Quit Smoking Stories

[midwestgal]

I work for a nonprofit agency in Southern Maryland. I am currently putting together a newsletter regarding anti-tobacco and smoking cessation information relevant to the area. I would also like to include a few local success quit stories.

You may wish to respond to every question, or just one or two. Please describe:

-What worked for you, or perhaps what did not work for you.

-If you are trying to quit, have tried to quit in the past, or would like to try but have not made that first step, share your struggles, goals, fears, etc.

-If you have quit, explain the differences you have noticed in your physical, mental, emotional, social well being.

-What made you start smoking in the first place?

-What keeps you from re-lapsing?

-How have you received support from others in your desire to quit?

-What obstacles did/do you face along the way?

-What was/is your motivation to quit?

-How has the Maryland Clean Indoor Act impacted you this year? Positively? Negatively?

-Feel free to add anything else related to this topic and your experience (or experience supporting a loved one)

I will keep all stories anonymous. (You can even send them via PM if you would rather.) The point of publishing these stories is to bring out the personal side of the coin when it comes to smoking and quitting. To help a reader know he/she is not alone and that becoming smoke free is possible!

*The newsletters are generally read by individuals in the Tri-County who care for or parent children.

Thank you for sharing! If you or your business would like to receive the free newsletter, PM for more information.

 

[aps45819]

Please describe:

-What worked for you, or perhaps what did not work for you.

-If you have quit, explain the differences you have noticed in your physical, mental, emotional, social well being.

-What made you start smoking in the first place?

-What keeps you from re-lapsing?

-How have you received support from others in your desire to quit?

-What was/is your motivation to quit?

-How has the Maryland Clean Indoor Act impacted you this year? Positively? Negatively?

.

1- Chantix worked Group hypnotism, individual hypnotism, various other programs didn't work.
2- I can smell things and I've gained weight
3- Started smoking because it's what the cool folks did
4- Not smoking keeps me from re-lapsing
5- Family has been bytcing at me for years (decades) to quit
6- Governor O'Mally motivated me to not pay his stinking liberal friggin ass another dollar a pack.
7- The Clean air act is another example of our intrusive government assuming the role of society's Nanny and added further motivation to not pay O'Mally's tax.

 

[aps45819]

... and I smoked for 40 years . Haven't had one since 1/20/08

 

[bobbyb]

I quit!

I quit about thirty years ago. I started in High School but when I was in the military it really got bad. I smoked about 15 years and was up to 3 to 4 packs of Winston a day when I quit. My son, who was 2 ½ at the time, walked into the kitchen one day with a straw in his mouth mimicking me smoking. That was the last cigarette I ever smoked.

I just quit cold turkey and it was evil for the first week, but as the first month wore on it got a little better each day. After three months I was doing ok even around the guys that smoked at work. They weren’t much help at all. I guess they just wanted me to smoke so they wouldn’t feel so guilty. My wife didn’t smoke and was great during the bad times, she was tremendous help getting me through it.

I don’t know how many times I have had to stop myself form buying a pack of smokes when I was in a 7-11 so I tried to stay out of connivance stores. The urge to smoke was too much around the tobacco smells in those stores. That urge still hasn’t gone away. I still have it to this day, not as often but it is definitely there. When I was quitting I could count the strong urges by the hour but after that first week they started to ease up a little each day.

I have no doubt that if I smoked just one cigarette today I would be hooked again and would be back to three packs a day again in no time.

Bob

 

[MMDad]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.7) 320x240; VZW; Motorola-Q9c; Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard)

I started smoking a little in High School, but didn't seriously smoke until the Navy taught me that only smokers can take breaks. I remember being on watch with a cup of coffee in one hand, a cigarette in the other, and a lip full of Skoal.

I had a lip biopsy, and that was enough to make me quit dipping. That was rough to give up, especially when drinking. After that, giving up smoking was relatively easy.

Cold turkey worked for me. Haven't smoked in 15 years now.

Taxes, stop smoking programs, and anti-smoking laws actually made me want to keep smoking as a form of protest. I quit because it stinks, it made me feel like crap, and I didn't want the slow pathetic death that smokers suffer.

People won't quit until they are ready to quit, and no amount of laws and regulations will change that. The one thing that would help the most is brutal honesty about what it does to your body. Give up the 2nd hand smoke and concentrate on what can be proved with scientific data.

 

[Larry Gude]

...

I work for a nonprofit agency in Southern Maryland. I am currently putting together a newsletter regarding anti-tobacco and smoking cessation information relevant to the area. I would also like to include a few local success quit stories.

