Actually I did for about 6 years, Cold Turkey. After having a heart attack. I started back with just one cigarette while my father was in surgery for lung cancer about 5 years ago.

It drives my cardiologist crazy every year after doing my stress test and bloodwork. He always says " your heart is in great shape. Your bloodwork is good without any medications. If not for the stent I could not tell that you had ever had a heart attack. But..but you smoke." He also starts each vist off with " Have you quit smoking yet?"

I'm ready to quit again. I just have to decide on a quit date and inform the spousal unit to expect a couple of weeks of irritability. I need to get a good bike light too. Last time I did it, going for a short walk every time the urge hit helped. The urge only lasts a short time, after the first week or so. This time I want to go for a ride instead of a walk. Replace one bad habit with one good one.

When I quit smoking I read something that said: "Will power is not mind over matter, it is knowing what to do when..."

...Sounds like you have a plan -- a good one. One you know can work.

And, finding the right bike could be fun. Have you ridden before? Do you know what type of riding you expect to be doing and what kind of bike you'll need?

Good luck, I wish you success. I personally found it eaasy to quit. I reckon i quit smoking dozens of times. Finally managed to not start again.

CWelch,

I highly support your quitting smoking. My Mom did not quite, and died at age 77 from lung cancer and emphysema. My Dad did quite, and lived to age 86. My Grandmother on Mom's side lived to be in her 90s. Mom did not get to see her grandchildren graduate from college, go to grad school and graduate there, and get married. Switching from smoking to bicycling is vital to your health, and you are to be congratulated about it. Keep posting, and we'll keep supporting...

John

My best wishes in your quitting for good. Keep us informed.

cwelch
The sooner the better. Get your spouse on board and do it ASAP! Get the bike light or just tape a cheap LED flashlight to the handlebars.

Keep us informed on your progress and tell us a bit more on how you are doing on your cycling.

CWelch,

'Tell you what, I'll support you in you effort to quite smoking, and hopefully you and the rest here can help me in my effort to loose weight. I'm 5'10" and about 198 pounds right now, which is a body mass index (BMI) of 28.4. According to this site:

https://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm

I am overweight. I want to get back down to my high school swimming weight, which was 167 pounds. But I need your and the rest here support for my efforts. Smoking is only one risk factor; overweight is another for health problems. Thanks for hearing me on this.

John

It may well have been the single hardest thing I have ever done. That was over 30 years ago.

Best of luck to ya

John, I'll give you all the support I can.

I hope this doesn't go like last time. I gained about 20 lbs which I've since lost, when I started smoking again. But was doing no exercise at all.

I still would like to drop about another 15-20 lbs. There is no way I can get back to my high school gymnastics weight of 135 lbs. I was nothing but skin, bone and muscle. Overhead press was 150lbs and bench was 310. If only I knew then what I know now.

I've told both my sons, who are in pretty good shape, to take care of themselves and stay in shape.

It wasn't that hard for me the first time. But I was really motivated after they told me I was having a heart attack. The last smoke then was in the ER parking lot before I went in. The family said I was hell to live with for a couple of weeks. I didn't think so.

This time the only motivation is me. I can go for hours without smoking or even wanting to smoke. I didn't have one at all Monday and only had 1 Thursday. I know it's do-able.

Ditto

Try to think of the cool upgrades you could get for your bike everytime you have the urge to smoke. One month of smokes may cost the same as a shifter upgrade. One year of not smoking may be able to buy that carbon fibre bike.

Like Lays potato chips, you can't have just one. I went back after not smoking for 10 years and it took me another 10 years to stop again. Which is why I will never have just one again. Not to mention how long it's taken to get where I could go uphill and breathe.

It irks me that smoking is portrayed as "a habit"... If it is, so is cocain. Both are addictions and some say that nicotine is actually more addictive than cocaine. And, like all addictions, your brain and your body will be telling 'you' that smoking is good and that you HAVE to have another cigarette and that it's OK to smoke 'just this one'...

But, that doesn't mean that it can't be licked.

But, like beating ANY addiction, it takes planning and resources:
-- Have you thought about the nicotine substitutes?
-- Like AA tells us: kicking "the habit" involves a change of lifestyle (do I here a bike in the future?)

It's hard work -- but it can be done. And yes, you can do it...
... But, for me, it came down to wanting something more than I wanted that cigarrette.

