Leaderboard

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

NOPE

Nope...

Nope!

Hello, all. I'm Penguin, 39, and currently living in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I was a smoker from my 21st birthday until 19 October 2023, for a grand total of 17 years. After trying to quit several times in those years, God saw fit to thump me with His velvet-coated two-by-four, and I learned what "spontaneous pulmonary pneumothorax" means. Somehow, air had gotten into the space around my right lung, and my lung collapsed. After four days in the hospital, I was able to go home, but I knew then I'd hit a decision point in my life. If I kept smoking, I would never quit again. It was time. After I got home from the hospital, the first thing I did was to put all of my smoking paraphernalia in a trash bag. I spent the better part of an hour crushing cigarettes, snapping pipes, mangling cigars, and breaking lighters. I haven't had what I would consider cravings since I quit, but I have thought, "I could smoke a cigarette." At the same time, I've been in that situation before, and I know how slippery that slope is. In my case, I can't ever have another puff, nor can I be around it. Whenever I smell tobacco smoke or a vape, my brain goes into a kind of panic, where the only thing I can focus on is getting away from it. While I recognize the symptoms of post-traumatic stress, I'm not terribly interested in resolving this particular issue, because it has been quite useful. I'm here because I'd like to encourage others where I can, but I'm also working on a little pet project: legislation to restrict smoking to specific areas in my city. I'm hoping there are those here who may be able to offer insights into that.

NOPE

NOPE

Thank you, @jillar. Out here in Colorado Springs, people can smoke on the sidewalks, and pretty much anywhere that isn't indoors or right in front of a business doorway. Even then, people smoke in prohibited zones outdoors and very rarely face any consequences. My idea is to present legislation that prohibits smoking on public thoroughfares. You can smoke, but you have to do it away from areas you share with non-smokers. That would mean no smoking in front of a bar next to the sidewalk; you have to go out back, on the side of the building farthest from the sidewalk. I still haven't figured out exactly how to word things, and I'm sure there's complications and implications I haven't considered. Normally I'm an advocate for "you do you," but in this case, people smoking doesn't just affect them. When your habit puts my health in danger, I take that personally. I look forward to my time here, and to the continued success of those who choose to live.

NOPE!

NOPE!

NOPE!

Gday Chris from Brisbane Australia. Goggle smoking laws for Brisbane. You basically can’t smoke in the city of Brisbane any more. The result for me is that I don’t see anyone smoking anymore. Cig butts stand out now cause I hardly see them anymore. Yes I see vapes now I never seen before but never anyone using one. Though I see the funny clouds of steam coming out of car windows.

Welcome aboard @Penguin, congratulations on your awesome quit, and thanks for wanting to support others choosing to take their life back I'm in California and our smoking laws are probably the strictest in America. There's no smoking literally everywhere including parks and open spaces, pretty much anywhere people congregate. I'd start with a petition. You can also write your representative, id start at the county level, and share your concerns. Good luck and keep us posted

NOPE!!

It's actually been 13 months, but I've only just found you all. I celebrated one year free from tobacco on 19 October 2024, and 13 months clean on 19 November 2024. Going forward, I plan to celebrate monthly, hopefully in this same thread so I won't clog things up.

NOPE….

NOPE!!

NOPE

NOPE…

Nope!

Congratulations on your Lucky #13 months of freedom, and welcome to the Quit Train! We’re thrilled that you found us.

Hi @Penguin Welcome aboard the Quit Train!! So glad you found us and congratulations on your 13 month quit journey! That is awesome!! You came to the right place to look for and offer support to others. We are a really great group and I hope you stick around! Check out all the information Quit Train has to offer. There are people on this forum who have been quit a decade or more and some newbies and everything in between. So just take a seat, first class, of course, and enjoy the ride!!

Welcome @Penguin. I look forward to following you and getting to know you better. You have an amazing 13 month quit.

A year and a half!! Thanks again everyone!!

Welcome @Penguin. Congratulations on 13 months smoke free. Awesome job

NOPE!! Welcome home Reci...

Welcome to Quit Train @Penguin! I've been quit for a few years now and early on in my quit the smell of someone smoking was aluring to me. Made me want to light one up but now ... I find the smell really offputting; disgusting actually so I suppose your reaction to people smoking may change as time goes on as well? Where I live, smoking is very restricted. Basically you can't smoke anywhere other than outdoors as long as you're not on property owned by organizations that ban smoking on their property. No smoking at sports fields or outdoor playgrounds etc. All this legislated by municipalities & eventually by the Provincial Government. How you get there is the question I suppose. Government legislation usually comes from public pressure at both the local & State/Provincial levels. Petitions, using social medial and lobbying whatever politicians you can makes a difference. Encouraging others to join you is key! Good wishes to you in continuing the fight!!

You've done well to achieve 13 months quit @Penguin! You've landed in a great place as well coming to this site. We're all quitters here so have been through similar trials & tribulations as you have and we're all committed to supporting each other in staying quit for life. Welcome aboard!!

Congratulations on 13 months quit @Penguin!

Welcome aboard! Your story is similar to mine. Took a 8-9 stay in the hospital to cure me. I remember getting home afterwards and taking 2 full packs of cigs and a partial pack and tearing them up and throwing them away, That`s over 8 years ago and I`m still NOPING! Good luck and best wishes with the quit. You seem to have this. Stick around.

