Quitting smoking (almost) 1 year in.

[ShortForBob]

My grandfather was the most anti-smoking "ex-smoker" there ever was. He'd carry on like  a pork chop if anyone lit up around him. The thing is, he never ever really gave up smoking and used to smoke in secret so I'm guessing it was the cravings kicking in that drove him to the edge!

Anyhoo, I used his behavior as a role model and vowed never to be one of those guys that did it for years then preach to those still doing it after quitting. Easy enough to do, especially in this day and age of $$$ smoke prices. I just look at someone with a fag in their mouth and think to myself "what an idiot" which is more me chewing out myself for smoking for all those years then any reflection on the smoker themselves. One point that all smokers trying to stay off the wagon should consider though is how much a smoker stinks to a non-smoker. I'm almost embarrassed I used to smell like that!

The smell thing doesn't always apply. people at work are surprised to know I was a 10-15 a day smoker.

Simple. 

I don't smoke in the car, I dont smoke anywhere other than my balcony before and after work and i don't smoke around non smokers (which is almost everyone). so no one notices.

Back in the now inimaginable day when you could smoke at your desk, there was a guy smoked all day on the phone. Horrible if you had to answer it. It was orange brown and the stink!

We actually have come quite a long way.

 

[Toecutter's Ghost]

The smell thing doesn't always apply. people at work are surprised to know I was a 10-15 a day smoker.

Simple. 

I don't smoke in the car, I dont smoke anywhere other than my balcony before and after work and i don't smoke around non smokers (which is almost everyone). so no one notices.

Back in the now inimaginable day when you could smoke at your desk, there was a guy smoked all day on the phone. Horrible if you had to answer it. It was orange brown and the stink!

We actually have come quite a long way.

Oh, it applies you just don't realise it. You'll just have to believe me on this. The only ones that can get away with it are those that give themselves a liberal coating of cologne/deodorant/perfume whenever they finish their fag.

In the 80's I worked in a windowless office with not one, but two pipe smokers. The air was like a pea soup fog by most mid afternoons and the walls looked like they had been coated in Tectyl. It was a different world back then, though visits to some Asian countries allow the experience to be relived.

 

[ShortForBob]

The US government makes as much money from tobacco as all the tobacco /cigarette production companies combined... hypocritical conflict of citizens interest mandated warning on the side of the extremely addictive packs 

a pack of twenty costs $30 au..most of it tax.

Cost of cigs increases 12% PA..the idea is that you outprice the user and it works.

The cost, while not the driving factor was a big part of why I decided to stop.

Interesting submission

https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/27/2/229

 

[ShortForBob]

Is tobacco grown in Australia? If so grow your own... 30$ a pack is smuggling money!

It's illegal and I'd prefer not to get mouth cancer.

There's No licence to grow tobacco here either.

May as well grow something healthier.

https://www.ato.gov.au/General/The-fight-against-tax-crime/Our-focus/Illicit-Tobacco/

 

[mikewof]

View attachment 341953

Australians seems to get some of the sweetest rides. We don't have Nissans like that here. It's probably a similar platform, but as soon as anyone releases a 4x4 here, they gussy it up like a $5 whore.

 

[Toecutter's Ghost]

Australians seems to get some of the sweetest rides. We don't have Nissans like that here. It's probably a similar platform, but as soon as anyone releases a 4x4 here, they gussy it up like a $5 whore.

Yeah, always been my favourite. 4WD's normally don't have any value as classics, but I think these will eventually become like the Toyota FJ-40 and be a popular collector. I've been trying to find an unmolested cab-chassis version in good nick recently and they are as rare as hen's teeth these days.

 

[Ed Lada]

Oh, it applies you just don't realise it. You'll just have to believe me on this. The only ones that can get away with it are those that give themselves a liberal coating of cologne/deodorant/perfume whenever they finish their fag.

