12 hours without a smoke.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by dewolf

If you'd seen the sh$t being drained from my fathers lungs in the last few days of his life you would never smoke again. It was the most vile colored sh$t I have seen exiting a human body.

Let's be brutally honest here. You could say the same for what comes out of your body after getting food poisoning or even having a good Mexican meal. You could be the healthiest, most in shape man in the world and I wouldn't be able to stand looking at anything other than your fully clothed body.

[Geronimo '74]

How this for motivation? (hope you get to see it before the mods delete it, I post this because it is for a good cause, I know it is not a pretty sight...)



Smoker


non-smoker



Quit smoking, one of the best decisions I ever made. (Easily in my top five of best decisions)
Every time I see someone lighting one up, I genuinely feel a bit sorry.

[Geronimo '74]

Originally Posted by dewolf

If you'd seen the sh$t being drained from my fathers lungs in the last few days of his life you would never smoke again. It was the most vile colored sh$t I have seen exiting a human body.

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Let's be brutally honest here. You could say the same for what comes out of your body after getting food poisoning or even having a good Mexican meal. You could be the healthiest, most in shape man in the world and I wouldn't be able to stand looking at anything other than your fully clothed body.

Don't know why you are trying to counter an argument like this.
I'm not sure even if you get what Dewolf is trying to say here.
His argument goes way beyond just the color of the fluids.
Dying of cancer after a life of smoking is a pretty gruesome way to die.
(Dying from too much Mexican food probably is also...)

[dewolf]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Let's be brutally honest here. You could say the same for what comes out of your body after getting food poisoning or even having a good Mexican meal. You could be the healthiest, most in shape man in the world and I wouldn't be able to stand looking at anything other than your fully clothed body.

I hope you are friggin joking....I transported my father to hospital after he started a coughing fit and was gasping for breath. I saw the fear in his eyes. He was coughing up dark green and black stringy sh$t. They put him in a coma the same day and ventilated him. Two hours later two drains were inserted into the lungs. One for each. The bottle was full of black and dark green slime. Three days later I was asked to turn off his ventilator. To even compare this to having diarrhea is absurd.

Just writing this brings back horrible memories. Fred, just stop. You will die a horrible and frightening death.

[svandamme]

Drink lot's of Orange Juice, it breaks down nicotine, trust me.

And go to whyquit.org , read up

Read the trainwrecks

Learn about the mechanics
like how Nicotine controls your bloodsugar levels and without folks tend to binge eat.
It takes 20 minute for your bloodsugar to go up after eating,
if you are aware of that, eat something then wait rather then keep eating till you hit the sweet spot.

This is what keeps you from gaining weight when you quit (this and exercise)

Anyway, whyquit.org is very good.
Keep going at it.

Exercise if you get craves or real bad grumpyness.. work it off on a bike or sommin.

do NOT use nicotine replacements , they will only make it more difficult.
Cold Turkey and you will be off the ciggies for good.

Am at 1.3 years now.. never again.

You don't just stop something, you make a lifestyle change

- smoking
+ health
+ better diet
+ more exercise
ultimately that means + happy

[DonDavis]

^ Well said. I hope more folks that have quit chime in with their success tips!

[Buckterrier]

You can do it Fred!! I quit cold turkey in 91', (4th attempt). Smoked two packs of Newports a day. Oh and this is an incentive... correct me if I'm wrong docs but I think the lungs are self-healing. They will eventually clean themselves up, to an extent. I ran a half marathon 10 years after quitting.

GO FRED!!!!!!!

[GWN7]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

Day two down, I am an emotional feekin' basket case. I have an old coffee can full of butts back by my shed, and I was eyballin' it for a little while today, and then I was just out in the truck holding the keys trembling , ready to run down to buy a pack of smokes, but came back in the house. I am gonna make it. I have just got to the point, where I do not want to be unhealthy anymore, my life is too busy to carry around an O2 tank .
So you tell me it will get easier after the 3rd day huh?..........
Thanks for the support ! Tomorrow is another day.

After 72 hrs the nicotine has left your system, then the desire is all in your mind. It's easy to say yes and get in the truck and drive to the store (I did that a few times myself) but when you get there you just have to say NO to getting out and buying them. It gets easier every day. Seven months now for me. I went the Champix route (Dr's recomendation) and I was encouraged by Crusty Chiefs sucess with it. Drink lots of water. Every time you want one have a glass of water. Hyper hydrate.

