JB 883

Not my room mate's gas for once, no, something else... I was at work the other day and in the break room rummaging the paper for the comics. There was this entire page advertisement for one of those vape things. Of COURSE it was saying something about using vape to quit cigarettes. Imagine. But here was the LOUD part - the entire top 1/4 of the page was blacked out with the words in white about this product contains nicotine and nicotine is addictive. Now folks, not even cigarette and snuff ads got a warning label that big. All tobacco ever got was a puny space in the bottom corner of the page, easily overlooked. Even though I have never vaped, i still hate it. I hope the vape companies are losing sleep knowing that they are under fire quicker and harder than tobacco ever has been. It is kind of like when someone lies to you, the first time you believe it but when you figure out it is BS you get mad. But then they try to lie to you AGAIN and you f*****g explode! The anti-nicotine people (especially us ex-smokers) are probably more pissed than anyone. I love seeing vape companies getting their asses kicked. I just hope these kids who see vape ads will ask, "how come that warning is so huge...?"

Yeah, one needs to QUIT quit. No vaping, juuling, smoking, dipping, gums, chews, patches etc... Those bastards who invented vape KNEW for years that tobacco was in trouble. They just launched a new weapon to keep addicts addicted. Stay away from nicotine, period.

I pointed this out when I was new to the forum and nearly got banned over it. I guess for some it helps though. For me, I just got tired of all the BS that came with smoking and decided to clean house. Of course at first I didn't have too hard a time quitting and people got mad over that also. I was thinking, "Excuse me for having some G.D. willpower".

You know it sounds silly to do that but it does help somehow. Even just breathing a couple breaths in the same manner as if smoking a cigarette somehow takes the edge off. I have had to do that a few times. If nothing else, roll up an ordinary piece of paper and use that to "smoke" a couple breaths. Of course do not light it.

probably 10,000 for me. I donated my unused smokes to some guy who is on oxygen but still cannot quit smoking. Ok joking aside - you all know that if there were a cigarette bonfire, you would NOT want to get a whiff of the smoke. that would be the same as taking a hit or 50 off a cigarette again.

Lia here is an idea, it is how I managed to finally quit. Mine was in Oct 2017 though. So New year's eve is on a Monday. If you do not work the weekend, that might mean you have a three day weekend. That will give you those first three and hardest days to suffer in peace without the stress of being at work.To clear your mind. Three days might not seem like much but I believe if a smoker can make it THAT long with no nicotine/tobacco, he or she has proven to themselves they CAN do it so they can feed off that accomplishment as motivation. Between now and Friday, maybe cut way back on smoking (I went from 30 a day to three a day) then Friday night before you go to bed, that will be your dead last cigarette. Also by that time, all your cigarettes, ash trays, and other smoking stuff should be gone. Give it away, throw it away, whatever. Saturday you wake up a non-smoker. During those first three days, start cleaning everything you can. All laundry, bed sheets, walls, etc. You are done smoking at that point so might as well get it completely out of your life. Of course if you smoked only outside, it won't take as much cleaning. Maybe you are scared to quit, like "Oh my god, how will I do it?" I remember thinking that but when I put out my final smoke and went to bed, the first day wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Most important, you have to want this quit. You have to demand it. You have to reach out and TAKE that quit. Push past every crave and temptation and be GREEDY with that quit that is yours. Do not let temptation have it. If you are able to quit THIS day then even better but I was not able to just quit with no solid plan. Many decry the "cut back" method but for some of us it did work. If you can make it even ONE complete day without smoking, like from wake-up to bed time again, you have just proven it IS possible to quit. The reason stop-smoking drugs, patches, gums, getting stabbed with needles, hypnosis, whatever do not work is because if they DID, people would stop buying them when the nicotine crave vanished. They do not want to lose customers any more than the pricks who make cigarettes want to lose customers.

Oh come on. Some people enjoy quitting smoking so much that they relapse over and over just so they can quit again and again. THAT is the spirit of wanting to quit.

Might I ask - If this person is toxic, why not cut ties? I mean dealing with her is no better for your mental health than smoking is for one's physical health.

Things are hard yes but I find it even harder to believe that someone with a solid year quit would go back to smoking. Even after a year some of us still do get craves but it is not enough to give in. If you pick the cancer sticks back up, you are really gonna feel like crap.

When I quit, i cut back from 30 smokes and for three days, I allowed myself three cigarettes. My quit date was set up for a Friday so I would have the weekend to suffer the initial shock. I do not work weekends. So my last smoke was right before i went to bed so I could wake up to a new life of not smoking. That would be my advice. If you cannot quit today, then pick a date in the near future where you will have a couple stress free days, a couple days that you can go through the initial shock or whatever. Just keep something in mind though. Some of us have different emotional triggers that make us want to light up. For some it is stress, for some it's boredom, and for some (like me) it is when we get excited or want to "celebrate" something. If you are a "stress smoker", keep in mind that after the first is when companies want to "roll out" their biggest bullshit that is going to cause grief for the employees. If you can quit even a few days before THAT hits, all the better. At least you will have a few days of getting used to not smoking before that.

This one is a couple years old but yeah...

Flooding sucks. Thank goodness it doesn't happen when it is freezing out. At least notsmokinjo has the feet and is able to fly if waters get too wild.

Hey I remember you! That is awesome that you kept your quit for a solid year now, you and your mom. You notice how just by quitting, one really does live better? No weird coughing, nothing stinks, no wasted cash on tobacco, just everything is better.

