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Hey everyone, The site was down, but I didn't quit. Although I must say, it was and still is quite difficult at times. However, it has now been nearly 17 days since June 6, 2024, when I finally succeeded in quitting. I feel amazing. I mean, I sleep less, I am more confident, I do lots of things, and I believe the addiction is getting weaker day by day. It still requires some struggling and inner discussions from time to time. But convincing myself to go and buy a smoke after 16 days without it is much harder than it was after just one day, so I guess this also plays a role in weakening this demon. So, yeah, let's keep going, guys!

Genecanuck Quit Date: August 19, 2024 Posted August 23 Do you know him?, Quitnet Repost, 1998 from Billi Peel, on another site in 1998 Hi Everyone, My name is Nicotine. This is my story. For many years no one knew I was a killer. I am very cunning, while looking so innocent. I am dressed in a white wrapper. I think my shape is great. I am long, slender and easy to hold. This is great for the 90's image. I've come a long way baby. Billions of dollars have been spent to keep me looking good. My favorable image is an illusion. My addictive power is reality. My advertising team has worked very hard to continue to present me as a positive influence in daily life. I have been showcased as making men strong, sexy, and full of life. I have been packaged to make women think they are sexy, daring, and provocative. It took longer to get the women to use me, but in time I won them over. I am a liar. I tell you that you can enjoy and be more comfortable in every situation if you use. I am always there for you when you are bored, nervous, or upset. I will tell you how cool you appear while you smoke me, how good I taste. I especially like to tell younger folks how much I can do for them. I lie. I have some friends and associates: Caffeine, Alcohol, cough medicine, and Mouthwash. I make money for a lot of other industries, beyond the tobacco folks. Doctors love me too. Now caffeine, alcohol, and I go way back. We have worked together on almost everyone. You may think you can get rid of us, but we will make your life miserable if you try. I will cause people to leave their homes in the middle of the night in search of me. I am powerful once I have you. I will require a lot of your time. I need to have ashtrays and lighters. I make a mess as my ashes drop on your carpet, car seat, furniture, and loved ones. It delights me to see the little burn marks in your expensive clothes, furniture, counter tops, and carpets. Did I mention how awful I smell? I have a particular aroma that will linger in your hair, clothes, and your furniture. I can turn your car into an ashtray. I will mark you. I am an addiction. I tried for a long time not to let this secret get out. It was bad enough when people said I was a nasty habit. Now everyone knows I am an addiction. Once I get in your grasps, you cannot easily put me down. If you try I will make your stomach crawl, I will give you bad headaches, the shakes, and make you nervous. Once you are addicted to me I own you. I have no conscience. Loyalty is important to everyone. I certainly enjoy your loyalty to me. Do not ever be confused that you have mine. I will have you standing outside in the rain or bitter cold for a few precious puffs while others enjoy the comforts of staying indoors. I am demanding. You will walk away from loved ones to get your fix. You will try to hold babies in one hand while grasping me in the other. I will make you uncomfortable with people who do not smoke. I am a killer. I will take your breath away. I will eat your lungs. I will render you voiceless. I will cause you bad sinus problems. I will embarrass you with the ugly cough I give you. I will make you unable to walk up a flight of stairs without having a hard time breathing. I will hurt your loved ones around you who don't even use me or have a choice. My name is Nicotine. I am an addictive and powerful DRUG!!! Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/26599-the-quitnet-lounge/?do=findComment&comment=526773

Raya Quit Date: June 30 / 2011 Posted April 14, 2015 Its late and I am awake , and I got thinking how this quitting process has truly has been a roller coaster . Remember the first days quitting smoking are much like a roller coaster so if an hour from now you don't feel so good; RIDE IT OUT . There may be bit of a turn, and you feel queezy and wonder if you made the right decision ; RIDE IT OUT. There may be a hill , and you are filled with fear where you don't know whats on the other side ; RIDE IT OUT. Then you overlook that fall ahead of you ; and it takes your breathe away ; RIDE IT OUT . You may feel fear and panic and tears ; you may feel like screaming , shouting and you are just hanging on for dear life ; RIDE IT OUT. There are smooth patches and straightaways and the roller coaster does come to a stop, but in the beginning of quitting smoking just as in a real roller coaster ride , we don't quite know what to expect . It looks big and it looks scary . We step on with little faith and with little hope only protected by a buckle ; for the RIDE OF OUR LIFE. Oops! ( think I lost myself there and all of you LOL) Lets get back to quitting smoking and lets just sit at the top of this rollercoaster and think about things a bit shall we . Yup we have stopped at the top, and we are rocking back and forth . la ta da ta da back and forth. Ok so this is my thinking : If we were to ride the same roller coaster everyday then we would know what to expect and we are not as fearful when we know what to expect . Our fear and anxiety slowly subsides . The ride is still exciting and becomes rather enjoyable and even comfortable. We find the next turn won't scare us and the next hill won't take our breathe away , and roller coasters won't scare us anymore . And at the end of the day we get off excited and thrilled that we accomplished the uncertain and the unknown . Thats why "ONE day at a tIme works . Do it over and over and over ; at the end of each day be a winner . Some day you will tell this story to your grandkids, the story about the smokers rollercoaster quit ride . Perhaps someday you will go on a roller coaster ride with your kids and grandchildren to the county fair ; you will eat cotton candy ; ride on the ferris wheel ; or just watch ; but please if you do please share with them all the dangers of smoking and help them to understand that listening to advertisements about smoking and other smoking methods. may look appealing ; but they are preying on your young ; killers of your health ; your families health ; thieves of your money , and your life time. Smoking will never bring you happiness . Teach them that happiness is free ; you create it. There is no charge . OH by the way ? Are you still rocking back and forth up there on that roller coaster ? Move forward . You have a lot of friends cheering you on and waiting for you below . C YA ALL TOMORROW Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/5103-ride-it-out/

babs609 Quit Date: 07/13/2012 Posted September 28, 2015 As a young child and early in my teens, I was very confident. I wasn't the prettiest, smartest, most athletic, or funniest girl (well..I did win class clown in the 8th grade) as a matter of fact, I was an average teenager...but I was okay with that and pretty comfortable in my own skin. Somewhere along the line....in my teens...there was a decline in that confidence. It wasn't sudden. It was so gradual that I didn't even know it was happening. Years and years went by and I still thought inside I was this confident person I used to be but I wasn't. I was playing the role of the person I used to be. The person I wanted to be again. I didn't know how I lost it...I only know I wanted it back. Fast forward 25 years later and I quit smoking. It wasn't until then that I realized how much smoking had destroyed my confidence in myself. I didn't make the connection until I was free from the addiction. Today, more than ever. I realize how really damaging smoking is for not only physical health but mental health as well. I can honestly say that I am worthy, I am healthy, I am loveable, and I can achieve absolutely anything I want to in this life. Amazing! It wasn't even something I had to do....all I had to do was STOP. Stop putting things in my mouth and lighting them on fire...sounds simple enough, right?? LOL...the funny and ironic thing..is that it really is that simple. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/6028-smoking-turned-me-into-a-total-coward/

jillar Quit Date: May 29, 2016 Posted May 20, 2018 the perfect quit by jwg1763 » Tue Jun 22, 2010 8:03 pm Welcome come right in ,, how can I help you today? Umm yes I would like to see about buying a quit Well sir you have certainly come into the right store Let me show you some of our newer and maybe are best Ok ,, that would be great,, are they expensive? Lets just look and then we can talk price Umm , umm ok.. Now here this is a wonderful quit, about seven years old fully matured No cravings I can see no real problems for you and this quit I think it could fit you well… but you do have to walk it by 7 am oh and that’s after a good breakfast Umm , I work nights im not up at 7 am Well if you want this quit you will have to get a new job you can only work 9-5 with this quit do you have something else? Why sure we do,, we have the perfect quit right here for you this is the one,, it is only 2 ½ years old but very mature and well behaved However you do have to sit every day and eat two bags of pop corn While you watch the soap operas Ohhmm ,, I don’t like pop corn or soap opera s I think this is a house wife quit . Not for me Well sir quits don’t have a gender there just tailored Oh ,, I see well I need a quit that works nights Likes to sleep in in the morning,, play some video games Doesn’t like pop corn and about two meals a day What do you have like that? Well sir I don’t think you understand you have to Tailor yourself to our quits we don’t tailor them to you.. These quits have taken years to fit there original owners That’s what I want a quit tailored fit to me Where do I get one of those? You can’t buy one of those ,, you just have to stop smoking and Let it grow,, you have to nature it , love it, and respect it If I could just buy a quit like that just for me how much Would it cost? Sir a quit like that is priceless,, you do not have enough money `jwg` Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/10435-the-perfect-quit-repost-by-jwg/

Sazerac Quit Date: October 23, 2013, A Good Day to be Free. Posted October 3, 2014 Our Nancy asked me to post this from my blog to 'Quit Smoking Discussion'. Thank you Nancy. Lifetime of Addiction I didn't want to hear this but, I am now facing this truth. Nicotine Addiction doesn't go away. You can put it to sleep. You can even put it into deep deep and deeper sleep for years ! but, it will awaken the moment you take one puff. One Puff. This is for your whole life. Mind boggling, huh !? This was the choice you likely didn't even know you were making all those years ago when you started smoking, I didn't understand the ramifications for sure. But, it is the truth. You will always need to be cognizant of your addiction even when smoking is a vague memory, because the moment you take a puff, the moment you take One Bloomin' PUFF, That's it ! It's all over and your enslavement will begin, again. What tenacity ! but, you need to understand, Nicotine is not as tenacious as You and Your Will. You can quit. I know you can. I quit and I am not a special snowflake, I am a Nicotine Addict, just like you. I have great resentment about my Nicotine Addiction. Damn....I didn't know it would be so invasive. I didn't know it was going to be a lifetime relationship. I am so angry about this and it is My Own Damn Fault ! But, my anger, it is a good anger. It is a righteous anger. It is an anger that will fuel my commitment to NOPE. Not One Puff EVER. Copping to the 'forever' part is a cold hard reality of the addiction. At some point, I had to quit fooling myself and accept it. It isn't just for today. It must be forever. If it isn't...I will continue to enslave myself. Some feel their addiction is so strong they cannot quit, This is wrong. You have the power. You always have the power to quit and you always have the power to stay quit. Make the commitment to NOPE ! As our friend, Sarge, says, 'Easy Peasy'. Easy ! not complicated ! This is not Rocket Science. If you make that commitment to NOPE...you will not fail. You Will Not Fail. The simplicity of it ! The Beauty of it ! Not One Puff Ever. Do it. You won't regret it. Love, S Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/2927-lifetime-of-addiction/

AceWhite Quit Date: 2/7/2021 Posted March 6, 2021 Hi fellow NOPE'ers I've been thinking about how my quit is like being on an airplane. The first part of the quit is like a takeoff. A whoosh of a new feeling- some excitement even as I embarked on a journey and reached new heights. Slowly, as i've gained altitude, space between myself and that last smoke, I feel now at almost one moth in i'm hitting the cruising altitude, but with altitude comes pressure. I've hit some turbulence on my way to this height, but I kept climbing. For awhile, the clouds obscured my vision, and I felt like I could step off at at moment, back into my smoke filled haze, for just a quick moment and be ok, but that surely would've been an unwise move on my part, because instantly i'd fall back down and lose all my altitude. For now, i'm keeping my sealtbelt attached, ready for the bumps that may come with the cruise, but i'm prepared for the trip. In my lap is my reading material from Quit, in my heart is my desire, and in my soul is my strength. Headed off into the horizon where there are no more clouds Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/15282-reaching-cruising-altitude/

Sazerac Quit Date: October 23, 2013, A Good Day to be Free. Posted July 1, 2016 It was after quitting smoking, I realized how addiction had turned me into a spoiled brat. I indulged myself completely, I smoked anytime and anywhere possible. My most shameful example was after a home birth, my brand new daughter, alive and healthy, was being walked around by her father and I said to my midwifes, 'man, after 9 months and the last 12 hours, I NEED A SMOKE'. One of my midwifes asked, 'Really ?' 'Yes yes yes yes yes YES, I want a smoke !" She handed me a non filtered cigarette from the pack she had hidden in her jacket and that was the end of that abstinence for 29 years ! I call it 'abstinence' because I never ever wanted to quit and only quit smokes and drinks 'temporarily' for pregnancy. That was really Big of me, huh ? I didn't give a hoot about second hand smoke and that was worse than just acting the spoiled brat. Second hand smoke does actual HARM to people, animals and plants. Smoking is suicidal, homicidal, herbicidal, biocidal all the cidal-s you can think of and continues to make the tobacco companies rich beyond measure Gah! I am elated to not be lining those evil pockets anymore glad also, to not be 'cidal' anything. and one more thing... My Spoiled Brat also made quitting harder. 'This is too hard' the brat would moan 'I don't want to !' the brat would whine 'Why Are You Denying Yourself ? ' The Brat cajoled and wheedled until I simply had no other choice, I killed the Spoiled Brat. Killed Dead. Spoiled Brat-icide. Hah ! If you are thinking about quitting, Know You Can. You don't have to be the spoiled brat that addiction turns us into or, a slave to nicotine anymore. You Can Quit. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/7223-spoiled-brats-nicotine-addicts/

