johnny5

- 11

Welcome aboard, Christine. I smoked for 20 years too. When I first started smoking (back in college), I had quite a few smoking friends and it was a social thing to do (also a stupid thing). As I grew older, fewer and fewer of my friends smoked and it went from being a social habit to an anti-social one. It was something I grew ashamed of as well so I get the feeling of isolation that can came from being a smoker in a world that increasingly looks down on smoking. Life really does become better on many levels once you quit for good. Not having to worry about how you smell or how other people see you as a smoker is one of the many benefits. Stick around. Read up on nicotine addiction and participate in the forums. The support and knowledge here can really help you quit for good.

Welcome, Tony! Educating yourself about nicotine addiction really helps. The more you know about the addiction, the better prepared you are to beat it. Also, support helps a lot too. You can find both education and support here. Read up on addiction on this site and please feel to reach out if you are struggling. Quitting might be tough but it is doable and a smoke-free life is much better than the pain of continuing to smoke.

Congratulations on 2 months smoke free, Diane! Keep up the great work!

Congratulations on 5 months smoke free, Warbelian!

NOPE - I don't smoke anymore.

Congratulations on 8 months of freedom, Solo! Keep up the great work.

Congratulations on 9 years of freedom, Avian! Do something to celebrate today.

Welcome to QuitTrain, SOS. I'm sorry to hear about your relapse. 2 weeks is a great start back, though. Smoking really brings nothing positive at all to your life, just negative. You will be so much better off putting that behind you for good. Stick close to this site. Read as much as you can and reach out whenever you need help. Education and support is what helped me quit for good and you can get both here.

NOPE!

Congratulations Garry! 3 years smoke free is excellent. Thanks for sticking around to help support others

NOPE! Happy Friday the 13th, everybody!

Congratulations on 6 months smoke free, QueenB! You are doing great!

Yep, Johnny's still here. Welcome to QuitTrain, @Travis Trapani

NOPE!

Congratulations on three years smoke free, Diane! I hope you celebrate this huge accomplishment. Please feel free to check in and let us know how you are doing.

Glad to hear your quit is strong, Diane, and that you were safe during the hurricane. I feel for all impacted by the storm and I pray for your friends and family impacted by this. I look forward to hearing more from you when things get settled. Great job on keeping the quit.

Hey Pots, I'm glad your kid is ok. Every time I hear a post from someone who relapses and says that they "had to smoke because..." I can't help but think of Cristobal's post that Sazerac shared, Your Quit and Your Life - The Proper Sequence A successful quitter realizes that they cannot smoke ever, no matter what life throws at them. Relapsing and smoking a cigarette is a conscious decision. No life event made the person light up. The person decided to light up and relapse on their own. A successful quitter must never allow a person or event influence them into lighting up again. In order to successfully quit, you must never take another puff. Yes, take it one day and one moment at a time but the ups and downs of life (which will always be there) cannot influence your quit. You must be serious about this and realize the only thing that can make you smoke is yourself. I agree with the other posters too. Why wait? There is no better time than now. You keep torturing yourself with all of these relapses. Start back now. Commit to never taking another puff and reach out to this board anytime you feel tempted. We all want to see you succeed but you are the one who has to make the commitment.

NOPE!

Those are great pictures. Thanks for sharing!

I am sure your doctor will be happy that you have quit and it will feel great to tell him the awesome news. I hope all goes well with your doctor's appointment and keep up the great work!