Thank you for th kudos Mary Cas! However, I must admit this venture for me is very selfish. I can only consentrate on me, me me and getting through the withdrawal process. Being here, and hearing all of you wonderful people giving encouragement is just that....very encouraging. Probably more than you can imagine, and I thank you all.

DC,

I know exactly what you mean about urges. It's not too bad any more, passing up on a "habit" urge, it's the "craving" that is the killer, but for me too, it's getting easier and easier.

Yesterday, I was walking to my car from the grocery store. As soon as I left the store I smell smoke coming from someone's cigaret. Man, I took a deep whif and wanted to follow the smell. Do you find that you notice everybody who lites up, whether it be on the street, or on tv in a movie. You "notice" and think, "I use to do that."

I finally told my kids. We were all together yesterday and I made the announcment. They both were thrilled and hugged me and wished me luck. It'll be nice having their inspiration so close to me.

TIS

TIS and DC,

Though I've been mostly silent (but deadly) in this thread, I have been reading each post and following every step.

I am really glad that you have been able to keep up with this. It's tough, and will continue to be so for awhile (I'm imagining), but there are a lot of good feelings and support aimed your way from Tessio Territory.

And, of course, my interests are personal as well.

"He's takin' this very, very personal!"

Yep.

Signor V.

How's everyone doing without the cigs?

I'm still going strong. Almost 3 weeks now. I still have my moments but it seems to be getting a little bit easier each day. What I really find quite surprising is that I have NOT craved or even thought of having a cigarette when I first wake up! The first thing I used to do when I woke up was grab a cigarette ad go outside to smoke it, rain, shine, sleet or snow. And now not even a thought in the morning.

Thank you for asking Saladbar, I appreciate it!

Glad to hear you're doing well DC. As I approach month 3, I too am doing good. I still miss it and still crave it, but fighting the cravings gets easier and easier so far.

Hopefully we'll both be winners DC!!!!

SB, thanks for asking. Hope you're doing well.



TIS

We'll always be winners TIS.

Just that every now and then it's nice to be a champion!

Glad to hear that you are doing well also!

Woot! I'm proud of you guys. I know this is an enormous task!!

TIS..do your kids know yet? I remember when I found out my dad had QUIT I was so happy!

EDIT--oopsnevermind I see that you did tell your kids. That's fantastic.

It's been said that it takes 21 days to form a habit. TIS, you've exceeded that. DC, you're getting close. Go-man-Go!

Whether you meant "form" or "break", I still disagree... everyone's different, with different addictive personalities. And certainly some substances are stronger/weaker than others. I would think that crack or heroin would be bad examples to both forming or breaking a habit in 21 days.... so, I'm confused...

But as for the next sentence - absolutely!! I'm VERY proud of you guys!! I just hope soon I will join you once I get to that "place" myself...

Thanks MC. That IS encouraging! I suppose as far as quitting smoking goes, at least for me, you have to know when "your" time to quit is and mentally prepare yourself for what lies ahead.

I, like every other smoker, have thought about quitting, had the opportunity at any time to quit, why now? I don't know. That's why you can't tell anyone to quit. It has to be something they want to do and they'll know when/if. Even then, of course, I (or anyone) could fall off the wagon. It's a battle but I don't intend to let it be on my mind in 10 years let alone 1 year. We'll see.

Again, thanks to all. You are all VERY uplifting and encouraging.


TIS

I offered that as encouragement. Form - a new habit. Like DC has mentioned, there are things in a smokers daily life (habits) that are associated with smoking; having coffee, reading the newspaper, after dinner, having a cocktail. Those are habits associated with smoking. To disassociate from smoking is breaking a habit. I prefer the positive - forming a new habit.
And I certainly don't confuse habits with addictions. Smoking is an addiction, so to stop, one has to break the addiction and break the habit. A tough change no matter how look at it.

TIS, how you holding up?

It's about 5 weeks for me now, and I have to admit that the nicotine cravings have diminished quite a bit. However the habitual ones still seem to come and go a few times a day. I have to admit that at times I do miss smoking, but for the most part I am glad that I have stopped.

Hope that your persevering!