NADA Posted January 10, 2019 I'm not sure if there are others out there who believe that smoking and lying go hand-in-hand, but I found myself lying to people throughout my life about whether I smoked, how much I smoked, and if it was effecting my health. This is a post I wrote a few years ago. Most of us smokers began our years or decades of addiction back when we were teens. We learned to lie about smoking right from the very beginning. Usually it started with our parents asking why we smelled like a rancid ashtray. “Oh, I was at Johnny Picklefork’s house and his mom smokes like a chimney” I nervously responded. “That Bertha Picklefork really needs to cut back” my mom would chuckle. A few months later my mother met me at the door with a pack of reds in her hand as I returned from school. “Young man, what was this doing in your sock drawer?” I let out a small sigh of relief knowing that it was only the cigarettes that she found. “Um, Tammy Tamblanadana’s brother was grounded for smoking so Tammy asked if I could hold on to them for a few days”. Sometime later my dad drove by me holding a cigarette in my hand while hanging out with the neighborhood kids. When asked about this at dinner, I effortlessly told him, “I was just holding it for Jin Dong while she tied her shoe”. Once it was second nature to lie to my parents about smoking, it became just as easy to lie to myself about it. I can quit any time I want. I just do it to calm myself down. It relaxes me. It’s just a habit. The list could go on forever. It kept me in the cycle of addiction for decades until one day I called it out for what it was: Pure Bulls&@t! Not only are the health benefits endless when you quit, but it’s incredibly liberating to stop lying to yourself and others. P.S. The names in this story have been changed to protect the innocent. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/11725-the-lie/

Sazerac Quit Date: October 23, 2013, A Good Day to be Free. Posted July 24, 2016 Some quitters may have trouble with the never/ever part of NOPE (Not One Puff Ever). To tell you the truth, in the nascence of my quit, I bluffed my way through never/ever land. I remember Cristobal and Stuart qualifying never/ever with the caveat, 'just for today' and that was the truth too, it is just about here and now. As days and weeks passed, I absorbed the truth about addiction. Once I clearly understood addiction is forever and the brain's neuro pathways immediately re-connect to addiction after one puff, I embraced never/ever/forever. If addiction was in my brain for the long haul, well dammit...I was too and I was going to Win ! I want to include our friend, Joel Spitzer's video (and a link to resources) about this subject. He uses the phrase, 'Never Take Another Puff' as we use Not One Puff Ever Never Take Another Puff (resources) and the video Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/7334-nope~nevereverforever/

stzr500 Quit Date: 02/24/2017 Posted March 10, 2018 Hello, I just want to start off stating that Feb 24th was my first year smoke free. I just want to give a bit of insight on how things went and are still going. This may be a bit in length but to totally understand it has to be, sorry. I came home that night on the 24th after I said goodbye to my daughter whom was off to rehab for her own addiction. I said if she can do it so can I even after 30 years of smoking. Putting these down is nothing compared to what she was about to go through with her opioid addiction. She is now 21 just starting life. Get into that later. Anyway the first three days were out of this world. Can't really explain them but very nausea and little to no sleep. To be honest I really can't remember all of it because i think it was so horrible my brain just won't let me go back there but visions have me so scared I will never pick up a nicotine product again. Then came the end of the week and onto week two...pretty smooth feeling better and now getting 5-6 hours of sleep a night. Week three was it...anxiety anxiety anxiety like my world just caved in on me. It was to the point of what they call derealisation where nothing seemed real to me. I only ever had it happen to me once before when I got high with marijuana with my cousin. Thank God it ended after my high ended. Anyway guess what this time it didn't....here we go full blown panic..omg ...what am I going to do I can't handle this feeling, I'm going crazy this cannot be happening to me. Why won't it stop ...did I do permanent brain damage from smoking cigarettes all these years...so on and so on my brain was in full overdrive. You name the most horrible sensations I could feel and trust me I felt them. I need to call the doctor I need to do something...then I thought what's the worse thats going to happen..I may pass out and shit then I won't need to worry cause I will be out like a light. Guess what I wasn't blessed with that pleasure ...as soon as it would get close to that point it would back off. This went on for weeks. I went to counseling and it was what I figured and what the doc said anxiety at it's worse, whats going on. Here's where it gets good. To start off my quit was never planned, just shot from the hip and did it. Along with the anxiety came the complete opposite depression so bad it dropped me to my knees in tears at times. NO JOKE. Never have I felt so empty inside and lost. To start it all off I lost my mother 4 1/2 years ago and never really dealt with it. When she passed from liver cancer I grieved and had lots of smokes. Two weeks after she passed I settled the estate with smokes. 3 months later we bought a new home. Another month later I was promoted to be an Engineer for my job. Smokes like a chimney for that cause if I didn't pass I was out of a job. I passed by the way thank God. Anyway shortly after that I remember bringing the train to a stop at a red signal and having a panic attack. WTH is wrong with me I though....smoking that's it I quit. The very next day was the day and the day our daughter got her help. Through counseling and talking with others here is how it is for me. I did everything with a cigarette from the time I was 17 to 47. I mean everything ...sorry about this but after sex was the best one even better than the one with coffee in the morning. Drinking, socializing,sadness,stress...I did everything with a cigarette it was my best friend and my biggest crutch. See I am not a casual smoker or a smoker who smokes just because it makes them feel good, I am a smoker who smoked because everything in my life revolved arround smoking and I had to have it. Smokes cured me of everything...I would say FK it and light one up. Now I put them away and my world just came crashing down upon me like I never in my life experienced. Also my wife had an affair during all this because I was never home always working and just not paying attention to her. Talk about the final blow. This happened May of last year for a month and a half it went on. I found out confronted the both of them and about kicked her ass to the curb and bought a pack of smokes. I packed them and opened them and took one out. Looked at myself and said really, really ..fk this. Put it back in the pack and gave them to my wife and told her she may need these more than me at this point in time. So lets review...mother passed away....never really mourned her loss because it was to painful put many other things first. Promotion at my job. Wife affair and daughter hooked on heroin all in the past 2 years of my mother passing. Summary.....when I put the smoked down I was literally hit by everything I ignored and pushed to the side and hid with a cigarette. Here it is a year later and I will say things are better on the home front. Wife and I worked things out. She is my best friend and I pushed her away like a fool. Daughter, well she is back in detox as of yesterday and will try it all over again. This is just the tip of things in my life. What I really am trying to say is everyones quit is unique and personal. Be true to yourself you are a lot braver that what you think you are. You will walk through the gates of hell on your quit there is no doubt about it but just remember you will come out on top. I am not going crazy nor did I do permanent brain damage from smoking..lmao. What I did do was close responses to normal dopamine that take time to heal and recover. All addicts do this thats why its an addiction. I still have bouts of depression and anxiety. I am learning a whole new lifestyle. Think about it you are literaley changing your lifestyle without nicotine and its scary but it can be fun sometime. I like waking up and smelling my wifes perfume that wore off on the pillow rather than stinky smoke that wore off my hair. For those who read this thank you for taking the time to read it..I let out a bunch of personal things in my life but if you can't speak the real, then there is no sense in saying anything. I cannot give a time frame on when you should feel better from quitting but I feel fantastic at times and other times physically great but still an emotional train wreck. Hills and valleys but one day it will level out, because you will achieve goals and set a new future that you can look back upon without a cigarette. I won't say good luck because it's not about luck...IT ABOUT YOU AND YOUR WILL. My family is why !! Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/9913-my-storyhope-it-helps/

Boo Quit Date: March 9, 2016 Posted March 28, 2016 For much of the last couple of weeks, I hit a mental wall of sorts. It wasn't that I was craving a cigarette so much as I was finding it difficult to identify myself as a nonsmoker. Nagging, insecure thoughts were persistent. I began to doubt if I was really done with smoking for good. My policy to this point had been to "fight like hell." What am I fighting? The fight is with addiction of course, but do I really need to fight? My addiction is my own creation and is not an independent entity. Addiction cannot hide around corners, jumping me when I least expect it and force me to smoke against my will. Addiction can only plant a seed, it is my choice to cultivate it or not. My addiction only has the power I give it. I've ceased fighting my addiction and since then, its voice has been a whimper subjugated to the back of my mind. When I was fighting tooth-and-nail, its voice roared. I recognize its existence, but now any irrational addiction thoughts that spring to mind are quickly silenced by reason and logic. I am not becoming complacent, I simply realized the futility of building a thing up only to spend the rest of the day attempting to knock it down. There is no reason for me to fight as I have finally realized there is nothing to fear. Maintaining a successful quit is a simple matter of never making a conscious decision to place a cigarette in my mouth and light it on fire. It does not get more simple than that. I spent time in the darkness, but eventually saw the light. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/6851-perception-shift/

Sazerac Quit Date: October 23, 2013, A Good Day to be Free. Posted October 22, 2019 In celebration of my Six Years of Freedom, I wrote this little piece, Sazerac's Simple Guide To Freedom Desire: You must want to quit more than you want to smoke Decision: Make the decision to live life without Nicotine. Commitment: Commit wholeheartedly to live without Nicotine and intend on standing by your resolve. Choice: Choose to never smoke again, EVER. This choice will empower you in many, many ways. “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Education * Thanks to Joel Spitzer, this site and lurking around the sphere, I am still learning everything I can about Nicotine Addiction. Information is Big Power and I feel sufficiently armed to maintain my quit. Changing Focus. It took some doing but, s l o w l y, when junkie thoughts would drag me down, I began to train myself to look at something beautiful or think of beauty in some way. This retrained my brain and also gave me a bump of endorphins. I use this technique during any moments of distress or discomfort. These are not nicotine related anymore, just moments of life. The concept of H.A.L.T. * (are you Hungry (thirsty), Angry (emotional), Lonesome (bored), Tired) Nine times out of ten, smokey thoughts weren't about nicotine at all, it was my body (poor thing) hollering at me to do something life sustaining for it. Now, the signals are very clear and not related to nicotine in any way. I also want to share the benefits of Breath. Deep, calming breaths of Oxygen. An elixir to sharpen and focus your mind away from the patterns of addiction. Rewards * Not only does rewarding yourself help re-wire your brain receptors, treating yourself well and being as kind to yourself makes life nice. A little spoiling goes a long way, especially during rugged transitions of any kind. ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Quitting smoking has taught me much about myself and the human condition. The truth and honesty involved in making and keeping a commitment to myself has been profound. I know myself so much better. I have exchanged an empty bravado for an inner trust and knowledge. I am grateful to everybody here, your stories, your triumphs and your lapses, too. ALL have helped me understand the hideousness of nicotine addiction and the Power of Choice, the Preciousness of Freedom. I am so proud to be part of this community. Y'all are beautiful nicotine free creatures, my friends. S *Joel Spitzer's Quit Smoking Library * Riffing On H.A.L.T. * The Significance of Rewards p.s. To anyone beginning their journey, I would recommend this thread, 10 Ways To Effectively Use This Forum To Stop Using Nicotine Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/13165-simple-guide-to-freedom/

Irene Quit Date: 19 June 2020 Posted March 14, 2020 Before I even entertained the thought of quitting, I always looked at drug users or addicts with pity, thinking how lucky I am not to have fallen into that trap. Ironic huh? Now I have empathy. I'm not a person who bares her soul, wears her heart on on her sleeve, nor starting a thread about something she doesn't know much about....lol I know I'm not the type of person to join a group therapy session on addiction introducing myself and telling my story. Never! Out of the question! Why? Because my fear of quiting was to acknowledge my addiction, and in acknowledging my addiction, made me no different to any addict. 10 days into my 1st quit, I read Allen Carr, surfed the net, and found Quittrain...I knew this quit wouldn't last, and that I just needed to find an excuse to have that smoke. 40 odd days into my quit, I found one, feeble as it was, it was the excuse I was looking for. Still lurking on Qtrain, I started to take things more seriously... 4 days and 2 pkts later, I found myself stepping into that group therapy room...Qtrain..a very brave move from this introvert, but a wise one. It will take me a while to accept the thought that I'm always one puff away from renewing my addiction, to start baring my soul a little, opening up, feeling proud of the quit I am now building, to start enjoying the things I most enjoy without the necessity of have a smoke as well. One thread stood out for me..Introsucktion..MLMR which I highly recommend to all newbies like me..read twice and still find something useful. I know for a fact that I will have a wobbly and will be sorely tempted, and sincerely hope that I have the courage to ask for help. I have made the first step of opening up...now to embrace this frucking quit and start living Thanks for listening......you are all very appreciated, I hope you know that Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/13659-acknowledging-the-addiction/

Soberjulie Posted April 10, 2014 Stop Waiting Author: Unknown. Last sentence: Mine So stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink, until you've sobered up, until you die, until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to quit smoking. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/483-stop-waiting/#elControls_9518_menu

johnny5 Quit Date: Nov. 16, 2014 Posted December 13, 2020 First off, I'm curious if these negative people you are talking about are smokers. I know that when I was a smoker, I often got defensive when one of my smoking friends attempted to quit. I didn't try to sabotage their quit but I definitely felt threatened. Looking back, I realize that I was envious of people who were trying to quit and might possibly be successful. If these people who are negative to you are smokers, fight past their negativity and realize that they might just feel threatened by you quitting smoking. If they aren't smokers and are just jerks, then try to use their negativity to prove them wrong. Don't let them bring you down. I know that is easier said than done but realize that smoking will not make anything better. The trap I always fell into when trying to quit smoking was feeling that smoking somehow calmed me or helped me cope. The reality is, the only thing it did was feed an addiction to nicotine. Introducing nicotine into your body actually makes you more stressed and doesn't make anything better. Nicotine really does nothing at all positive for you. It is all negative. Dealing with a--holes is tough but smoking will not make it any better. It is best to fight through these type of situations. Every time you fight through them, your quit gets stronger. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/14839-how-do-you-stay-in-control-and-handle-your-anti-supporters/

