I've never understood the desire to smoke. When I was a kid I tried it. It was harsh, the smoke bothered me, and it was hot. That cured me. I didn't care how cool it was. Both my parents smoked and my older brother and sister and just about every one of our neighbors. So, it was the norm. I had the same experience with liquor. As a kid I drank some anisette from time to time, and that cured me of wanting liquor.

So, good luck.

Good luck DC!! (And thank God you're doing this AFTER the weekend or we may've had to hurt you for being a bitch! )

I wish you both the best of perseverance! Please keep us posted - you never know, it might encourage others. Even myself!

When I was a kid I thought it was disgusting. I tried a puff off my mom's from the ashtray and nearly died. I'd hear my mom hacking in the bathroom, and I'd put her cigarettes out. She smoked for a long time, and with my encouragement, quit cold turkey and has been smoke free for at least 25 years. (Thank goodness, because otherwise she probably wouldn't be with us today at age 78). I'm sure it wasn't easy for her, but she never seemed to complain about it. I'm sure I probably disappointed her when I started as a teenager -- the rest of the band smoked, so how could I not look so *cool*


I never had that "problem"

TIS & DC -

Best of luck to the both of you. You both need to be commended for wanting to give up smoking. I know that you will be able to do it one day at a time.

GO TIS
GO DC

The hard part is avoiding or curbing the cravings on off-time. Luckily, I can't smoke at work or anywhere on the premises, so it isn't until lunch that I have that hour to kill. Yes, it can be very long. I usually go to a little mini mall or even the regular mall and look around and try to keep busy, but now it seems I'm buying something every lunch hour. I bought a digital camera last week, some clothes the week before and today I'm looking a new cell phone. Somebody stop me.

Like I said too, the ride to/from work is a test for me as well. I have my cigarets in their case in the car and haven't touched them. Just as I have that carton and a half in my dresser drawer but haven't gotten into them either. I'm wondering if I'm the type of "quitter" who needs them nearby in my comfort zone or something???

Of course, after eating is really hard. I know the craving will be there and try to wait for it to pass. It's gotten easier by now. However, for some reason, today on my way home from work, I was fighting an extra strong craving, looking at my cigarets on the dash just an arm's length away.

Btw, I figure I'll have about $130 more a month from not buying cigarets.

TIS

TIS & DC,

This is great news. Will it be difficult? Absolutely. Do you have an extended BB "family" that's standing behind you with encouragement, positive thoughts and support? Again, absolutely.

It's important to find the way that best works for you. There's no one special "magic bullet". But, I'm sure this is old news to you both.

You know me, so you know why I have my own particular reasons for seeing folks I care about quit smoking, if that's what they've made up their minds to do.

The only other thing I can say is please have frequent chest X-rays, and anything else your doctors recommend.

I'll get off the soapbox now.

Signor V.

Ah, that wasn't my intention, sorry JG.

In retrospect, I DO thank you for reminding me!

Congratulations TIS!

My dad used to smoke 30-50 cigaretts a day and he quit, not sure exactly when, but I think it has been over 15 years now that he hasn't smoke. Now he gets irritated by other's smoking. He actually starts coughing. So I'm convinced you can do it if you decide to do so. I wish you good luck TIS.

Congrats, TIS and DC! Keep it up! It's hard--nicotine is among the most addictive substances on earth--but lesser people than you (meaning: me) have done it. I'll tell you my story, even though it's not exactly flattering:
I smoked a pipe--three bowls of tobacco a day. Doesn't sound like much, until you realize that the bowls were pretty big, and I was inhaling. I thought I had it "under control," and some days, I didn't finish all three bowls.
Then I decided to cut back to 1 1/2 bowls per day. That's when I discovered how addicted I was. I'd run out of conference rooms every 10 minutes to take one drag on my pipe...I'd lean out windows in nonsmoking areas...it was awful.
One day, in the middle of a conference, I got up "to go to the bathroom." I went outside the door, and lit up. BLA-A-A-A-P! I'd triggered a smoke alarm in the corridor! Immediately, 4,000 company employees emptied out of three buildings and milled about outside, until it was "safe" to go back inside. Our corporate productivity took a nosedive that day! I shoved the hot pipe into my pants pocket and hopped around, trying not to look conspicuous. When we returned to the conference rooms, two building mechanics were inspecting the smoke detector--"Yeah, looks like someone smoked a cigarette under this one..." (To paraphrase Brando in "Waterfront": "It was you, Turnbull! I nearly died of guilt.) After that, I knew I was an addict.
I waited for the "Great American Smokeout" that November, and quit cold turkey. Moral of story: I had to be ready to quit, but that false alarm did it for me.

