I quit

Conversation
1

Well, tonight is my last night as a smoker. I have one cig left and then it’s cold turkey time.

I’ve been smoking since I was about twelve (I’m thirty five now) and except for a few short weeks here and there over the years, I have smoked non-stop for 23 years.

So why am I quitting now? Well, I’m quitting for the obvious health benefits that not smoking brings, and also because it really is a nasty and expensive habit. But most importantly, I want to be around to see my kids grow up.

Really, there are a ton of reasons to stop, and not one single good reason to continue. I think my business will improve as well if I’m not trying to catch my breath after climbing a ladder or stopping every hour or so to grab a smoke. Plus I’m sure I’ll smell better too. My list of reasons to stop could go on all night.

So why am I posting about this? I guess because I want to have it written in stone so to speak, that I decided to quit a 23 year old habit tonight. And also, I think it brings some accountability to this that I never had in the past.

When you quit and you really don’t tell anyone, it’s not too hard to start back up when your having a bad day. So by writing about it, I feel I have a responsibility to carry through with my word.

Not that anybody but me cares if I smoke or not. But I still think it might help my resolve when I’m stressed out, if I remember that I told a bunch of people whom I respect a great deal, that I quit.

The next week will probably be pretty brutal for me, but I guess if I keep my eye on the prize-- I’ll be better off next week than I am now.

They say nobody likes a quitter-- well, after 23 years of stupidity, I say **** it, I quit.

2

Attaboy, Nate!

3

Great decision Nate. Well done.

4

Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

5

How did you do today Nate?

6

Good for you, man. You’re right it will help you in so many ways, and props to you for thinking about the future impact on your kids

7

So far so good. I haven’t broken down and cheated even though I’m doing it cold turkey, no patches or nicotine gum.

Already I can feel my lungs changing. Well I guess you could say that they feel “lighter”, and it’s definitely easier to breath. It’s hard to believe I can feel this much physical change, in less than 24hrs.

Oh yeah, I also want to run my fist through just about everything right now. I won’t lie, it’s not that I feel “bad” or “angry” at all, it’s just that I have zero patience for anything. That part is the worst I think, but hopefully it should pass soon.

Day one is almost in the books!

8

I’ve read that it takes 21 days for the nicotine to be out of your system. After that any “cravings” are based on habit not addiction.

9

Thanks Larry. It’s hard to believe that I was as selfish as I was for so long. I should have quit as soon as I had my first child. But I guess that’s the addictive power of cigarettes.

One reason for quitting that I forgot to mention in my original post, was that I don’t want to send the wrong message to my kids. Regardless of whether I tell them that smoking is bad or dangerous, if they see me doing it-- it can’t be too bad right?

So there is more than just my own health on the line here. I think I would be failing my kids in more than one way, if I were to remain a smoker.

I have some big changes coming up soon for my family and business, but first I have to change the little things like smoking, or else the rest of it is pointless.

10

I wouldn’t be surprised Tony. I’m sure after 23 years of a pack a day smoking, my body is well saturated with nicotine.

It’s sad that I can hardly even remember a time that I wasn’t smoking. I have to go back to when I was a little kid, and I don’t remember much.

My whole life has been one big smoke break. So I really don’t even know what it feels like to have normal lungs, or to not be craving a smoke every 30 min.

But I’m sure looking forward to finding out!:wink:

11

2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” All you have to do is ask for “the excellency of power” or “power beyond what is normal”. May be cold turkey but you don’t have to do it alone.

12

I guess I could use all the help I can get;)

13

What are you going to do with all the money you save?

14

Good luck and I mean it, watched my father die. Suffocated

15

Good question. With the cost of a pack around $5.50 today, I was paying about $165 a month or approx $2000 a year.

However, smokes never stay the same price for long, so the money I will save would probably be closer to $2200 for the next year.

While I doubt I will set aside former smoke money each day in a jar, I may at the end of the year, take $2200 and buy some new tool for the biz.

A Gardiner 56’ SLX WFP perhaps?:wink: Something nice for going a year without a smoke. Plus I would be investing in the company so that’s always good.

16

I’m sorry to hear that Ron.

That’s something I don’t want my kids to have say about me someday.

Thanks for the support, I appreciate it.

17

For some reason the third week of quitting was the worst for me. I quit smoking cigarettes (cold turkey) many years ago. I still had cravings all the time for years but never started again until a few years back when I wanted to start again as a casual smoker at parties and such. Well I tried to smoke a cigarette a few times here and there, and didn’t like it. Since then I have never had a craving since. Weird.

I also remember the first month or so of quitting I chewed gum all the time until my jaw hurt.

Not an easy habit to kick. You’re not going to quit unless you are REALLY ready to quit. Good luck to ya!

18

Well that part about the third week being the hardest is not what I wanted to hear. I was hoping that the worst would be over in a week!

I really really want to quit! My resolve is almost iron-like. John Wayne would shake in his boots if he knew how determined I am to quit (ok, maybe not the Duke) ;).

I could go buy patches or gum or sneak a smoke if I wanted (well I do want to-- they sound delectable), but I want to NOT smoke-- even more. So my “steely-resolve” and iron-like will to never take a drag off a cigarette is what I am using to keep me on the path to better health.

Like you, I’m chewing gum, and other candies like crazy right now. But I know that if I take a single drag off a smoke, or put a patch on, I will only prolong the agony of nicotine withdrawal. So in my book- its cold turkey or be a smoker.

Thanks for telling me about your experience though! It’s nice to know that there are other WCer’s on here that have gone though this before and have successfully quit.

19

How did you do today, Nate?

20

Good- I only punched one hole in the wall;)

My dentist is going to be thrilled with all the candie I’m eating though.

But I think my “withdrawal anger” is starting to subside a bit.

I’m just going to take it one day at a time. :wink: