JCC ITT I quit smoking.

Wait, that is my childhood memory. Pipe tobacco smoke is quite wonderful. My dad smoked 'Borkum Riff'.

SuperWatto - ignore the instructions on where to place the patch. Arm be damned. I stuck mine right over my heart and rubbed on it continuously for 5 days.

 

I always have much respect for people who quit smoking cold turkey..

it takes a lot of guts and a strong backbone.

if you could quit cigarettes you can do almost anything, considering that craving is extremely strong, plus its like this learned behavior, especially for people who smoke in the car....


I like a smoke when I drink from time to time but that's most likely a silly thing to even partake in.

 

I have heard from some people in the medical field that quitting smoking is harder than giving up heroin.

 

Well, so much for the cold turkey. I just stuck on my first patch. On my arm, Hoth, because - not knowing if you were joking or not - this stuff is not worth a heart attack .
What's nice is that this is really the first time it's acceptable for me to be grumpy. I plan to make good use of it. I guess everyone here should consider themselves lucky that I'm doing this while I don't have banning capabilities yet...

The one remark that's most helped me going until now, interestingly enough, comes from harpuah in tom's thread: "The cigarette is trying to make you its bitch again. But you are not its bitch."

 

You need some caffeinated soap.

 

In all seriousness, it's true... it's a matter of regaining your control over yourself and not allowing the cigarette to control you.. easier said than done, I ****ing know. I don't know how many times I tried to stop smoking before I succeeded at it. It's amazing how a plant wrapped up in some paper has such control over us.

woops... meant to edit that in.

 

I don't get how caffeinated soap can help...

 

I was referencing Tom's thread... it was a thing.

 

Add me to the list that had parents who smoked. Both of mine did - cigarettes only, no cigars, pipes, etc. I maybe smoked around 5 cigs in my teens before deciding it wasn't for me. Haven't had any since. Middle sister smoked but I don't think my youngest one does. Dad died some years ago from throat cancer (he was 80) and Mom passed away a few years ago in the recovery room from a heart attack following a skin cancer biopsy. I'm sure Dad's death was smoking-related but I think Mom's was more the stress of the operation.

 

Woah. That's heavy stuff, man. I'm sorry to hear it.

 

My Dad's sister is a pretty heavy smoker. I've noted an interesting thing: When I visit her occasionally, staying for an hour or two, I don't smell the cigarette smell in her flat, but after I go back home, and I sniff at my clothes, I find that they soaked in some of the stink. Weird.

My Dad also used to smoke a lot when I was a kid. I absolutely HATED it and I waged a personal war against his smoking - I would hide his cigarettes, up to a point when I took a newly-bought packet of cigarettes when he wasn't at home, dunked it in water and threw it in the bin. He was pretty angry with me when he got back. I refused to admit I did anything wrong, though. He later stopped smoking when he started having a problem with a stomach ulcer. He's now gone about 10 years without smoking, which is great.

As for myself, I never had a cigarette or a cigar in my mouth in my life. I think it's because I hated my Dad's smoking when I was a kid. Even when my classmates at school were trying to convince me to try it, I refused. I do occasionally enjoy a sheesha (very occasionally - like once in 2-3 months), because it doesn't have the stink and the fruity tobaccos smell pretty good. Cherry tobacco FTW.

 

Nice choice of words... brings me back.

In the nineties, I used to make my own songs. One of them was 'Light Anutha One'. Some lyrics:

"Wake up every day / smelling the ashtray / and I light anutha one."
"Fashion is to quit it / but no-one can prohibit / that I light anutha one."

Pretty happy I put that behind me. 24 hours without smokes now!

 

Every day is a victory. One of the things that might be helpful is reading up a bit on decision fatigue. Exercising willpower constantly during the day depletes the brain's ability to make conscious high-level decisions of any kind. So you can find tips online for defeating decision fatigue.

There you have it. Try not to make any other decisions during the day so as to conserve your biochemical capacity for making the decision not to smoke.

 

You do realize you are confronting me with the decision whether or not to read that whole slab?

But you're right. It's precisely the reason why I asked my business partner and my girlfriend not to bother me with quotes and bills this week.

 

good thinking. Also sharing the experience on the board, your biz partner and gf helps offload some of the willpower duties. You're doing everything right!

 

You seem to doing great so far! We're all here for you.

 

haha, yes. i normally jokingly tease people a lot anyway, but i took it to extremes when i quit. unfortunately it starts to become less acceptable after a month or so.

 

Strangely enough though, I'm not grumpy... those patches are pure magic.
I wonder if there's a precedent of people being addicted to patches?

 

That's great, harps.

And congrats on the 24 hour mark, dude!

 

As I mentioned I was on the patch for a week. This was in the hospital. Once out, I had very little in cravings. It hit me every so often, I do miss post meal smokes. But motivation for health and possible relapse kept me going, not to mention money saved.

 

why'd you even start

 

I had fun teasing smokers, calling them weak-willed, inferior beings, and so on. The brutal smugness helped a lot.

 

Because of the high.

Over 48 hours now - and today I didn't patch!

 

Good luck / congrats.