Quit smoking 1 year ago today. How it's been going

[captp]

Not as well as it should be. I was actually totally tobacco free for 7 months. Smoked 1 at the Memorial Day party, 2 at the July 4 party, 3 at the Labor Day party. Smoked a few Friday afternoons at the Club. Since Memorial Day, I've smoked a total of about 3 packs.
Trying to be better about it. 3 packs in 5 months is not bad, but it should be zero.

 

[SharpieB]

It’s tough. Apparently harder than quitting heroin, but luckily I can’t confirm that.

I smoked for years and finally quit about 7 years ago. I vape nic a bit when I drink now, but still haven’t touched a smoke. Vaping isn’t exactly good for you, but it helped my wife and I get off the smokes and at least she is now vape/smoke free. A lesser evil to consider if you haven’t already.

The odd smoke isn’t likely going to kill you, but my “odd smoke” slowly crept back up to a pack a day over months on numerous occasions in the past. I just couldn‘t be a casual or occasional smoker.

 

[mcee_sharp]

Exceptionally tough, and I wish you all the luck. I wish there were a universal silver bullet.

I started vaping ~10 years ago...and still am. My lungs are great and I'm able to run and road bike no problem, but I'm still an addict.

 

[The Knize]

I used to be able to say quitting is easy, I have done it scores of times. I have not smoked in decades, but I would be terrified to smoke a cigarette even now, for fear of starting smoking again. It is a horrible addiction. Like developing an additional human need the level of thirst. At least it is for me.

 

[Lockback]

I quit smoking over 8 years ago after smoking about a pack a day for ... well ... several decades (about 4). My doctor said I really needed to during an appointment. I quit that afternoon, cold turkey.
Of course, it wasn't easy. I did eventually vape, which helped immensely. I know vaping isn't completely safe but I think it's a clearly preferred alternative to tobacco that serves a purpose in weaning us off that habit.
I got COVID in the summer of 2020 and was in the hospital for a week and emerged pretty compromised. To say I don't have a lot of stamina would be an understatement. But it's amazing now not being able to catch your breath will get your attention! I threw my vape paraphernalia away when I got home from the hospital and have been totally nicotine-free for over 3 years. I do miss it now and then, particularly after dinner and if someone lights a cigarette up near me, I still love the smell but the feeling passes quickly. Had vaping been around decades earlier ...
I've had to give up almost everything I've loved in my life. I just sold my motorcycle after riding for 50 years.
But they'll take my bourbon from my cold, dead hands.

 

[cleanshaved]

Remember you are fighting two things here. An addiction and a habit. Kicking smoking in the butt can be a process but many have done it, and you can too.

What got me to this point of no more after a few relapses, was after not smoking for a long time they did not taste nice to me. So, when I would strike an urge, I would remind myself of that negative thought on having one. The urge soon past.
No idea how long I've been smoke free now, but it must be over 20 years.

You can do this Georg. Just don't quit on quitting and you'll get there.

 

[JoWolf]

Not as well as it should be. I was actually totally tobacco free for 7 months. Smoked 1 at the Memorial Day party, 2 at the July 4 party, 3 at the Labor Day party. Smoked a few Friday afternoons at the Club. Since Memorial Day, I've smoked a total of about 3 packs.
Trying to be better about it. 3 packs in 5 months is not bad, but it should be zero.

Congratulations on your success and efforts. I smoked from 1956 to 1986. I was smoking 75 cigarettes a day and coughing up blood when I quit. During those years of smoking I had quit many times. I had also got on a pipe smoking journey for a few years and another time on a cigar smoking journey for a few years. Tobacco is insanely addictive in all forms. Now smoke free for 37 years I honestly still miss cigarettes. There is no going back for me because like any addict I would be back to 75 cigarettes a day in a blink. Don’t beat yourself up when you slip up. Continue to fight the battle to be smoke free. We all know it is unhealthy to smoke and it certainly has had dire results for many. Good luck.

 

[mcee_sharp]

...37 years I honestly still miss cigarettes.

No matter how many times I hear that same sentiment, it's always somewhat surprising. Really speaks to what an insidious product it is.

 

[Black Adder]

You didn't "quit" smoking 1 year ago today if you've had cigarettes during that year; let's be honest... you're still trying to quit.

I'm not attacking you here, Georg. I'm a former smoker who knows how hard it is to break this insidious and dangerous habit. I quit in November of 1999 using the nicotine patch system. Cigarettes, lighters, ashtrays.... all gone the day I put on the first patch. I think where a lot of people fail in the quitting is that they somehow view quitting as a bargaining process between the smoker you and the non-smoker you. Smoker me had no say in the matter. The cigarettes you had at the holiday parties was your smoker you saying, "hey. we've made it 7 months, let's have just one." That one cigarette derailed everything you achieved being smoke free.

I don't hate smokers, but I think I understand them and what's going on with them. If they enjoy smoking, okay. I won't scold you. If you want to quit, I think you've made a good decision, and I wish you the best of luck.

My smoker me is now serving a (rest!) of my life sentence imprisoned in my non-smoker body. I'm not gloating; it's just the way it is. Still to this day, I sometimes have dreams where I'm smoking. They're very real and vivid, so much so that I wake up feeling guilty and terrible about failing. It's a dream where a life lesson is re-learned. Nothing wrong in that.

Keep at it. Be strong and remain steadfast in achieving your goal.

