Day one no smoking

[Jim Kountz]

Well I have officially completed day one with no cigarettes. It wasnt as bad as I remembered on some of my other quitting attempts. Hopefully this is the time I finally do it. Im up to about a pack and a half a day and its time to do it so wish me luck!!

[Cary Falk]

Good on you Jim. When it gets tough, think of all the extra money you will have for tools. Good luck.

[Doug Shepard]

Good luck. I keep quitting in fits and starts. Stop for 24 or 48 hours then smoke for a day or two, then repeat. I'm sick of smoking but it's a tough monkey to get off your back.

[curtis rosche]

try chantex, or shantex or however it is spelled. i now 3 people who smoked for years and were able to quit using it.

[Belinda Barfield]

Good for you Jim! Good luck and keep us posted. I know you can do it!:)

[Sean Troy]

Thats wonderful !!! I know you can stay quit. After 30 plus years, I quit in April so if I can do it, I know you can. If you get the urge, talk to someone about it till it passes.

[jerry nazard]

Two years, 7 days. I used Chantex - which worked - but the side effects are gruesome. I would not recommend Chantex.

[Gary Max]

I gave them up almost 5 years ago. Here's the trick-----don't try to stop-------just make up your mind that you are going to quit. Remember you have the power to do anything -----Period.
I ain't going to lie to you---I still want a smoke every now and them but would to touch one for all the money in China.
I had smoked for 32 years and when I stopped was smoking 3 packs a day-----heck it looked like I was on fire-----a cloud of smoke followed me everywhere.
No doctor----no drugs----just knowing that they where killing me and I had the power to stop was good enough.

[Rob Cunningham]

Good luck Jim, it's one of the best things you can do for yourself and your family.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Excellent!!! I found the key to quitting was attitude! You have to get to the point (like Gary said) that you are disgusted with the habit and decide - once and for all - that you are done. You don't need anything else! But you have to make that decision and it has to become part of you!

I found that in a short amount of time I really felt better! Its been 6 years and no looking back!

You can do this! It is worth the fight!

[Chuck Saunders]

Attitude is everything. Just take it one day at a time, anyone can quit for one day, right? Just string the days together and next thing you know it's been 10 years. You can do it because you know you can do it. Hurray!

[Glenn Clabo]

Something to think about Jim...

In 48 hours your chance of having a heart attack will have decreased. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will begin to return to a normal level.
In 72 hours your bronchial tubes will relax.
In 2 weeks your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks.
In three to nine months Your lung capacity improves by 10%.
In 1 year your risk of having a heart attack will have dropped by half.
In 5 years your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker.
In 10 years your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
In 15 years your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non-smoker.

[Brent Leonard]

being an ex smoker and drinker, my advice is....

dont think about not smoking next week, just today. Wake up everyday and say, "today I wont smoke". When the cravings get unbearable, remember you only have to get through today. Tommorows cravings won't be nearly as bad. Thats not a lie either.... everyday gets a little easier.

Drink water instead of eating when you have those cravings. Your brain craves the dopamine rush from the nicotine. Food will also satisfy that dopamine withdrawl you experience, albeit for a shorter period and to a lesser extent.

It is tough, good luck and dont give up. If you relapse, try to quit right away again. Your odds of success statistically increase with every attempt to quit.

[Geoffrey Smith]

Good luck to you. I quit just over 4 years ago, and so happy that it stuck. I used the gum for about a month, but after that it was all willpower.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Go big guy! It's been 3 1/2 years since I quit....I smoked 1 1/2 packs a day for 41 years.

Hang tough! It will get easier.

[Phil Thien]

Something to think about Jim...

In 48 hours your chance of having a heart attack will have decreased. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will begin to return to a normal level.
In 72 hours your bronchial tubes will relax.
In 2 weeks your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks.
In three to nine months Your lung capacity improves by 10%.
In 1 year your risk of having a heart attack will have dropped by half.
In 5 years your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker.
In 10 years your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
In 15 years your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non-smoker.


+1

Add to that list the incredible amount of money you'll be able to spend on other things.

[Art Mulder]

You can do it, Jim! May you have strength and determination, as well as the support of family + friends to help you through it!

Whenever I see these discussions I am so glad, once again, that I never started. And I give thanks to my parents, who are probably the main reason I never started. (It was rare in the early 70s to have parents who didn't smoke!)

best wishes
...art

[Brian Kent]

Congratulations on your $2,700 per year raise, for the money you don't spend on cigarettes. Save it 2 years and go buy yourself a big Oneway lathe!:D

[Ben Franz]

I'll add my congrats to all the others. I quit 25 years ago. Thought the cravings would never stop the first few days. After a couple of weeks, just the occasional urge. Now, I can't stand the smell, etc. If I could kick doughnuts and pizza, I'd really have it knocked! Keep it up - it's definitely worth it.

