Quitting smoking

After trying and failing to quit smoking off and on for about five years, I just decided one day I'd had enough, put them down and never picked up another one. March 1 this year will be 15 years smoke-free. If you want it bad enough, you can do it.

My wife continued to smoke for another 10 years after I quit. She finally gave them up when I begged her to quit in the weeks following my triple-bypass surgery. I haven't flat-out begged her to do very many things in the nearly 30 years we've been together, but that was one of them, and she did it.

Ironically, my younger son, the one who's in the Army, has taken up cigarettes. He knows how I feel about them, but I don't nag him about it, because I did smoke for more than 25 years and would feel slightly hypocritical if I did.

 

Absolutely. It's just a matter of committing to it and knowing it's going to be very difficult. I will be quitting again soon, and I hope that the fact I quite before for almost 4 years will make it a little easier. It was definitely tough. You just CANNOT cheat or it's back to square 1.

And I cannot stand former smokers who judge those who still smoke. We all know it's not smart, but we'll all quit when we make that choice.

Most of my good friends use smokeless tobacco, and that is what I quit almost 4 years ago. I alternated between the two for most of my life. It baffles me that they ALL give me shit about smoking, but none of them have ever quit. I understand that my smoking can affect others (though I try to be courteous), but it is the exact same thing! Hypocrites.

 

I quit for almost 4 years, and my sister quit for almost 8. Bothe of us have relapsed now. I never even wanted a dip when I was around my buddies during that time, but as I mentioned the woman I was dating smoked, and when we'd have a few beers I'd bum a few off her. I liked it, so I picked it up again. Same deal with my sister. She quit when she had kids, but then she went back to work, was bored and started taking breaks with the smokers. We both are still doing it, but I am hoping to start the process of quitting again very soon.

 

I quit a number of times, once for 6 months but always went back. The last time I quit wasn't difficult - I had a brain shift that made me look at the cigarette and say "Wow, that's stupid", throw it away and never want another. I tried to smoke again once when I was drinking and hated it. Can honestly say I have no desire to ever smoke again.

The trick is to keep quitting until it sticks.

 

Hate to break it to you, but if you are a smoker, you are addicted. That enjoyment? A significant part of it is the way your body feels when you satisfy a craving, a craving that wouldn't be there if you hadn't started in the first place.

HC nailed it. You don't often see college-educated people starting to smoke. You see kids starting. Kids do dumb shit. Unfortunately, some dumb shit leaves you with a chemical addiction to beat if you ever want to be free of the stuff.

Best of luck to MisterC and those others trying to quit.

 

I routinely go six months, six weeks, etc., without a smoke. I haven't smoked in probably four weeks right now. I haven't smoked regularly, meaning even an average of once a day, in a year. I've gone off and on regular, albeit infrequent, smoking for years.

You're suggesting that nicotine has no effect other creating and sating addiction, which isn't accurate at all.

 

No, I'm telling you that it is an addictive drug and at least some, if not all, of the pleasure people derive from smoking comes from feeding their addiction. I understand that makes you uncomfortable. Doesn't make it untrue.

Good for you that you don't get your fix very often. Again, doesn't change the fact that you are addicted to a drug.

 

Can be done and never too late - seven years ago, quit after thirty years.

 

I tried to broker a deal with my wife to let me smoke on vacations. Nuh uh, wasn't having it. And that was the addict crawling back, anyway. Trying to bargain to resume an addiction.

 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/addiction

What you're describing is the fact that synapses in my brain tell me that smoking is pleasureful. You're right, except that's not the same thing as addiction.

I'm just trying to explain that there's a reason people smoke that goes beyond addiction. There's a reason people smoke until they're dependent. It's pleasurable to smoke. Yes, it's remarkably unhealthy. No, the benefits of that pleasure don't outweigh the negatives of the health effects. But there is a pleasurable sensation created by smoking. I think it's insulting and ridiculous to suggest otherwise. Would any smoker, casual or otherwise, care to chime in?

 

I hope you're not serious, HC. I mean, yeah, a lot of people start from a young age, but to say they never knew the effects is kind of preposterous.

People smoke because it makes them feel good, just like people enjoy a nice glass of Scotch or a nice joint or drinking five cups of coffee a day. Everyone has their vices and ways of coping with different situations. It is a lifestyle choice in the end.

 

Wow. The denial is strong in this one.

I'm really sorry that the reality of your situation is so distasteful to you that you can't admit it. I really am. I'm not trying to insult anybody, but I'm not a big fan of ignoring reality, either.

Yes, there is a pleasurable feeling. You know what that is? It is the pleasure that comes from getting a fix. Once you started smoking, your body developed a need. It feels good to satisfy that need, kind of like how it feels good to scratch an itch. To argue otherwise is to follow the example of the picture above and bury your head rather than deal with the truth.