You may wish to respond to every question, or just one or two. Please describe:

-What worked for you, or perhaps what did not work for you. JUST QUIT. One day. I'd had it. It simply became more important and more desirable to breathe air than to breathe smoke. After wanting to quit and thinking about if off and on, one day that was simply it; sick of smoking.

-If you are trying to quit, have tried to quit in the past, or would like to try but have not made that first step, share your struggles, goals, fears, etc.

-If you have quit, explain the differences you have noticed in your physical, mental, emotional, social well being. Feel much better. Just joyous to not smoke.

-What made you start smoking in the first place?

-What keeps you from re-lapsing? Setting something on fire and inhaling it is no longer attrtactive or fun or desireable.

-How have you received support from others in your desire to quit?

-What obstacles did/do you face along the way? not wanting to quit

-What was/is your motivation to quit? sick of smoking

-How has the Maryland Clean Indoor Act impacted you this year? Positively? Negatively? Negatively. I am now less free because of it and now less responsible for my own actions. We all are. This is very bad for people if being free matters.

-Feel free to add anything else related to this topic and your experience (or experience supporting a loved one)

I will keep all stories anonymous. (You can even send them via PM if you would rather.) The point of publishing these stories is to bring out the personal side of the coin when it comes to smoking and quitting. To help a reader know he/she is not alone and that becoming smoke free is possible!

*The newsletters are generally read by individuals in the Tri-County who care for or parent children.

Thank you for sharing! If you or your business would like to receive the free newsletter, PM for more information.

 

[LadyWolf]

I work for a nonprofit agency in Southern Maryland. I am currently putting together a newsletter regarding anti-tobacco and smoking cessation information relevant to the area. I would also like to include a few local success quit stories.

You may wish to respond to every question, or just one or two. Please describe:

-What worked for you, or perhaps what did not work for you. January 2nd will be 6 months smoke free. Quit cold turkey. Tried several different things..patches, nicotine gum, smoking cessation courses, but went cold turkey and chatting with people on "becomeanex.org" helped.

-If you are trying to quit, have tried to quit in the past, or would like to try but have not made that first step, share your struggles, goals, fears, etc. I started smoking 31 years ago and don't have enough fingers and toes to count the times I've quit. Basically, the fear is not making it and something triggering you to go back. If you can recognize what triggers you to mentally want the cigarette and you don't let it get to you, you can make it.

-If you have quit, explain the differences you have noticed in your physical, mental, emotional, social well being. My chest doesn't feel heavy or congested, my sinuses aren't congested and they don't hurt. Mouth isn't pasty anymore, my lungs take in more oxygen, my clothes don't stink, my teeth aren't as stained (I still drink a little coffee), and I have more money in my pocket. However...it really hasn't affected me when it comes to food. Food and drinks still taste the same. Socially, it's nice to hang out with people who don't smoke for a change. I've always been the smoker, hung out with smokers but as people have started quitting, I felt like an outcast. Now I don't anymore. The very thing or reason I started smoking in the first place except now in reverse. This way is much healthier.


-What made you start smoking in the first place? Peers and friends and it's cool and a reason to smoke and I just didn't care about most things anymore.

-What keeps you from re-lapsing? Realizing that I don't really want a cigarette, I just mentally think I do. The "nicodemons" won't get the best of me.

-How have you received support from others in your desire to quit? Becomeanex.org were my support. Most everyone else weren't a support system.

-What obstacles did/do you face along the way? The still "wanting" to have one but realizing that I can't have one. People irritating me and reaching for the support system (the cigarette) that helped me during those times.

-What was/is your motivation to quit? No motivation, just figured it was time to give it a try again. Chest starts to hurt or tired of sinus trouble, "try, try, try again".

-How has the Maryland Clean Indoor Act impacted you this year? Positively? Negatively? Well, from a personal perspective, positively. It's nice to walk into someplace and not smell smoke. If I wanted to smell smoke, I'd keep smoking. A better understanding of non-smokers and how they feel walking into a restaurant or bar and having to smell that crap. If we "smokers" want to ruin our health, by all means knock ourselves out. We chose to smoke and ruin our health...that was our freedom. It isn't freedom when non-smokers are plagued with our disgusting habit.

-Feel free to add anything else related to this topic and your experience (or experience supporting a loved one) Anyone who wants to quit smoking will when they are ready and not any sooner. Get lots of support!!!

I will keep all stories anonymous. (You can even send them via PM if you would rather.) The point of publishing these stories is to bring out the personal side of the coin when it comes to smoking and quitting. To help a reader know he/she is not alone and that becoming smoke free is possible!

*The newsletters are generally read by individuals in the Tri-County who care for or parent children.

Thank you for sharing! If you or your business would like to receive the free newsletter, PM for more information.

