Thread: No Smoking ( realy, its true ).....

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The "smell factor" was and is funny in my situation. I notice it on others and especially in a Motel room or Car HOWEVER, when someone lights up after a meal and I get a whiff, believe it or not, it smells "tempting" but THAT IS THE ONLY TIME. Only smoker in our family is my step-son and then it's just an occasional Ceegar but I only notice it in his truck, never coming from him personally. Funny how all that works ain't it??

Whenever I have the urge, I remember my Dad getting throat cancer. 1st it was just benign polyps, and the docs said you need to quit or you'll lose your vocal cords, a couple of years later still smoking he did. They put a stoma hole in his throat to breath out of, he smoked thru that for a while too. In his case not sure what got him in the end, but my mom died of non- hodgkins lymphoma, she was a non drinkers, non smoker, and ate well. She died at age 60. I guess with my Dad making it for 10 more years, abusing his body every-which -way he could, instilled the fact that I'd rather be like my mom and so I don't smoke try to eat healthy and exercise, and realize some things we can avoid, and others we can't.

Originally Posted by MelloYello

HOWEVER, when someone lights up after a meal and I get a whiff, believe it or not, it smells "tempting" but THAT IS THE ONLY TIME.

Funny how all that works ain't it??

Same thing here! Just after dinner or that first cup of coffee in the morning...

I can just about "taste" it..... even now 14 years away from it!

I am finding it amazing the number of you all who have quit. My story is perhaps a bit different, but I did "stop" cold turkey in March of 1983 - a day that will live in my memory, but not necessarily in infamy. I had "quit" several times before, and felt like a liar and a hypocrite every time I started back to smoking, so that last time, I say I just stopped. Makes sense to me. I smoked at least a pack of unfiltered Camels, plus a pack or two of Backwoods cigars, and sometimes a bowl or two of my own custom blend, each and every day for over twenty years - not so long by some standards, but enough so that I had a really bad case of smokers hacks and wheezes. Now, how did I? I worked alone most of the time, and had a lot of windshield time to think and ruminate, and so, I argued with myself and berated myself about the cough and hacks until one morning when I sat up on the edge of the bed and reached for my pack of smokes, I took one out, looked at it, then put it back and went on with my life. I left that pack of cigs laying there on the nightstand for a couple of months, along with the matches and ash tray, then one day I just cleaned it all away. I now find the smell of a smoker to be, at the least, a little "off-putting", but I do try to be tolerant of others; Lord knows, I made a liar out of myself enough times. I hope you have a fairly easy time of it; I was lucky, maybe you will be, too.

Rrumbler, your story reminds me of my Dad who smoked unfiltered Lucky Strikes for at least 25 years, but switched to Salem's if he got a cold/congestion for the menthol. He "quit" many times, and once had been off of them for almost a month, but kept them beside his chair in the living room. On morning the phone rang about 6am with an empty school bus in the ditch and kids to be picked up for school (he was a small town school Superintendent), and as he hung up the phone from his last call he looked down and had a Salem half gone in his fingers and didn't even remember lighting it When I got up he was smoking one with his coffee, and said, "They're just a part of me, and I guess I can't fight it!" Years later I came home on leave from the Navy and brought him a couple of cartons of tax free cigarettes, which was customary, and he said, "Oh, I guess I didn't tell you that I quit". He took me up stairs, held out a ~10"x2"x14" jewelry box at arms length, and laughed big when I took it and it nearly hit the floor. I opened it and found it filled with rolled half dollar coins, about $400. When I asked, he explained to me that what finally "worked" for him was that he got up one day and decided that he really wanted to quit, and as he picked up his change from the dresser he tossed two $0.50 coins into a decorative bowl that was sitting there, which was the price of 2 packs in '68. Through the day, as he was tempted to buy a pack he told himself, "No, I already "spent" my cigarette money this morning", and went on with his day. As the bowl filled he rolled the halves and tucked them away, he didn't miss a morning dropping his dollar in that bowl, because that was his "cigarette money" and it was gone for that day. He kept that new habit for well over a year, then shifted to monthly deposits into a special savings account for a while.

With the price of a pack today the incentive would add up a whole lot faster, like $10/day or more Might just get a guy's attention...... Sorry for the ramble...

Heck, I don't smoke and never have but I'm finding this topic very enlightening. So is the E-Cig a viable option in the route to completing stopping? Or is it a vice that keeps you hanging on? Oh and now after sex instead of lighting up maybe do push ups or something like that? Again I cant even relate... This might be too far out of line if so just I'm sorry...