You are doing great @Penguin , and as I said in the other thread, Welcome Aboard!!

Junky thinking, make it stop., Quitnet Re-Post January 5, 2006 From jacquot on 1/5/2006 2:22:00 PM Dear Tom Brady: If I were there, I'd reach out and put my hand on your shoulder and say I was sorry you're experiencing junky thinking. It can be frustrating, agonizing and discouraging. But really, in the truest analysis: it's okay. In fact, it's natural and expected that your inner active addict is trying to reawaken active addiction. Perhaps the best news I have to offer is that the rationalizations, pleas, begging, etc.. of our inner active junkies can be, well, disregarded entirely as ravings of a mad man. You can think of it like a phone ringing: you don't have to answer it. And when you don't answer it, repeatedly, the damned phone stops ringing or rings far less. Craves are not commands. They are not moral imperatives. You do not have to yield to them. You can simply let them be. That's right. Let them be. Most importantly, these early days of your quit are the hardest and do not in anyway represent what it feels like to be quit for any length of time. There are days of absolute peace out there with the word "TOMBRADY" typed in all caps across the top of the day's agenda so that when you check it, it says Monday, TOMBRADY: peace. Tuesday, TOMBRADY: peace. You get the idea. Wait it out. It is SOOOO worth it. -J (1281)

Showed em how it's done, Johnny! Congrats on your decade.

NOPE!!

Congrats @johnny5(is alive)! thanks for all the support you gave me and that you continue to give to all those coming behind you.

Congrats and welcome to the Lido Deck. 1 year is sensational. You've worked so hard and you've made it. What a wonderful achievement.

1 Hi Piggy

Congratulations on your 13 months smoke free Here is a well earned Pat on the back

Welcome aboard Congratulations on your fabulous Quit and I’m sorry you have been through a tough illness . Thank your for taking your seat , to help others find their own quit . Here in the UK , folks can still smoke outside away from others , I feel we still have a long way to go .

Hi @Penguin. I had a serious life-threatening health scare that made me really hate cigarettes. But a strange thing happened to me over time. My aversion to smoking went away and I started romancing the smokes again. And I eventually relapsed. That is the insidious part of smoking. I learned that the stinking thinking in the brain that leads a person to pine for cigarettes needs to be uprooted. If not, there is always a risk that you can return to romancing cigarettes. The stinking thinking behind pining for cigarettes has to be challenged immediately. My biggest trigger is figuring out what to do when I am experiencing pressure or stress. I just must know deep in my bones that smoking will NEVER relieve any pressure or stress in the moment. If I smoke, I know I will IMMEDIATELY feel worse off. The pressure and stress will still be there with the added stress of craving cigarettes all over again. Yes, evil does lurk beneath that mistaken thought that smoking has anything to do with making us feel better. Back to not one puff ever!:) Thanks for sharing your insights @Penguin

You make an excellent point that is all too often ignored. At least in the United States where I'm from, most everyone is aware of the dangers of smoking by the time they move on from elementary school, but that doesn't keep us from beginning to romanticize it by the time we're in middle school (if not earlier). Hollywood and the like don't do us any favors, either. Whether we're really willing to admit it or not, smoking is portrayed as cool within pop culture. Those of us who have smoked remember the relaxation it provides. Less often, we recall the nausea, the stench, the fear of those odd aches and pains, the frustration when we're forced to go without our habit, the financial costs, the missed moments, and more. In my own quit, I feel like I found a cheat code, because I quit overnight due to a collapsed lung. I tell my doctor, "The magic words to get me to quit smoking were 'spontaneous pulmonary pneumothorax.'" After that, I had very slight cravings, but they were so heavily outweighed by my newfound aversion to smoking, the cravings had no effect. Even so, I'm thirteen months into quitting, and I still occasionally think, "I could smoke." I've been down that road before, though, and I know what happens if I let myself slip even once. I'll think, "Just this one," and before I know it I'll be back at a pack a day. That's why we say, "Not One Puff Ever." Even if the cravings are easily brushed aside at this point, I know I'm still an addict. That's not a moral judgment, but a practical assessment. There's no shame in needing to be especially careful about avoiding a substance that kills you by inches. All too often, people treat cigarettes as some sort of light entertainment, despite the fact we all know it's dangerous. Those of us who recognize how truly dangerous nicotine is are treated as crazy or irritating for pointing it out, even if we are tactful in our approach. It can condition us to not take the threat seriously. Don't take the bait, friends. Remain steadfast in your resolution and your full awareness of the evil that lurks beneath the appeal of smoking.

Congrats @johnny5 on reaching your 10th year smoke free. That really IS a HUGE milestone and worth celebrating. Glad you stuck around all those years as well

Congrats on 10 years smoke free Johnny!!! You da man! Your friend, Eeyore

TEN YEARS! Huge congratulations to you and all you give to the site. Best wishes!

Gday 10 years! ….. your an absolute Champion! More than just “good” An absolute bloody Champ. Enjoy your time in the spotlight You deserve this!!!!!!!!

Huge Congratulations Johnny on your fabulous 10 years Anny . You have been a massive part of this board . When I see your name coming here to support I know it’s going to be good solid advice . Go and join the Decade Party … your Beer is waiting Thank you for still giving that advice