I QUIT! The quitting smoking support thread.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by YourMother

Well, it is quite clear that Cecil is in denial about his addiction.

How do you figure? Because I refuse to admit I'm powerless?

I have all the power. I have chosen to control my addiction. I had a little slip but I still feel great about quitting.

In case you missed it this is a thread for people quitting. Not people who want to do fly by judgements of those of us that are committed.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Since you have no idea what you're talking about you should probably leave it alone.

It has been made abundantly clear this thread is for people who want to quit.

If you'd like to preach about how much more you know than the rest of us feel free to start your own thread.

I had a couple smokes in a 3 hour period once while I was drinking and haven't had a puff other than that in 2 full weeks and I'm doing fine.

But I guess you know better.

As an ex smoker (3 packs a day, 2 smokes before I got out of bed) I am quite clear that the only thing anyone likes about smoking is the wave of nicotine that hits you after the first drag, with the feeling of calm that comes with it. If it was about smoke why waste 10 bucks on a pack? roll up some paper and puff away.

You can do what you want, and you may be able to control your addiction, but thats no different from chipping skag, I have worked with junkies that managed it but could never see the point.

Incidently the health effects of a smoking a few smokes are pretty much the same as smoking full time, so your risk of cancer is just as high.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

As an ex smoker (3 packs a day, 2 smokes before I got out of bed) I am quite clear that the only thing anyone likes about smoking is the wave of nicotine that hits you after the first drag, with the feeling of calm that comes with it. If it was about smoke why waste 10 bucks on a pack? roll up some paper and puff away.

You can do what you want, and you may be able to control your addiction, but thats no different from chipping skag, I have worked with junkies that managed it but could never see the point.

Well then clearly at 3 packs a day you have no idea what it is like for me.

I started at about a 20 pack per week and at my "worst" I was about 6-8 smokes a day. And I smoked full time for about 4-5 years.

I have no intention of ever buying a pack again. I have no intention of letting smoking control my life the way it used to. I've already shared several stories of people like me who smoked in their teens and early 20s who have been able to kick the habbit without a ton of trouble. I'm sure it wasn't easy but they don't tell me that they have a daily struggle. I hang out with these people and they are able to have a smoke now and then without going crazy and buying a pack.

Other than the Heritage Classic when I'd had a few drinks I've hardly even thought about smoking after the initial week.

However, I'm not going to pretend I somehow know other peoples situations better than they do. I don't doubt that for some of you it will be a daily struggle for the rest of your lives. I'm certainly not going to go the condescending route of some in this thread and pretend that they are somehow weaker than me or that because their experience differs from mine that they must be lying to themselves or weak.

Each individual will have a different situation. I fully respect how difficult it is to quit smoking for someone who smoked a cigarette a day or 3 packs a day. But not for a single moment will I assume that all addictions are identical.

My own opinion is that comparisons to crack, cocaine and heroin are totally bogus. I've seen people addicted to cocaine and it is not pretty. Never seen anyone sell their car for smokes before. But if any other posters who are quitting get strength from thinking they are quitting a drug more powerful and addicting than crack/cocaine or heroin then more power too them. Whatever works for them. If some people want to got the AA route and say they are powerless to their addictions, even though I strongly disagree with that line of thinking, once again more power to them.

No addictions are good. Gambling, Fast food, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, crack, cocaine, heroin. Whatever. For each individual quitting that addiction will be different. Acting like a condescending know-it-all and trashing other people's quitting habits is nothing short of shameful IMO. Quitting is tough to do. Making lite of it is not cool.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Well then clearly at 3 packs a day you have no idea what it is like for me.

I started at about a 20 pack per week and at my "worst" I was about 6-8 smokes a day. And I smoked full time for about 4-5 years.

I have no intention of ever buying a pack again. I have no intention of letting smoking control my life the way it used to. I've already shared several stories of people like me who smoked in their teens and early 20s who have been able to kick the habbit without a ton of trouble. I'm sure it wasn't easy but they don't tell me that they have a daily struggle. I hang out with these people and they are able to have a smoke now and then without going crazy and buying a pack.

Other than the Heritage Classic when I'd had a few drinks I've hardly even thought about smoking after the initial week.

However, I'm not going to pretend I somehow know other peoples situations better than they do. I don't doubt that for some of you it will be a daily struggle for the rest of your lives. I'm certainly not going to go the condescending route of some in this thread and pretend that they are somehow weaker than me or that because their experience differs from mine that they must be lying to themselves or weak.

Each individual will have a different situation. I fully respect how difficult it is to quit smoking for someone who smoked a cigarette a day or 3 packs a day. But not for a single moment will I assume that all addictions are identical.

Actually I quit first time and never really struggled with it, I light up but dont smoke if I am hiking/fishing to keep the bugs away.

You are missing avoiding my question though, why do you want to have the occasional smoke? it will significantly increase your risk of cancer, it smells and tastes like crap (if we are honest) and it causes you a huge risk to slowly slip back into full time smoking, and in your case, makes you a permanant mooch on your smoking friends.

