It's been 26 hours since I quit smoking...

good luck I know its hard but you can do it.

Poon - not back on completely, but did go 24 hours without yesterday. I figure that's pretty good. This afternoon went out and didn't take them with me - went 4 hours without even thinking about it. I'm gearing up. Damn, I wouldn't even mind being in a place where I'd have a smoke now and then, but not an everyday thing if you know what I mean.

Good luck to you...one day, one hour at a time, eh!

About 6 months ago I quit, after smoking for a long time, better than 20 years. I used the patch, it really helped. The first 3 days were kinda rough- after that it was smooth sailing. I am so glad that I quit- life is definetly better. My voice changed and that annoying cough left me. I can smell now.
Keep it up- you can quit. It is a good feeling to wake up each day and be smoke free, and have all that extra money in your pocket.

Congrats to you Journey! Hope to be able to say the same SOON!!

Just think of all the money you are saving, I know cigs are high in Canada, for sure. Each day I feel better. Food also tastes much better. Use the patch- it really worked for me. I used it less than 2 weeks.
Also- just think about big tobacco getting all that money, if you do not quit. I personally grew tired of supporting them. It really motivated me to quit.
I also think that we have been conditioned to believe that it is diffucult to quit- this continues the cycle for big tobbaco. I actually was surprised, at how easy it was for me to quit. That is the reason I came to the above determination.
Also, I sleep much better now, knowing I am not going to get up and start my day with a cig.
You got it in you to quit- you can do it. If you went 24 hrs without you ought to just throw them away and forget about firing up. If you went 24, you can throw em for good.

[edit on 10-3-2005 by Journey]

Journey- funny you should mention that angle. It also was one of the reasons Ii wanted to give it up bigtime...like the elite rich need more of my money!

I think I might just get that patch. I can go hours and hours without smoking while I'm busy...when it slows down my mind goes right to it. So probably it would help me with that. Do you need to get a doctor's prescription for it? Or is it OTC?

Thanks for the great advice.

Poon - you catching any of this...its starting to stick!

Yeah, sorry, I've been gone for the last couple of days. It sounds like you're doing better than I am. My slow weening off soon became an occasional cheat (a puff or two when feeling the rage build up). But now I'm cheating more often. The longest stretch I can go is eight hours. :bnghd: F**KING NICOTINE!!!

I've tried the patch and gum in the past and it only made me want to have a smoke. So, I don't know, give it a shot and see what you think. It's not for me.

This weekend is IT for me. My last nicotine fix will be late...late...very late friday 'night.' Dammit, I need to cut myself off. All this cheating and weening off is just making me a light smoker. Now is the time.

I was wondering what this thread must look like to someone who has never been addicted. It must look silly. I picture them saying, "why don't you just stop, [explicative]?" HAHA. Man, this addiction has me by the short and curlys.

P.S. this smiley is exactly how I feel when I start craving:

The patch is OTC, and after 20+ years of 1.5 to 2 packs a day, I say it works- It really blew me away, at how easy it was to quit. I was a chronic smoker, anywhere and everywhere, with no respect to others.
You can quit- just lay them down and walk away from the addiction. I thought it was going to be really hard, but it wasn't. Do a reality check, write down on a piece of paper the pros and cons of smoking. This wil get your attention, be assured.

I always got a rash under the patch and this wierd arthritic-like pain. My bones and joints would hurt on the limb I put the patch on. I tried the gum before, and that worked out better for me. Only problem was I would chew it instead of sticking it between my gum and lip. On the other hand, the psychosomatic effects were great, I was able to get by on one or two pieces of gum, .2 mg, a day from a pack a day habit. That only lasted until a Friday night party, though.

On another note, I can't believe how much money I've saved by not smoking anymore. I can almost afford gas now!

Hey, good luck to youall in your efforts to quit, I recently went 4 weeks without, after 15+ years of smoking, until we buried my uncle on Monday. I only had 4 on Monday, and haven't even craved one since.

I've tried quitting more times than I can count. Many different ways, too. I started with using the Nicotrol inhaler this time, and keeping track of the money I wasn't spending on cigs. I haven't even touched the fake cigs in about 2.5 weeks. Funny, since they didn't help me when I first tried them 2 years ago.

Well, good luck again!

I know exactly how you feel. On March 8th, 2005 I was quit from smoking for 9 months. It is much easier now.

Have you tried the quit smoking web sites? They were a help to me. Just knowing what I was facing and the ways to do it.

When someone would ask me if I had tried to quit smoking I used to say, "Oh sure, I quit smoking all the time." It was a real joke among my family and friends.

So here is another clue. I used to get very sick when I quit. Finally, with the advice of the quit smoking sites, I went to my doctor. Diagnosed with hypothyroid disease. My doctor worked with me to get the right amount of medication for when I wasn't smoking. You see your blood changes smoking/non smoking.

So this last time I quit I used the quit smoking sites, put into practice all that I had learned from my other quits and with the correct thyroid medication I did not get sick. I did use Zyban this time. You do have to have a doctor's prescription for this. All the other times I quit cold turkey.

Yes, I had the same withdrawal symptoms. Again, the quit smoking sites help you to know how to handle those symptoms.

Now that you have cut down smoking would be a good time to go all the way. Good luck to you.

Please U2U if I can help in any way.

[edit on 3/12/2005 by Mahree]

Originally posted by Mahree
Have you tried the quit smoking web sites? They were a help to me. Just knowing what I was facing and the ways to do it.

I'm not sure if this is allowed, but could you post some of the helpful sites? I've done searches on quitting somking before, but never found any that helped me personally.