Hi DC, I was gonna ask you the same thing. I'm glad to hear you're still holding up ok.

Yea, I'm doing good also. My big problem was/is insomnia. One thing that I've noticed the last couple weeks is that I've been "moody". I don't know if I attribute it to nicotine withdrawal this late in the game (it's been over 3 months), or lack of sleep or what.

This will be amusing probably to everyone here, and today I laugh at it too, but the last couple weeks, I've been pissed at parents, students and politicians. Everything pisses me off. I told a friend co-worker the other day that I was afraid I'd go off on somebody and that I was tired of doing everything (wa wa wa).

I'm sure everyone at work would consider it totally out of character for me and of course didn't want to ruin any good relationships I have with my boss and many co-workers.... So....I took a "mental health" day off yesterday.

The good news is, I slept like a baby last night and got up AFTER the sun rose. It's been weeks since then. I feel great today!!! I guess lack of sleep brought on the moodiness.


TIS

I really am so proud of you guys. It's so tough to do, and you guys are champs!!

I got a job offer the other day that I am seriously considering. It wouldn't start until after the New Year (which is perfect timing for me), and I've decided that I will start it smoke-free. Obviously, I'll have to quit a decent amount of time before then. My anniversary is October 12th, and I was thinking that might be a nice anniversary gift to Mr. Babe. However, I'll actually stop on the 13th so I'm not bitchy ON our anniversary!

SB,

When and if you decide to, feel free to post your frustrations, hurdles andtriumphs here. If nothing else, it'll be good to vent and/or write your thoughts.

My girls asked me if I thought their father would also quit smoking. I told them it's different for everyone and that you simply can NOT tell someone to stop. It must be his decision, on his terms. It's hard to explain to nonsmokers.

One thing I swear I'll never be is one of these "holier than thou" former smokers who suddenly are self-righteous and preachy. You know the type? The person who is waving smoke away from his/her face even if you're smoking 20 feet away from them.

Anyway keep us posted. I'm sure DC will agree that you can use us as your support should you decide to go for it.

TIS

DITTO!


And SB, go for it. At least give it a shot. We'll be here for you when you do.

Well, I am going to give it a try. I am a little bit afraid of failure, especially compared to you guys, but I have to go for it.

TIS and DC, I know exactly the kind of people you are talking about! My former boss was one of them!!!

My mother-in-law quit smoking after 55 years this year after a nasty bout of pneumonia. She had it right after New Year's Day, and her most recent CAT Scan showed that her left lung STILL isn't completely clear. However, she confided in me yesterday that she is waiting for a good test result to start smoking again!! I told her that if she could give it up this long, why would she want to start again??

It's storie's like your MIL's that scare me a bit SB. I mean after all that time, why in the world would she want to go back??? I just don't know if there is ever a time when I could say "I licked it?"


TIS

How can you ever succeed if you are afraid to fail?

Think about that one.

I just came from a sports bar. It's the first time I've been to that particular bar. I left at hal-time in large part because of the smoke from all the smokers that were there. I don't understand how you smokers can stand it. What's really tragic is that I was, by far, the oldest one in the bar. Most there were of college age.

What many smokers may not realize is that whether your 5 feet away or 25 feet away, us non-smokers are still able to smell the smoke.

Now while I'm not as obnoxious as some non-smokers, I can't very well say I blame them for acting the way they do. Smoking harms everybody around...not just the person who is smoking.

***EDIT***

Good luck, SB! I have all the faith in the world that you can succeed at quitting!

I can understand not wanting to sit next to a smoker in a bar, or restuarant.

But, here in CA you simply can not smoke anywhere (restaurants, bars, courthouse, anywhere indoors and even some parks are prohibiting smoking now) so I don't see it as a problem.

I am attempting to speak as a "non-smoker" if it's fair to call myself that yet. I didn't smoke inside my house, but on my porch or in my car. If I was outside on my porch having a cigaret and it bothered someone else just walking by, I say tough titties!!!