...

 

[PsyOps]

My parents smoked. I hated it. Made all my clothes smell. Towels were the worst. When you got them wet it really stunk, and I felt like I was getting it all over my skin right after showering. My eyes would burn often and I coughed a lot when I was a kid. Then one day, when I was around 12 or 13 I decided I was going to be a grown-up and smoke. I inhaled, it burned the crap out of my throat, then suddenly I got the craps. I had to run home and barely made it to the crapper. That was it for me. Never started

Besides, I think when you smoke, you force your kids to smoke.

Hope it's okay to post a non-smokers story.

 

[Bann]

-What worked for you, or perhaps what did not work for you.
In June 2000, I was using Wellbutrin about a week, but it was making me feel sick, wasn't curbing any urges to smoke, so I just quit using it. Then my maternal aunt had a heart attack (heart disease runs in my mother's family). She is only 11 years older than I am. My kids are were still very young, so that motivated me to quit cold turkey, 7-1-2000. I was 41 & had smoked for 25 years.

-If you have quit, explain the differences you have noticed in your physical, mental, emotional, social well being.
At first, the usual withdrawal symptoms. I chewed on cinnamon flavored toothpicks to replace the habit of smoking, but gave those up abt. 1 year later. I was surprised that I actually felt worse health-wise for a few months after quitting smoking. However, when I quit smoking, I also started regularly exercising, so I would NOT gain weight. And the added benefit is I've only had a couple of "colds" in 8 years. Adding the exercise at the same time was the best thing I could have done.

-What made you start smoking in the first place?
Peer pressure, curiosity, my parents did it, etc.

-What keeps you from re-lapsing?
KNOWING I will ruin ALL of the benefits I have now of being a non smoker. With 1 cigarette.

-How have you received support from others in your desire to quit?
Just verbal positive support, but my ex spouse didn't smoke so it was easy that way. My friends & relatives were supportive, but they still smoked, so it was just will power, determination & liking the way I felt NOT smoking more than the way I felt when I smoked.

-What obstacles did/do you face along the way?
Friends & relatives who still smoked, and fighting the urges to smoke.

-What was/is your motivation to quit?
To be healthier for the sake of my kids. (and myself)

-How has the Maryland Clean Indoor Act impacted you this year? Positively? Negatively?
I feel it's just more government intrusion we don't need, but hasn't impacted me either way.

...

 

[midwestgal]

Terrific responses so far, and so helpful! Any others???

 

[itsbob]

I smoked, started in High School, and like mentioned above got REAL bad in the Army when you realized if you smoked you got breaks every hour.

I smoked a lot when I drank, and I drank a lot while overseas. Cigarettes were CHEAP like $.40 a pack, and you were limited to 4 cartons a month.. I used my ration every month. I smoked Kools, or Newports.

I smoked for about 13 years, and sometime in the early 90's I quit. Just got tired of spending the money, and tired of the smell. I tried all the 'fad' quit smoking.. the gum, the filters.. the worry stone.. Then one day I took my cigarettes out of my pocket, set them on the dining room table at supper time and there they sat for 6 months. Figured if I could get through a meal, and NOT get up and smoke after dinner I was good to go. Cold turkey. Gave up coffee at the same time too..

Had one relapse when I started working here. Back to the breaks for smokers metioned above, and hanging around outside with the smokers you REALLY got to know what was going on.

I just recently made connection the other day. Hot sauce (Tabasco mostly) is really big in the Army.. Had to wonder if it was connected to the prevelance of smoking.. Had to dump the tabasco on our food just so we could taste SOMEthing through our smoke addled taste buds. I tried tabasco the other day, and NO turn on for me anymore.

In the end, I don't smoke now because I want to see my grandkids grow up.. and Bubba get married and have kids of his own..

 

[morningbell]

One day I was like, "I'm going to stop smoking" and I did. It was awesome!
The end.

 

[gemma_rae]

It down right stinks.
It makes you stink.
It makes you stink to others.
Ruins your furniture.
Ruins the inside of a vehicle.
Too expensive.
Too cold to smoke outside.
Too hot to smoke outside.
You look like a lonely fiend on a street corner.
You can't smoke and drink in bars. Thats when you really get the craving!
You can't smell or taste food. The nicotine and all the other crap in cigs these days kill the taste buds, IMO.
You can't breathe.
You get short of breath.
You panic that you won't have enough to carry you through the day/night.
Runs your life.
You DIE.

I quit cold turkey Jan. 2002. My hubby and I did it together. He really helped me through it. Believe me I was a fiend. Almost up to 2 packs a day when I quit. Never relapsed and will never go back to it!