By DOCMarkC --- 03-12-2009 5:19 AM I want you to stop trying to quit. Yes, I said that. Even more, I mean it. I browse around here and see post after post from people saying that they are "trying Chantix" or giving the gum a "try". Some are "trying to quit" for the sixth or seventh time. Others are quite positive. "I tried to quit many times before, but this time I'm going to try something different." Any of you who have played a sport with a coach can tell you that the coach NEVER said to you: "OK, I want you to go out there and "Try" to win. Give it a good "Try". If they did, then it was for a pickup game or T-ball or something that was more about playing than winning. At a job interview, you never tell your prospective employer that you are going to "Try" to be on time and be a good employee. You don't "Try" to keep your kids fed. This addiction you are breaking isn't a game. "Trying" is what you do when failure is an option. As Yoda put it! "Try not! DO!... or do not. There is no try." When you quit an addiction you do just that. You QUIT it. It means that you put it down and you don't pick it up again. I see many posts about backtracking or slipping up. Invariably the replies are encouraging rhetoric like "It's OK, everyone makes mistakes. Pick yourself up and try again" (That "Try" word again). Now I understand moments of weakness, and I believe in getting back on the horse, but think about a relapse and about having a smoke again! It isn't as if you tripped over a slipper in the hallway and fell mouth-first on an errant cigarette that had been left on the floor next to the fireplace where an ember jumped out and set the smoke alight while the dog jumped up and down on your back forcing you to inhale. You made a decision that the cigarette was going to fix this intangible stress. Years of conditioning had made that feeling almost subconscious, but it was with a purpose that you got out the smoke and lit it. That was giving up. That was starting the quit counter back to zero. You may have gone a day, a week, a month. But guess what? that no longer matters. Now you have to do it all over again. Was that worth it? After that one smoke were you forever better? I say what you do by "Slipping up" is strap yourself into the rollercoaster again. The nicotine is back in the system and your body is going to scream at you to keep it there. When it was gone your brain still had conditioning telling you that smoking made you happy, but it was a lie you could ignore. Now that lie is compounded with physical withdrawals again. Was that better? I quit almost a year ago. It was the hardest damn thing I have ever done. I was an Army paratrooper! An infantry medic in one of the most combat deployed units in the military. All of my training, survival testing, and combat was nothing compared to the will it takes to just not put the cigarette in my mouth. But I'm not "Trying" to quit. (Reposted with his permission. He asked that I mention he is on tiktok!)

Doreensfree Quit Date: 7 /8/2013 Posted May 23, 2018 If you havn,t read this book yet...its a must... He has helped millions.... You can download it on the internet ,and read it for free... What have you got to lose.!!!!....nothing.... And could gain freedom !!! Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/10456-allen-carr-the-easy-way/

Nancy Quit Date: 07/07/2013 Posted March 23, 2018 · By tahoehal on May 13 2008 I seldom start a post, unless it is to honor someone's anniversary. But I feel compelled to share something that I seem to be sharing a lot of lately... and that is my thoughts on 'No Man's Land'. No Man's Land is a dangerous and scary place... and it is a lonely time during a quit. I call No Man's Land that period of time between about 1 month and 3 or 4 months into your quit, or about the time from the end of your first month.. This is a time when many people slip and go into a full relapse and have to start over... if they can start over, that is. I have some observations that may help some of you who are literally hanging on by your fingernails... or who may find yourself there tomorrow. The first month is an exhausting but exhilirating experience... you are locked in nearly daily struggles and you get the satisfaction of successfully beating your addiction that day. You go to bed a WINNER each night (as Troutnut would say), and you are justifiably proud of yourself. Your friends and family are also supportive as they see you struggling each day to maintain your quit. And you are being constantly supported here, whether or not you post... just being here is good for your quit. And so, the battles are won and it actually becomes easier and the battles occur less often as you finish 30 days or so. Around 60 days, you're starting to have some really good days, with very few craves and some nice insights about yourself... but then again, you still have some bad days. Those bad days can really be depressing... you begin to wonder if you're ever gonna be able to relax. Your junkie is whispering to you, telling you that 'just one' won't hurt. You've conquered your daily triggers, but now you start trippiing over the occasional ones... a death in the family, unexpectedly bad news, money problems, health problems, going on a long car ride, a trip to the bar, or whatever. You have a strong crave and you begin to doubt your ability to keep your quit. In addition, the 3D support that you used to get is pretty much gone... non-smokers figure you should be 'over it' by now, smokers don't like to hang around you much because they feel guilty and addicted (remember that feeling?), and people who have quit may not remember just how much love and support you need well into the first few months. They all think you should be 'over it', you think you should be 'over it'... and the temptation is to have 'just one' to see if you ARE over it. But of course you're not over it, are you? That 'just one' whisper becomes much much louder and becomes 'just one more'... and each time you give in to that whisper, the craves come harder and sooner. The one way to guarantee that your craves will never go away is to light up, to slide that old cigarette needle into your arm and shoot up. Those craves will be back and keep coming back. But if you protect your quit, your craves will eventually weaken and become even fewer and farther between. As you get to around 100 days or so (some will be a bit longer)... you will begin to really get a healthy perspective on your addiction. You will see the huge role that smoking played in your life, you will see clearly what that addiction really cost you. And you will understand that it was a very high price to pay... the loss of your confidence, your emotions, your self-control... your SELF. All enslaved to your addiction. And you will begin to see that you can look forward to a non-smoking future without romanticizing your addiction. You see it clearly for the life-stealing evil it was... and is. You see a much different future for yourself than your past has been. And it no longer scares the crap out of you to think that you are done smoking... in fact, you embrace that thought with joy every day. But you have to get out of No Man's Land first. How can you help yourself? And how can those of us who have been through it help you? First of all, you need to understand that you aren't alone. If you haven't already done so, make a pinky-finger promise with 2 or 3 good quitbuds and exchange phone numbers with them. Promise to call them if you're ever in trouble, and make them promise the same. These are your 'life and death' quitbuddies... you are literally trusting each other with your lives. Then call them... often. Just to see how they are doing, and to tell them you're doing well too. Be totally honest with them, this is life and death. Second, understand that you're going to have some unexpectedly bad days... but they are going to be further apart. Shrug them off, laugh your way through them, call your quitbuddies... whatever it takes to get through them without smoking. Some battles will be easy, some will be hard. Come here and post, send qmail, exercise, learn to cook, take up a new hobby. Whatever it takes, keep going to bed a WINNER each night. Third, ask some of the older qsters to keep an eye on you... to contact you to see how you're doing. I have been asked to do that for several of you recently and I am happy to do that, as I am sure that others are too. We know that you just need to hold on a little bit longer and change your focus just a little to make that breakthrough. And then you will OWN your quit, and it will be a very comfortable thing. Last, take a deep and honest look at your past life... your life as a smoker and compare it to what your life is like now... and what it will be like in the future. You have to develop that vision of your future, of the person that you are going to BECOME now that you have freed yourself. You have to believe in yourself. You have to love yourself enough to deny yourself your addiction. No Man's Land doesn't have to be so lonely and scary and dangerous. You need some company and some courage and some faith in yourself. And when you emerge from it, you will not be the same person that entered it. Never never never question your decision to quit! This is the most loving thing that you will ever do for yourself. A few days of discomfort in exchange for a lifetime of freedom. You will never find another deal like it. Protect your quit. Don't smoke, no matter what. Hal 08-20-2004 A puff is too much, a thousand cartons are not enough. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/10000-no-mans-land/

Cristóbal Quit Date: 14 October 2012 Posted January 14, 2017 (First Posted 01 April 2014) A crave can happen because of 2 things: 1. Physical Withdrawl Symptoms. 2. Mental or Emotional Smoking Triggers. Craves can happen frequently early in our quits, because of physical withdrawl symptoms. They can also happen simultaneously with physical cravings and then later in our quits, much less frequently, as we continue to confront triggers which are mental or emotional in nature. The important thing to remember, is that craves are *NEVER* a command !!! You N.T.A.P. them (apply to them the concept of Never.Take.Another.Puff.....just for today) as they happen. Then what happens ??? Nothing. Absolutely.......*NOTHING* !!! Your head does not explode when you say "NO" to a crave. You will not die. Life will continue, and the sun will continue to rise every day.....and so will you....and the crave will be gone and soon forgotten. At the same time, you re-program you brain and emotions to react to life as a non-smoker again. Craves create F.E.A.R. in your mind and emotions, but it is a false fear. F.E.A.R. = False.Expectations.Appearing.Real. In the case of smoking, the expectations that some horrible thing may happen if you do not yield to the crave, are ***FALSE***. The fear that craves create can appear real, if you give them life and continue to believe lies the addiction may tell you, and can seem like a command at the moment they come to you. But the reality of this fear, is that it is a fear based on lies. This fear generates a false command....a empty command, based on the lies of a addiction that has no intelligence, is in every way illogical, and exists only as a ghost in your brain. If you do nothing when you experience a crave.....nothing happens. Ever. A crave based on illogical F.E.A.R. - False.Expectations.Appearing.Real.....is never a command. Do not listen to the nonsensensical illogical lies the addiction may tell you. Instead, N.T.A.P. these craves, and N.T.A.P. your way to the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual freedom you so desparately want. Cristóbal Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/7946-a-crave-is-never-a-command/

jillar Quit Date: May 29, 2016 Posted May 18, 2018 Why is quitting So hard by jwg » Wed Aug 29, 2012 4:01 pm So that is the question , why is quitting so hard ? I think there is only one reason quitting it so hard to do Or maybe two reasons , at most three to five ,, less then ten for sure.. Sadly I don’t think most here will agree with me nor will they aperciate my opion , and that really all this. My opion . A view from my porch and from my experiences , nothing more So there that’s the warning , take it with a grain of salt The reasons quitting is hard to do First off its hard because ,, You want it to be! And yes I think that is true most people want quitting to be the hardest thing thay have ever done in there life,,,WHY ? So they can then justify in there mind why on earth they smoked for so long,, after all if quitting was “easy” they would feel like quite the heal for not quitting years ago. So in order to live with them self in a balance of peace , quitting must then be difficult. Plus with quitting being so hard to do, it gives the quitter a boost in there personal moral on how “hard” they fought and won .. The quitter wants quitting to be hard to do , so they do not have to Accept loved ones could have prevented there suffering and death if they could have easily quit. And then there is the aspect of quitting is “so hard to do” because they have been told it was for years , and like the sentence above , have even been to the funerals that proved this to be true. If you want to quit smoking and fit in with others who quit smoking , then by god you have to suffer threw it just like they did too. After all no one gets a free pass when it comes to quitting smoking ,, “The hardest thing in the world to do” Well to each there own , but it all honesty . to stop smoking is not that hard to do it at all , In fact NO ONE that ever really wanted to Quit Smoking has ever failed.. To stop smoking dose not cause pain , where as healing from most other things in fact dose , A sun burn carries with it much greater pain then any one ever suffered to stop smoking. Mentally, a spelling test is harder then it is to quit smoking .. And lastly, why quitting is so hard to do ? , because before most ever start they go into already granting them selfs permission to fail. And then this failure only dose one thing , grants them permission once more , So this goes back to my point , quitting is only hard because most just want it that way. But I know first hand , that dose not have to be the way it is and in fact if focused on the rewards vs the discomforts , quitting hands down is the easiest thing any one has ever done for them selfs If smoking is a temp pleasure with long term consequences Then to stop is is temp discomfort with long term benefits Break the cycle , evaluate your quit honestly with out the desire for it to be “so hard” and not only will you see it is not as you have been lead to believe , but too you will learn to enjoy the process of becoming free to do all the things you once sat around and labeled “one of these days” 'jwg' Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/10421-why-is-quitting-so-hard-repost-by-jwg/