I can drive through Ontario, CA or Norco and smell horseshit for a while and that too will pass. I can see and drive through the smog and shit in the air here that nobody seems to do anything about either. So, while I wouldn't deliberately irritate somone when I smoked, I figure "IF" I still smoked in my house, porch car or anywhere outside where it might still be legal, and somebody passed by and smelled it I wouldn't feel out of bounds at all by continuing to smoke.

Let me add too, that I love saving the tons of money not buying smokes every month. :)I hear they are gonna raise again the tax on ciagarets. Every illness that ails the world will be paid by the taxes they add to punish the smoker. That's another issue I guess though. Perhaps with all the illnesses that the obese get and bring on themselves, they should raise taxes on foods they buy. Yea, I'm being somewhat sarcastic, but still feel it's a valid comparison.

TIS

TIS, I was always annoyed that non-smokers felt perfectly at home lecturing smokers about the ill effects (like we're blind, deaf and illiterate) of smoking, but would never dare go up to an obese person chowing down on their second Big Mac and reprimand them. It is an extremely valid comparison, especially since the number of smokers is decreasing and the number of obese people is increasing.

And what REALLY pissed me off is the fact that Capitol has a smoking lounge - INDOORS!! I thought all federal buildings were smoke-free?? Oh, just not THAT one???

Edit: TIS, my MIL never wanted to quit, and I don't think that she considers herself as having quit. IMHO, in her mind, she's simply taking a vacation from smoking.

I don't really think it's a valid comparison. There's no such thing as "second-hand high cholesterol." Thunder thighs aren't contagious, nor do they spread air-born carcinogens. What one lard-ass is eating as no effect on your health or mine.

That being said, though, I too am no huge fan of the "holier than thou" stance that some non-smokers take. A non-smoker who takes it upon themselves to sit in a designated smoking area, only to piss and moan because their's smoke in their face...well they deserve to be punched in the throat.

That being said, though...I don't wanna be responsible for turning this into an "addiction/vice" debate. This is about you guys quitting smoking. It's a big step, and its a very brave thing to do, and I commend ANYBODY who is willing to take that step.

X, I understand your point. But I keep hearing about how smokers have burdened the health care system, and obviously obesity does, too, and in ever-increasing numbers. Yet, it would be rude to say something to an obese person about losing weight, but perfectly fine to go up to a complete stranger that is smoking and harangue them.

I agree with you about second-hand smoke, and anyone who doesn't recognize it is just an idiot. I will not smoke in the car or around my children, and I never have. I don't understand people who do. There's nothing more disgusting than picking up a little child and they smell like cigarettes.

I was having a cigarette outside a few weeks ago and this old man came up to me. He said, Maybe this isn't my business, but please stop smoking. It's so bad for you, yadda, yadda, yadda, and he starts giving me the whole speech.

Inwardly, I was fuming, because I am so sick of people who feel compelled to speak to total strangers about it. I was polite to the man, because he really wasn't being a pain in the ass, and he was polite and not obnoxious, like some people.

And then tears started to roll down his cheeks, and he told me that he lost his wife to cancer and he wished he had insisted that she quit smoking. I was glad that I hadn't snapped at him, and I thanked him for his concern and told him I would really think about it. With DC and TIS as my inspiration and my SA (Smoker's Anonymous?? lol) support group, I am getting closer and closer to taking the step.

True, you can't get second hand anything from being obese, unless of course if it's hereditary than I guess would be passed on.

However, much of the bitching about smokers is the healthcare expense that they can incur from something they bring on themselves. So, as in the obese, they too can have enormous expenses from health problems that occur from being obese. In both cases, if there is no health insurance or limited health insurance, who pays the cost?

Don't misunderstand, I am very happy I have quit smoking and hopefully will never smoke again. As I stated earlier, my cousin is dying of lung cancer and she was part of my motivation for quitting. My sister tells me that many are saying, "well, she bought it on herself" which confirms to me that many are totally heartless and obviously cold hearted when it comes to this particular addiction. It makes me want to cry. I can sense many people do feel that way. I pray I am never that heartless.


TIS

SB,

Congrats on your decision to quit the habit. I am very proud of you. I know you will sucseed.

...why on Earth would anybody ever want to quit smoking?

Kid, you're playing with fire.

Don't go there.

Signor V.