 

[Submariner]

During my 23 years of smoking, I refrained during periods of time many times and then had another only to begin again. I haven't had a cigarette since July 4, 1993. Restraining much longer this time.

 

[Columbo]

Not as well as it should be. I was actually totally tobacco free for 7 months. Smoked 1 at the Memorial Day party, 2 at the July 4 party, 3 at the Labor Day party. Smoked a few Friday afternoons at the Club. Since Memorial Day, I've smoked a total of about 3 packs.
Trying to be better about it. 3 packs in 5 months is not bad, but it should be zero.

If you just can't quit altogether, at least come on over and join us old pipe smokers in the BL.

Pipe smokers live longer (the Surgeon General said so). And once you get past the grandfatherly room note, we're quite a decent bunch.

 

[Whisky]

I quit smoking about 13yrs ago. I was smoking 1.5-2 packs a day. I had one relapse about 7yrs in and smoked about 10 cigarettes a day for 2 weeks and managed to quit again. None since then. I do occasionally smoke a pipe, but the nicotine craving and need to have a pipe are non-existent compared to what I felt with cigarettes.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

My personal trainer told me many years ago:

Pete, you’re gonna screw up and eat the wrong stuff one day or week or whatever. You’ll feel awful and want to just give up and go back to your old ways. Just acknowledge you screwed up and don’t do it again for as long as you can. Just keep trying.

It’s not about the fall, it’s about getting back up again! Food, smoking, gambling, whatever it is. It ain’t over until it’s over.

 

[The Knize]

No matter how many times I hear that same sentiment, it's always somewhat surprising. Really speaks to what an insidious product it is.

Yep, the thirst is real.

Remember you are fighting two things here. An addiction and a habit.

Yes, I suppose that is true that like any true chemical addiction, certain things "trigger" cravings for nicotine/cigarettes. Certain settings. A drink at a bar, for instance, or a morning cup of coffee. Driving in a car. I would have said that I was pretty far beyond having much in the way of cravings, but I would say this discussion has triggered some mild cravings. So I guess my advice for quitting is to stay away from anything that triggers cravings, or at least be mentally prepared to really resist those cravings when have to be around things that trigger those cravings. There is no question that cravings diminish in strength over time. Part of the problem is they can diminish so much that one convinces oneself that they can have a smoke because it is not that hard to resist cravings.

I am also convinced that people vary in their susceptibility to tobacco/nicotine addiction. My wife and her mother seems to both go decades smoking one cigarette a day or fewer, except in social situations, where they would smoke quite a number. If I tried to smoke a cigarette a day, I would be up to a pack a day within ten days!

I have known former hard core heroin addicts in my life who confirmed that it was easier to quit junk than it was to quit cigarettes. I would say harder not to relapse with cigarettes, too.

 

[psfred]

Nicotine is extremely addictive. The worst part is that the severe effects of using it take a few decades to show up, and when they do, there isn't much that can be done. My brother and I have both had episodes of viral heart failure, but he smokes a lot and I don't (asthma pretty much prevents me smoking since I like breathing), and he has a pace maker and severely compromised heart activity and I fully recovered.

Hang in there, quitting tobacco in any form is difficult, but the less you use, the better off you are. What ever happens, don't light the next one......

 

[VerbaVolant]

Quit smoking 1 year ago today...​

No, you didn't.
Good news is that you can start fresh. Today.

 

[simon1]

You have the right attitude...keep at it.

Since everyone else has chimed in...is this a therapy session?

I quit about 2 1/2 years ago after 50 years of cigs. I quit after surgery on both femoral arteries that were about fully blocked. Like @Columbo said, I did pipes. I only smoke one or two bowls of an evening and if I miss one it doesn't bother me.

I have been getting lectures from Doc. that smoking is the number one cause of peripheral artery disease. They usually shut up when I ask why did it take three doctors and two nurse practitioners 8 months to even check for it when I was coming in on a regular basis with symptoms of foot cramps and everyone knew I had smoked for 50 years?

I'm usually met with the sound of crickets after that.

 

[bartje-p]

Quit 11 years ago, after having smoked for about 20 years, pack a day. Best decision of my life (sort of). Started working out (running especially) to compensate, worked great. Didn't gain wait and became a lot fitter.
Tried zillion time to quit. But it all comes down to to them moment when you REALLLLLYYYY want to quit YOURSELF. Not because EVERYBODY knows it's bad or your partner hates it, it is up to you and your state of mind!

Good luck and having smoked some is no reason you cannot quit again now ....

 

[Quaznoid]

Don’t beat yourself up over a few cigarettes. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good. You have cut way back. An occasional smoke is not a big deal, particularly if it enhances an important moment. Those things matter too.

 

[DesertIguana]

Been smoking over 60 years stated with a Cigar, did Cigarettes, pipe, and back to only Cigars. Have a Cigar daily, some days over five or six once in great while. Most days two.

Smoking is expensive hobby or what you like to call your habit. If you enjoy smoking and your adult, you know the bad thing that can happen.

Side note living in some places with dirty air is as bad as smoking, remember once be in Trader Joes in Los Angeles county. Lady checking out in from Joes, was buy the there health organic stuff. Asked I see you concerned with health based upon your purchase. Then I said jokingly, when you ext store, don't breathe until you are in your car. Smog was killer that day in Easy Valley by Arcadia.

George Burn was asked one on, or in TV Interview what the 99+ year old's doctor thought of Burns smoking many Cigars daily? Burns replied he did not know, the Doctor died.