If I could quit smoking

[Bookie]

Re: If I could quit smoking

It is hard to quit. I had to quit due to immediate health concerns. It is doable!

“Quitting smoking is easy. I’ve done it hundreds of times.” Mark Twayne

The trick isn't the quitting; it's the staying quit.

.

[Ima saver]

Re: If I could quit smoking

I started smoking at age 12 and quit when I was about 47. I fell asleep with a cigarette in my hand and it fell on the rug. There was no fire, but that scared me. I guit cold turkey. Everytime I wanted one, I ate or drank something. I did gain a few pounds!

[PRICEPLUS]

Re: If I could quit smoking

Well Bookie I am still in the quit column!

[thekid]

Re: If I could quit smoking

“Quitting smoking is easy. I’ve done it hundreds of times.” Mark Twayne

The trick isn't the quitting; it's the staying quit. .

He speaks the truth! Everytime that I quit, I gradually reduced the number of cigarettes I have per day. The goal was to get it down to a max 5 and maintain that or less for a number of weeks. Then, the step from 2,3 or 4 cigarettes per day to 0 was relatively easy.

I've gotten pretty good with quitting over time, it's the staying quit that I have trouble with. I seem to have strongly associated cigarettes as a stress management tool. Everytime I've quit, after a few months, some (or multiple) huge monster files come in and I'm back smoking....til things quiet down and I'm back to quitting. ....I know, I know, I need to get a stress ball instead :-)

[vishenda]

Re: If I could quit smoking

A good New Year's resolution that will be!

Don't let another year go up in smoke. Smoking even a few cigarettes a day can hurt your health. If you try to smoke fewer cigarettes, but do not stop completely, soon you’ll be smoking the same amount again. Smoking "low-tar, low-nicotine" cigarettes usually does little good, either. Because nicotine is so addictive, if you switch to lower-nicotine brands you’ll likely just puff harder, longer, and more often on each cigarette. The only safe choice is to quit completely. Really wanting to quit smoking is very important to how much success you will have in quitting. Smokers who live after a heart attack are the most likely to quit for good—they're very motivated. Find a reason for quitting before you have no choice.
Know that it will take effort to quit smoking. Nicotine is habit forming. Half of the battle in quitting is knowing you need to quit. This knowledge will help you be more able to deal with the symptoms of withdrawal that can occur, such as bad moods and really wanting to smoke. There are many ways smokers quit, including using nicotine replacement products (gum and patches), but there is no easy way. Nearly all smokers have some feelings of nicotine withdrawal when they try to quit. Give yourself a month to get over these feelings. Take quitting one day at a time, even one minute at a time—whatever you need to succeed.

Half of all adult smokers have quit, so you can— too.
Godbless

[asmom]

Re: If I could quit smoking

I would save @216.50 per month. Thats take home I have to make about $350.00 per month before tax's to pay for the Stupid addiction. I have tried to quit many times but can never seem to get through the fist 1/2 day before the physiclal and mental anguish get to me. I will read any and all advice you can give me, so I can break this stinking habit. Advice from smokers, nonsmokers, and exsmokers are all welcome.

Thanks

Soappro

$216.50/month
x12mos
$2598/yr
x10yrs
$25, 980/yr and that's if you only stick it under your mattress! Factor in interest and/or investment gains and whew!


You have two powerful incentives: financial and health. You've received somd good suggestions; I would only add take it one hour at a time.

[justbee]

Re: If I could quit smoking

I hope you have success in your desire to quit. I just recently quit on Nov.7.

My main reasons (1) watching a loved one die a long, slow, painful and prolonged death due to lung and brain cancer. I don't want to do that to myself or my family.
(2) Trying to stop this habit being passed on to my children like it was passed on to me

It's most definitely a waste of money, I have a quit keeper program installed on my desktop which calculates the amount of money saved, etc.