I think we are getting to a point in Anglo-American culture where the 'cool factor' around smoking is suddenly starting to die. A packet of Marlboro Lights or Marlboro Reds doesn't have the sex appeal of even 10 years ago.

Offically, I'm still an occasional smoker, but it must be two years since I had one and eight years since I puffed my way through 30 - 40 Marlboro Reds a day. What a waste of money and what a pain to have to wash your clothes two or three times as much as a regular person. Only plus side to the cancer sticks was that I was 30 - 40 llbs lighter as a regular smoker. With the introduction of smoking bans in public places -- a recent development here in the UK -- I do think that in 10 years time smokers will increasingly look plain 'weird' in Western culture.

You told that story before but its worth repeating!

The hardest thing i find with my habit is,not smoking after a meal.That's when i crave for a cigarette the most.
Also, i can't forget about how much i love smoking when i'm drinking alcohol.

I applaud your efforts, DC and TIS!! I think it's wonderful.

I remember when my dad developed a heart condition. The doctor told him to quit. He went down to 4 cigarettes a day, one after every meal and then one around 9 at night. The doctor told him that if he could do that, he could quit. He then switched to a pipe. The doctor told him that wasn't exactly quitting. He finally gave it all up.

And my mother-in-law quit this New Years after a particularly nasty bout of pneumonia. I never thought I'd live to see the day she would stop smoking, especially since she drives around in a 1978 Mercedes that has a bumper sticker that says I Smoke And I Vote. But I applaud her for doing it.

And I hope that you guys keep it up. DC, get the patch or something. It can't hurt!!

NO PATCH! It CAN hurt. Causes bad side effects in some people. I know several people who tried using that patch and wound up getting pretty sick from it. I wouldn't touch that patch with a ten foot poll.

DC, I heard the same thing and considered the patch as well. I talked myself out of it for that reason.

Another hard time of day. As I sit and have my coffee this morning I'm thinking "Damn, a cigaret would just top it all off." It is getting easier thankfully, but there is not a day goes by that I don't think of smoking way more than one time. I figure when that feeling subsides, I'll have it made in the shade.

Btw, how you doing? I KNOW how hard it is. Stick with it though.

TIS

How about an 11 foot Italian!!

I just know several people who used it and had great success. Try the Nicorette, too. I also used to hear these ads on the radio for cigarettes made from lettuce leaves. They were to be used in conjunction with the patch or Nicorette, to help you get past the habit of holding, inhaling, etc. I don't hear the ads anymore, so I don't know if they're still around.

I have a story about triggering the smoke alarms.

One of Ray's late uncle's was in the hospital dying of lung cancer. He had to go to the bathroom so he decided to light up right there in the bathroom. The alarm went off and what a comotion he started. I'm sorry to say he passed away a couple days later.

Keep on keeping on guys. You will do it.

Now that's a big hoagie.

How are you guys doing today? Just think of this place as your friendly rehab center, minus the beanpole celebretants.

Not too bad. I had really one bad part of the day where I really craved a cigarette. But for the most part, so far, it hasn't been to bad. I guess that I'm going to get those moments during the day. Juat got to get through them.



Thanks for asking BethE.

Good luck to all the quitters. This is one time when quitters win.

Wasn't plaw a smoker? Isn't that what did him in? That should be more inspiration.

That happened to me, too. My doctor said it was because quitting smoking changed my metabolism. But I think it was simpler: When I smoked a pipe, it kept me occupied. Putting the pipe stem in my mouth was an alternative to putting food in my mouth; cleaning and filling the pipe was an alterative to searching refrigerator and cupboards.

That's exactly right.When i run out of smokes,i'm straight away in the kitchen nibbling on anything and everything.

I'm going nuts at this very moment!

Don't give in, DC. We have faith in you!

Hang in there, DC!! Did you get any Nicorette gum or anything??

We love you! You can do it. We have faith.

Just ONE. Just ONE more! PLEEEEEEEEASE!!!

Look, everyone has to quit at their own pace and maybe cold turkey was not the best method for you. Please don't think that I am encouraging you to have a cigarette, but maybe you want to do it gradually. If you normally smoke one pack per day, smoke 15 for two days, then 12, then 10 and so on. Then you might want to do what my dad did - four per day for a week, and then if you realize that you can go that many hours without one, you can just stop.

Everybody has a method that works best for them, and perhaps you just need to find yours.

Are you ready for a tongue lashing?