In the 80's I worked in a windowless office with not one, but two pipe smokers. The air was like a pea soup fog by most mid afternoons and the walls looked like they had been coated in Tectyl. It was a different world back then, though visits to some Asian countries allow the experience to be relived.

When I was in Japan from 1989-1992, that was one smoking country.  People smoked almost everywhere.  At the time I wasn't smoking, but it didn't really bother me.

I went to Japan for a visit in 2015.  I was walking down a Tokyo street smoking and a polite Japanese man politely pointed to my cigarette and politely motioned for me to follow him.  We walked down the street to a corner.  There was a yellow box outlined in pain on the sidewalk about 6' on a side.  There was an ashtray inside the lines, and a chair.  He politely made me understand that these places were the only place to smoke on the streets in Tokyo.  What an amazing difference in the 23 years that I had been gone.

Yeah, always been my favourite. 4WD's normally don't have any value as classics, but I think these will eventually become like the Toyota FJ-40 and be a popular collector. I've been trying to find an unmolested cab-chassis version in good nick recently and they are as rare as hen's teeth these days.

I feel the same way about my 2001 Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4.  They don't make to many true off road vehicles anymore.  Just those bloated, tricked, out all wheel drive SUVs, like the one next to yours on the beach with about 6" of ground clearance.  That's why the old ones are in big demand.  I searched several months before I found mine, they usually sell quickly.

When Bella drives, Stanley can't watch, it makes him too nervous.

 

[chester]

34 days.  this is the 3rd time over about 46 years.  using the patch, it's going well.  haven't cheated and i'm slowly getting so the usual triggers don't.

 

[Steam Flyer]

....   ....

When Bella drives, Stanley can't watch, it makes him too nervous.

View attachment 341990

That's a great pic

I will never forget when our last dog was still new to us, and he had apparently only been in a car when they took him to the pound and when we brought him home. We had to give up on taking him with us, he refused to get in the car. So trying to use some dog psychology, I knew he'd be fine as we were only going for a few hours... we left him. next time he eagerly got in the back seat. When I turned my head to look to the rear, backing out the driveway, he turned to look out the back too.

My wife and I still laugh about that.

He loved to sit in the driver seat when left in the car. He was very agile and would carefully and delicately crawl over whatever barrier was in the way, and sit there eagerly looking out the windshield, like he was driving some where. He never did learn to work to work the stereo, though

- DSK

 

[Steam Flyer]

The US government makes as much money from tobacco as all the tobacco /cigarette production companies combined... hypocritical conflict of citizens interest mandated warning on the side of the extremely addictive packs 

I just have to point out how stupid and fallacious this it. It would require an effective tax rate of 50%

The gov't actually subsidize tobacco sales to other countries.

- DSK

 

[Steam Flyer]

34 days.  this is the 3rd time over about 46 years.  using the patch, it's going well.  haven't cheated and i'm slowly getting so the usual triggers don't.

Good for you! It's difficult to resist temptation, hope you make it all the way.

SFB congrats to you too.

- DSK

 

[Mrleft8]

It's been years for me, but I still have dreams, and there are times I still pat my pocket looking for that short pack of Lucky's.... It was tougher to quit smoking than it was to quit drinking.

 

[chester]

Good for you! It's difficult to resist temptation, hope you make it all the way.

SFB congrats to you too.

- DSK

Thanks.  It turns out I'm rich!

 

[floating dutchman]

It's not the Will Power you need, It's the Won't Power!

I used Vaping to quit, I just didn't have the won't power and Vaping gives me a alternative that is less harmful.

Keep at it Chester.

One of the big power moves when quitting is to tell people.  If you keep it a secret then you kind of know people won't think you have failed if you start up again.  Tell everybody then you have really made the commitment.  It kind of motivates you.

And biff out that lighter and ashtrays.  You are quitting.  You will never need them again.  Don't keep them "just in case",  You do not need any smoking associated crap.  Throw it all away.