IamDoingIt Posted July 15, 2014 I do not care who you are! You do not just 'Get off the Quit Train....' You throw yourself head-first off a speeding train to land in the track bed below the train. You bounce down the railroad ties, bumping, flipping, twirling after the train. A few of the train's car wheels run you over and you may stick to the steel wheel....spinning 'round and 'round as other riders in the car sit comfortably in their quit. Soon, you are flipped off the wheel. Whew, thank God you didn't die! Well, since you're off the train, may as well have a smoke to get over that horrifying ordeal of hurtling yourself off the quit train. But wait!!!!! The quit train is continuing on without you! WAIT QUIT TRAIN, W A I T ! ! ! ! "I'm back here," you scream at the top of your lungs. Hmm....may as well light up again. This is getting out of hand! You keep taking puffs of cigarettes as you desperately chase after the train. With each puff, you see that train that you were once comfortably setting on, pull a little further away from you. You trip on a rail spike and split your chin on the rail. You dust yourself off and start chasing that train once again. The train is further down the tracks, almost out of sight. You struggle so hard to catch that train but each time you stop to light that cigarette, the train just keeps getting further away from you. Soon, the train is out of sight. You get tired of chasing after the train, so you decide to go back to the depot and wait for the train to pass on the next round. While waiting for the train (what's wrong? It should be here any minute), you buy another pack of smokes. You soon hear the train approach. You hear the whistle in the near distance. You are so excited!!!! To celebrate the arrival of the train, you pull out what you say will be your last cigarette and just as you inhale the first puff, the train amazingly flashes right by the depot without stopping to pick you up!!!! Why?!?!?! Why didn't the train stop for me this time? You ask yourself. Feeling defeated, you go home. On the way home you stop to pick up a carton of cigarettes. If the train will not stop for me, I sure as heck am not going to run out of smokes! You think to yourself. Every once in awhile, you will hear the Quit Train's whistle off in the distance. You remember how nice it was to be on the train. You wish you were still setting with your quit friends talking about every subject under the sun with them. You are envious of the people still on the train. Sometimes, you walk down by the tracks. When the train whizzes by, you get glances of the people inside. Look! There's MarylandQuitter, the Sarge, and Nancy. El Bandito, Beacon, Bakon, PetraD, ChristaC! So many faces you see, you cannot name them all. All the friendly faces who cared about you. You see each and every one of them. They flash by looking so comfortable. You don't see a few faces you expect to see. You wonder where they are. You suspect they did the exact same thing as you. You feel sad for them, but you feel sadder for yourself. A few of those riders (Marti, Ava, and MarylandQuitter) actually reach a hand out to you. As you reach your own hand back out to grab hold, you realize you can't grab hold because that would mean dropping the cigarette you are holding. You drop your head and turn around to go back home, wishing desperately you were on that train with them. You feel so bad you light another cigarette. Perhaps tomorrow, you'll grab hold. The next time you hear the train whistle, you are on the way to the convenience store to get another pack of cigarettes. You listen for a second and continue to the store as the Quit Train whistle dies off in the distance. When you are in your favorite smoking space, you often think of the Quit Train as you take a puff on one of the many smokes of the day. You remember what it was like on the train. You remember the freedom from nicotine you had. Oh, why, OH, WHY did you through yourself off? You ask yourself. Everything starts repeating, over and over....going to the station, watching the train pass, seeing the riders, all while holding a cigarette. Then one day, in whatever manner that happened to work....the stars aligned, the magic spell was cast, the dice were tossed, 7's came up, the moon was full....no matter the reason, things worked to go to the station without cigarettes. You once again make the trek to the station. You anxiously sit in the depot, perhaps even with the lingering smell of smoke on your body. Then you hear the whistle.... It came up very quick. Much quicker than when you were just dreaming and wishing to get on board. The train engine whizzes by the depot. Oh, no! The Quit Train is not going to stop for me again, you think to yourself. Then, as soon as the thought enters your mind, the train slams on the brakes and comes to a screeching halt with the door right in front of you. As soon as you put your foot on the step to enter, the train takes off again. You are back on the Quit Train. Finally!!!!!! You tentatively step through the doorway. Inside you see many faces you know, a few new ones and a few you expected are not there. The emotions on the passengers faces, as they look at you, range from sheer elation to see you, to frowns, and questioning. With a few pats on the back, a few hand shakes, and a few swift kicks in the ass, everyone welcomes you as you set down in a seat. Yes, folks, that is pretty much the journey I took in these last few months, but I am back. I did not get off the Quit Train, I hurled myself off by taking a puff. IamDoingIt is now back. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/1969-you-dont-just-get-off-the-quit-train/

DenaliBlues Quit Date: 2/10/2022 Posted August 30 A lot of couples struggle when one person quits smoking and the other does not. I’ve been reflecting on recent Quit Train discussions on this topic, because for decades I was "the smoking spouse." I didn’t smoke in our home or in our car. But the smoke clung to me and was present everywhere I went. It caused a ton of tension with my mate. The stink. The health worries. The temptation to join in. She H-A-T-E-D my smoking. That felt like a very personal rejection to me. She knew I was a smoker before we got together (and even joined in sometimes), so why couldn’t she accept me for who I was? I was making my own choices. Why did she want me to give up something I loved? She had bad habits that bugged me, so why couldn’t I have a bad habit that bugged her? All of this felt very visceral and valid on the surface. But in actuality it was stinkin thinkin, and a rotten heap of rationalization. My smoking was not a mere “bad habit.” It was a raging addiction. And living with an addict is tough. Getting my fix of nicotine was always the priority, always the organizing principle of our lives, one that I superimposed on her without her consent. Smoking was how I spent a lot of my time and money. Over and over again, I’d walk away from her – literally and figuratively – to go smoke. Over and over again, I chose to put my own gratification first - above her feelings and fears. This de-centered and abandoned her in subtle but significant ways. Not the kind of spouse I wanted to be. My partner knew better than to try to force me to quit. She knew that breaking an addiction only happens from an internal commitment. But we still fought about it. And what I learned during those fights (eventually… begrudgingly… belatedly…) turned out to be important. It helped me recognize how my smoking affected her. I also became weary of all the tension around the issue. I had an ambivalent relationship with smoking anyway. Was it really worth all the crap it was causing? As this was percolating, I was also watching my father die. He was sick for many years, and my mother sacrificed everything for his care. It depleted her physically, financially, and emotionally. Watching that slow motion tragedy was instructive. I didn’t want that for my relationship. Getting old is hard enough, even without complications from smoking. There’s no predicting what the lotto of life will toss our way, but my smoking was unilaterally increasing the odds of a bad outcome that would affect her deeply. Again, not the kind of spouse I wanted to be. I ultimately made my own decision to stop smoking. My partner was not the only reason I quit, but it was a big one. To this day, supporting her wellbeing is something I can hold onto and use to protect my quit when cravings arise. Two highly independent people will always butt heads occasionally. I still annoy her sometimes, and vice versa. But quitting has right-sized our conflicts. Before I quit, small tensions absorbed extra energy from the major unresolved conflict between us (smoking). Refreshingly, now we just argue about dishes or yard work or whatever, without loaded subtext. I was fearful that I would feel resentful, but the opposite is actually true. Quitting is freeing. It's so much simpler. And the benefits for my partner are a beautiful part of my recovery journey. I’m grateful for the chance to be on this healing road, with plenty of help from the good souls here on the Quit Train. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/26752-i-was-the-smoking-spouse/

MarylandQuitter Quit Date: 10/07/2013 Posted March 28, 2014 QuitTrain®, a quit smoking support community, was created by former smokers who have a deep desire to help people quit smoking and to help keep those quits intact. This place should be a safe haven to escape the daily grind and focus on protecting our quits. We don't believe that there is a "one size fits all" approach when it comes to quitting smoking. Each of us has our own unique set of circumstances which contributes to how we go about quitting and more importantly, how we keep our quits. This is not an environment where anybody will be judged as we only exist to offer education, support and acceptance. Through education and sharing experiences, we can all help each other to keep this nasty, deadly addiction out of our lives. We all want the same thing; to stay smoke-free and enjoy our lives of living as a non-smoker and all of the health benefits and freedom that it offers. Anybody can quit smoking and anybody can stay that way. It's a matter of finding a good combination of education and support to expose the lies of smoking in a comfortable, come as you are environment. We welcome all with open arms and hope that you can make this your safe haven to take your freedom back and get on with the business of living life as a non-smoker. ------------------------------------- This is a post that Joel used to use quite often at the Freedom From Nicotine Message Board before they implemented their no relapse policy. While it's no longer used at Freedom, it's a very insightful and an excellent message for all of us, especially those who have relapsed and most importantly, mirrors our ideology concerning relapse. A special thanks to Joel for allowing us to use this. I tried freedom once, why bother trying again? Some past participants have shown a certain reluctance to return to Freedom after relapsing back to smoking. Many are embarrassed to come back admitting failure. Others feel they tried Freedom once, and, since they went back to smoking, its techniques must not have worked for them, so why bother trying the same approach again? Still others feel it is an inconvenience and an unnecessary commitment of time and effort considering they "heard it all before." The concept of returning after a relapse may seem embarrassing at first, but, the ex-smoker will probably see quickly he is not alone. Many people have had past quits prior to joining Freedom and understand the fragility of a quit. They will generally understand and accept the presence of repeaters enthusiastically. Relapsers offer a strong confirmation of the concept of addiction to our old members and to all new participants. They often openly share their past experience of how, after initially quitting, they came to a point of complacency which allowed the relapse to occur. They generally reflect back at their non-smoking period as a time where they felt emotionally and physically better, and then openly express the disgust and misery that the relapse brought on. Not only did it cause embarrassment, physical discomfort, and maybe even serious health complications, but also, it was putting them through quitting all over again. Their insights offer a valuable lesson to first time participants not to make the one tragic mistake that could lead them back to smoking and the need for quitting over again--taking a puff on a cigarette. As far as it being an inconvenience, while reading and posting may take a chunk of time out of a smokers life the first few days, in all probability, there is nothing a smoker has to do the week that he or she is stopping that is as important as quitting smoking. Failure to touch base daily with us because of conflicts of time with social or even professional commitments makes about as much sense as a cancer patient skipping life saving chemotherapy treatments for the same events. Missing an entire day because of prior time commitments may jeopardize the quitting process or the long-term maintenance of smoking cessation. This may cost the person his or her life. In the long run, it will probably be viewed as an error in judgment by the patient as well as any significant others who recognize what was put at risk and what was lost in the process. For those who feel that Freedom didn't work, the fact is that the techniques taught here didn't fail, the smoker's implementation did. Only one recurrent theme runs through Freedom: if you don't wish to go back to smoking--NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF! No one ever went back to smoking without disregarding that rule. Relapsing is an automatic admission that the smoker disregarded the basic principal taught at Freedom. As far as feeling that "I've heard it all before," being a relapser is evidence enough that the smoker did not hear it or comprehend it all before, or is the type of person who needs to hear it over and over again in order to keep believing it. Repeaters are people who have trouble initially accepting or keeping the concept of addiction alive. This trait is in all probability the reason why the ex-smoker originally relapsed, or maybe didn't stop at all the first time. He or she reached a point of complacency where it was believed that smoking could be controlled at an acceptable level. Smoking is an all or nothing proposition. The repeater must recognize the reason for the past failure and learn from the experience. Otherwise, he or she will be doomed to repeat it over and over again. If you have gone back to smoking, come in and try again. Once you quit smoking, do everything in your power to stay off. Come in for continued reinforcement and witness the mistakes of other past participants who got complacent. As far as addiction goes, it is much better to learn from others' mistakes than having to attend later due to your own. You just don't know whether you will ever have the strength, desire, or opportunity to quit the next time. In today's society, failing to stay off smoking carries long-term risks which include loss of social status, and respect of others; financial implications which range from supporting an addiction costing hundreds to thousands of dollars per year as well as possibly costing your job and career; and, most significantly, eventual loss of health, and possibly loss of life. Considering all of this, the choice to quit smoking and to stay off is an important one. To keep the ability to stay off smoking you need to always remember to NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF! © Joel Spitzer, 2000 Link to original forum: https://www.quittrain.com/forum/3-introductions-about-us/

jillar Quit Date: May 29, 2016 Posted May 18, 2018 By the color of his salt and pepper hair I would have guessed him to be in his mid 50’s I would not say he was overweight , but a few walks in the park would not be the worst way he could spend a little bit more of his time. The biggest impression he really made on me was how , unimpressionable he was . If ever there was a John Q. Citizen this would be him. Everything about this man was average, from his shoes on his feet to that look of bewilderment on his face. Normally I keep to myself, Im not one to go around offering free advice. But I must say, he looked so lost- not that I had any answers. But perhaps I had the right questions or at the very least I had time to listen. I placed the butt of my fishing pole on the walk and set the drag to loose. Then testing it with a tug , to make sure I would not loose my rig , if I were to get a bite. I walked down the bridge a few paces to where “john” sat on the rail. I was not even yet close enough to offer my hand and introduce my self , when that old familiar smell of stale smoke and tobacco hit me in the face like a brick.. “wow - this one is ripe” I thought to myself. “ hows it going” I asked as I stepped in closer. “fine” he answered in a nonchalant way That’s , good I said nodding my head in affirmation.. “ you ?” he asked. “I’d be better if they were biting”. “ I imagine so” he said as he jumped down from his perch “ you from the other side ? “ he asked. “sure am” I boasted with some pride “been over here for past two years now” I love it I added , I could never imagine it being any different. “ yeah” he said in a smug tone “ I hear life is perfect over there , it never rains And life is roses all the time” Hog wash on that I said. “ we all got ass crap days” no matter what side of the river you live on Really ? he questioned ,, “sure” I said. What about money he asked “ I hear tell everyone over there makes more money” “ Oh my goodness , who have you been talking too ?” “ no one in particular , A guy just hears things you-know” “ Well I can assure you non of us make more money then we did before crossing over. Now we just have better opportunity’s to save some of it, or spend it on things we once wernt able to, things that make us truly happy” “huh” he said looking over my shoulder off onto the other side; trying to get a peek as to what life might like be living on the other side “your scared of crossing?” I asked. He then turned his head back and looked down the river, then he looked left; back in the direction he came from, then he looked down to his feet and in a small voice “ yes” he sighed Slowly he lifted his head and said “ Im scared if I cross and don’t make I will have to go back home a failure” “ Im scared if I make it I could loose some of my friends, or even loose myself, and who I am” “Hmm , I see , these are great concerns” I said I understand your dilemma. For a few miniutes we both stood there in silence looking down the river. He nervously kept his hands in motion as if he washing them in some imaginary sink. After thinking a min or two I said to him “ you know, if you don’t cross over to the other side your guaranteed to fail yourself “ but more importantly. I added “there is a secret to making it on the other side that the ones who never cross over can ever learn” “really ?” he asked “what is the secret can you tell me?” I smiled and put my hand onto his shoulder , looking him in the eye and said “ No one that has ever truly wanted to make it on the other side has failed. Its only the ones who question there decision and wrestle with the though of going back “ that ever fail . You see I explained , “when you cross over you can not live on both sides of the river” Then off in the distant we both heard a great noise, the sound of fireworks and celebration, “whats that” he asked” “oh that.” I said is Just some one that crossed over some time ago , having an anniversary party. “wow” he said , “ that sounds nice, I think I would like that” “yes… yes, you would” I assured him. “ there is so much in this world , you have been deprived living back there in the darkness” He smiled and said to me “ I think I’ll try” I smiled back to him and said “ leave “try” here on the bridge , or throw it in the river. The the path to freedom can not be walked with hope , each step has to be planted with confidence , leaving no room for doubt” Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/10414-the-bridge-repost-by-jwg/