What is it you need from a smoke 'now and then'?

And to be clear I am not making light of your struggle, this is what I ask my kids when they tell me they are only going to use on the weekends, or on 'special occasions', I am asking you to examine your own motives, no more.

[afc wimbledon]

Incidently having spent my life working with junkies I can tell you that cigarettes are the hardest and most addictive drug to kick.
One of the unforseen by products of banning smoking in jail is that the amount of smuggling of all other contraband (heroin, weed, coke etc) drops off to nothing and all the cons efforts go into getting smokes in.
Crack would be the only other drug that comes close.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

Actually I quit first time and never really struggled with it, I light up but dont smoke if I am hiking/fishing to keep the bugs away.

You are missing avoiding my question though, why do you want to have the occasional smoke? it will significantly increase your risk of cancer, it smells and tastes like crap (if we are honest) and it causes you a huge risk to slowly slip back into full time smoking, and in your case, makes you a permanant mooch on your smoking friends.

What is it you need from a smoke 'now and then'?

Like most people when I get drunk I like to smoke. Always have.

Your wording is pretty vague and misleading. Occasional smoke could mean anything and the fact that you are attributing it to my claim of a couple of smokes a month is grossly misleading.

I'm not going to pretend I'm free and clear just because I've quite for 2 weeks. At the HC I had a couple of smokes because it was convenient. There were hundreds of smokers around. I've had a few drinks on several other occasions and had no problems going without a smoke.

I would like to get to the point where after a few drinks I can bum a smoke and not feel like I need 6 more. I'm not out of the woods yet but TBQH I thought it would be way harder than it has been. I have hardly thought about smoking at all in the last few days but I've got a long way to go before I feel reasonably safe that I've kicked the habit. I have nothing but empathy and encouragement for those who fight cigarettes as a daily struggle and think their addiction is akin to a cocaine or crack addiction.

If you truly feel nicotine has that kind of control on your life then surely quitting is momentous and makes my struggle look paltry in comparison.

[afc wimbledon]

If you said 'I tend to eff up when I'm drunk' as opposed to "I plan to smoke when I'm drinking' I would have far more confidance in your ability to maintain.

Anyway what I fear will happen is you will do ok for a while, then something bad will happen, get laid off at work, girlfriend troubles etc, at which point you will find yourself smoking again full time, that is usually (but not always) how these things go.

None the less good luck.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

If you said 'I tend to eff up when I'm drunk' as opposed to "I plan to smoke when I'm drinking' I would have far more confidance in your ability to maintain.

THe exact way I'd phrase it is "I'd like to be able to smoke when I drink".

Plan is a strong word. If my ability to control my addiction a year or 5 years down the road isn't strong enough I don't think I'll be doing it. But I'd like to.

THis weekend I both gave in and decided to treat myself for 2 weeks of hard work by having 3 smokes.

I found I handled it reasonably well. Probably won't try it again for a while though because I don't want to make it a habit which will cause me to relapse, at least at this point in my quitting.

I think my next goal will be a month without nicotine. Then have a smoke when I'm drinking. Call it denial but I call it confidence that I can test my resolve without falling off the wagon. (or is it get back on the wagon, I always eff that up.)

I have made a concerted effort to drink less, especially around smokers, because I don't want to set myself up to fail. But I also want to be able to resume a semi-normal life at some point.

I did say either in this thread or another one that if I have to struggle every day for the rest of my life to quit smoking I'd just assume not quit.

That has already proved to be not true. It isn't easy but I'm definitely not in a crazy hard struggle every day. It is difficult for me to fathom how strong some of you must be if your addiction is that heavy.

THis thread is to help people quit. NOt to make them feel like #### because they are having a hard time kicking their addiction. I don't think I'd have gotten to 2 weeks if it weren't for this thread.

I hope anyone else using this thread finds that it as useful a support tool as I have. (minus the people who just post in here to judge us dirty smokers)

[GrrlGoalie33]

Cecil - I think all of this could be stopped if you would just admit that instead of quitting smoking - which you are clearly not - you are aiming to be a social smoker instead of full time smoker.

In the AA program, when you "fall off the wagon" and have just 1 drink, you are no longer sober and have to start counting your sobriety from the next day.

By most peoples standards, you have not been "sober" for 2 weeks now, you have been "sober" for 2 days.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Frankster

Cecil - I think all of this could be stopped if you would just admit that instead of quitting smoking - which you are clearly not - you are aiming to be a social smoker instead of full time smoker.

In the AA program, when you "fall off the wagon" and have just 1 drink, you are no longer sober and have to start counting your sobriety from the next day.

By most peoples standards, you have not been "sober" for 2 weeks now, you have been "sober" for 2 days.

I think AA is BS. I could give a crap how they calculate it. I'm not powerless and I don't need to submit to God.

And call it whatever you want I really don't care. My goal is to no longer have an addiction to nicotine. Pretty simple.