 

[Cal20sailor]

34 days.  this is the 3rd time over about 46 years.  using the patch, it's going well.  haven't cheated and i'm slowly getting so the usual triggers don't.

Good for you.  My brother quit over 30yrs ago but was hooked on the gum.  My dad was a pharmacist and he got if for cost.  We trailered my tri to Florida one year and I was cleaning half chewed gum out of places for months. He quit smoking many yrs ago but sadly died from lung cancer last June.  Anyone who needs Nicorette gum, I think he left behind several hundred pieces.  

 

[chester]

thanks all, I appreciate it.

 

[Black Sox]

I quit on 20 December 2019 at 8.30p.m., after about 39.5 years of committed smoking.

@chester for what it's worth, i found the first day the hardest day, the first week the hardest week, the first night in the pub the hardest, etc. etc. You get the picture. Once I had done each one I was able to say that, yes, I can do this.

Also i used, and still use, the Nicorette inhaler. i found it closer to the real thing in terms of doing something with your hands and mouth. By now, I still carry it around but find myself forgetting it and not missing it.

You've done the really hard part. Well Done to you for that. And for each and every day after that.

Nicotine is (apparently) more addictive than heroin.You have done something that no non-smoker can ever appreciate. You are stronger than you ever thought you could be.

And now for something completely different:

https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2020/10/16/rollie-smoker-treats-himself-to-pack-of-real-fags/

Rollie Smoker Treats Himself To Pack Of Real Fags

“It's like a little present to myself,” said Waterford man Kenneth Muldoon, unwrapping a pack of Marlboro cigarettes like a child on Christmas morning.

Muldoon, 23, is a regular smoker but is limited to smoking hand-rolled cigarettes due to also being too broke to afford ‘real fags’, most all the time.

Resorting to ‘making do’ with rollies that look like the inside of a bookie’s pen, Muldoon splashes out on proper cigarettes every four weeks or so, or whenever he has a spare tenner in his pocket or if he just feels that his lungs are due ‘a treat’.

“Rollies are alright, but it’s like putting together a Kinder Surprise toy every time you want a smoke,” explains Muldoon.

“And they’re a nightmare when you’ve a few pints on board, trying to put together a cigarette like Lego with a filter stuck in the corner of your mouth while you get bumped by people from all sides. So, it’s nice to just open a pack and boom; there’s a smoke waiting for you. Open it again, there’s another! And another and another! It’s just the most magical experience in the world”.

Muldoon also states that real cigarettes seem healthier and are basically good for you if you smoke enough of them.

 

[chester]

I quit on 20 December 2019 at 8.30p.m., after about 39.5 years of committed smoking.

@chester for what it's worth, i found the first day the hardest day, the first week the hardest week, the first night in the pub the hardest, etc. etc. You get the picture. Once I had done each one I was able to say that, yes, I can do this.

Also i used, and still use, the Nicorette inhaler. i found it closer to the real thing in terms of doing something with your hands and mouth. By now, I still carry it around but find myself forgetting it and not missing it.

You've done the really hard part. Well Done to you for that. And for each and every day after that.

Nicotine is (apparently) more addictive than heroin.You have done something that no non-smoker can ever appreciate. You are stronger than you ever thought you could be.

And now for something completely different:

https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2020/10/16/rollie-smoker-treats-himself-to-pack-of-real-fags/

Rollie Smoker Treats Himself To Pack Of Real Fags

“It's like a little present to myself,” said Waterford man Kenneth Muldoon, unwrapping a pack of Marlboro cigarettes like a child on Christmas morning.

Muldoon, 23, is a regular smoker but is limited to smoking hand-rolled cigarettes due to also being too broke to afford ‘real fags’, most all the time.

Resorting to ‘making do’ with rollies that look like the inside of a bookie’s pen, Muldoon splashes out on proper cigarettes every four weeks or so, or whenever he has a spare tenner in his pocket or if he just feels that his lungs are due ‘a treat’.