When I was a young teen my father the Deputy Coroner gave me a tour of his work shop. When he threw back a sheet and I saw the result of what years of smoking does, but for that guy did... I will just say it was impressive enough to me that I never even considered smoking. What does this have to do with you quiting? Maybe if your really serious you can find a way to take a look at what is going on inside? Maybe the Internet or Health publications. I warn you it is graphic and not pretty and if you value your body and health it will change your attitude quickly about smoking. Pops also drug me to a pretty ugly motorcycle death which fixed fixed my desire to ride my dirt bikes on the street. As well as a call to a home where the young buck had thousands of dollars in twentys scattered on the kitchen counter along with a brick of pot. He was sitting Indian style in front of the TV with the needle and tourniquet still attach to his arm. Guess what I never got involved with!

Good luck with your desire to do the right thing. While I wondered many times why pops would subject me to these things it all makes since. He didnt want me to have to go through what your doing now. Hang tough buddy... You can do it! And the otherside smells wonderful... Put the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ spent on the smokes into the hot rod, it's like building it for free!

My $0.02: I have zero knowledge or experience with the E-cig but, "TO ME", it would just prolong the various other habits associated with Smoking. Those other habits that are as important to break as the Nicotine addiction.

Another quick personal story:
A friend of mine told me once (when I still smoked) to make TWO lists, one with the reasons NOT TO smoke and one with the reasons TO smoke. I probably don't need to tell you what those lists PROVED - - - - however, I continued smoking until one day I decided enuff was enuff. "Heck, quitting smoking is easy, I've done it many many times" LOL

Now on a final but light note, and nobody has mentioned it either, but I reckon it was worth the pain. Whenever my wife or somebody, normally a work colleague, say I'm so impatient I would say, " sorry but I used up all my patience when I gave up smoking so now where is the large hammer ". I used to get some funny looks from people who didn't know me well wondering why I needed a hammer. You all know the saying, " if it doesn't move, get a bigger hammer " Well the number of times I could of used a large hammer to move "objects " in the road.....

Originally Posted by Rrumbler

I am finding it amazing the number of you all who have quit. My story is perhaps a bit different, but I did "stop" cold turkey in March of 1983 - a day that will live in my memory, but not necessarily in infamy. I had "quit" several times before, and felt like a liar and a hypocrite every time I started back to smoking, so that last time, I say I just stopped. Makes sense to me. I smoked at least a pack of unfiltered Camels, plus a pack or two of Backwoods cigars, and sometimes a bowl or two of my own custom blend, each and every day for over twenty years - not so long by some standards, but enough so that I had a really bad case of smokers hacks and wheezes. Now, how did I? I worked alone most of the time, and had a lot of windshield time to think and ruminate, and so, I argued with myself and berated myself about the cough and hacks until one morning when I sat up on the edge of the bed and reached for my pack of smokes, I took one out, looked at it, then put it back and went on with my life. I left that pack of cigs laying there on the nightstand for a couple of months, along with the matches and ash tray, then one day I just cleaned it all away. I now find the smell of a smoker to be, at the least, a little "off-putting", but I do try to be tolerant of others; Lord knows, I made a liar out of myself enough times. I hope you have a fairly easy time of it; I was lucky, maybe you will be, too.

I smoked from the age of 13,,when a friend,whose father worked night shift,,would steal a couple of cigarettes from his father's pack,,and we would have a smoke before we went to school..i started full time when I was old enough to feed my car,and my habit,with a wage of my own..I stopped a couple of times,,if not three or four times,,the final time,not long after I met Lynda,,15 years ago.. I went cold turkey,,like the previous times,,but this time,I was determined to stay off them.. And I have... I can usually smell a smoker from 50 yards,,and if people smoke around me,,I get headaches,,real bad ones,sometimes.. We came home from a night out,once,,and stripped our clothes off as we came into the house,,threw them in the laundry,,and showered.. The stink was in our hair as well.. Miss smoking?? NO WAY...Sorry,, to the few people we know who still smoke,,but my health is more important than your habit.. My only regret,is that I didn't stop earlier..
T top... Go for it,mate.. If you can get off those stinkin things,,DO IT.. I found it easy,because I didn't work with any smokers,,and I cut back on the alcohol,too.. One thing I did do,,was to leave the ashtrays in the places where I sat,,,,one by my chair in the lounge,,one at the table,,and one by the telephone,,and after a couple of weeks,,I put a teaspoon of water in each of them.. It stank the place out,,but a week later,,I was cured..

Here in New Zealand a packet of 25 cigarettes is $22.90.
Most of it is tax.
Our 'We Know What is Best For You' government is trying to make the general population give up smoking by making it too expensive to smoke.
All it means is that the lower economic classes spend more on smokes, and less on food for their kids.
When they started bumping the tax up on tobacco, I tried to grow my own; but the possums liked it too, and cleaned the lot out virtually overnight.

On the Ecigs: the folks I see using them clutch them like a baby holding its bottle, sucking on them continually.

