Quitting Smoking-important Question

[bolts]

To anyone that has quit-when does quiting start getting hard?? I really started smoking when I was 13, and now 10 years later decided to quit. I'm at 6 days nows, (which, if you knew me, is fucked up) and it's pretty easy, but I'm finding I get bored shitless when I normally would have a butt. I'm thinking about having one now, just for the fact that it is sooo easy and I can quit another time.......but that might be the addiction. So If someone can tell me roughly when it starts getting hard, and maybe if it's possible to have 1 cig a day.

bolts

[elementx]

I quit smoking 8 months ago. And to tell you the truth I still get little urges... But they come and go. The times when it is hardest is what I call the association cigarette. Basically any action that you would normally associate with having a cigarette...

Examples...

Driving -

Social Drinkin -

After Sex -

At isnt easy. Also if you noticed your body is basically on a smoking clock. You will notice that in your work place you will see the same people get up at the same time and head out for a butt... Even if they arn't in the same offices. It is basically clock work. What I did at first was I would use gum or tooth picks just to have something in my mouth to get me past the urge. But dont fall into the I CAN HAVE JUST ONE A DAY... Cigarettes are more adicting then heroin and trust me it will never be just one cigarette a day. One becomes 2 and 2 becomes 3 and so on.

A cigarette urge comes and goes. It is kinda like drowsiness. If you overcome an urge it is almost like you had a smoke and the urge will pass till a later time. But eventually the urges get further and further apart. Until there are almost none...

Hope I was of a little help...

Peace... Scott

[wishlist]

i pretty much woulda said wat elementex woulda said... but about the one cigarreta a day hting....... NO... NO WAY.... it may work for a while... but its not just gonna be one... its gona turn to one then a cut from someon elses ciggraret... its like the ultimite tease... and wats the point of havin one... especially when there are so many diffrent times of the day to have that one butt..

[hotcheme]

the first 4 days were pretty easy cause i was motivated and it's been hard since then. it's been 5 months and almost every day i question why i quit to begin with. i know that if i have even 1 cigarette i'll start again. it's like i will be imprisoned by this the rest of my life...

[clubgyrl00]

Originally posted by elementx

The times when it is hardest is what I call the association cigarette. Basically any action that you would normally associate with having a cigarette...

Examples...

Driving -

Social Drinkin -

After Sex -

Exactly! I couldn't have said it better myself. I associate everything with a stogie. To add to your list, my cup of coffee, after a big meal, when I talk on the phone...

I want to quit smoking. I know its an exteremly unattractive habit, but at the same time, I enjoy it (as horrible as it is for you) I love sitting out on my deck in the morning, smoking a cigarette before everyone else is up in the house...

I do know that I def need to quit though b/c its definitly taking a toll on my lungs. I can tell when I do my cardio workouts at the gym

[nycmuzik]

Smoking is cool....Dont ever quit.....

[bolts]

Originally posted by hotcheme

the first 4 days were pretty easy cause i was motivated and it's been hard since then. it's been 5 months and almost every day i question why i quit to begin with. i know that if i have even 1 cigarette i'll start again. it's like i will be imprisoned by this the rest of my life...

Thanks for all the responses, actually helped alot, I was just going to get up for my start to "one cig a day" LOL, pretty fucked most of you said that, I had it all set out, just one!

But the above response is what I really worry about, because thats what pisses me off most, not nic fits, not keeping away from butts, but I hate that I always think about it, it's killing me. I don't want to be thinking about this every second 5 mths from now. Not sure what to do, I think I might start again just because of that response.

BOLTS

[hotcheme]

Originally posted by bolts

Thanks for all the responses, actually helped alot, I was just going to get up for my start to "one cig a day" LOL, pretty fucked most of you said that, I had it all set out, just one!

But the above response is what I really worry about, because thats what pisses me off most, not nic fits, not keeping away from butts, but I hate that I always think about it, it's killing me. I don't want to be thinking about this every second 5 mths from now. Not sure what to do, I think I might start again just because of that response.

BOLTS

sorry about the bleak outlook.

you can do it. be determined. as much as i want a cigarette i still haven't had one - not drunk, high, on e, after sex, or with those most tempting friends.

[barvybe]

man, don't start again!!!

for me it was only tough when i would go out and hang at bars and clubs. i think i was lucky cause i had great motivation. my mom had smoked for 20 years and she had a cancerous lump found in her breast...she and i quit on the same day: christmas eve 1995. i didn't smoke a ciggy period for 1 year. then for a about 3 years i used to have about one a week, when i was out at a bar and didn't want another drink it would sorta even me out. haven't even had a single butt for about 8 months now though.

here's a poem I wrote about the thing with my mom: i think you'll be able to see the motivation -

SOFT PACK

That is her last one.