About Me This is my third quit site, and I was saddened by the loss of my first two. I was extremely active for about 12 years on the first one, and then it radically changed in ways that made me uncomfortable. So I left. The second one simply disappeared into cyberspace after I was on it for a couple of years. I'm happy to be here, but I'm a bit reluctant to invest as much as I did with those previous sites. Briefly, I've been quit since late 2001, and I was able to quit by pairing smoking cessation with other significant changes in nutrition and exercise. It was not easy at all (an understatement to be sure), but I persisted; interestingly and surprisingly (especially given how miserable I was for so long), I haven't had a single craving or even passing thought of smoking a cigarette since sometime in 2003. Not one. And I've had a fairly eventful couple of decades since then. Regarding some of those "events," seven years after I quit (at age 40 and in excellent physical condition), I suffered a major (so-called "widowmaker") heart attack and cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting, and it was pretty miraculous that I: a) survived; and b) survived without any cognitive impairments. Indeed, the cardiologist who saved my life characterized my survival and recovery as a "once-in-a-career outcome." I'll note, too, that my 42 year old brother died a terrible death from lung cancer and his wife committed suicide on the very same day that I had my heart attack and cardiac arrest. (They died as I was in a coma in the hospital.) So I guess you could say that was a pretty crappy day for my family. My recovery from the heart attack was challenging and frustrating, but I very explicitly used the lessons of my quit as I tried to take one day at a time in regaining my strength and stamina and maximizing the efficiency of my remaining healthy heart muscle. I now run regularly and even participate in road races. I'm really proud that I've run 5 half-marathons, 2 ten milers, ten 15Ks and dozens of 10Ks and 5Ks since my widowmaker. (And although I'm pretty slow, I've never stopped or walked in any of those races.). *****Unfortunately, in mid-2022 I began to experience significant hip pain; after attempting some non-invasive therapies, in late 2022 I had major hip surgery in an attempt to save my hip. The easier option would have been a total hip replacement (and I still may ultimately need that), but given my age (54) and the fact that a prosethetic hip would dramatically reduce my ability to run, we decided to pursue a more complicated surgery involving bone grafts. It's a long and challenging recovery (about six months), but once again I'm trying to use the lessons of my quit to help me through***** *****That December surgery was not successful. Thus, in June 2023 I had a total hip replacement, which has effectively ended my running career. I'm disappointed, to be sure, and still in the very early stages of recovery and in a lot of pain. But it had to be done. It's been a really challenging year (the hip pain initially developed in October, so I've been in pain and unable to walk for eight months now), but my smoke-free life remains something of which I am enormously proud.****** ******Terrible development....Over the last several months, been having increasing pain in the artificial hip (which was replaced 11 months ago), and the surgeon is concerned that I've developed an infection in the hip, a rare but devastating outcome. Getting some testing done this week and next that should confirm things either way, but if it is, indeed, infected, I'm looking at multiple major surgeries and a 9-12 month recovery. As worrying is the fact that a certain percentage of people in my situation actually never clear the infection, leading to amputation or death. It sucks balls.****** By profession, I'm a college teacher, and I love my work. The training for it was interminably long and extremely stressful (and not at all unrelated to the health catastrophe at age 40), but it's an absolute privilege to work with students as they strengthen academic skills and refine professional goals. While I certainly wish I could grown less painfully, there is no question in my mind that I'm a better, more humane educator as a result of the challenges I experienced with quitting in 2001-2 and with my health crisis in 2008. Interesting fact about me: I've never had a smartphone (and have never sent/received a text), and I expect that I never will. I made the decision to remain phone free after they began to become pretty ubiquitous on the campus at which I work (I dunno...maybe 2008?), and I saw the majority of people--students and faculty alike--hunched over their phones and not experiencing life itself. It just looked so sad to me, and I recognized that I'd probably do the same if I had such a device; thus, I decided to resist and reject them altogether. I do have an old school flip phone in my car for emergencies, but that's it.

Fluffyyellowduck Quit Date: 27/12/2020 Posted December 15, 2020 I keep around a lot of index cards because I have ADHD and I forget things. I'm very flippity and kind of all over the place, so I keep them in my pocket to help me get through the day and remember what I need to do. I'm using 1-2 of these index cards to write down a plan for when something comes up because things will always come up. I was wondering if you guys could help me come up with ideas that I might not have thought of. This is all I have so far. Instead of smoking I will ... Boredom Python course Crochet Cleaning Sudoku Solitaire Sadness ????????I have nothing????????? Anger Workout Pray/Read Bible Vent Write Oral Cravings Carrots/Celery Drink lemon water Brush teeth Cup of black tea If I'm invited or offered... Remember NOPE Journal Feeling Anxious Breathing exercises Stretches After a Meal Brush teeth Reward After Hard Work ....? Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/14848-instead-of-smoking-i-will-need-help/

Boo Quit Date: March 9, 2016 Posted July 20, 2017 Quitting smoking...it's what every smoker desires. We've already established that the act of quitting is dead simple. You simply refrain from putting cigarettes in your mouth and lighting them on fire. And repeat. The benefits of quitting are many: freedom, improved health, more money in your pocket, etc. The benefits do not end there. In fact, the benefits only begin there. The process, while simple, is a bold action; a step in the right direction. You commit to leave the rut of comfort behind to begin a journey of self improvement. The process can strip you bare emotionally. It sounds harsh, but has a real upside. The process will force you to deal with things that have been swept under the rug. You will have to remove your head from the sand and face the truth. The process will force you to confront the bullstuff that you have tried to pass off as gospel truth. The truth will set you free, but it will make you uncomfortable for a while. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Addiction is a link in a chain, a chain of self-destructive behavior and self-defeating thoughts. You break that link and the chain that holds you back weakens. Hold on, that's when life starts to get interesting. Potential becomes reality. Confidence begets confidence. Strength begets strength. The process, one that begins with a singular purpose and commitment, sets off a series of ripples that will eventually impact every facet of your life. If you sit back and meekly accept that you are a hopeless addict, what else will you simply accept in life? If you decide you deserve better and boldly commit to the process, what other bold actions to improve your lot in life will you take on? Trust the process. Embrace the challenge. Enjoy the ride. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/8878-the-ripple-effect/

Sazerac Quit Date: October 23, 2013, A Good Day to be Free. Posted August 30, 2018 Here is an article I found googling around dealing with the Quitting Smoking Blues. This is from the Very Well Mind website Depression Related to Quitting Smoking How to Deal With the Temporary Mood Changes By Terry Martin | Reviewed by Sanja Jelic, MD Updated August 29, 2018 Quitting smoking is difficult enough when you're feeling happy. Unfortunately, it can become further challenging due to depression—a common complaint early on in smoking cessation. Knowing what you may experience as you work to become smoke-free can better prepare you for the journey ahead. If you start to feel depressed after quitting tobacco and your low mood doesn't pass after a few weeks or gets worse, be sure to check in with your doctor for advice. Physical and Psychological Changes Nicotine withdrawal is the primary reason for the temporary depression you may experience after quitting smoking. When you use nicotine on a regular basis, your body and brain become dependent on it, as the nicotine bonds with your brain receptors to trigger the release of dopamine, the "feel-good" hormone. Once you stop smoking and are producing less dopamine than your body and mind have become accustomed to, it is normal to react with low moods and depressed feelings. Lack of nicotine also means losing the "companion" that you thought helped you manage everything from anger to fatigue, which leaves most new ex-smokers feeling empty and adrift for a time. Luckily, for most, the condition is a byproduct of smoking cessation and is temporary. Some common symptoms of depression that you may experience when you stop smoking include: Sleeplessness Sadness Difficulty concentrating Anxiety or an "empty" feeling Fatigue Changes in appetite (eating more or less) Loss of interest in hobbies and activities Emotional irritability You may experience one, some, or all of these at one point or another, and to varying degrees. Coping Techniques Quitting tobacco is a big change in lifestyle, and you should expect to react, to some degree, both emotionally and physically. You are also at an increased risk of suffering a smoking relapse during periods of depression caused by smoking cessation. It is hard to stay focused and maintain the resolve to not smoke when you're feeling low. After years of smoking, it is possible that you began to bury your feelings behind a cloud of smoke. Cigarettes are used to deal with everything from anger to sadness to joy, causing smokers to often lean on tobacco to avoid difficult emotions. It is healthy and productive to let those feelings out, even if you feel a little raw from the experience. For depression that comes with smoking cessation, try some of the following ideas to improve your mood: Get out of a quick walk. Fresh air is always invigorating, and exercise releases endorphins in the brain, which are known to improve mood. Set goals, but don't bite off more than you can chew. Divide tasks related to your goals into small chunks that you feel good about accomplishing. Spend time with people who make you feel good. When negative/sad thoughts come up about smoking, remind yourself that you miss smoking mostly because it was an addiction, and once you're healed, you won't feel this way. Create a list of things you can do at a moment's notice when you're feeling the urge to smoke, like do a crossword puzzle or call a supportive friend. Jolting ourselves out of a negative thought pattern is often as simple as changing what we're doing. Join a support group. Meeting people who are going through the same struggle as you can help you know you're not alone and offer some much-needed support. The American Lung Association's Freedom From Smoking program has groups all over the country, or do some research to find other support programs in your local area. While quitting smoking, the body and mind are in a state of transition, and it's not uncommon for new ex-smokers to struggle with their emotions. Don't worry if you are close to tears one moment and angry or sad the next. The balance will return in time. Change Your Mind, Change Your Life One of the greatest challenges new ex-smokers face is an important change in perspective. It is that shift in thinking from seeing smoking cessation as an exercise in deprivation to realizing that it is, in fact, one of the best gifts you'll ever give yourself. This is a crucial step in the process of healing from nicotine addiction, and it is with this transformation that many see their quit-related symptoms of depression begin to lift. Pre-Existing Depression If you have been diagnosed and/or treated for depression prior to quitting smoking, it is important to let your doctor know ahead of time that you're planning to quit. Smoking cessation could make you susceptible to additional mood disturbances. Smoking also causes some medications to be metabolized more quickly, so when you quit, prescriptions you're already taking might need to be adjusted. Your doctor can monitor and correct dosages on any medications you might be on, if necessary. Always be on alert for drastic mood changes and contact your doctor as soon as possible if anything out of the ordinary occurs. If you're having thoughts of self-harm, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifelineat 800-273-8255. A Word From Verywell If the blues have come on since you quit smoking, remember that this is not uncommon. As you are patient through this likely temporary phase, find comfort from your friends, family, and keeping busy with healthier, more productive activities. With time and dedication, these will become the more familiar sources of good feelings, and smoking will become that thing that you thought used to bring you benefit. You can also take comfort in knowing that millions of people have been through this process successfully before you, and many include it among the most rewarding experiences of their lives. Happier days are ahead, and with them will come a tremendous sense of pride and empowerment from overcoming this addiction. Article Sources: National Institutes of Mental Health. Depression. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recognize Signs of Depression. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/quit-smoking/guide/depression-and-smoking.html I would like to include Joel Spitzer's video and Resources Concerning Mental Health Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/10971-quitting-smoking-blues/