Not sure why a bunch of people who have no vested interest in this and are basing this on nothing more than opinion and conjecture are lectureing me.

I post in this thread to help kick the habbit. If it is going to get hijacked I'll just stick to the Social Group Pylon started.

As long as I'm not smoking on any sort of regular basis (less than once a month), not buying packs, not addicted to nicotine I'm pretty sure that means I've quit smoking.

But hey, if your MO is to try and knock my fight against addiction go ahead. It isn't going to stop me from beating this.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

For those of you who feel the need to trash what we're trying to accomplish here, which I think is significant (thanks Pylon), read this post by a mod and go start your own thread where you can bash smokers all you want:

Originally Posted by ken0042

I think that's a discussion for another time. This thread is for the smokers who are trying to quit or already have; and for the non-smokers to offer words of encouragement.

The debate about the social and health issues surrounding smoking is long, and just does not belong here.

For those of you reformed smokers here- keep up the good work! Do everything you can to quit- and never quit quitting. I have a lot of friends who are former smokers, and they never gave up. Some took years to finally break the habit, but they did it.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Cecil, I know a guy who has one cigarette a week. Do whatever you want to, smoking isn't a moral issue.

[GrrlGoalie33]

Cecil, I'm not trashing, I'm trying to help you. I couldn't give one iota (really) about what you do, or call yourself, or whether you quit or not.

You were getting piled on in this thread, and I was offering a suggestion to help it stop.

If you look back at previous posts of mine in this thread, I've been quite supportive!

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Frank MetaMusil

Cecil, I know a guy who has one cigarette a week. Do whatever you want to, smoking isn't a moral issue.

And frankly that would be too much for me. I would be buying more smokes in no time.

I just want to be able to have a smoke here and there (once a month, once a year or anything in between) without worrying it'll be a trigger to get me smoking regularly 4-8 times a day.

I am absolutely resolved to not let nicotine control my behaviour. I don't want to stand out in -25 cold unless I consciously choose to, which I never will because that is way too cold.

I don't look down on smokers. They are adults and are free to make adult decisions without me looking down my nose at them.

My attempt to quit smoking is for me and for me only. I'm not doing this for anyone else, especially not people I've never met on CP.

I just post in this thread because I think Pylon started a good support group here and it has worked for me so far.

I hope it goes as well for all the others who committed to quit in this thread as it is going for me.

If not, that's your choice and I'm not going to judge you for it. But I'll be here to offer support if a thread like this is created next month, next year or 10 years from now. Well, if I'm still on CP in 10 years.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Frankster

Cecil, I'm not trashing, I'm trying to help you. I couldn't give one iota (really) about what you do, or call yourself, or whether you quit or not.

You were getting piled on in this thread, and I was offering a suggestion to help it stop.

If you look back at previous posts of mine in this thread, I've been quite supportive!

I'm just being honest. I see no reason to lie to myself or to CP.

Obviously lots of people disagree. I don't mind. Just don't accuse me of anything that you know nothing about.

Share your anecdotes and advice all you want. I welcome it. I may heed your advice. I may not. Maybe your advice will help me and maybe it won't. But make no mistake I welcome your advice, when it is offered properly and respectfully.

If I've mistaken those who are here to judge and those who are here to help I apologize.

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

I am absolutely resolved to not let nicotine control my behaviour.

By not quitting entirely, that's exactly what you're doing; letting it control your behavior. Not to the same degree, but controlling nonetheless.

It doesn't matter what you say or how you feel. When you use nicotine, you have a physiological response to it that creates the addiction.

You're still addicted, and you're in denial.

[dissentowner]

I am doing ok but I am back on the damn nicotine lozenges. Better then smoking right?

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I am doing ok but I am back on the damn nicotine lozenges. Better then smoking right?

I've never tried quit aids.

I think the big thing is whether you're just changing the form of the addiction with less bad side effects of smoking.

My advice would be to make a plan or goal to cut down on the lozenges and use them only for bad cravings. Instant advantages are no more smell, having to go outside constantly, health etc.

Best of luck to you. I really wouldn't be where I am without this thread. (in denial and delusional of course )

[TheSutterDynasty]

Flip the macho man is too strong to be a slave to addiction like the rest of us weaklings.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

I've never tried quit aids.

I think the big thing is whether you're just changing the form of the addiction with less bad side effects of smoking.

My advice would be to make a plan or goal to cut down on the lozenges and use them only for bad cravings. Instant advantages are no more smell, having to go outside constantly, health etc.

Best of luck to you. I really wouldn't be where I am without this thread. (in denial and delusional of course )

Well to be honest I could care less about the nicotine addiction which is kinda the opposite of you I guess. I want to be done with the cancer risk, bad smell, and all the other nasty side effects of smoking. I am finding this a very nice way of getting my nicotine fix without caving. I will cut them back as I go but I need them right now and if that keeps me from lighting up I think it is a positive. Best of luck to you too!