Has to be - the doctor said.

She sits there

small, curled in on herself,

blue haze eddying.

He said it doesn't look good, but not bad.

It is early.

I finger the edge, a soft rectangular shape

in my pocket -

a living breathing thing.

A deep breath full of pine and linoleum.

A crisp clean manner.

Serious but optomistic.

No guarantees.

Hard work.

The doctor shakes my hand.

Something else, more words i don't catch.

She sits alone.

I am a spectator.

A brief smile that doesn't touch the eyes,

a nod.

I thank him i think.

He leaves brightly twinkling lights behind,

trails tinsel and best wishes.

We will see him next week.

No fear

just a small tight knot

of desperate hope

trying to double me over.

[neptune1]

I would say if you have thought about it and are ready to do it, which it sounds like you could be, then quit. Because smoking is just BAD for you. It damages your respiratory linings, and induces the cells in your respiratory passages to 'mutate' to try and compensate for the daily bombardment of smoke. And when this cellular change goes awry - you get cancer.

Your body has undergone chemical changes since you started smoking... your body has nicotine receptors in many different areas, including your aorta (largest artery in the body) and the brain. Its going to take time to convince your body you can do without cigarrettes....

Try the nicotine gum if you need assistance quitting. Good luck to you.

[bolts]

Once again thanks for the responses, you're all fuckin amazing, poem was a nice touch. I really didn't go into this thinking I would get this far (5 days, 21hrs, 31mins might not seem long for alot of you, but for me, this is craziness, my friends actually don't believe me). I am this far at a cost though, I haven't gone out as much, just incase, I smoke atleast one more joint a night (only used to have approx one a night), I talk about it too much, and think about it like fuckin crazy.

I also know for me to keep this going will be next to impossible since ALL my friends smoke, I only chill with like 2 people that don't smoke and I hardly see them. I have no fuckin clue how I am going to make this last.

BOLTS

[barvybe]

you need to take up something else to replace everything but the drug part...

like toothpicks and cherry lifesavers for the oral and something in the hand / mouth thing. its a social habit not just an addiction. use straws in bars.

and tell your friends that you need their help - they are not allowed to let you bum smokes from them.

good luck

[bolts]

I wont be getting much help from my friends, they don't care much since I got all of them to start smoking. Anyways, this has helped out alot. Especially since I was convinced I could start doing the 1 cigarette a day thing before I read the first few responses.

BOLTS

[crosspatrick]

Best of luck man I was off them for about a week when of all the luck i got 800 smokes of the brand i used smoke in Ireland u cant get them anywhere else, what could i do, i have to smoke them ,when there gone i'm going to try again.

So far i've giving them up twice once for 5 months and the last time for a week but god loves a tryer.

[cintron]

damn. you guys make me glad i never started

[elementx]

WILL BE 9 MONTHS AT THE END OF THIS MONTH. The though comes across bot not as often. And believe it or not when I go out drinkin I think about it less... Which is completely opposite of that I thought. If you are going into it with a negative attitude then you are not ready to quit. When you are 100% ready you will be determined enough to not be so negative... Living in NEW YORK and after so long of not smoking the thing that made it easier was thinking of it like this...

$ 7.50 a pack at just about 2 packs a day.

$ 15.00 a day

$ 105.00 a week

$ 420.00 a month

$1280.00 Quarterly

$5000.00 Annually

Now that may not seem like much. But being my company offers

50% match on my 401 K plan and 11% match on company stock. I look at it like this. Being I now put the money I was smoking away into my 401K plan it now looks like this...

$105.00 Week ( Self Contribution )

$ 52.50 Week ( Company Match )

$420.00 Month ( Self Contribution )

$210.00 Month ( Company Match )

$4800.00 Annual ( Self Contribution )

$2400.00 Annual ( Company Match )

Multiply that by about 30 Years till retirement

That is

$7200 x 30 = $216,000 In 30 Years

And remember that is without compounding... And at a return of about 8% per year. Which is on the low end but we have to take into consideration that the market sucks right now... Well you do the math... It is somewhere in the millions...

So if your health does not make you think... Maybe your wealth will...

PEACE !!!!!!!

[bolts]

Pretty fuckin good. The money is a good part of it too. Shit, the cigarettes slowly increased in price from $3.50/pack all the way to $7.50/pack (in Toronto). I never really cared about the money when I was smoking, just thought of it as an expense-like food, but now I can have a little extra cash in my pocket.