I understand that nicotine is about equal to caffeine in hazard; It's the other garbage in cigarettes which is so harmful. So on that aside the vapor devices are a huge plus.
But as much as they toke off them, I can't see it proving a cheaper habit

One of the times I tried to quit was with a group at the local hospital. It was run by a group of doctors. During one of the lectures about the hazards of smoking they showed these graphic pics of lungs and cancer etc. etc... They brought in some folks who had holes in the throat and didn't need to move their mouth to speak.. you get the idea!

One of the topics was the addiction to nicotine. They said it was the most addictive thing on earth. They said if they gave 10 people a dose of cocaine that maybe 7 of the 10 would want or need another dose. Then if repeated with nicotine, at least 9 if not the 10 would want or need another dose.

The pictures were horrible - the poor people with the hole and no voice box - all turned my stomach but didn't flip that switch for me.. it was knowing that the nicotine had it's hooks in me and was dragging me down.. somehow I couldn't stop thinking that Phillip Morris was getting rich and didn't care about what they were doing to million of folks and that hurt me the most. Once I put a name to my "problem".. it gave me a resolve to get away from it.

I remember visiting the Phillip Morris factory in Louisville, KY., and thinking I'd Love to work here as they gave the employees 2 cartons a week!
Now I wonder what their turnover rate was?

I don't mean to rant.. this thread has really touched a nerve for some of us.. To all who added to this thread, Thanks for sharing your struggle with us and allowing us to share back!

Originally Posted by 34_40

One of the times I tried to quit was with a group at the local hospital. It was run by a group of doctors. During one of the lectures about the hazards of smoking they showed these graphic pics of lungs and cancer etc. etc... They brought in some folks who had holes in the throat and didn't need to move their mouth to speak.. you get the idea!

One of the topics was the addiction to nicotine. They said it was the most addictive thing on earth. They said if they gave 10 people a dose of cocaine that maybe 7 of the 10 would want or need another dose. Then if repeated with nicotine, at least 9 if not the 10 would want or need another dose.

The pictures were horrible - the poor people with the hole and no voice box - all turned my stomach but didn't flip that switch for me.. it was knowing that the nicotine had it's hooks in me and was dragging me down.. somehow I couldn't stop thinking that Phillip Morris was getting rich and didn't care about what they were doing to million of folks and that hurt me the most. Once I put a name to my "problem".. it gave me a resolve to get away from it.

I remember visiting the Phillip Morris factory in Louisville, KY., and thinking I'd Love to work here as they gave the employees 2 cartons a week!
Now I wonder what their turnover rate was?

I don't mean to rant.. this thread has really touched a nerve for some of us.. To all who added to this thread, Thanks for sharing your struggle with us and allowing us to share back!

You gotta say what it feels like,Mike.. I shake my head in wonder,at a young guy we know,,whose mother is dying from emphysema (think that's how it's spelt),,and his father is ill,too.. These two folks are barely mid,or late 50's,,Chris is in his 30's,watching his folks dying slowly with this filthy disease,,and won't stop smoking himself..Funny thing is,,he works in a hospital,as an orderly.... and there is no smoking allowed on hospital grounds..
The smokers among us,might not appreciate the comments,,but to be really honest,,I don't care.. Us ex smokers are supposed to be a pack of a**holes for ranting on this subject,but I don't care about that,either.. fact is,,they bitch on about their rights to smoke tobacco,,but we also have our rights to walking around without inhaling second hand smoke..

Seems like all the respiratory therapists I know chain smoke. So do the Emergency room staff, Docs, Nurses techs etc.. I guess it helps with the stress, and keeps them perky!
I need to be honest that I smoke an ocassional cigar, but were talking once every year or two, but I still enjoy them!

This is how it has been at work, longer than I have been there ( 20yrs )
The smoke clique would give each other extra minute or so on breaks. No biggie, never cut into anyone elses time, just each others. But somehow it seemed they were enjoying their day moreso than us non smokers. Supervisors too. Anywho, I did the nono. I got a pack after about 18yrs smoke free!!! I have WASTED soooo much $ in 20yrs that I am too scared to add it up!!! Yes I have times when I could calm nerves, collect thougts, or relax with a cig. !!NOT!!
The " edge " or should I say " last nerve " syndrom rears its ugly head a couple times a day , at verying degrees. Usually it " seems " someone needs something from me or for me to do something. Reality is -- the ONLY thing that changed is I am not feeding the dragon, and I am available to help out more, as I shoul have been before!!
The thing I am realizing is for the most part - Smoking for me was MY TIME FOR ME. No one would tell me what to do or ask anything of me til I went back inside. If I wanted to be left alone for awhile, I would go outside & light up. I had smoked in the house maybe twice in 12yrs. Sorry for the rant. I am seeing similarities between us all in some ways, & realizing some anomolies, which may turn out to be more comon than I // we think they are.