I was always a cyclist and a smoker. Yeah, that works well together?

Anyway, started riding with a few people with one being a 60'ish year old dude that was knowledgeable of the local rides. He took us on a ride in the hills towards a plateau that was described as a nice place to relax, smoke bud green, you know? Good lookout point!

I was in my 30's and this man rode circles around me up this mountain. I was winded, embarrassed, and quit smoking that day

Bullshit habit!

I used to go thru a carton of Marlboros a shift of 7 hours. Always had one lit off the older one...Cold Turkey in 1991....

... it definitely helped.

So glad I did.

... it could still come back and bite me. But I feel much better. (AND MUCH RICHER!!!!)

At today's Maryland prices for smokes... I've saved $34,320!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(That's $6.50 x 10 packs a week x 52 weeks a year x 10 years.)

But what kept me going was the sense of taste and smell that came back.

It was amazing how fast that changed. It was intoxicating in its own way.

I don't know the exact date I stopped. It was when the doctor told me my breathing tests were really bad. I just quit and never looked back. I had quit several times before and started again so maybe I just wanted to walk away and not think about it.

But it has been at least 15 years. That's a lot of money!

From 17 to 37 I never went more than 12 HOURS without a smoke...a diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma at 37 made me an ex-smoker that same day, cold turkey (with nicotine lozenges and gum for 14 days). Been cigarette-free ever since, but it was hard and required me to essentially reform my entire social life and activities and abandon activities that I once did. The bans on indoor smoking over the last decade have been a HUGE boon to me! Places like bowling alleys, pool halls and a few sports bars became accessible to me once more without the reflex desire to light up.

It took less than a month to kick the physical withdrawals and beat back nicotine addiction.
It took the better part of a decade of non-smoking to beat the emotional and habit cravings.
I honestly don't have the desire to smoke as strongly anymore, but like any addict, I am always one puff away from a potential relapse.

My wife has lost this battle many, many, many times over this same period. She is unlikely to ever make it and while that saddens me, it no longer angers me. I want her to quit to allow us the maximum time together and the maximum opportunities to ENJOY that time...but addiction has her by the throat and its not letting go. I was lucky, my triggers and emotional crutches for smoking revolved around social activities, not work or job related and that made all the difference for me versus my wife's struggles.

If you DO smoke, and you WANT to quit, the only thing I can offer from my personal experience is you have to be willing to let the person you are today die, so that the person you want to be tomorrow can have a chance to arrive. Good luck to those at the beginning or struggling in the middle - it is never easy, it is never 100% 'over' either...but it can be better and it does get the volume turned down eventually too.

After smoking for 25 years. Like an idiot, I started again a couple of years ago. Didn't take long to ramp back up to a pack a day. Been noticing lately that my heart rate is always high, around 100+. I'm 56 yrs old and remembered that both my dad and my grandfather died at 56. Also remembered that heart issues run in the family on my father's side. Sooooo...

Started taking Chantix a week ago Monday. (It worked for me the first time I quit.) Also started briskly walking 20-30 minutes a day that same day. Besides strengthening my heart, I'm hoping it helps keep the "stop smoking weight gain" to a minimum.

Today is my first day completely smoke-free!

Your story and advice help. Thank you for sharing.

Also, if your physical addiction is causing cravings, try the lozenges with tic tacs to help with the taste.

You can do it, you've done it before and you can make it back again ... If you can manage to stay with activity as a substitute you will have even better luck...

but may need to take it up.

The last thing you need, if you’ll pardon me for saying so.

I have a morbid sense of humor. 😼

But I have been tempted to start back up almost daily since the idiot ascended. It’s an easy trap to fall in.

Wishing you the very best.

Both my parents smoked, and both of them passed because of smoking related illnesses.

but I've not taken so much as a puff since I quit.

... I'll pass-by a smoker in the grocery store aisle and I'm reminded of how awful I must have smelled to others.

Within a few months after I quit, I couldn't stand the smell of the inside of my truck. I had to have it "detailed" and steam-cleaned (or whatever they did) to get the smell out. Not cheap, but worthwhile.

Never was a buttsucker.

Wolf

It looks bad, smells bad, tastes bad, it's expensive, and it killed such legendary bad-asses as Ulysses Grant, Yul Brynner, and the Marlboro Men.

I took one drag off a cigarette, went phew!, and said "No thanks."

Smoking was a deal breaker in my dating days. If I found out a date or girlfriend smoked....bye bye.

Kissing an ashtray is pretty gross.