I quit just short of 4 years ago. I cannot really say it was that hard, but the desire to have "just one" is a stronger nag than a bad woman. Some days, it takes a lot of internal strength to not smoke. Helps to be broke I guess. Anyway, congratulations on a most intelligent choice. Feel free to lean on me all you need for support.

I still notice little positive things every so often, like how much better I recover after a long hard climb (and how that still is improving), or how much better my eyes feel when they are not bedeviled by smoke.

I quit 4 years ago, and I'm just starting to realise the benefits.
That, and I never noticed (but I do now...) just how damn stinky those things are.

Congratulations and Bon Chance !!

When I was working I had recovering herion addicts tell me it was harder to quit smoking than herion. Here in B.C. the government will supply free patches or other aids to those who want to quit. They figured it was cheaper to do that than the future costs of health care to those who still smoke. Good luck on staying quit and go for lots of rides.

When I see all the difficulty people have with quitting smoking, it makes me glad, that in the late 1970's when I tried it, I decided it wasn't for me, and never started.... What amazes me is that now, nearly 40 years later, young people still start smoking....

It's all about image and which crowd you want to impress at that age. That much has not changed since I picked up the habit as a teenager. Thankfully, I was able to quit 35 years ago.

Visit Europe and you will find, as we did, that smoking is still a very fashionable pastime.

We are supposed to be in South America right now, but we changed our minds partly because we found our accommodation options were severely limited because we were non-smokers.

To the OP, one of the most significant motivating factors I used to give up smoking well over a decade ago now (apart from the real possibility of a second heart attack) was the thought that for every packet of cigarettes I bought, a large percentage went to a multinational company and to the Federal Government in excise.

I figured that neither of those two organisations really gave a rat's arse about my health and welfare, and I was damned if I was going to continue to make some faceless rich guys even wealthier, and pay any more tax than I had to.

The tax thing probably doesn't apply to you, but do you really want someone who has shares in a tobacco company getting rich at the expense of your bank account and your health?

And, the savings from not spending money on cigarettes helped me to buy whatever bike schwag I wanted, and helped me pay for trips overseas. Giving up is one of the best things I have done in my life.

It depends on where in Europe, it's higher in Eastern Europe, and lower in Western Europe, now it also depends on the data, some countries have more smokers, but lower cigarette consumption and some have fewer smokers, but heavier smokers.
The top 5 are the same on both lists though, Greece, Slovenia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic. Some countries are surprising though, Japan and Switzerland have high cigarette consumption. France, Germany and the UK are all lower (on consumption)then the US, as is Canada.

I smoked up to two packs a day for nearly thirty years. I quit maybe a dozen times and each attempt was well planned including setting a date, cutting down by a schedule, use of help, etc. None worked until I just got fed up and disgusted with myself. I just thrown the half mocked pack into the trash one day, say I quit, and didn't give in to the temptations which didn't really end for good five years or more later.

My advice is convince yourself it's the best thing you can do for YOU, and you are taking control of yourself and that habit you don't like or want anymore. Just do it and good luck.

I smoked for over 40 yrs, and am just celebrating a year of being smokeless. The benefits show about 3 months after quitting. Riding becomes easier, family/wife thinks you are a hero, money stays in your wallet. I believe that my ressurected desire for cycling a couple of years ago helped make the transition to non smoking. As one of the "quitting" books I read said, after you quit you will realize what normal (without a smoke) feels like. Good luck and go for it. Don't forget to treat yourself with the extra cash. eg. lights, bags, books,etc.

I can only go on what I observed, not published figures, and by comparison with Australia where some quite strict laws are in place regarding smoking, the incidence was much, much higher and much more annoying for us.

But thanks for the listings which do turn up some surprises. Probably of equal interest would be the incidence of lung cancer in each country, but I can't be bothered looking it up, despite Machka and I discussing it extensively as we travelled.

I did the quit date, elaborate daily reduction with schedules, etc. Had smoked for 25 years...2 packs a day. My youngest son was in Cub Scouts, and the little boys asked why I smoked, since smoking was bad.

My wife and I quit. I used the gum, got hooked on that for over a year, but at least there was no smoke.

Finally quit the gum. Last cigarette was 03/01/00, at 9:45 a.m.

Good for you! Please hang in there and come on here if it get hard!

DPN