Repost by Craig I get sad whenever I read about someone that relapses after rocking an awesome quit for weeks or months. I quit smoking 290 days ago and I'm extremely confident I'll never smoke again. Things were a little different on day 142 though. That's the day I almost smoked a cigarette..... Quote Day 142. I have been romanticizing the cigarette for about a week now. I've been daydreaming about the simple joy of holding a cigarette between my fingers, the wonderful tobacco smell of a freshly opened pack, and the feeling of euphoria when taking that first drag. Mmmm....just thinking about it makes my pulse quicken in glorious anticipation. W. T. F. This is day 142! I'm "this close" to 5 months. 6 months (HALF A YEAR!) is within spitting distance. How the hell could I let myself get so damn complacent that I'm having thoughts like this? For the most part, my quit has been on auto-pilot for the last couple of months. I stopped actively "quitting" a long time ago. I didn't feel the need, or desire, to spend hours a day reading/posting about nicotine addiction like I did the first several weeks of my quit. I've lost my motivation and I'm tired of fighting. THAT right there scares the crap out of me. I do NOT want to be a smoker again. I will NOT be a smoker again. I REFUSE to be a smoker again. It is time to fix this thing and get my head back in this quit. During the early days of a new quit everything is so exciting. You are doing a Good Thing and it's AWESOME! YOU are AWESOME! Loved ones shower you with praise! Strangers on the internet tell you how wonderful you are! You can suddenly smell and taste All The Things! People at work give you high fives and fist bumps! There are parades in your honor! The mayor gives you the key to the city! TMZ hounds you for an interview! Life is FREAKING AMAZING!!! And then, a few weeks or months later…..things change. Family and friends begin treating you the way they did before you quit. No more high fives. No more fist bumps. No one asks about your quit anymore. Even the paparazzi stop following you around. This “thing” (your quit) isn't fun anymore. Yeah, it’s gotten a lot easier to not smoke but you still sometimes get cravings from hell and you are SO TIRED of fighting. So tired. You feel lonely. You start to hear whispers in your head. It's a voice you thought you silenced a while ago. “Why don’t you just smoke one? It will taste and feel so good. You know you can quit anytime you want.” (My Inner Junkie has a seductive bedroom voice like Barry White and looks like a more sinister version of Wile E. Coyote. Stop judging me!) Relapse was a very real option for me on day 142 (I'm on day 290 now). I am VERY thankful that I turned things around before it was too late. Some folks don’t. They smoke a cigarette and then a beautiful quit is lost…up in smoke. I am only posting this to remind everyone, myself included, that we can never let our guards down. I KNOW why I got close to relapse. The reasons are as plain as day to me now: 1. I stopped educating myself about my addiction. 2. I greatly decreased the time I spent on this site because I didn't think I needed a support group any longer. 3. I let a small seed of negative thought (daydreaming of smoking a cigarette) grow until it became a Really Bad Thing. 4. I fooled myself into thinking I wasn't an addict any more. What did I do to get my quit back on track? 1. I re-read all the newbie info here and at whyquit.com 2. I read Allen Carr’s book. (I read a little bit each day over the course of a couple of months. It was a good daily dose of inspiration.) 3. I recommitted to spending time on this site reading and helping out where I could. 4. I admitted to myself that I was always going to be an addict. I can NEVER become complacent again. 5. I stopped random smoking thoughts IMMEDIATELY whenever I realized what I was thinking about. Have you come close to relapsing? What did you do to avoid it? Have you relapsed after a weeks or months long quit? If so, why did it happen and what are you doing now to make sure it doesn't happen again? Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/11744-dont-ever-let-your-guard-down-repost-by-craig/

Nancy Quit Date: 07/07/2013 Posted September 17, 2014 I found this online, here. A message from your body. (Repost) By tahoehal on November 03 2007 at 4:39 pm Insert your own name ......... and days of being smoke free x. Dear .......... It has been x days since you have quit smoking. You probably don't recognize me since you have been real busy for about x years. I am your body and I wanted to have a conversation with you. There are some things I need to tell you and share with you. You may need them now that you are recovering and I for the first time can express them. I am your lungs, your heart, your eyes, your liver, your blood, your skin and your mind. For x years, ......., you have been smoking and I have been unable to talk to you. It's not that there were times when I did not try, because I did. I sent you all sorts of signals to let you know I wanted to talk to you and you were not able to hear me. You passed it off as a morning cough or dizziness and whatever you were doing for all those years was too strong for me to fight. I have been waiting for this conversation with you for years. I must first tell you that we don't miss the smoke you filled us with. There were days when you were out, having a good time in the summer sun and I was too. I like the warm air and I even like the sun. But, ........, even on those wonderful days you would take the time to fill my lungs with smoke, my blood with carbon monoxide and my brain with nicotine. Every time I thought things were getting better and I was ready to talk to you there would be a burst of all these chemicals and I had to spend all of my energy, and YOUR energy, ......., on trying to keep you alive. I think you get the point now and I don't want to sound critical although I may have come off that way. What I really need to tell you is that for the past x days I have been working hard with the rest of your body ,to heal from a lot of years of neglect. I guess I want to say THANK YOU. Thank you, ......., for having the courage and the strength to quit smoking. If you have ever done anything right for me, by not smoking you have given me a new life. I need to tell you that it will take time for me to heal. You know how long you smoked, ........ It will take a bit of time to work with the lungs and the brain and the heart but IT WILL HAPPEN. Every cell in your body congratulates you... .... I need to warn you about something. One of the drugs that the brain thought it liked was Nicotine. That's a bad drug. It fooled me into thinking that I needed it. I never picked up a cigarette in my life and you made me addicted to Nicotine. Hey, I know it was not your fault! But there will be some difficulty the next few days and months. I, too, became addicted to that drug and it will take some time before I get rid of that. But I have a promise that I want to give you now that I can talk to you. If you promise to not smoke and to give this your very best shot, and I know how hard it is for you, I will reward you with more than great health, ........... And in time you will not only feel better but I will give you something that you thought you lost a long time ago. Remember your self-esteem and your image? Well I know who you are and I want you to know that I LOVE YOU. In time you will feel better and be so proud of what you accomplished-This I promise you. By the way! In this process of getting better we will be doing a lot of work inside. So please feed me and water me like you would if you were taking care of a beautiful Rose. It's time that you started to look after yourself with love, understanding and compassion as well; we like that too. Everything you give to me during this process I will reward you with tenfold. I believe in you, ....... I AM YOU. I KNOW you can do this. I don't want to have to wait another x years to have this conversation with you. Know that I love you and know that it is unconditional. It seem at times like I am working against you but know that I am working with you, .........., to heal US. Just for Today, ......., please do not smoke. Thank you for listening to me. I love you! Sincerely, Your lungs, heart, liver, blood, mind and skin and every living cell in you. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/2707-a-message-from-your-body/

notsmokinjo Quit Date: 28/11/2017 Posted March 3, 2020 I know there are a few threads already about the unexpected gains we got from quitting BUT I'm too lazy to go hunting, besides when ya do you tend to fall down a rabbit hole of rereading some bloody good posts...well I do..anywho ..was reading an old post and it got me thinking (no it did not hurt)... Did quitting change who I am? Has it opened life opportunities that weren't there previously? Yes quitting made me different I'm now a nonsmoker. But it also made me different in other ways...and I think to some extent that evolution is still happening. I mean we spend our whole existence changing and evolving but I defo reckon that quitting spun me into a completely different trajectory...and ya know wot?, It ain't half bad. I see lots of peeps post between months 3-7 of their quit...it's made me different...it's changed who I am...yep...it does...and looking back over all the characters I've met here on the train it's true for all of us...some it's softened the hard edges of, some it's toughened up...some it's allowed to grow up..and some it has allowed us let go. Noone has escaped. Ok so I'm 2+ years in and in some ways im still settling into my new skin...but I am different and I'm better for it, my life is better for it, in many, many ways...ways that had I still been smoking it certainly wouldn't be. I kinda reckon the triggers you go through in ya quit are the lessons you need to master...for me it was all the emotional stuff from growing up that when it'd touch the surface I'd chase away with a durry...that was gone so I had to deal...and it may be takingbme a fair wack of time to do so but I have learnt I am worthwhile just the way I am and if someone else doesn't think so it's no skin off my nose an it's their loss. I've quit suppressing me and all my crazy...nerdy...oddness cos let me tell you, you don't like it then keep on movin mate cos your opinion of me doesn't define me. Quitting smoking gave me that. So the point is newbies an inbetweenies...don't be scared of the changes ..embrace them...grow...because you will still be you..just different..and that is good. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/13620-same-same-but-different/

Sazerac Members 14.3k Quit Date: October 23, 2013, A Good Day to be Free. Posted February 6, 2020 Butt Emissions: Study Finds Even Extinguished Cigarettes Give Off Toxins January 29, 2020 This specially built smoking machine was used by NIST scientists to measure the emissions that come off cigarette butts long after they've been extinguished. Cigarette butts pile up in parks, beaches, streets and bus stops, places where all types of littering are frowned upon. An estimated more than five trillion butts are generated by smokers worldwide each year, and concern about their environmental impact has prompted studies of how they affect water and wildlife habitats. But despite their prevalence, almost no one has studied the airborne emissions coming off these tiny bits of trash. When Dustin Poppendieck was asked to evaluate them, he was skeptical. As a measurement scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) he realized there was no standard way of analyzing the amounts of chemicals swirling in the air around cigarettes hours and days after they’d been put out, and he was intrigued. But he also thought there might not be enough chemicals present to make the measurements meaningful. What his team found, however, was that a used butt — one that is cold to the touch — can in one day give off the equivalent of up to 14% of the nicotine that an actively burning cigarette emits. “I was absolutely surprised,” said Poppendieck. “The numbers are significant and could have important impacts when butts are disposed of indoors or in cars.” The NIST measurements were performed under an interagency agreement with the Food and Drug Administration as part of its analysis of the overall impact of cigarette smoking on people’s lives. For a long time, most of the health impacts of smoking were misunderstood and often underestimated, in part because the emissions of cigarettes had not been fully assessed. Measurements and epidemiological studies over the last 50 years have improved our understanding of the health impacts of tobacco. We now know a good deal about how cigarette smoking affects smokers’ own bodies as they inhale and exhale, referred to as mainstream smoking. Work has also been done to establish the health effects of secondhand smoke, which is the emissions from the end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar, and the smoke that is exhaled by smokers. NIST scientists have measured the airborne emissions we are exposed to once a cigarette butt has been “extinguished." More recently, research has also examined thirdhand exposure, which comes from the chemical residue that stays on surfaces such as walls, furniture, hair, clothing and toys after a cigarette has been extinguished. Like mainstream smoking and secondhand smoke, thirdhand exposure can increase the risk of cancers and cause numerous other health problems, especially in the still-developing bodies and brains of infants and children. The overall goal of the recent NIST study was to quantify the emissions from extinguished cigarettes and discover what happens to those emissions when the butts are left in different environments. Poppendieck’s team measured eight of the hundreds of chemicals typically emitted from cigarettes, including four that are on the FDA list of harmful and potentially harmful constituents. They also measured triacetin, a plasticizer often used to make filters stiff. Filters were added to cigarettes in the 1950s. While they do collect part of what comes off a burning cigarette, they don’t fully negate the exposure from inhaling tobacco smoke. Filters provide a kind of handle for cigarette users who want to avoid burning their lips or fingers, wasting tobacco, or having to pull stray tobacco bits off their tongues. Triacetin can make up as much as 10% of a filter, and its low volatility means it doesn’t evaporate quickly at normal temperatures, so it could be a good indicator of long-term emissions from a butt, Poppendieck explained. The question that Poppendieck and his team considered, therefore, was not the impact of filters on smokers themselves. Rather, they focused on emissions from discarded butts, which are largely just used filters. “If you have ever sat on a park bench when somebody next to you smoked, then they got up and left their cigarette butt behind, that odor you were smelling is indicative of what we are trying to capture and measure,” Poppendieck said. “Anyone with a good sense of smell knows it’s there.” The team had to “smoke” over 2,100 cigarettes, although the scientists didn’t actually light up and inhale. Instead Poppendieck’s team built a “smoking machine” that uses robotic movements to simulate what humans do when they light up. The machine was made to move air through each cigarette in the same way, to remove some potential variables associated with the behavior of actual smokers. Extinguished cigarettes were placed in a walk-in, stainless steel chamber in order to characterize airborne emissions. The team also tried to determine if environmental differences in temperature, humidity and saturation in water would change those emission rates. Cigarettes were carefully lit and "smoked" in a machine before being recorded in the lab at NIST. Most of the chemicals from the extinguished butts were emitted in the first 24 hours, Poppendieck noted. However, nicotine and triacetin concentrations were still about 50% of the initial level five days later. The team also found that butts emitted these chemicals at higher rates when the air temperature was higher. “The nicotine coming from a butt over seven days could be comparable to the nicotine emitted from mainstream and sidestream [secondhand or thirdhand] smoke during active smoking,” Poppendieck said. This means if you don’t empty an ashtray in your home for a week, the amount of nicotine exposure to nonsmokers could be double current estimates. Figuring out what to call these newly discovered and measured emissions has been challenging. In the lab, Poppendieck and his team refer to them loosely as “after smoke” or just butt emissions. No matter what terminology is used, the research team wants people to know that the chemicals remain long after the cigarette goes out. People have been asked to not throw their cigarettes out car windows, because it takes years for the butts to degrade. Poppendieck wants people to also know they can put used butts in sealable metal or glass jars with sand instead of leaving them out in the open. “You might think that by never smoking in your car when kids are present, you are protecting the nonsmokers or children around you,” Poppendieck said. “But if the ashtray in your hot car is full of butts that are emitting these chemicals, exposure is happening.” Papers: M. Gong, N. Daniels, D. Poppendieck. Measurement of chemical emission rates from cigarette butts into air. Indoor Air. Available online in preprint format on Jan. 18, 2020. DOI: 10.1111/ina.12648 D. Poppendieck, M. Gong, V. Pham. Influence of temperature, relative humidity, and water saturation on airborne emissions from cigarette butts. Science of the Total Environment. Available online Jan. 5, 2020. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.1364 Edited February 7, 2020 by Sazerac Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/13529-cigarette-butt-emissions/