“Rollies are alright, but it’s like putting together a Kinder Surprise toy every time you want a smoke,” explains Muldoon.

“And they’re a nightmare when you’ve a few pints on board, trying to put together a cigarette like Lego with a filter stuck in the corner of your mouth while you get bumped by people from all sides. So, it’s nice to just open a pack and boom; there’s a smoke waiting for you. Open it again, there’s another! And another and another! It’s just the most magical experience in the world”.

Muldoon also states that real cigarettes seem healthier and are basically good for you if you smoke enough of them.

Thanks Black, good on you for kicking.  Unlike someone mentioned upthread about "telling everyone", i'm trying to be, uumm..humble, about it.  I mean bragging about stopping doing something that is obviously harmful and super expensive seems pretty precious.  and i don't want to get ahead of myself.  I quit cold turkey in my 20's for a year or so; with the patch in my late 30's for 3 or 4 (!) years and now at 62.  But it is a powerful addictive substance to be sure.  I mean if I have a drink or two I receive a psychoactive reaction; when I have a hoot I receive a psychoactive reaction;   but nicotine? that reaction isn't as obvious but insinuates itself into feelings of...satisfaction ?, reward?  Evil.  

I'm actually drinking and smoking dope less!  I turns out that smoking for me is a catalyst.  finish work, go to the garage for a smoke, a beer and a hoot but then well, i haven't finished the beer so have another smoke, having a smoke so crack another beer...man that can get circular!  But yes, the first few weeks are full of firsts, doing things that I would also smoke while doing!  driving to the hardware store to get some project supplies?  have a smoke both ways.  driving to the lake to go sailing?  have a few smokes on the way.  working on a project in the garage?  have a smoke while i thought about next steps.  since i was (am?) a fairly heavy smoker at 25-30 a day, everything i did/do is/was associated with smoking!  But those associations are now being broken, I no longer think about having a smoke when I run errands, so progress!

Actually, money is a bigger motivator than health.  I mean I already feel better and have much better breathing and stamina but let's be real, serious and deadly health impacts like cancer?  after 45 years of smoking, those dice are already in the air.  But the money? Fuck!  I was spending $600.00 a month on cigarettes...$600.00 a month, every month.  I could buy a new car for that, I could pay for a winter vacation for that, I could refit the boat for that, I could, I could, I could.  Ultimately, I could no longer afford to smoke and better short term health outcomes is happy side benefit.

I'm feeling pretty good about my chances though.  stress and smoking was a thing for me and over the last 3 weeks I had a lot of it.  October 1 some old guy sideswiped my truck as it was parked on the street.  this was my last truck, i bought essentially new, paid for it and added some improvements so it had a great audio system an suspension upgrades so i can haul a camper in the back and a dinghy of the hitch.  It was adjusted on the 5th and on the 6th an adjuster emailed me to say they considered it a total loss and would give me $18,000 grand for it.  WHAT??  I emailed them back and...nothing for 4 days, no email, no call back, nothing.  the official word was the truck is done and, unwritten but absolutely true, i would need to come up with an additional $15,000 to get back to where i was.  I had sleepless nights and a lot of stress over that which only weeks before would have meant me essentially chain smoking about 20 hours a day...but i didn't smoke, I didn't run out and buy smokes, I had the stress but i didn't smoke, so pretty happy about that.  Oh and the truck is getting fixed by insurance so really happy about that!  

Anyway, i've said too much but thanks everybody for your well wishes, I appreciate it.

 

[Toecutter's Ghost]

Sixty bucks for a pack of smokes in Oz these days.  Cheaper to chug down a bottle of whisky every day. 

 

[chester]

Sixty bucks for a pack of smokes in Oz these days.  Cheaper to chug down a bottle of whisky every day. 

$60 AUS a pack?  20-25 smokes? that can't be!