Hi folks, I am posting this note every where to remind me of my commitment to stop smoking. No one needs to reply just bear witness.
Thanks.

At this exact moment I have 2 cigarettes left. I am not going to smoke anymore after this. I know I can quit; I quit for a girlfriend in the past and was successful until she started cheating on me and using me. Kind of hard to not smoke when that stuff happens especially when you have just now lost your reason not to smoke...

Quitting for me! I'm tired of being alone. I have friends and family that I don't ever get to see, due to the fact I feel like shit all of the time. 3rd shift IS a big problem and I want to stop adding insult to injury. So, I have committed myself to stop smoking, anyone who wants to remind me or give me hell for even thinking about smoking is welcome to.

I need to regain my strength that I gave up ten years ago... Almost exactly. I need to start living again.

It's going to be rough, but bring it on. I don't need a pacifier like some infant.

Thanks to all who are already showing support

Good luck...You will need it. Believe me. Unless you are really tired of smolking you will not make it. But if you have desided that you really want to feel better everyday you wake up then go for it.

I quit cold turkey April 1, 2000. I still crave a smoke and according to my father, I always will.

I'm on your side...

Just set your mind to it. You can do it . I quit about two years ago . Ya just gota make your mind up that your done with them.
Joe

I never had one even on my lips.

My Dad never could stop smoking, and in the end, it did him in.

Good luck jbird.
I wish you well.

Eric

Goodluck!

Dimitri

I tried 6 different types of patches and all gives me bad rash (my skin is a bit sensitive to them patches)
I tried Acupuncture
I tried anti craving medicine (they give me nightmares)
I tried Hypnotists (what a bunch of croaks)

At the end, it take a camping trip with my kids to do it.

Although I smoke for years, sometimes up to 40 cigs a day, I never did smoke in front of my kids.
They never see me smoking.. ever!
So when they came to age to go camping, I want to take them out to the bush.
The main problem is they are young (8 and 6 years old) so I have to always keep an eye at them in the bush.
I cannot sneak away to have a smoko.
So I decided not to bring any cigarettes for the week long camping trip.
It is really hard to do but I survived that week.
I figure that if I could survive for a week, I could stop for a few days more.
After that it is just an exercise of not taking another cigarette.

That is 7 years ago.

I think the hardest time is when I light up camp fire in the bush.
For many years, (since 15 years old) every time I light up camp fire, I use the first twig to light up a cigarette.
After I quit, sometime I catch myself bringing a burning twig to my face to light a cigarette that wasn't there..

I know how hard it is to do it.
I am behind you all the way.
I am proud of you for wanting to quit.
You can do it!!

If you really want to quit you can. I quit Jan 27/1999 and have never looked back. I watched my Dad die in his death bed in a hospital in Nov 1998, short of breath, heart disease etc mainly because he smoked most of his life and I decided I didn't want to go that way. Oh sure I get a very short craving maybe 3 or 4 times a year but they only last a second.

Good Luck ............ you can do it.

Dad quit when they found that lump in his chest. Luckily it wasn't cancer. Good luck Jbird, you can do it!

JB,

I wish you luck, they say it's hard to do. I've never touched one in my life, so I really don't know what it's like to quit. I do know one thing.....you have to quit because you want to, quiting because of someone else seems like it would cause some resentment, if you don't want to quit. Hang in there, it can be done.

I've read somewhere that long time smokers lungs can go through a healing process that can actually heal lots of the long term damage done over the years. That's reason enough to do it.

Cary

Well jbird...I'm proud of ya mate. It takes a big man to call on his buddies/friends for help.

Last time you gave up, well I reckon you gave up for the wrong reason. If you are gonna do it mate, then do it for yourself, not somebody else...its your body that will thank you for it.

I gave up smoking on 14 February 1987, and haven't looked back. Maybe it helped when Dad said to me one day when I was smoking at his place and had just put a durrie in my mouth..."You know, that looks like a straw in a duck's bum".

Like Bushy, I too went "cold turkey". Everytime I craved a durrie I would say..."Nah, I can go another 1/2 hour"... when that 1/2 hour had passed I said..."that wasn't so hard...another 1/2 hour". Those 1/2 hours became hours, days, then weeks. I found that after about the first week or so, I had it beat...it became easy to say nope...don't NEED a smoke. Hardest thing I found...like Gelan...was breaking old habits...I was used to having a durrie in my hand, and I often flicked the ash off an imaginary cigarette for quite some time.

Also, stay away from the booze for at least a couple of weeks...that is when I found that I craved a durrie more than any other time.

So mate...good luck...you have the hardest part behind you making the decision to quit....the right decision. Scream if you need a pep talk mate...that's what friends are for.

As an aside...think of all the ammo and reloading components you can buy with the money you save (a pack of 30 out here, depending on brand, can cost $15).

Cheers, Vince

2 packs a day, in a month will set someone back here 550$.

Thats a new rifle every month and a half.

Dimitri

You can Do it you can do it you can do it
Will power helps you do it, don't take another puff
It only takes 10-14 days to fight the urge
The desire may stay a little longer
Do something else when the impulse comes along,
The hand to mouth habit is hard to break(desire created)
Habits die hard, take care after meals, on waking up, after sex etc
Dimitri has another point $$$$$$$$
You stink when you smoke
Your health diminishes, your savings shrink.
You are a drug addict needing the next hit
patches do help
Don't give up giving up
If you weaken and have a ciggy, DON'T BUY A PACKET
do something else when the urge hits and do it strait away
YOU CAN KICK THE HABIT

Well said tikkat3. All good advice...very positive.

Take note JBird...as tikkat3 says...YOU CAN DO IT.

Cheers, Vince

I got a call to visit one of my close friends and coworkers from the police department at the hospital in the early 80's We both worked the graveyard shift.
I smoked for years as had my friend and I watched him get sicker and sicker from cancer. He made several trips to the hospital to recover bouts of respiratory sickness.
This time was different. He called me to the hospital to say goodby. When I arrived he was low sick but was obviously glad to see me. He said "Buddy, stop smoking or you will be laying here next". After a short visit I left and went home. About two hours later I got a call from his wife saying that he had died.
Right then I made my commitment to quit smoking. No crutches like pills or patches that rarely work because they are band-aid treatments for those who do not have any will power and not enough gumption to just put the damn things down and quit.
Sure it was hard to quit but after the nicotine left my system I no longer had the urge to smoke. Remember you don't smoke because you enjoy it. That crap about the best ones are after a meal or sex are just bunk. They still taste bad. Fact is smoking is a nervous habit and you keep lit cigarettes in your hand to just have something in your hand so folks won't see your hands shake.
Your third shift excuse is just an excuse.
Your girlfriend is just an excuse.
your coworkers and friends are just an excuse.
Just put the damn things down and live or keep smoking and die a slow miserable death.
If you really wanted to quit you would throw away all that you have left rather than cry another excuse that you will quit when the 2 are gone. What bunk! Wad them up tight and throw them in the trash! Just Quit and live.

jbird22cal,

You're doing the right thing. One of my hunting partners is now only able to walk about 10 yds before stopping to get his breath. He was a lifetime smoker that managed to quit after being diagnosed with respiratory illness. A little too late, but he still enjoys his grandchildren. We go ground squirrel shooting, where he doesn't have to walk about.

Hang in there and stay quit. Remember that anyone who offers you a ciggy butt is just trying to put a nail in your coffin.