BOLTS

Originally posted by elementx

WILL BE 9 MONTHS AT THE END OF THIS MONTH. The though comes across bot not as often. And believe it or not when I go out drinkin I think about it less... Which is completely opposite of that I thought. If you are going into it with a negative attitude then you are not ready to quit. When you are 100% ready you will be determined enough to not be so negative... Living in NEW YORK and after so long of not smoking the thing that made it easier was thinking of it like this...

$ 7.50 a pack at just about 2 packs a day.

$ 15.00 a day

$ 105.00 a week

$ 420.00 a month

$1280.00 Quarterly

$5000.00 Annually

....................................

So if your health does not make you think... Maybe your wealth will...

PEACE !!!!!!!

[sugar_n_spice]

Originally posted by cintron

damn. you guys make me glad i never started

Good thing you didn't.

I have been smoking since i was 14. Which means i have been smoking for 9 1/2 years. That is so pathetic. But i cant stop. For some ppl, they just decide not to, and well they dont anymore. I KNOW its SO bad for me. But i really enjoy smoking sometimes. Especially at a bar/club. Driving, just sitting around, after i eat, w/ coffee, ( i know u guys listed all these) But i think the number one reason is BOREDOM. I smoke alot at work, just to get away from my desk. Thats my break from work. Or if im nervous, I smoke. It's that comfort of having that damn little cigarette in my hand.

I dont think it helps that all my family smokes, my friends smoke. So im constantly around it. I know its not an excuse but.....

But i think if u are going to smoke, u have to be ready and willing to give it up. B/c otherwise, you wont quit.

[rdancer]

I quit smoking 4 months ago sometime in the month of MAY. It has been the best thing I have ever done in my life. It's hard the first month I used a lot of gum and flavored chewing sticks to satisfy my urges for cigerettes. I feel so much better now healthwise, I can work out without being depleted of air, and I finally can run like a kid again. Trust me don't start up again its not good for you, you will thank yourself later in life when you have a family and kids. Your health is the most important thing.

[bolts]

Originally posted by sugar_n_spice

Good thing you didn't.

I have been smoking since i was 14. Which means i have been smoking for 9 1/2 years. That is so pathetic. But i cant stop. For some ppl, they just decide not to, and well they dont anymore. I KNOW its SO bad for me. But i really enjoy smoking sometimes. Especially at a bar/club. Driving, just sitting around, after i eat, w/ coffee, ( i know u guys listed all these) But i think the number one reason is BOREDOM. I smoke alot at work, just to get away from my desk. Thats my break from work. Or if im nervous, I smoke. It's that comfort of having that damn little cigarette in my hand.

I dont think it helps that all my family smokes, my friends smoke. So im constantly around it. I know its not an excuse but.....

But i think if u are going to smoke, u have to be ready and willing to give it up. B/c otherwise, you wont quit. [/quoteS

Shit, you sound exactly like me, smoking at work(smokes a break), clubs/bars, mostly just for bordem, and THINKING you love it, I still think I do. I'm in the same position, everyone smokes around me. I thought I couldn't get by one day, but fuck, I'm at 7 days now, and it's pretty easy up to this point. Doesn't hurt to try.

BOLTS

[sugar_n_spice]

Originally posted by bolts

Originally posted by sugar_n_spice

Good thing you didn't.

I have been smoking since i was 14. Which means i have been smoking for 9 1/2 years. That is so pathetic. But i cant stop. For some ppl, they just decide not to, and well they dont anymore. I KNOW its SO bad for me. But i really enjoy smoking sometimes. Especially at a bar/club. Driving, just sitting around, after i eat, w/ coffee, ( i know u guys listed all these) But i think the number one reason is BOREDOM. I smoke alot at work, just to get away from my desk. Thats my break from work. Or if im nervous, I smoke. It's that comfort of having that damn little cigarette in my hand.

I dont think it helps that all my family smokes, my friends smoke. So im constantly around it. I know its not an excuse but.....

But i think if u are going to smoke, u have to be ready and willing to give it up. B/c otherwise, you wont quit. [/quoteS

Shit, you sound exactly like me, smoking at work(smokes a break), clubs/bars, mostly just for bordem, and THINKING you love it, I still think I do. I'm in the same position, everyone smokes around me. I thought I couldn't get by one day, but fuck, I'm at 7 days now, and it's pretty easy up to this point. Doesn't hurt to try.

BOLTS

Ahhh 7 days?! Thats so good!!! congrats!