that we should support and motivate those who are looking to kicking the nicotine addiction.

If you are looking to quit, post some information about how long you have been smoking, what method you are using to quit, reasons to quit, etc.

Helms91

I'll go first. I have been smoking for a year, about half a pack a day, and i am looking to quit while i am still in good health, and for financial reasons. I am going cold turkey, and so far it has been almost 40 hours since my last cigarette.

baron von trail 

Awesome! I smoked for about 30 years and it was the stupidist thing I ever did...and I have done quite a bit in the stupid-thing department, trust me.

BTW: I quit, cold turky, in 2007, same week I joined BF.

robertv

I haven't really quit but I smoke very little now. I find that going on long runs or rides and really staying active keeps me from smoking more than anything else.
So yeah, that.

sknhgy 

^^^That was me. I quit about 6 years ago using the patch. The patch definitely helped. I couldn't have gone cold turkey. It was rough quitting, but it was one of the best things I've ever done.

mojopt

OP,

I quit in 1987. I had smoked since I was 14. Got up to about 1 1/2 packs a day. I never really tried to quit because I was convinced by my peers and social circle that it is almost impossible to do so. Then one day I laid the pack down and never looked back. I guess my addiction was metal and not physical. I was hooked in my mind, not a physical addiction.

I tell you this with the hopes of encouraging you to stick with quitting. You'll feel better, breath better, and yes, you'll smell better.

Here's to you my friend.

Best regards,

Mike

Seedy J

I started smoking on and off when I was 15 or 16. I guess I'd say I became a regular smoker in the summer of 2002 and smoked about a pack a day. I quit cold turkey in September last year with the Allen Carr book. It's not the most entertaining read, but it worked for me and everyone else I know who read it. Didn't even have to quit drinking or hanging around friends who smoke.

As for reasons to quit, I've saved about $500 by not smoking so far. Non-smoking situations like airplanes and movies are now bearable. My senses of smell and taste have improved (living in Osaka, this unfortunately means I smell a lot of things that I was happier not smelling). My apartment doesn't smell like smoke anymore. Of course, my cycling has improved immensely. Hard efforts are easier to deal with. I still suck at climbing, but not nearly as much as before.

Good luck to everyone trying to quit! Once you've kicked it, you'll wonder why you even did it in the first place.

frymaster

my one year quit anniversary is sometime next week (or so my partner says... i never really keep track of such things). my formula for success was:

a) accept that it's going to be difficult and ignore people who say it's easy.
b) use the patch
c) bike more
d) learn how to take breaks. one of the hardest things about quitting is not having a 7 minute micro-break every 90 minutes.
e) do not stress over weight gain. it will happen. let it. you can always shed pounds later

Tober1

It is easy. Those are the people you should listen to. If you keep putting yourself over the rack about it, it will seem that much harder. You're much strong than any hold nicotine has on your body. I quite 2 months ago (smoked 9 years) and it's the easiest thing I've done. I wish I had done it sooner. Sure I still miss it, but I just remember how much it sucks and how much harder it was to ride to work every day.
I read Allen Carr's the Easy Way to Quit Smoking on one of my previous attempts and I found that useful. I lasted 2 months after that.
This one is going to stick though. Thank goodness.

Firechief

I smoked heavily for nearly 45 years. When I started it was an accepted stress reliever (I was a policeman at 18 and transferred to the Fire Dept 15 years later) and nearly all of my partners smoked. Heck, it was even allowed on airplanes !!
Starting was one of the stupidest things I ever did. I found quitting very difficult -- over the years I have tried hypnosis, acupuncture, patches, gum and pills (including Chantix - which can cause some serious side effects for some people). None of the above was successful for me, partly because I didn't have the "will" to quit.
About 6 months ago I tried the "e-cig", an electronic device that looks somewhat like a cigarrette. It contains a base called propylene glycol, which produces an odor-free water vapor. It can be purchased with or with-out nicotine. Propylene Glycol is used in medical inhalers.
It WORKED -- I haven't had a cigarrette for over 3 months and look forward to the day that I can put this thing down and be done with anything even resembling smoking.
This may not appeal to every-one but if my experience can help even one member of this site who has not been able to quit otherwise I will count it as a good day.

baron von trail 

One thing I noticed about quiting is that everyone's habit/addiction is slightly different. Mine was purely physical. Once I went through the initial withdrawl, about three days (and, trust me, my three days were pure hell; for some, heroin might have been easier to quit), I never looked back.