JH63 Posted March 11, 2021 I've spent the last couple of days watching the Big Tobacco video's and the Marlboro video again and I've read the Alan Carr book tree times. Got me to thinking back to when I was young and first started smoking. My first memories of smoking were some friends and me riding our bicycles about a mile to a little country store for cigarettes. This was about 1970 or 71 cigarettes were 28 cents a pack. We often pooled our money and shared the pack or two as we rode our bikes the rest of the day. I also remember stealing cigarettes from my mother. She never missed one or two out of her packs from time to time. I say packs because for some reason she smoked both Belair's and Salem's. She died young of lung cancer! Even when I was in the Army, they put a little box of four cigarettes in each C-ration. That was twelve stale cigarettes a day. But plenty enough to keep me hooked. Well I'll get on with it! Did the tobacco companies put profits ahead of my health? Yes Did tobacco companies add chemicals to the cigarettes to make sure I would stay hooked? Yes Did the tobacco companies know that cigarettes were killing people long before I started smoking? Yes Does our government, still to this day, allow the sell of tobacco products because of the lobbyist money and the money they get from the ever increasing sales tax, claiming that the increases are to get people to quit smoking? Yes I never thought of myself as a victim. I can remember telling people that "nobody twisted my arm to smoke" and that "I'm responsible for the damage I've done to my health". Well I'm starting to think differently about that. Even If I do have to take some responsibility for my situation, I was surely deceived to say the least. This change in thinking may or may not help me as I continue to try and Quit. But it can't hurt! Sorry about the long winded Post! Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/15311-do-you-feel-like-a-victim/

SecondChanceSailor Quit Date: 20Sep20 Posted December 1, 2024 I know I’ve been really bad about checking in here. I’m a couple months past my 4 year anniversary and felt compelled to touch base and if I can help anyone struggling, to do so. If you told me 14 years ago, when I first quit, or any of the 10 years between then and when I actually did quit that I’d be here right now, I wouldn’t believe you. My journey started on the old message board, the one that shall not be named, and I recall reading SO much information. Posts, celebrations, failures, advice, tricks, tips. I remember getting compassion and tough love with every relapse. Every relapse that I would eventually tuck my tail between my legs and come back looking for some commiseration and a new plan of attack. There were also long bouts of staying away, while I was smoking, of course. It’s the normal cycle of a relapse. After enough times, you sort of even stop feeling sorry for yourself. At least I did. At this point though, I feel that I’ve gone from “I used to smoke” to “No, I don’t smoke.” Like, it was a part of my life for about 15 years but where I am now people are surprised to hear that I used to smoke, they would never guess if I hadn’t told them. And for me, that’s a good feeling. The battle with nicotine was mine, and mine alone, but as far as anyone else is concerned, it makes me so happy that I have severed that connection with the cigarette. I don’t have any tips, tricks, or other advice that made this quit stick when the many, many others did not. I just knew, my body knew, my mind knew…I was done. It was like I had never smoked before at all. No withdrawal, no cravings, no triggers…I was free. And that’s where I am today. I am as free as I will allow myself to be, which is honestly why I DO make an effort to come back. To celebrate and to remind myself that I got lucky. To remind myself that before this quit, I struggled countless times. And to remind myself that I can NEVER go back, no matter what. Because it’s easy to go back to it. And it’s easy to stay quit for good…as long as you NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF! If you’re struggling, on the brink of relapse, don’t give up. Speak up, reach out, don’t give in, don’t give up. This to shall pass. Stay the course, shipmates. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/28047-it’s-as-easy-as-you-let-it-be/

DenaliBlues Quit Date: 2/10/2022 Posted March 2, 2022 Congrats on completing day one @JustinHoot99! And thanks for raising the topic of action. I can relate. A fiendishly clever aspect of my addiction is how it takes habituated behaviors + emotions + physical/chemical dependence and ratchets them into a really tight knot that seems impossible to untangle. As I start to pry those strands apart, I find that each one wants to smoke for different reasons. Each one has the power to sabotage my quit. I suspect that each part of my addiction needs its own attention, reprogramming and healing. Thinking about my behavioral habits or my “action” strand: until not smoking becomes my baseline (which I am months and miles away from) I need substitutes. The vacuum of not smoking is just too much to deal with. Also, at this stage in my withdrawal the reward centers in my brain are still pretty fried and screwed up, so things designed to make me feel good - taking a walk, breathing deeply, noshing on snacks, etc. – can irritate the bejezus out of me, instead. Depending on my mood. A new coping mechanism I started this week is a “Mini Honey Do” list of small tasks that need doing around the house. Nothing arduous or time consuming, or else I’ll procrastinate and it won’t help me combat an immediate craving. Simple stuff that can be done in 15 minutes or less, things I know I can’t fail at. Tighten the loose screws on the recycling cabinet door. Scrape whatever that sticky goo is off the laundry room window. Change the light bulb that’s been flickering in the bathroom. Swap out the HVAC air filter. I have to write these down because when I am stressed or sunk emotionally, my mind goes weirdly blank. I’m so used to meeting that moment by smoking that it’s hard to remember or imagine doing anything else. So I get up, look at the list, pick something, do it, and cross it off. It feels sort of silly, but it’s better than picking up a smoke. It adds a little novelty to my coping routine. And there’s the silver lining of stuff getting done around the house… Ditto on your comment about writing here being helpful, too. Reading your post and responding helped me ride out a nasty crave wave this morning, so thanks! Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/17681-giving-up-my-car-for-3-weeks-this-time/#findComment-466935

Sazerac Quit Date: October 23, 2013, A Good Day to be Free. Posted July 20, 2016 *Want better Health immediately ? *Want extra Money in your pocket now ? *Want more enjoyment from Sexual encounters tonight ? Well then, it's Time to free yourself from nicotine addiction ! You can start by giving yourself 72 hours because in three days nicotine begins to leave your body. Take the weekend and pull the covers over your head if you need to. Strengthen your resolve and understand that any discomfort is temporary. Give yourself another three days...give yourself Time. What else are you doing that could possibly be more important than saving your life, liberating your sovereigns and making you better in bed ? You only have to go through this ONCE so, enjoy the ride. Soon you will be seeing astoundingly positive results. You are evolving into a new person, more honest with yourself, much more confident, happier, healthier, wealthier, and wow ! out of this world in-between the sheets. No kidding. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/7322-sex-health-money-time/

Sazerac Quit Date: October 23, 2013, A Good Day to be Free. Posted August 8, 2016 Many successful quitters here on QTrain have quit on a whim and just like them, I quit on a whim too. This is what led me to making one of the most important decisions in my life on a whim... It was after a trip to California, where finding a place to smoke was problematic and I was among non smoking friends. For the first time, I started seeing addiction for the slavery that it is and I acknowledged my bondage. When slipping outside for another smoke, I glibly announced, "I'm going out now, to shoot up." On the aeroplane back home, a colossal coughing fit overwhelmed me. I had to stand in the back while attendants tapped my back and brought me water. That was weird, I thought. That was awful. What was that about ? After landing, I didn't rush outside for a smoke before climbing into a jitney. Something had changed. Instead, I thought, why don't you try and quit....you already have 6 or 7 hours clean ? Why not ? Let's quit smoking for a while and see how that feels. I spent the next 72 hours sleeping a lot, drinking whisky and reading all about quitting smoking, all about nicotine addiction. After those days, as nicotine left my body, quitting became a wager with myself, a bargain. 'If you don't feel better in five minutes... maybe you'll feel better tomorrow... if you are not feeling pretty good by next week... or, in a month...see what happens after a year.' You can always go back to smoking. You know what that feels like. The thing was....I was feeling Free. While I was beating a trigger or a crave....I was learning how to be Free. It was intoxicating ! It was empowering ! That was where the whim became a serious enterprise. I realized, I would conquer any obstacle to my freedom from nicotine, it was just a matter of time and choice. Maybe you will quit on a whim. You don't need much. Cool clear Water, the fresh Air you breathe, some Kindness towards yourself, and a Willingness To Be free. and from our friend, Joel Spitzer, here are resources regarding Setting Quit Dates Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/7378-quitting-on-a-whim/

jillar Quit Date: May 29, 2016 Posted January 18, 2021 Imagine if we were characters in a video game and cigarettes are our opponents. The object of the game is to be the sole survivor, the winner of the grand prize- A LIFE TIME FREE FROM DAMAGE! Like a lot of video games you get three lives, in our game they're called relapses. Each relapse causes your character to become weaker and weaker from the effects of smoking and your opponent seems to be winning. So you fight a little harder but still not hard enough and you use another of your relapses. Now you're down to your last life, you've used all your relapses and should you fail this time its game over. That's how all of us should think about smoking. None of us know who among us will get a smoking related illness and some of us already have one or more. And some of us paid the ultimate price with our lives.... Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/15037-game-over/

jillar Quit Date: May 29, 2016 Posted June 19, 2020 Over my four years of being on support forums I've seen a few people who just couldn't seem to get their sticky quit the first time. They start so gung-ho and post daily getting and even offering support from and to fellow quitters. Then one day they are gone...…….. When they resurface it's usually with tail between their legs hoping for the same support they received before they relapsed. And with the exception of some tough love, because some people just need that, they get the same level of support as they got the first time. We get it, quitting is hard for a lot of us and it sucks. Some even make new accounts out of embarrassment of their failed quits thinking too that perhaps a new account will help them get their forever quit. The problem with this is two-fold. One, you MUST OWN YOUR RELAPSE. It's the only way you can look back and see what you can do differently to help get your sticky quit. Two, it's not fair to the members who welcome you as a new quitter instead of who you are. You see the support you are going to be offered as a relapser compared to as a new quitter is quite different. Yes, we may get short at times but it's only because we care and don't want to see anyone have to continually put themselves through the hardest first few weeks of quitting over and over again. Yes, it may be embarrassing but we can offer you tips and clues based on our own relapses or on how we saved our quits from a relapse. There is nothing better for me than to see a chronic relapser finally get their forever quit. So own your relapse, come back on and lets get this done! Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/14023-owning-your-relapse/

Eleven Although Ten years quit was the milestone, in this eleventh year I have utilized the lessons learned by quitting nicotine/dealing with addiction in another profound way. My body was rebelling after my years of abuse, from smoking, from defying gravity for 69 years ! Arthritis was making for painful days. No surprise. I was lucky I could still breathe after so many years smoking like a whore in church. After experiencing symptoms of an autoimmune disease, I decided to take radical action. First, I learned everything about Sjögren's syndrome and then looked for solutions, just I had come to this site and availed myself to Joel Spitzer's work and other information. Second, I took the initiative. Instead of quitting nicotine (smoking), I stopped consuming anybody with a mother, cold turkey (pardon the expression, lol) including dairy. As a 'foodie' omnivore, I never in my wildest days thought of changing. But here I am, a raw vegan. I found a marvelous resource online, just as I had found y'all. Dr. Brooke Goldner offers a free hyper nourishing protocol that has help thousands reverse disease. Look her up if you are curious or in pain yourself. Sure, it was a radical act for me but there was no doubt in my mind that I could succeed, after all I quit nicotine! The results have been astounding. My body moves freely again. I feel healthier than ever before and empowered. Exactly what quitting nicotine/smoking did for me. The changes also helped me face other truths; Dealing with habits and addictions around Food! To examine using food as comfort or reward just as I used cigarettes. Now, food is nourishment and I know all the cells in my body rejoice after being malnourished for decades. The lessons learned around my nicotine addiction were a struggle eleven years ago, now they are easier to initiate and complete. To change is a pure gift we have the power to give ourselves. To trust ourselves again after a lifetime of addictive behavior. To stay current and change whenever needed because we have the tools! Our brain knows the drill and also understands the profound rewards. Hello to all you beautiful nicotine free creature who understand the need to change, who have the desire to confront their addictions and gather the tools to begin and and continue on this marvelous journey. Here is a kindly hand up, or stand on my shoulders if you need to see the other side. Know in your struggles and successes that others understand and are amazed at your fortitude minute by minute, day by day and soon...year by year. Decade by decade! Thank you for telling your stories and strengthening the thread that weaves us all together. NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE. Sazerac.

