Same here. I always see a sign for a pack or someone smoking one and ill crave one but I never act on it.
45 years smoke free in Nov. <never smoked> I tried cigars once and just didn't grasp the perceived satisfaction derived from sucking on a burning tube of leaves. But major congrats to all that can beat this addiciton. It's disgusting and expensive. My Mom never smoked, my Dad did for over 30 years. She's the one that got lung cancer and died. And from what I witnessed, it's an ugly way to go. If you've ever witnessed it, you're crazy if you ever light up again after seeing that.
My FIL passed from COPD, and other complications from smoking. He died in a palliative care facility... basically a hospice unit. It's pretty much where people go to die & like you said, his last couple months were sheer hell. What boggled me, though, is that the facility had a smoking area for their staff. These people see the end result of that nasty habit day in & day out. They watch people guppying for breath while their O2 tubes run full blast right up their noses. Yet they still smoked. Boggling cognitive dissonance, that.
A year and 3 months. My ex-BIL was head of respiratory therapy at a major Boston hospital, and he still smokes. He's also allergic to cigarette smoke, so he has the sniffles all the time.
smoke free since dec98 after smoking since 72. I still feel older though! best luck and you only have to stay quit 1 day at a time! tim
It's good to see so many people stop. Though I've never smoked, admiration goes out to those successful in stopping. Now, just think of the money you saved or will save.
i really need to quit.. what got some of you through the first days and weeks? seripusly asking for help here
It might sound stupid but I used jolly ranchers to replace the smokes. Then I started running everyday and after a long run I would hack up black stuff. I forced myself to be around smokers when I was quitting. Now being around them doesn't even phase me. The biggest thing was telling myself I don't smoke anymore. Plus I added up all of the money I wasted on smoking and figured out at 1.5 packs a day I would had saved 3k a year. That's two full race weekends, my suit, tires for the year, etc. Pick one. Plus. I hate to tell you but you smell friggen terrible. I didn't notice it til I quit. It took me 3 months of cravings to be over it and not think about it all the time.
5 years quit this past July...I used nicoret gum, switched to regular gum then just stopped chewing gum.
First things first, you gotta be done with them. You gotta quit for you. Not anyone else. YOU have to want to quit FOR YOU. My crutch was dum-dum pops. You can get them in bulk from spangler candy. I'm talking 10# bulk. No nicotine replacement. That's just dragging it out. When you work through a craving... savor that bitch. Remember it. Remember that you beat it. Next craving, remember the ones you already beat. Think about how much it would suck to cave now & undo having beat all those previous cravings. Beware the third week. That was the hardest part for me. I actually left the house to go buy smokes but decided to stop at Whataburger first. Never went to get smokes. You can do it, you WILL do it. When YOU want to.
Atomic fireballs for me. This. People that come in after having a smoke have no clue how bad it smells when they get in the elevator. You have to get off the nicotine wagon and you have to do it for you. Want to quit? Quit, and mean it.