[Eric DeSilva]

I quit Jan. 1 of this year. Used nicorette gum. I quit the nicotine gum after about a month or so--but did appreciate that it took the edge off during the really rough time.

On the bad side, I seem to have developed an addiction to non-nicotine gum. On the good side, I probably have the strongest jaws on planet.

[Paul Ryan]

Keep it up Jim,

My advice try to stay away from others that smoke, the temptation to bum one off of them is 2 strong. And if you drink quite that for the time being, smoking while drinking is a very strong temptation as well. As each day passes with out a smoke you will start to feel better. Better than you have felt in years, that is the thing that motivated me. Once I had made it a week I noticed how much better I felt, and after that it was all down hill. In a month you wont believe what a differece you have made for yourself. Way to go!

[Mike Pousson]

Keep at it, Bud. I quit 26 years ago after 22 years of puffing away. It was my first try at it. I didn't find it too bad. Had to keep my hands and mind busy, though.

[Jim O'Dell]

You can do it!! We'll come stomp on you if you don't!! :D Nah, just kidding.
I remember my Dad smoking when I was a kid. Kool menthols. He was smoking 4 packs a day! When he had to pay 35 cents a pack, he said that was enough, he was quitting. That was about 48 years ago or so. Quit cold turkey, no additional help. So it may be tough, or not. But you can do it. Jim.

[Ray Chalenski]

Don't give up Jim. 25 years ago as a New Year's resolution I quit cold turkey. Had to wait intil the 2nd. New Years day was too rough. Haven't had a cigarette since. A lot of the others are right. It's all in the attitude. If you really want to do it you will.Don't know why but I did not have any major withdrawal problems others complain about. It's mind over matter. Keep yourself occupied. Take on more woodworking projects. Before you know it you will have beat it. Funny thing is to this day I'll be doing something you always associate with smoking and I'll reach into my shirt pocket.It's not the urge. It's the habit.
Good luck:)

[Dave Verstraete]

Jim
Keep it up!! You'll never regret it. 7years 1 month,22 days and counting for me.
The best advice I can give has already been said but here it is again "Quitting just involves not smoking TODAY"

[Jim Kountz]

Wow thanks guys for the encouraging words. Its now been two days and I feel really proud of myself so far. I have quit a few times in the past but never was it this easy for some reason which Im counting as a huge blessing. Now if I would just stop coughing up nasty stuff that I wont go into detail about here. How long before that stops?? Yuck!!

[Eric Larsen]

Well I have officially completed day one with no cigarettes. It wasnt as bad as I remembered on some of my other quitting attempts. Hopefully this is the time I finally do it. Im up to about a pack and a half a day and its time to do it so wish me luck!!


Good luck!

I quit a few years ago - cold turkey. What helped me was to "embrace my withdrawl symptoms."

I finally saw them for what they were -- my body reacting in a very predictable way to a drug addiction.

I'd just say [censored] you, Phillip Morris and continue with life.

Swimming during the first couple weeks helps immensely. One, it's hard to keep a cigarette lit underwater. Two, for some reason swimming curbs the urges. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Again, good luck!

[Gary Kvasnicka]

This past June was five years for me. I like many have said, just decided to stop... got tired of buying them, smelling bad, coughing, etc.
I have upgraded a lot of my tools with cigarette money, my wonderful wife encourages it.

[Chris Kennedy]

It's great that you made it to day two. You'll make day three, then day four, and before long, the habit of going another day will start to overpower the other habit.

As for the crud you cough up, think of them as grey-green Smurfs -- so obnoxious that coughing them out is clearly the right thing to do.

Stay strong.

Cheers,

Chris

[Eric Larsen]

Wow thanks guys for the encouraging words. Its now been two days and I feel really proud of myself so far. I have quit a few times in the past but never was it this easy for some reason which Im counting as a huge blessing. Now if I would just stop coughing up nasty stuff that I wont go into detail about here. How long before that stops?? Yuck!!

A couple weeks. And you'll dream about smoking for several months. At least I did.

[Von Bickley]

Jim,

Hang in there. It won't be easy, but it will be one of the best things you ever did for yourself.

I quit November 23, 1996, the day I had that heart attack that left me with heart damage. Wish I would have quit sooner.

[Marc Casebolt]

Good for you, and stick with it.

I've been on and off the sticks all my life (currently back on and kicking myself in the butt). I'm getting up the nerve to try again soon, but it always seems easier for me if I make a firm decision first to quit. As you know now it can be hard, but it can be done. Now if I can just make it last more that a year at a time....good luck

Marc

[kenmiller saas]

Well I have officially completed day one with no cigarettes. It wasnt as bad as I remembered on some of my other quitting attempts. Hopefully this is the time I finally do it. Im up to about a pack and a half a day and its time to do it so wish me luck!!

Good luck...Hope you will succeed.

[Jim Becker]

Jim...keep the "quit" going. Forever!!! One of the best things you'll have ever done for yourself and those you care about. And the rest of us, for that matter.