I recommend a website called Why Quit and also the Amer. Lung Assoc. book 7 Steps to a Smoke-Free Life. I quit cold turkey, it can be done I am married to a smoker also so I still have to smell it, etc. You really have to be determined, the website I mentioned really helped me with that.

Best wishes to you.

[Ima saver]

Re: If I could quit smoking

When I quit my husband still smoked. It helped a lot that he only smoked outside so I did not have to smell it. He quit 10 months later.

[MMaker]

Re: If I could quit smoking

i heard somwhere that an easy way to quit smoking is to replace it with sex everytime you feel like having a cigarette. lol

[disneysteve]

Re: If I could quit smoking

i heard somwhere that an easy way to quit smoking is to replace it with sex everytime you feel like having a cigarette. lol

That could be a problem at work

[tinapbeana]

Re: If I could quit smoking

That could be a problem at work

or in a restaurant after a meal!

[JBinKC]

Re: If I could quit smoking

$200 + a month savings is nothing. Think about your health also and others from second hand smoke. Statistically, a non smoker will live 13-14 years longer than a smoker.

I also see a trend that you might be fired for being a smoker or will be put into a separate higher cost insurance pool.

[tinapbeana]

Re: If I could quit smoking

$200 + a month savings is nothing. Think about your health also and others from second hand smoke. Statistically, a non smoker will live 13-14 years longer than a smoker.

I also see a trend that you might be fired for being a smoker or will be put into a separate higher cost insurance pool.

just to play devil's advocate here: why don't they do the same thing to people with poor eating habits and no exercise regime? diet is just as highly correlated with heart disease as smoking (actually most studies show a higher correlation), but no insurance company is going to ask you to to pony up if all you do is eat junk all day.

i have no issues with unhealthy habits being met with higher insurance premiums, as long as it is that way for ALL unhealthy habits.

also, you'll note that while insurance companies will raise one's rates if one smokes, they won't kick in for a stop smoking program. similarly, many won't may for contraceptives but will open themselves up to the costs of pre-natal care, delivery, and insuring a child.

and yet, i know 5 people who've had 'medically necessary' gastric bypass surgery.

[lrjohnson]

Re: If I could quit smoking

The first 3 days are the toughest. I finally quit for good when I was home sick, unable to even get to the corner store, and ran out of smokes. By the time I could get up and move around enough to go buy a pack I was past the cravings.
By the end of day 3 you should be far enough past it to handle normal situations.

Lynda

I started when I was 11, quit when i was 30, am now 36. I really agree with Lynda. The first three days I was a mess. I would sugest-not kidding at all-hiding ouyt from the world and sleeping through your first nic fits. Seriously. Take a Tylenol PM and a very long nap. I slept through my first three days; I was a little sick at first, but mostly wanted to not be awake during the major freakout.

The first three days were a lot worse than I expected, but actually after that it was a lot easier than I expected. I just stayed absolutely cigarette free. A work buddy of mine has been quitting for years, on and off-he's just going though the traumas over and over and over. Once you have it physcially out of your system, don't get near it again-not one toke, not one puff.

[JBinKC]

Re: If I could quit smoking

just to play devil's advocate here: why don't they do the same thing to people with poor eating habits and no exercise regime? diet is just as highly correlated with heart disease as smoking (actually most studies show a higher correlation), but no insurance company is going to ask you to to pony up if all you do is eat junk all day.

i have no issues with unhealthy habits being met with higher insurance premiums, as long as it is that way for ALL unhealthy habits.

also, you'll note that while insurance companies will raise one's rates if one smokes, they won't kick in for a stop smoking program. similarly, many won't may for contraceptives but will open themselves up to the costs of pre-natal care, delivery, and insuring a child.

and yet, i know 5 people who've had 'medically necessary' gastric bypass surgery.

It was a few years back but an insurer refused to cover one of my father's employees in his business because their BMI was too high so don't think smoking is the only bad habit targeted.