I have quit on a whim many times. It typically lasted four hours. I had to set up a more structured plan of attack to quit. Went from 30 to 3 cigarettes a day for three days then to NONE. Not sure how well the step-down method works for most but it is what I had to do.

Weegie, it looks like we speak the same language PREACH IT! Safer. Probably more rewarding for your health to climb too. So you have mentioned a few times about saving your feet. I am just wondering, if I haven't asked yet - when your doctor layed that bit of news on you about possible foot amputation if you did not give up the cancer sticks, how did you handle that news? I mean to be told that - HOLY SHIT that would be like, one's heart would just drop to the floor. So you set aside that money in a separate savings? I am tempted to ask how much but that would be nosy. And holy crap martian, I remember when you sent me a PM about coming up on your three month mark and the battle that may ensue. But NOW you have just two weeks, two weeks til you hit a SOLID YEAR. Congrats, I mean you might as well say it is done. I never set my savings aside, i kind of dwindled it on other silly things but yeah now i think, "I should have set it aside". Would have only been about $500 (I smoked RYO so they were cheap) but anyways...

I heard Mary Poppins used to smoke. Instead of NOPE or HALT or SNOT or whatever, she used to say - Supercalewhateverthehellitwas.

That is awesome. Over two months quit, there is no reason to relapse at this point. You made it through the hardest parts. What we have here is a catch 22. Maybe do something that people often smoke after but just forego the smoke.

Yes, I ask cause I am THAT bored... Anyways, I am not an easily excitable person but when I do get such or if I am happier than normal, I find myself thinking, "A smoke would be great right about now". The most common occurrence is when I learn that some sort of "bad news" isn't nearly as bad as I imagined. It is weird cause i could be almost in a rage of anger and the thought of smoking is never there. Same for being sad or having the "Monday Blues". But let it be something good like, "ALRIGHT! That neighbor I hate is being exiled to Pakistan to be sold off into slavery!" and my mind seeks nicotine out of pure joy and excitement. Luckily the only time I normally get excited is when I find a fantastic deal on clothing. What about you?

My first full year of quit was Oct 6th but my first calendar year will be of course Dec 31st. One thing i have done for years is keep track of my spending. Two categories used to be "cancer" and also "dumb shit" (relatively needless purchases like entertainment stuff) Of course for 2018 there was no "cancer". I noticed though at the end of this year, my "dumb shit" spending wasn't really much higher on average than previous years if i were to add my "cancer" and "dumb shit" together. I kind of have a habit of using the excuse "At least it isn't cigarettes" when buying silly little things. I am not like some hoarder but there are a couple things I enjoy. Nothing that will ruin my health at least. When you quit, how did your spending change? Did quitting end up being an excuse for other frivolous purchases or..?

One thing that motivated me to quit - I started imagining what it would be like to be in my late 50's or early 60's, being in a doctor office and being told I have some stupid-ass lung disease related to smoking. Would i think, "Damn, I wish I had quit all those years ago when i knew i needed to." We all quit smoking eventually. Would you rather quit on YOUR terms or someone/something else's? You know like say laying in a hospital bed with oxygen tubes in your nose and no way to get outdoors to smoke. THAT would be a fun way to quit! OR... OR... You can get the easier suffering over NOW and quit peacefully on your own.

I do not remember how it came up at work but I asked this younger co-worker if he smoked. He said, "smoke what?" I said tobacco. He said he didn't and asked if i did. I said i did for 15 years but gave it up over a year ago. He asked what it is like smoking cigarettes. I said it was basically like being in a watered-down state of being stoned, like being in a slight daze constantly. I then said, "Of course if you go too long without a cigarette, your nerves go ape shit". He said something about hearing that this was the reason it is so hard to quit. I was like, "Oh yes, quitting is a bitch. But you know, I just got sick of feeling like i had to have it, I was coughing all the time, clothes be stankin'. After a while i was like "F*** smoking, I am tired of dealing with the hassle. I don't recommend that shit to anyone, it ain't worth it." I wonder if I gave him the idea that smoking sucks? Oh and then tonight i went to pick up my room mate from work. I was parked in a spot across from some rusty ol pickup. Some grown man with his pants down and his ass in plain site was digging around in his truck. And then the smell of a 1,000 cigarettes hit me. Tonight it was cold and damp and s us smokers know, that kind of weather REALLY amplifies the stench of cigarette smoke. One benefit of quitting smoking is we get to complain now about smokers and how gross it is.

ask a mod to edit the title. You put 1 months.

What if cats think of us as "bowlshitters"

Boo is right. All that really matters is if you actually lit up or not. Some people have this weird philosophy like just thinking of doing something is the same as doing it (like you have already sinned in your heart). Well if THAT is the case then here is my confession - I have been smoking five packs a day since Oct 6 2017. No, I didn't smoke smoke but I did so in my heart. Not like through a vulva or vestibule in my throat but just imagining smoking. What is that hole in the throat called that some smokers get so they can smoke two cigarettes at once? But if "just thinking of doing something" is the same as doing it, I have also been going to the gym, cleaning up my diet, working overtime, volunteering at the soup kitchen...

It kind of bites but when we decide to quit, we don't get off easy. We have to suffer and pay some dues to prove to ourselves we are serious about not wanting to die a nicotine/tobacco infested death. Alright look, we all started somewhere. Now look at the celebrations. Some have been quit over a year now. We went through the same thing in the beginning. Being pissed off, tired, cravings, and other BS. But we get through it. I think minor cravings are something that could last years but the really big ones do die down after a couple weeks, if that.