Originally posted by Susquehanna

Originally posted by Mahree
Have you tried the quit smoking web sites? They were a help to me. Just knowing what I was facing and the ways to do it.

I'm not sure if this is allowed, but could you post some of the helpful sites? I've done searches on quitting somking before, but never found any that helped me personally.

I also do not know if I can post those sites so I will send you a U2U for your information.

Guys, go ahead and post some links!! I think that it is okay as long as you aren't posting a link to a non-free site (might be considered advertising). In fact, I posted a few support group site on the first page of this thread.

Here are some more cool links:

Here are some sites with some great stats and info (be sure to check out the first one, it rules):

www.ash.org.uk...
unr.edu...
www.psych.org...

An excellent resource, lots of links:

quitsmoking.about.com...

Another excellent link with a great tip:

If you slip and smoke, don't be discouraged. Many former smokers tried to stop several times before they finally succeeded.

www.smoking-cessation.org...

Some more support groups:

health.dir.groups.yahoo.com...
www.network54.com...
www.quitsmokinghelp.net...
www.lungusa.org...

I have just joined the last one (Freedom from Smoking) and I personally plan on joining a lot of others. As far as I know, all these resources are free. I don't want to pay for any help. Especially when there is so much free stuff out there. It is amazing the number of smoking-related sites out there. Try a google search of "smoking cessation" "stop smoking" "quit smoking" "quit smoking help" "nicotine addiction" etc. etc. etc.

I find it reassuring that there are so many resources out there. If it was really that easy to quit, why all the sites? Again, be sure to check out this site:
www.ash.org.uk...
It blew my mind.

P.S.:bnghd:

Freedom from Tobacco.
web site URL


Freedom from Tobacco is an excellent site. There is a lot of good medical information about what happens to our bodies when we quit. They also have remedies to help through some of the usual symptoms. It is truly worth looking at their information. Many good ideas about how to prepare to quit.

This is a very serious site. You can not even join up until you have been clean for 72 hours. You can access all of their information but you cannot post to the site until you are accepted. It is up and running 24/7

The Quit Net
Web site URL

You can join this site at any time. It also has information about quitting and preparing to quit. This site can be fun. They have rewards you work for and all of the others who are experiencing quitting along with you cheer you on, cry with you when you are down, or hit you aside the head when you need it. lol

There are many different forums and clubs so that finding one that suits you is easy. You do make some strong friends from this site. This site is also up and running 24/7. A chat room is also available.

American Lung Assoc.
Web site URL

This site is really good for steps in preparing to quit. I didn't find much help otherwise.

If you haven't quit yet it is worth your while to set a quit date and then go through some of the steps to quit. You can use a combination of all the above sites.

The sites have what is called a "gadget" you enter your smoking information and it keeps track of how long you have not smoked, how many cigarettes you have not smoked and how much time you have extended you life.

All three of these sites are free. With the help of the information provided and the on going support of others who are quitting too, I now have been smoke free, not one puff, for 9 months.

It really is worth the effort in money and life saved. Life is much less
stressful. Believe that or not. Maybe you won't believe it now, but you will if you quit.

I am still a member of Quit Net. A nicotine addict is always in recovery.

Thanks for the links, poonchang and mahree.

Hopefully there are others amongst us who can use these link to help them get off the nicotine chain...

[edit on 3/13/2005 by Susquehanna]

Originally posted by Journey
Just think of all the money you are saving, I know cigs are high in Canada, for sure.

You got that right. I'm not sure about other provinces, but a pack of cigarettes here in Ontario costs almost 10 dollars. Thats the same as a gram of weed. A carton comes to almost $70. The price increase really ticked me off at first, but now I see it in a different light. I guess the government knows that they can't force us to quit, but they can raise the price so high we can't afford to buy them like we used to, so we buy less, and less, and eventually stop buying them alltogether.

Originally posted by ju stab urden

Originally posted by Journey
Just think of all the money you are saving, I know cigs are high in Canada, for sure.

You got that right. I'm not sure about other provinces, but a pack of cigarettes here in Ontario costs almost 10 dollars. Thats the same as a gram of weed. A carton comes to almost $70. The price increase really ticked me off at first, but now I see it in a different light. I guess the government knows that they can't force us to quit, but they can raise the price so high we can't afford to buy them like we used to, so we buy less, and less, and eventually stop buying them alltogether.

$10 a pack, WOW! And I thought that $4 per pack was getting rough. I've been off cigs now for 34 days, I figure that's $136 saved, not too shabby.

As far as the higher taxes, I thin that the governments almost have to do it, to helpoffset the health costs from smokers. and it's good incentive to quit.

I signed up for that Quit Net site. My quit day is this Friday, the 18th. Screw you, demon tabacco!!! You're going down!!! I am not sure if I will be posting on ATS/BTS that day (I don't want to get banned)

Originally posted by poonchang
I signed up for that Quit Net site. My quit day is this Friday, the 18th. Screw you, demon tabacco!!!

You're going down!!! I am not sure if I will be posting on ATS/BTS that day (I don't want to get banned)

Congratulations! My screen name is the same at Quit Net so send me a Qmail if I can help or show you around.

You sound as though you might need this problem solving item from the Q:

This is from the list on the left. Quitticisms

Celery is Under the Left Rear Tire

A secret code which would notify the HTBC (if it existed, which it doesn't) that a Qmember had finally snapped and done in a cow-orker, authority figure, etc. The non-existent HTBC would then dispose of the evidence. Not that it has ever done so. See also: Cow-Orker, HTBC.

Let's go and kick nicodemon's butt!