On the other hand, I have a good friend who can't stay quit. She will start and stop smoking suddenly, going form a pack a day to nothing, staying quit for weeks at a time, not even having one. And, just as suddenly, she's lighting up 20 of those suckers each day all over again.

Nico is a crazy drug. I am just glad that I don't crave smokes now. Good thing because it could happen. I have some really good friends, friends who have quit for over 20 years. They say they still crave the death sticks.

NOw that really would be terrible.

carbondale

Oh my... why to quit? I smoked on and off for a number of years. Last Thursday, I was diagnosed with emphysema. There's no cure, and it continues to get worse. Without health insurance I would now be taking about $700 worth of medications per month (as it is its only $100 or so). I get winded going up stairs, not much of a cough, yet.

Since there's too much snow and ice for my liking, I don't know how it will effect my biking, but it won't help.

I quit smoking 5 years ago, but that was way too late, it seems.

How I quit (hope it may help someone).

Step 1 (the most important): Decide you are going to quit, forever, and never smoke again. Get it firm in your head. Accept that you won't ever enjoy that addictive little smoking stick.
Step 2: Pick a day. I chose a Saturday of Labor Day weekend - a 3 day weekend for me. Buy some nicotine gum if you think you'll need it.
Step 3: The night before, before you go to sleep, dump any remaining cigarettes down the toilet.
Step 4: Day one - Remind yourself of step 1. Do your normal routine - coffee, breakfast, etc. Just don't smoke. It won't be fun or easy. Try the gum whenever there's a real urge for the nicotine buzz.
Step 5: When I really, REALLY wanted a smoke, I got on my bike and rode a LONG ride. Beat myself up. Got home, drank enough water to not be thirsty then went to bed for a nap.
Step 6: Sat, Sun and Mon - repeat step 5. Keep drinking plenty of water - it helps to detoxify. Don't cheat. Every moment you don't smoke is another moment deposited in your non-smoking life.
Step 7: If you make it to Monday morning, congratulate yourself. Damn fine work. If you go to work, tell your co-workers you quit. Bask in their praise.

Each successive day is easier. You will think about smoking lots, but remind yourself of step 1. You're a former smoker.

Mazaev

Going to be 4 years since I quit this March. Started at 13 and smoked for about 12 and a half. Unlike some, it wasn't the physical withdrawal that made it hard, but the mental habit. Having started that early, it was pretty ingrained into EVERYTHING. Wake up, have a smoke. Have breakfast, have a smoke. Get in the car, have a smoke. Order a drink, go outside for a smoke. You get the idea.

At some point, I lost a bunch of weight by just having a smoke whenever the urge to eat would hit. It was also such a social lubricant... a free thing to relate to with people and start up conversation. Anyway, I ended up just quitting cold turkey. One of the hardest things I've ever done.

At the 3 month mark, I bought a pack or two and smoked most of it, but it wasn't the same anymore. Funny, once you get the idea to quit seriously into your head, every cigarette comes with a mental burden. I also almost started up again last spring, but managed to wring myself away from it before it became habit again. It wreaked havoc on my cycling.. one of the things that kept me away from it.

To a degree, I can also credit it for getting me into cycling. When I quit, I blew up by almost 40 pounds in the first 8 months. Bought a bike just for that reason and haven't looked back since... the weight dropped right back off.

I'll give ya a tip that really helped me during this time: Don't shy away from people smoking around you. It only helps your will power when you can step outside for a smoke with everyone else, but not actually smoke one; politely decline. If you've smoked for a while, you know that one of the best things about smoking is taking that smoke break. Once you can do that without actually smoking one, it all becomes that much easier. Also, very important to mentally accept that you are no longer a smoker, ad no longer think of yourself as one. Otherwise, it's just a matter of time before you use a cigarette to reward your efforts, totally turning it all upside down.