Was at least a pack-a-day smoker for most of that time. After I moved to Seattle I eventually tapered down to 3 or 4 a day - one in the morning, one at lunch and dinner, and one late in the evening. Couldn't get over that last hurdle for a while, even using nicotine gum. Might go a few days without, but always went back.

Had my last cigarette at SeaTac airport when we made our first trip to Hawaii. I really think that the complete change in environment, activity, etc. helped a lot.

20 per pack X 1-1/2 packs per day (30 each day)
210 each week = 10,920 a year
for 40 years = 436,800 cigarettes

Multiply that by the number of drags (puffs) on each cigarette, let's low-ball it and call it 20 - that is 8 million and 750 thousand times. Almost 9 million times that for the sake of campaign contributions and corporate profits people like myself are permitted to poison ourselves and everyone around us. Nine million times reinforcing an addiction or a habit, ingraining that action so firmly that the smell of tobacco manifests itself when someone smokes on TV or in a movie. Odd that the intentions of Jack Kovorkian were found to be criminal, yes?

As a quitter it's been almost 2 years without a cigarette, although once I had quit for 6 years before a single cigarette brought back the nasty addiction.

:rant off

Really. Not kidding. I have have a couple of smokes every year and it is like the first time again...with a cold beer...ahhhh.

That and pot. Gawd I wish that was legal here.

I do still smoke weed.......about 2 - 3 a week.

Took a couple of tries, but once I quit that was it

He chain smoked until it killed him.

In my entire life, I cannot recall him not coughing.

I tried cigarettes a few times, but never really went into it, because for my whole life I saw cigarettes killing my father.

continued until I was about 27 and I just quit cold turkey on New Year's Day. Then I started up again when I was around 35 and again only smoked socially when I had a few drinks or occasionally with a cup of coffee or tea, but never chain smoked or smoked during the day or when I was working. I never really craved it unless I was drinking or having caffiene.

Then I finally quit again when I was about 48 (9 years ago) and it was pretty easy since I was only down to a few a day with coffee in the morning or a glass of wine at night. It seemed to be a behavioral or companion habit for me. I don't think I was ever really seriously addicted to nicotine.

I started in high school... back then they ALLOWED SMOKING on school grounds! It was limited to one particular area in the BACK of the school, but it was still allowed.

Amazing.

Quit 27 years ago in 1993. Hardest thing I ever did, and thank goodness for the nicotine patches. You needed a prescription for them back then. I'm so glad I quit. My father, my only brother, and my youngest sister all died of lung cancer.

And STILL... with all the evidence in front of me, I continued to smoke for so many years. During my father's final weeks he knew and understood why he was in the shape he was in. He encouraged me to stop smoking, but it was another 10 years before I'd give it up.

As her dad lay dying in the hospital, she couldn't wait to go outside to have a smoke. I'm really glad you finally quit. No judgment. I'm curious about what went through your head. Is it the "I have to die of something" thinking or just the raw addiction and, yes, enjoyment?

It was the addiction. I told myself that "cigarettes relax me" but that was a lie. In truth I was only "anxious" because I needed more nicotine. The cigarettes didn't help to "relax" me because some external mental stress or stressful situation... instead, the "stress" I was feeling was withdrawal and a desire for MORE NICOTINE!!

So as soon as I got a hit of nicotine, the cigarette did "relax" me... but I didn't need them TO relax. I needed them only to quell the stressful craving. A vicious cycle.

Even with the crutches and aids that I used (patches, gum, lozenges) it was difficult and challenging. The nicotine grabs you and won't let go.

Yes, I enjoyed smoking (or so I thought at the time). But what I was really "enjoying" was the hit that ended the craving at that moment.

Now, my truck smells nicer, my hair and clothes don't stink, my breath and teeth are fresh, I have more energy and stamina, and I have MORE MONEY!! (And a few more pounds since quitting... but my doctor says that the smoking was worse for me than the extra weight.)

It's horrifying to realize how much money I've spent over the years... just burned it up. I'm also embarrassed to realize how awful I must have smelled to others.

It all makes sense. It's just so sad that it has such a hold on people. Addiction is such a terrible thing.

I'm glad your doc is supportive in spite of the weight gain. My friend, who is naturally very thin, quit for about 3 weeks and gained a few pounds. For that reason, she started again. That was about 4 years ago.

Of course you have more money. The amount that is spent on tobacco is truly frightening.

Again, thank you. Your answer helped me.

of when can I have my next drag. Whew, NEVER would have been able to quit without it.

Quit drinking at the same time.

... it just sort of worked out that way. (But my coffee consumption went up.)