[svandamme]

Get some kind of quit counter, it's corny, but it has milestones in it, things to look forward to achieving..

when you hit a mile stone, reward yourself
Buy a 1:18 Porsche model
Or some scale airplane models.

Little things you wouldn't normally buy because maybe they are for kids, or maybe you have other things that you need more.

but now, you can use the ciggie cash for those kinds of things... reallocate it.

Stijn - Free and Healing for One Year, Three Months, Twenty Seven Days and 8 Minutes, while extending my life expectancy 40 Days and 8 Hours, by avoiding the use of 11616 nicotine delivery devices that would have cost me $2,451.78.

[GH85Carrera]

I talked to a friend this weekend that has quit about a year ago. He said the one thing that was hardest for him was he was convinced his car would not start without a light cigarette in his hand.

[Dottore]

One other important bit of advice: You must, for the time being, refuse to see friends who smoke. This is the single biggest risk to starting up again. It's not easy—but just make excuses.

[Eric Hahl]

I smoked 1 pack a day for 21 years. I finally got sick and tired of the hacking, brown flem and light wallet. I quit September 20th 2003 and haven't looked back. Have not had one cigarette since.

It was tough for a while and even now when I am around smokers sometimes, I look and think "that smokes looks great" but I will never smoke again. I am stronger than my addiction and it will never rule my world again.

Take it one craving at a time. When you get the urge just say, nope, not gonna do it this time. Next thing you know you'll be free of the habit and won't really think about it at all.

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by Dottore

One other important bit of advice: You must, for the time being, refuse to see friends who smoke. This is the single biggest risk to starting up again. It's not easy—but just make excuses.

this and alcohol

[Rick Lee]

On the contrary, I would try to hang around people who smoke. You need to get used to it. It's not that hard to quit smoking when you're far removed from cigarettes and it would take a lot of effort to get one. If I wanted one now, I'd have to suit up in my riding gear (993 is down now) and ride to gas station in the 100 deg. heat. You know you will be around them again. And being around smoke and ashtrays could be an extra reminder of how bad it smells.

When my boss (a smoker) flies out here to go on meetings with me, I sort of like the second hand smoke, but then I really hate the way he smells afterwards and it makes me uneasy to walk into client meetings with him smelling like an ashtray. But I've never been tempted to bum a smoke off of him, especially while we're working.

[svandamme]

Sorry Rick, that's just no good , every whif of passive smoke will trigger your addiction.

Considering that Nicotine is one of the hardest addictions to shake, why would anybody do that to himself , it's just masochisme.. Same as using nicotine replacemens, it jus stretches the quit, increasing the risk of failing.


There is no reason why anybody who is serious about quitting, should not avoid being around smoke during those early days , weeks , even months.

Would you encourage a smackhead who's in his initial withdrawel , to go visit his smack friends?
Would you recommend an alcoholic to sit in bars when he's going through detox?

Gonna say it nicely, that's just silly.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by svandamme

Sorry Rick, that's just no good , every whif of passive smoke will trigger your addiction.

I agree 100%. This is a life and death issue. Not a fashion issue. You have to get that monkey off your back first.

[Rick Lee]

I'm only saying it because it has worked for me. The most dangerous time after quitting is when you think you have the habit kicked, so it will be ok to have just one once in a while. I've quit for years at a time and had no problem at all until months or years later, when I was sure a drag here or there wouldn't do any harm. And since Fred will most certainly be around smoking for the rest of his life, he might as well get used to it while it's still difficult. It's a good exercise.

I was in Germany exactly a year ago for the first time since quitting and it was a real challenge. I work from home and am just about never around smoking anymore. So it's no challenge at all because I'm too lazy (or not jonesing enough) to bother doing what it takes to get cigarettes and then the urge passes. In Germany I was around smoking all the time and they don't even allow it indoors there anymore. Now I'm going to China again in two mos. and every single man there smokes, you can smoke in hotel elevators and they have ashtrays at bank teller windows. That's gonna be tough. I'm gonna smell like an ashtray whether I smoke or not. And the smell will be in my luggage as soon as I get back to my house too.

[strupgolf]

Hey, why stop at 12 hours, go for 12 months.

[Langers]

I still don't understand why anyone would take up smoking nowadays anyway?

[fastfredracing]

I have smoked for 20 years. I am proud to say that I am on day #8, and still going strong. Neighbors were smoking yesterday, while we were working on the rental house, and it actually smelled foul to me. Getting easier, everyday, but I still have my moments where I could kill for one , just one......