Tober1

Damn. Real sorry to hear. That's one of my biggest fears, that I've waited too long to quit. Starting is just about the worst thing I've ever done.
I wish you the best of strength and luck in dealing with it.

baron von trail 

+1

Add to that all the oral cancers which, to me, sound about as nasty as it can ever possibly get.

BITSA

I smoked a pack a day for 30 years and quit last June. I tried quiting numerous times over the years, but always ended up starting again. This time I tried Chantix after talking with my Doc and also focused on riding my bike. I stopped taking the Chantix 4 weeks after I quit, but continued to ride. To help me stay focused, I set 3 goals to complete before the end of last year.

1) Ride 50 miles under 3 hours
2) Ride my age (52)
3) Ride a metric century

I complete all three and in October capped it off by repeating all three on the same ride. I am already working on this years goals (get faster, ride a few centuries) to keep myself focused on not starting again.

One thing my wife points out, is that all the money saved and then some seems to have been spent on 2 new bikes and equipment. Oh well, one addiction for another (LOL).

Helms91

Well Bf, i feel bad. 12 days in, and i broke my streak. I smoked. I got really stressed out, timed in with a crave, and i went outside and i smoked a cigarette. I don't know what i was thinking. I feel very disappointed in myself right now.

microtonal

I smoked for 15 years before I finally quit cold turkey. Here are a few things I did:

1. I made up my mind to quit (the most important thing).
2. I viewed myself not as a smoker trying to quit but as a someone who does not smoke.
3. Rode the bike, a lot.
4. Viewed smoking as disgusting, hurting my cycling, killing me, creating a tumor in my lung, etc.
5. Split myself into two people, one who smoked and one who didn't. Whenever the one who smoked wanted to have a cigarette, the one who didn't smoke laughed at the one who smoked (the John Cage method).


Good luck to you, I hope you quit. It really is much easier than you think. If you make it one day, you can make it two. If you make two, you can make three, etc. After one week the cravings were almost gone. I could taste, smell and breath again. It was like being reborn.

ModoVincere

15 yrs of pack a day with Marlboro Reds and or Lucky Strikes. I quit back in 2000. I used a combination of nicotine patches from 2 brands....Nicoderm had a 3 step process and Target store brand was a 2 step process with the nicotine levels right in between the 3 steps of the Nicoderm brand. So I used a five step process...it was still a ***** quitting, but I'm very glad I did.

valygrl

Hey helms, sorry you fell off the wagon, but you just have to count it as a SETBACK not a FAILURE - you can still quit smoking. Don't re-start. It was a one-time thing.

I quit in 1992 after smoking 1 1/2 packs a day for about 12 years. I tried to quit twice before that, one time lasted 2 years. The last time it worked because I really wanted to do it for myself, not because anyone else wanted me to.

Hang in there.

Helms91

Thanks for the support everybody. Let's just hope that i will be able to stay away this time once and for all.

frymaster

+1

joe_5700

The patch really helped me quit. I have not had a cig in over 2 years. The hardest thing about quitting was telling myself that it was going to be my last cig. There are way too many benefits at this point to even consider starting again. It is such a good feeling to not have to go outside to smoke or sneak away at dinner parties, find a place to smoke at an airport, not running out of them etc. etc. Once you quit after a while you will realize what power they once had over you. I even eliminated beer/alcohol for almost a year now too.

joe_5700

I wish I could say that after a week my cravings were gone. It probably took me about a year before I came to grips with the fact that I really could not ever see myself smoking again. Maybe it was the result of retaining a mono persona? Nicotine is one .hell of a drug. It also took my body a while to feel like a non smoker too. When I am around other smokers or walk by one I am also not a cig nazi either.

thomast

I smoked a half pack a day for ten years and quit about 5 years ago using Nicorette gum - my mouth needed something to fiddle with. Like I said it was five years ago, but I will STILL get random cravings and they are strong...I have to remind myself that the craving will pass in a few seconds. What a bad habit.