Sazerac Quit Date: October 23, 2013, A Good Day to be Free. Posted January 16, 2019 I just found this, hope you like it too. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/11762-grow-into-a-happy-non-smoker/

joe Quit Date: 11/20/2013 Posted April 5, 2014 Just thought I would share ...In a nut shell, quitting smoking isnt as hard as you may think....its all about knowledge and commitment...the first step is quitting...... Looking back on my smoking "career" I wish I knew then what I know now....I CAN quit smoking! I think from the first cigarette i smoked as a 15 year old kid I knew that I shouldnt be doing this and that it would eventually kill me.(I think we all knew this)..how-ever, at the time everyone I hung out with smoked, so I HAD to also. My friends changed as I grew up...and most of my new friends didnt smoke...but...now, I HAD to. In my early 20's my Mother was diagnosed with Lung Cancer..I told myself that I should quit....but, I also knew I couldnt!...so why try. I continued to smoke. I met my wife and in '84 we were married (30 years coming up ) We now have 4 daughters..i dont, nor ever did smoke in their presents. I always smoked in the detached garage while working on my old mustang...(I spent alot of time in that garage ).So now, with daughters of my own...and my mother dying as a result of smoking, I really should quit....but..i heard it was hard, so I dont think I can..better not even try. 10/29/1990 My Mother dies (49 years old)...I should quit smoking but, again, I dont think I can.No sense in trying...maybe some other day. . 06/09/2000 My father dies (59years old) from a blood clot after minor surgery. I think to myself, that I should quit smoking so my girls dont have to lose either of their parents at a young age...Wont quit today, but I will think about it...(I heard its almost impossible) . I should note, both of my parents were smokers... . Fastforward a lot of years. My girls have all graduated high school, 3 of them have gone on to graduate college...2 with a masters degree and the 3rd working on hers. The 4th daughter chose to raise a family instaed and so now I am about 50 years old 3 of my daughters are married and I then had 4 granddaughters..Non of my girls smoke and I am SOOO happy for that. I tried their whole life to not smoke around them...I didnt hide the fact that I smoked, instead I let them know I was embarresed that I did and it would some day kill me and i didnt want them to ever start.... I really should quit... . move forward to the fall of 2013 and I have made the descision to retire from my job.. I have the time in i need to start to draw a pension, so I make plans to retire effective Jan.1st ,2014...(I am too young to totally retire (52 years old) I plan on getting another job, and re-investing my retirement check each month)..At this time, I am not officially retired, but I do have about 2 months worth of vacation accumulated that i need to use before the end of the year..so, The months of Nov. and Dec. i spend "on vacation" (sitting at home)...before I retire, I have a few 'medical" concerns I want to get answers for so i make an appointment...nothing major, as it turn out I am getting old and arthritis is my biggest problem...While at the drs. office the "normal" questions include "do I smoke'..of course I say yes ..and he asks if i ever thought about quitting? DUH...doesnt EVERY smoker THINK about it? He perscribes Chantix and an injection in my shoulder to help with the old age crap...lol...When I get home, I consider filling the perscription, but want to know more about the side effects....so I get online and start reading...one page leads to another....alot of side effects that concern me...I dont think i am going to fill this perscription...but I DO continue to read...thankfully . i " stumble" onto whyquit.com... click on different links and find myself watch Joels Library for 1/2 a day...or more...In the middle of a video, the dogs start "bugging" me, so I figure it would be a good time to take them for a walk...besides, I "needed" a cigarette anyway... . As soon as we hit the back yard, I reach into my front coat pocket and pull out my pack of smokes and light up...but, damn!..i only have 2 left...gonna have to go get some.....wait.........I have an idea.......why dont I just QUIT NOW!...what a concept! . I worked with some guys that I always said that they worked HARDER at avoiding work than they would have if they just did their job...so, I adapted that way of thinking to my quit...instead of quitting being hard, I was going to make smoking hard...for the next couple weeks, i spent as much time in areas i didnt smoke as I could...in my house....my wifes car...out to eat...shopping....in the shower (I was REALLY clean ) ...sleeping...I was making it hard to smoke.. . That was Nov.20,2013....the day i smoked my last cigarette...I look back at the last 35+ years and realize that I was making quit smoking harder than what it was...once I got in the frame of mind that in order to quit, all I had to do was....quit.....it became easy!.. . A few weeks after my Drs. visit, my wife was headed to the drug store and asked if I wanted her to fill my Chantix perscripition....I told her no....she asked if I descided to not quit smoking....i had to inform her that I quit nearly a week earlier ..cold turkey......and they said it couldnt be done . Dont get me wrong...we all know there was cravings and withdrawls, but i found with the knowledge i gained from my reading and Joels videos i knew how to deal with them..the biggest hurdle is ACTUALLY QUITTING...just stop...period...NTAP....NOPE.. . On Nov.29th my 5th granddaughter was born and sometime after the first of the year (daughter#2) informed us of granddaughter #6 joining us in May...who knows...maybe I will stick around to see them grow up...somebody has to screen the boys they will want to date.... . And on a sad note, my younger sister was diagnosed with lung cancer in Jan of 2014...She has endured Chemo and radiation trreatments the whole month of March...she is strong and has a good spirit... . my daughters all live a few hours away, so they were not around to pat me on the shoulder (dont get me wrong..they are extremely happy I quit)..and my wife works a strange schedule (12hr shifts and every other week-end), so I didnt get a bunch of support at home....so when i found a message board for support to help stop smoking, it was a huge help...imagine, a (virtual) room full of others who was also starting out in their quit...its like they knew what i was going through....lol...I firstt joind when i was 2 1/2 months quit, and came to THIS board in my 4th month.... . So...any newbie who has endured my suspect writing skills and read this to the end, i would encourage you to make the descision to quit and use the resorces here to experiance the freedom you can feel by finally quit smoking...... Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/252-my-quit-story-sorry-its-long/

MarylandQuitter Quit Date: 10/07/2013 Posted August 1, 2014 I Know I'll Quit Again Video discusses the risk of allowing yourself to relapse using the logic that you can always simply just quit again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHp8yFnHbZQ Get Right Back In The Saddle? Still quit right away but figure out what went wrong and what happened so it doesn't happen again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcEzzFM6c7A "Well at least I attempted to quit smoking. That's better than not trying to quit at all." This comment was stated by a clinic participant who, after five days of not smoking, gave in to an urge and took a cigarette. It was only going to be one cigarette, he thought. But by the end of the day, he was up to his old level. So what about his logic that at least trying to quit smoking is better than not trying at all? If this was his first attempt, it could be said that it was a learning experience. Maybe he just didn't understand the concept of addiction. He did not believe one cigarette could reestablish a physical dependency on nicotine. After taking one cigarette, he lost all control. So now, if he would ever quit again, he would not question the concept of one cigarette causing a total relapse. But this was not his first attempt quitting. It was his second time in our clinic, as well as multiple previous attempts at other programs, hypnosis and on his own. He once quit for two months before relapsing. At that time he broke all physical dependency on nicotine. Also, after two months he successfully overcame many trigger situations which cause many smokers to initially relapse. Work pressures, family problems, and social situations are obstacles that all ex-smokers initially face when quitting. He overcame all of these trigger situations. But then, one day, out of sheer boredom, he took a cigarette. In that attempt, too, he relapsed right back to his old level. Obviously, taking that cigarette was a serious mistake. This attempt, too, he chalked up to experience. But when considering his latter attempts, it is apparent that he learned nothing. Unless he objectively evaluates what causes his relapses to smoking, he is wasting his time trying to quit again. Because instead of recognizing his past attempts as failures, he rationalizes a positive feeling of accomplishment about them. This type of rationalization all but assures failures in all future attempts. Don't allow yourself to get into the same rut as this man did. On again, off again, one withdrawal after another. Quitting smoking is only the first step in smoking cessation. http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_03_11_at_least_i_tried.html Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/2156-relapse-i-just-cant-do-it-right-now-i-know-ill-quit-again-back-in-the-saddle/

abbynormal Quit Date: 1/1/2019 Posted December 5, 2019 The Smoker's Vow by Joel Spitzer To be said just before taking your first puff after having quit for any appreciable period of time. With this puff I enslave myself to a lifetime of addiction. While I can't promise to always love you, I do promise to obey every craving and support my addiction to you no matter how expensive you become. I will let no husband or wife, no family member or friend, no doctor or any other health professional, no employer or government policy, no burns or no stench, no cough or raspy voice, no cancer or emphysema, no heart attack or stroke, no threat of loss of life or limbs, come between us. I will smoke you forever from this day forth, for better or worse, whether richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part! "You may now light the cigarette." "I now pronounce you a full-fledged smoker." https://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_04_11_Smokers_Vow.html Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/13316-the-smokers-vow/

Gus Quit Date: 3-17-21 Posted 1 hour ago -(edited) Sorry to hear @Breath-of-Power. This addiction is real. It is powerful. I don’t know how much time you’ve spent reviewing the information about nicotine and the additives that cigarettes contain, but the stuff literally rewires your brain. Your brain. That organ that controls everything about you. After the nicotine withdrawal it’s what you will be fighting against. Of course it’s going to fight against reconditioning. You try again. Again and again. You write down why you are quitting. The truth. The ugly part of it. Carry that around with you. Read it every time you want a smoke. We all have something that we want more than that cigarette and one day if we allow ourselves the liberty to do so, we just smash a link in that chain of addiction and crawl out from the unbearable weight of it and in time we find ourselves standing against it and some day dancing on it’s grave. There are good times to be had. For years you’ve had to base decisions around your ability to indulge in your habit. Being able to enjoy a smoke. Lies. Smoking puts so many constraints on so many aspects of your life. Step back and realize that it’s not only affecting you, but those you love most. Not in the second hand smoke way, but just being able to 100% be there for someone. It’s hard. Conquering this addiction is so hard, but doable. I hope that you hop back on the train. I hope that you take advantage of this thread you created. Post, post, post. Just writing down all of your thoughts helps so much. Everyone here has gone through what you are going through. No judgment here. Just encouragement and support. I hope that you will try again. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/25067-smokeless-thoughts/

Hello, today is my first whole clean day ahead. I am now 13 hours clean and finished my morning running with cold shower, getting into work and got my sugarfree gums ready to get through this day. Even getting through 1 day for me is something almost unachievable before, I almost never did the whole 24 hours. So if you see me here after that, I guess we are on a good way and I already gave my promise today...so I think I will make it. Anyway, will keep it active and share my thoughts later. Stay strong

Alright, I have failed maybe thousand times with nicotine, it is torturing me for already 12 years, since I started in my 18. It is now time to use the forum and power of network to quit once for all. So today 8pm I put nicotine away and going to post my thoughts, struggles and progress on the way. Welcome I hope this might one day help to someone, but first I need to help myself. Nicotine cost me not only health, tons of money and relationships, but also caused very bad situations along the way. So the ony way is to go clean, day by day.

Sazerac Quit Date: October 23, 2013, A Good Day to be Free. Posted March 4, 2020 It's not just secondhand smoke that is dangerous. Thirdhand smoke can be, too by Sandee LaMotte, CNN Wed March 4, 2020 You can tell the dude sitting next to you in the movie theater is a smoker or vaper; you can smell it on his clothes. But since he's not lighting up and puffing smoke your way, it's OK, right? Not at all. A new study out of Yale University says thirdhand smoke -- the tobacco contaminants that adhere to walls, bedding, carpet and other surfaces until a room smells like an ashtray -- can actually cling to a smoker's body and clothes as well. Despite new regulations, FDA still fails to protect youth from e-cigarette epidemic, American Lung Association says Those potentially toxic chemicals, including nicotine, can then be released into environments where smoking has never occurred, like your movie theater, according to the study. Even more disturbing: The study found those chemical exposure levels could be the equivalent of between one and 10 cigarettes by the end of the movie. "People are substantial carriers of thirdhand smoke contaminants to other environments," said study author Drew Gentner, an associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering at Yale. The study, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, may be the first to show that people can transmit nicotine and other potentially toxic chemicals via their clothing after smoking, he said. More than 6 million US middle and high schoolers used tobacco products in 2019, report says "That was the unique part of this study," Gentner continued. "We were surprised by the wide array of hazardous volatile organic compounds that were off-gassing from the audience -- including some that are known to be known carcinogens in people, such as benzene and formaldehyde." What is 'thirdhand smoke'? Thirdhand "smoke" isn't actually smoke at all. It's the residue of nicotine and other chemicals in tobacco, some of which are toxic, that remain long after active smoking is over. Some of these chemicals stick to surfaces, and others attach to dust particles. Still others often penetrate deep into wallboard, drapes and upholstery. As the compounds linger, they may react with oxidants or other particles in the room's atmosphere. The chemical reactions can create potentially harmful byproducts that can become airborne. Science has known about this type of environmental pollution for years, sparking the creation of smoking and non-smoking rooms at hotels, restaurants and the like. But thirdhand smoke has also been found in environments which were not known to be contaminated by smokers, which led researchers to ask how that could happen. To find out, Gentner and some of his PhD students set up an experiment in a movie theater that had not allowed smoking for more than 15 years. They supplied fresh air into the theater, making sure that no smoking or other contaminants entered the space. Sophisticated equipment measured airborne particles before and after moviegoers arrived. Right away, they saw a huge spike in levels of hazardous chemicals. As people came into the theater, the concentrations went up, and then decreased over time, Gentner said. "But they didn't completely disappear after the audience left," he added. "In many cases, the persistent contamination was observable the following day in the unoccupied theater." The testing continued over a four-day period across different movie genres. Perhaps not surprisingly, levels of nicotine and other chemicals were lower in the G-rated movies geared toward kids. "Despite cases where we had audiences of over 200 people for some of the G-rated movies, he pollutants were much larger for R-rated films, even with smaller audiences," Gentner said. Those movies would likely draw older audiences that might be more likely to smoke." Dangerous exposure? Despite declines in smoking in some developed nations, there are still over a billion smokers worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Smokers may be at greater risk of depression and schizophrenia, study finds "That billion smokers contribute to about 880,000 deaths from secondhand smoke," said Dr. Jagat Narula, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai Morningside in New York City who researches the health impact of smoking. I call it a form of murder." Learning about the Yale study's findings on the level of off-gassing from human bodies and clothing was not surprising, said Narula, who was not involved in the study. "But it is disturbing," he said. "Numerous reports have shown that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. 1 in 3 teens breathe secondhand e-cigarette vapors, new research says "If future research replicates these findings on thirdhand smoke, it means that smokers could potentially still do harm even if the act of smoking took place in a different space." And it's not just smoking tobacco cigarettes. In America, vaping is growing in popularity, enticing younger and younger age groups. The study wasn't set up to study vaping, Gentner said, and researchers didn't find any of the compounds known to come from vaping emissions other than nicotine. Still, he said, levels of nicotine were high. Therefore, it's possible that vapers could also be the source of some of the nicotine found by the analysis. "Nicotine from e-cigarettes could have also been transported by people and off-gassed in the theater, or this could be occurring in other places where people enter after vaping," Gentner said. Clarity will come with additional research, Narula said. In the meantime, "the concentration of toxic organic compounds off-gassed by smokers cannot be seen as insignificant." "If the findings hold true, the implication is that essentially we are going to need to make everything smoke-free," Narula said. "And the only way that you will be able to do that is nothing short of banning smoking everywhere." Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/13622-third-hand-smoke/