I'm an addict.
 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Just got home from a 2 week vacation.

Went to FL and visited family, mine and the wifes.

My older brother and I have both been long time smokers.

I've managed to quit a couple of times, the longest being 3 years.

I need to quit for good. Every smoke I have I've been feeling like I'm killing myself.

I find I make decisions on what activities to participate in and where to go based on whether or not I'll be able to smoke.

It has completely devoured my life.

So my brother gave me a set of electronic cigarrettes as a Christmas gift.

He and his wife have both been using them for the last 2 months and are off regular cigarettes. In fact there are 10 guys that work for my brother that tried it and 9 are still smoke free.

It's been 10 days for me and so far it's working. Had my last real cigarette Tuesday. Only smoked one that day, 3 the day before and 3 the day before that. Mostly because it's taking me a bit to figure out my nicotine intake with the e cigs.

So yes, I am addicted to Nicotine but not necessarily smoking itself.

I am really confident that this is going to work for me.

Fingers crossed.

I know how you feel - there is not a day that goes by that I don't want to light up and I haven't had a serious smoking jag in 24 years - an occasional butt with a beer but that is seldom.

Cigs are tougher to quit than sex, herion and breathing combined. Good luck my friend.

I quit about 9 years ago, cold turkey. Just put em' down and never went back.


You have to make a change in your life to make it work, though. I don't go to bars/clubs any longer so I am not around those that smoke.

Don't try to hang out with your former smoke buds/co-workers cause it won't work. Not that you can have only non-smoking friends but it certainly helps.

not a smoker and don't envy those that are...but nobody I'm aware of regretted quitting...most (all?) regret starting and too many quit when it's too late. best of luck to you.

It ain't easy kid! I've quit 3 times in the last 50 years. Best of luck!

My father died in...
 

1967. He was a heavy smoker and cancer riddled his body. I still have a photo of him sitting outside with a cigarette in his hand when he was a teenager. :( I sincerely hope this helps you to quit. My father was 52 when he died.

45 days smoke free for me now. $675.00 saved.

All you have to do is have a stroke like me and you will quit for good. I smoked 1 1/2 packs a day for almost 48 years. Once I got the crap scared out of me it was easy to quit.

Do I have to remind you that smoking is what led to my stroke? I mean it was the ONLY thing. Not diet not nothing. Just smoking. Come on man if I can do it so can you. It could save your life believe me.

My Father-in-law just passed away from lung cancer at a young age of 72. Everybody in his family are long livers including his mother who is 93 years old and still going strong. Smoking most likely robbed him of 15 - 20 years of life, watching his grand children grow into adults and meeting his own Great Grandchildren.

Just a thought.

Speedy:)

^This!!!^ You can do it!!!

Hang in there. It ain't easy, but people do it every day. You owe it to yourself and the people who care about you.

you can't quit slowly. that just means that you're not really 100% serious. you have to decide that you are done NOW for so many reasons and never look back. alcoholics can't quit slowly, so how would that relate to other addictions? just decide that you are a strong man and that you're done with it.

I just passed the 2 year mark the day after x-mas. Forgot about the date until this thread. You have helped me so much with your post, Scott. I still want to smoke all the time, not cravings but just miss it and forget why I quit.

I started when I was in JHS and have quit and started again several times, sometimes for many years. Your health and your mortality odds improve right away if you quit, especially stroke and heart disease risk. Good luck.

In order to get away from it, you have to keep reminding yourself that you are never going back. Once the addiction is over, you have to talk yourself out of the habit. I had ritual times for smoking, at least 20 times a day. Every day, when I came to a ritual smoking situation, I had to tell myself, ''If I was still smoking, I would have a cigarette right now, but I am not, so I won't.

The addiction only takes a few weeks to wear off. The habitual use part takes at least a year to overcome. Once you get off of nicotine, you don't ever want to take a hit again. It is literally as if you never stopped.

Nicotine is the most addictive substance known to man, in terms of the way those things are measured. Yet it has almost no physical kick at all. You can smoke 20 or 30 a day for years and then quit cold turkey and not get sick or the shakes, etc. It's all psychological but it is centered in the most addictive part of the brain.

In my considerable experience battling addictions, including nicotine, it has been my experience that the only way to quit something is to quit it. Patches, lozenges, electronic nicotine delivery systems...none of these work or help. You need to wrap your head around the fact that you are addicted to nicotine, not smoking. If they took the nicotine out of cigs tomorrow, you would lose interest in smoking immediately. Cigarettes are the merely the delivery system.

I suppose that if you could only suck on electronic cigarettes forever, it would be a lot safer than smoking. But the only way to really quit smoking is to stop going to the store and buying them, stop putting them in your mouth and lighting them and then smoking them. JMHO, but like I said I have a lot of experience.

You go boy! sneaking up on 4 months for me. Like you , was just starting to feel that every one I smoked was slowly killing me. I was an emotional wreck for 2 months after quitting, and have just started to come back to normal. I quit cold turkey, and just started chewing on mints to kind of help me with the hand to mouth thing. No lie, I feel as good as I have in 10 years, the daily headache is gone, I no longer cough at night, I sleep better. I smoked heavy1.5-2 packs daily, and back when I partied, I could woof down an extra pack in an evening out.
You know what else I have noticed. Smokers smell like ass! I can't stand the smell of them now.
We'll help you, I know I was worried some of you guys would think I was a pussy if I started back up. It helped me to stay strong in the beginning. Don't be a pussy! I have also noticed that $100.00 stays in my wallet a lot longer. I have nearly funded the overhaul of a 930 motor on the money I have saved by not smoking.
Gotta stay strong and realize that even after a year of not smoking, you cannot have " just one" , don't ever let your guard down. I still have triggers every day, but just gotta not cave, ever.
Hang in there, we're pulling for you!

My father died at the same age from lung cancer. Exact same story. He never got to see his grand daughter :(.

I always take an extra long look at that hunkered over old guy, with his o2 tank slung over his shoulder at the local King's ( Small family chain eatery in Pa). Smoked 2 packs a day for 50 some years. He cannot even finish up a sentence without gasping for air. Your last few years as a smoker has to be a real tough way to go. Just imagine struggling for every breath.
Man, no way am I going back. I've got too much to do to go that way.

You either quit or you don't. It really is that simple.

temperatures rising....

good luck. 27 years for me...quit for 2 years once....slipped up one time 10 years ago..and here i am. you CAN do it! stay away from alcohol and coffee

John Lennon-Cold Turkey - YouTube