congrats...its the hardest thing in the world to do but once you do it its the most wonderful feeling of completion...i won't lie...sometimes i really miss it, but i have now been oficially smoke free for about 7 months...

don't quit quitting!!!

quitter

CarrieLee said:

lemme get a hit

"Quitting smoking is so easy. I've done it several times." --Mark Twain

rdhull said:

wait, i'm coming too. let me get my coat.

AaronUnlimited said:

I hope it's a menthol

rdhull said:

menthol my ass. i could just smoke a tic tac for that

I never say "I told you so," but the opportunity presents itself to me every day. At 400,000 tobacco related deaths per year (in the U.S. alone), over 1,000 have died from cigarettes since this thread was started yesterday. Countless more suffered their first tobacco-related heart attack, learned they have tobacco-related cancer, or first noticed that they were aging prematurely or finding it hard to breath. What a stinking waste.

Edited to remind you that the U.S. lays claim to a fraction of the tobacco holocaust that is occurring worldwide.
[This message was edited Thu Mar 6 20:02:55 PST 2003 by TheMax]
[This message was edited Thu Mar 6 20:03:29 PST 2003 by TheMax]

TheMax said:

good, because people who smoke (over 18) are aware of the risks

I just started smoking regularly 2 weeks ago. It's wonderful.



I'm not outta control though... I'm gonna try and not do that. I'm at 2 measly cigarettes a day and that's good enough for me.

Shorty, you consider less than a pack a day a light smoker?! That's nuts!

CONGRATULATIONS! I know how hard it is to quit, having watched my parents fail in several attempts. Keep it up, girl!

That's Kewl!! Kari...i quit a few weeks ago myself. Im aiming to do it for good this time. the hardest part for me is when im at the Club getting my dance on and drinking. I only had a puff at the club once but i knew that it was going to be the last one. Except for them left handed cigs...i cant give that up just yet and dont plan too!! lol So you take care and heyyy. I just thought about the PrinceFEst. Will there ever be another one??? Until later...


Drew

"thank kew 4 letting me be myself"
"again"

Oh yeah i jsut checked out the link to the Site and joined...thanks

Natsume said:

You WILL regret the day you started smoking! It may only be 2 a day now...but you can bet your life (literally) it will only increase. I can't believe you actually started as an adult? that kinda boggles my mind. You should know better by now.
well...by less I meant about half a pack a day, and for me it didn't seem like a light habit at all...I guess I meant compared to people who smoke a pack or 2 or 3 a day! ugh! I could never handle that much smoking! I hope you quit immediatly.

Shorty said:

Damn...I just need to get up the nerve...

Friend said:

Good for you

I am very happy for you my Friend!
Smoking must be one of the worst habbits in the world, and hardest to kick I hear...
so keep up the healthy lifestyle, your body WILL thank you in years to come! (so will your children)
Peace, sister!

TheMax said:

Thank you for sharing this information,
the facts are frightening, but they must be exposed!
Peace!
[This message was edited Fri Mar 7 7:30:35 PST 2003 by HappySunshine]

DIAMONDGEEZA said:

I remember seeing some chart that ranked drugs in order from most to least addictive. Nicotine was at the top, above heroin. Now, I don't know how credible the source is or what data they were using, but it seemed well-founded when I read it.

I'm not trying to preach, and I'll admit that I have my own vices (all that soda with sugar and caffeine that I drink can't be good for me), but I believe that tobacco use is playing with fire. I've lost one family member to lung cancer that probably stemmed from 57 years of smoking (he did quit, but it was too late, and he said shortly before he died that he wished he had never started). I've witnessed another family member struggle with trying quit for 20 or so years... she hasn't been able to do so, and I fear that tobacco will ultimately take her life too.

So, I've made the decision not to smoke. In fact, I've never even tried it... not even once. But that's just my decision, and it's not up to me to dictate how other people live their lives. I'm simply relaying what I've experienced and my thoughts on it... draw your own conclusions.

DIAMONDGEEZA said:

Having not used Heroin, I can't speak from experience, but I have found attempting to quit smoking an infuriating process. It's as if I get stripped of my free will or something--it's really quite humiliating and frustrating...

matt said:

I quit a 3 year coke habbit cold turkey. I've tried for 5 years to quit smoking, and not had any luck.

The first reason is probabbly because its a social addicition to me; cigarettes are legal and readily available, and lots of people smoke when I'm out. Secondly, the side effects are more long term, whereas coke and perhaps heroin's side effects are more drastic, immediate, and shorter lived. The several hours after you've done your last line and ran out are a complete nightmare, but after a couple days the frustration and craving wears off. With smokes, if you quit for a couple weeks the whole time you're craving them.

With cigarettes, some people continue to smoke because they figure they still have time to quit and heal their lungs back to normal. The consequences usually dont occur till years later. With drugs like coke and heroin, the side effects and mental problems occur immediately, so people may feel more compelled to quit when they decide to do so.
[This message was edited Fri Mar 7 10:09:30 PST 2003 by Tom]

Thanks to everyone with the nice words and congrats to the other quitters.
Braggin' for not draggin'...
I have chosen not to smoke for 2 Months 1 Week 1 Day 1 Hour 39 Minutes 40 Seconds. Cigarettes not smoked: 1381. Money saved: $224.47.
Freedom from the nicodemon is a beautiful thing

Friend said:

Congrats Friend!!! :wOOt:

You won't regret it... My mom is STILL trying to quit... (she's been trying and not trying for a long time... ) , but she's getting there...

Keep the reasons why you have quit in mind when or if you're ever tempted to start again... it just isn't worth it...

All the best..

teller said:

Teller, I gave up using a 12 step addiction programme, similar to what alcoholics and drug addicts use. It is called 'Pro Change' and is available in a popular British store.

The beauty of this, is that you give up in stages. I've tried giving up before without this, and experienced something similar to what you have described... an infuriating process. I believe that is because the smoking served an important process - to suppress certain feelings, perhaps anger? - and of course, nicotine withdrawal...

With the 12 step programme, you are in total control. You look at various different stages to giving up and decide where you are at within them. Then, at your own pace, you spend as much time as you need within each stage. I found this to take away the humiliation and frustration, you and no one you know can then hurry you along to give up. It is a lengthy process.

Also, when I attempted to give up without this programme, I would think about smoking all the time, which did my head in. I even bargained with myself that I would only smoke when I drank... so I ended up drinking more so I could smoke, lol!!

I spent a year in one of the stages and I've given up since last July. Yes, I've had slips, yet they are part of the course. It really is alright. It's really pro-change, so there aren't any wrist smacks or self punishment. This programme focuses on the smokes that you didn't have rather than the ones you slipped up on.

I'm sure there is a similar thing running where you live. Perhaps ask your pharmacist or doctor - let me know what you find!

Oh and well done to you FRIEND! A great achievement! I know what you mean about energy as well. I notice that I have so much more energy in the morning since not smoking and I feel a sense of feeling clean inside too.