I decided to quit smoking, and quitting drinking came along with it because it seemed impossible for me to have a drink without a smoke, so I quit both.

My favorite line when the bartender used to ask what I wanted to drink:

What can I get you Sir?

"Heavily".

Excuse me?

"I'll be drinking heavily tonight".

I was the only one who thought that was funny.

I went from having a drink and a cigarette to having a drink and a drink. Several months and 20 pounds later I got that part straightened out. Over 40 years ago now.

I had been smoking for 24 years.


For the last several years, I had purchased my cigarettes at a reservation. The Native brands are less than $25 a cartoon and all of a sudden they kept changing the sizes of the brands. They stopped making my usual brand in the regular size and changed to 100's. I already wanted to quit and I didn't want the longer sized cigarette. I had to change to another Native brand and a few months later they again made them in 100's only. I changed brands again. The first cigarette I inhaled of the new (third) brand made me gag and cough, it was awful and I couldn't catch my breathe for what seemed forever.


I stopped cold turkey, but with the help of Lifesaver mints, gum, tootsie rolls and brisk walks. Sometimes during sleep, I still dream that I smoke and it angers me because I feel like I lost of all my self control and progress. It's a relief when I wake up and realize that it was only a bad dream.

... it's now just the mental "rewards" and the "crutch" (whether social or physical) that you'll miss. There are several free apps for your smartphone that will help you to monitor your progress and savings, and that keep you motivated.

19 or 20 years ago. like others on this thread, I started when I was 12 or 13 stealing one from a parent, then a few from the same, then a pack.

I turned my truck into a no smoking zone, then the house, then I got tired of going outside to have a few. Then I quit.

... a variety of crutches to get beyond the first week or two. After that, I used patches only for about 4 weeks. I never did "step down" to smaller patches like the program said. I just sort of forgot to put on a patch one morning... and that's when I realized I didn't have that CRAVING feeling any more.

never looked back.

Only smoked about 10 years or so, starting in high school. Quit on my third try.

Quite a few ex military guys in my class and we used to hit the local watering hole about once a week. So I smoked occasionally for two years and then quit.

and continued through out my 20's. Then, in my very early 30's, I quit for almost of my entire adult life (I'm now 63). I've fallen off the wagon two or three times. The last time I started was in 2011 and I quit that same year. I highly recommend the medication Chantix that worked really well for me. Fortunately, I had insurance at the time that paid for it because I think it's a little pricey. The only side effect I had was intense (but actually in a good way) dreams.

Instead, I'd take it off about an hour before bedtime... and during the initial weeks of quitting, I'd slap one of those things on AS SOON as I woke up and before I'd even gotten out of bed.

Eventually I started to forget to put a patch on in the morning... and I knew I didn't need that crutch any longer... so I quit the patches BEFORE I'd used them all, and BEFORE the final step-down.

It took him about a year and a half and he was miserable the entire time.

My mom never smoked but most of the adults in my family smoked when I was young. The smokers who didn't quit are all dead.

My grandma was a heavy smoker. She didn't stop smoking when she had to have her foot amputated.

A few years later she got cancer and figured she was past the point where quitting would make any difference so she smoked even more.

Smoking killed her. If she hadn't smoked she probably would have lived a good twenty or thirty years longer.

Last edited Thu Sep 10, 2020, 10:13 PM - Edit history (1)

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even if you quit, you'll still get cancer.

Second hand smokers don't even get close to the amount of smoke a smoker inhales, but they still die from lung cancer.
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I've never had the slightest urge to try it. My stepfather smoked for around 25 years and quit about 45 years ago when he got into exercising. My father also quit cold turkey about 50 years ago when my brothers were young. It was long before I was born. He smoked for about a decade.

I started in graduate school and continued for 15 years. I smoked between 1 to 1-1/2 packs a day.

I've been smoke free for 20 years now. I would say the urge to smoke is out of my system now.

... but I remember how it made me feel, and in some situations it's something that I recall fondly.

But, mostly, I remember how I smelled and how rough my voice was and my nagging cough. So, in that regard, I'm SOOOO glad that I gave it up.

And the money. The savings is a big deal too.

Started as a high school junior in 1970.
Still use nicotine gum.

Never preached or bragged about quitting.

Never was tempted to, either.

I saw some of my classmates in high school and college smoked, but there was a bumper sticker floating around at the time saying, "Kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray." Not, of course, if you smoke yourself, but very much so if you don't.

Besides, I have an extremely low tolerance for arsenic, which is (or was) used in the manufacture of at least some cigarette paper.

... which was hidden from the front of the building. But it was allowed.

Amazing.

Kids couldn't smoke on the bus anymore by the time I was in high school (the policy ended long before when my grandfather retired from bus driving. It was he who let kids smoke on the bus) but the bus driver would let us smokers off the bus to smoke before heading down a side road. He'd pick us up when he returned after dropping off the kids that lived down that side road.

...after 20 years of smoking off and on.

Do not miss cigarettes or smoking at all.

Tikki

I picked one or two off the ground on the sidewalk in front of my house. Even that was revolting.

And when I was a very young kid my cherished grandmother said she wanted a packet of cigarettes for her birthday, and asked me to buy them for her. Basically she wanted me to recognize what it was like to give a present and not receive them. I remember how warmly she thanked me. I think it was a quarter at Publix.

But once my parents found out they were not happy. They had me switch the present to a pair of stockings.

was easy compared to stoppping smoking, but he finally did it.

The man has phenomenal talent, stamina, and the physical activity as a dancer and entertainer of 10 people.

Smoking cigarettes that cos. load w 200 chemicals to enhance addiction, esp. Marlboros is harder to quit than heroin I've read.

It's the pleasure brain chemical dopamine released by nicotine that's the hook.

I've known several friends & relatives successfully stop. One woman gained 50 lbs. but is seriously working on that issue.

around age 70 but lived another 5 years or so. He was slim, active; maybe that gave him some more time, who knows.

I have a relative who liked to party when young but never acquired a tobacco or drinking habit. The biochemical fit wasn't there or somthing, she was lucky unlike others.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Carson

My mom, unfortunately, didn't and stroked out at 44. I have smoked a few, but never a heavy smoker, certainly never daily. Just when out for a night on the town. But I think about a smoke now and again, so I definitely have the potential to fall heavily into it.

Smoked 45 years
Smoke free 2 years

but I only smoked for a couple years and not heavily.

Was not a heavy smoker and fortunately, the benefits did not outweigh the risks. I did not tolerate smoking very well.

I've kicked alcohol, Heroin, benzos, when definitely addicted.
Nicotine still has me beat.
Do not like it at all, and have tried.
I'm not addicted to smoking it's nicotine.
This is why I can't see vaping (for me)

That's why I used the patches AND gum (at first) then got rid of the gum. I'd also (at first) add a 2nd patch without removing the old patch. I was trying to squeeze every drop of nicotine out of the first one. Then after 2 days, I'd peel the oldest patch and apply a new one (leaving the next-oldest in place and so on) for about 10 days.

Of course NONE of this is according to the instructions, but it worked for me. (I was a carton-a-week smoker.)

I had tried multiple times before (and failed) but each time I failed, I had a better understanding of what to expect the NEXT time. Eventually I made it.

Good luck. I hope you make it too.

chewed the patches while in the hospital.
I have to stop and deal w/the jones.
Any nicotine keeps it going.
My need to quit is willingness.

So, of course, I never smoked. (I quit running after I tore up my ACL in a touch football game.)

Then only now and then. But I quit for good over 20 years ago. My oldest brother smoked since he was 14 and I was holding his hand when he died from lung cancer ten days after his 62nd birthday, 11 years ago. I get so sad now when I see young people smoking. In my brother's defense, the dangers of smoking weren't well-known when he started. Cigarettes were supplied in his Army rations, or at least he told me they were. He was addicted big-time. All of his attempts to quit failed. I frequently think that he'd still be alive today if he didn't smoke. Our parents lived to be 80 and 85. All of my smoking siblings are dead, all at a younger age than I am now.

I didn't smoke heavily or often till I was in my 20's. After I started smoking heavily, I spent most of the time trying to quit.

I coughed up blood when I was 36, and quit (almost) then. I'd have a cigarette once in a great while. I quit for good when I was 41. And developed an aversion to the smell of tobacco.

and that made it easier. Seemed like before that, one or the other of us was smoking.
We had both been (mostly) quit for several years. On my 41st birthday, we had some friends to our house and played cards in our tiny dining room. All but 3 of us were smoking and by the time that evening was over, my husband and I were done forever!

Back then you either quit cold turkey or "tapered off." Never knew anyone to quit tapering off.

I know that now a lot of people have success with patches and gum. Maybe that's why the % of smokers in the US is as low as it is now.

Smoked for 14 years. And at 2 1/2 packs a day that's more than enough to get you firmly hooked.
As with about everyone I started at an early age. Not many people take up smoking at age 30.