Smoke-free 366 days

[Howard Rosenberg]

Hi all -

It's been a year now.
The last one was around 8PM on 25-JUN-07.

Been smoke-free one whole year - 366 days to be exact - 2008 was a leap year.

Still miss em.
Desperately.
But (I'm pretty sure) the benefits of not smoking outweigh the habit.

Howard

[Dave Sweeney]

Way to go Howard, keep it up. Just so you know, that urge to have a smoke pops up every now and then for years to come. It's been many years since I quit and I get "the urge" quite often.

[Frank Drew]

Congratulations, Howard. It will be perhaps the smartest thing you've ever done -- it was for me. I smoked for many, many years, but I haven't had one in almost 25 years and I can't imagine ever doing it again.

If by some kind of magic stroke everyone stopped smoking overnight, healthcare outcomes would be day-for-night different, it's that pernicious a habit.

[jim sauterer]

did you go cold turkey or some sort of gum or pill.keep up the good habit woodworking.it sure is time for me to quit.jim

[mike holden]

Bless You!
Hang in there, quitting is the very best thing you can ever do.
Mike

[Peter Quinn]

Good man. Congrats for that milestone. Wish I were there.

[Clara Koss]

howard, i am very happy for you... please make sure you get a chest xray as often as your doctor allows...the effects of smoking stay forever even if you quit and they can catch (baruch hashem) things when they are small....;)

[Steven DeMars]

Congratulations . . . . I never smoked, but I hear it is hard to quit . . . .

Besides, every pack of cigarettes you do not smoke will save you enough to buy a gallon of gas . . . .:)

Steve

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Congrats--that's a significant step in your life. Did you improve your shop with part of the $ saved?

[Charles Cannon]

Stay strong, I chewed Red Man for 25 years and quit 8 years ago. Every now and then when I go outside I will catch myself reaching for my back pocket. I know if I had one chew today I would chew a pack tomorrow.
Cannon

[John Dorough]

Howard,

Congrats!! Last March 30th was my 27th smoke free anniversary. I was smoking two packs a day before I finally quit for good. Well worth the effort.

You can do it.

John

[Joe Jensen]

I like the idea of rewarding the accomplishment by increasing your budget for the shop. Fantastic idea :D

[Bob Rufener]

What you should do is put money away every day for the amount you would have spent on cigarettes. After a few months, count the money-you'll never want to smoke again.

[jerry nazard]

Howard,

Way to go! I'm on day 284 and not a day goes by that I don't crave one. However, I have no choice and so that's that about that!

Best!

-Jerry

[Dennis Meek]

I'm proud of you Howard! Quitting is the easy part....not starting again is the hard part. You can do it.

Dennis

[Dennis Puskar]

Howard,
Congradulations I think you have mission impossible accomplished. I just quit the 1st of March.

Dennis

[Randal Cobb]

Good for you!

I quit as my New Years resolution in 2006 and hadn't had a single smoke until my mom passed away... Between the stress, the emotion, and two sisters that smoke like chimneys, I caved... Smoked about 8 packs in a 5 day period.
The good part is, when I left So. Florida, after the service, after the cleanup, after the family left... I put them down and haven't wanted one since... been almost a month.

I think the big thing to remember is, slips and stumbles along the trail are normal.. so, if they happen, don't fret or beat yourself up over it, just hop back on the wagon and keep on keeping on.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Hang tough Brother Howard!

I smoked 1 1/2 packs for 41 years. I quit 2 1/2 years ago on January 15th. It was tough at first. Most days now, I walk past folks smoking, I think "Did I smell that bad?".......On some days but not often....I'd kill for one.... It does get easier but hang tough! It is worth it.

[Larry Fox]

Howard, congratulations and truely an accomplishment to be proud of. While I have never smoked myself I watched my dad struggle with it off and on through various attempts to quit. He has "made it" but continues to struggle on an almost daily basis so I can certaily respect the effort involved.

[David DeCristoforo]

What a timely post for me. Stopped smoking three weeks ago to the day. After over forty years of being a smoker I'm finally free. And this time it's for good. I know because I stopped for a year in '85. Had it whipped. But after a year, sitting in coffee shop one cold winter morning waiting for the shop to heat up and shooting the bull with the morning coffee crowd, a couple of guys lit up. (This was in rural Nevada where everyone smoked and when you could still smoke in public places.) It smelled so good and I thought "What the heck...one smoke can't hurt now right?" WRONG!!!! Within a week I was back to a pack a day. The worst part was having to tell my family that I had started again. Boy did I feel stupid! So this time, I know better. Once you stop you can never smoke again, ever. Also, this time I really wanted to stop because I feel like I was really pushing my luck. Plus my son and his GF are already talking about stopping now too. And after only three weeks I feel so much better. But my god the craving!!!

Mark Twain once said that it was good to smoke because there were times where you really needed something you could throw overboard. This was one of those times for me. He also said "Quitting smoking is easy... I've done it dozens of times." Boy, do I know that one! But other than that year, this is the longest I have ever gone without smoking since I was 14. And I know that no matter how hard it is, I am determined that I will never smoke again. So it's really good to hear from others who have been through it and have succeeded. Thanx for the great post.....

[Cody Colston]

Congratulations, Howard from a previous 2-pack-a-day smoker.

I don't think the cravings ever go away. I quit seven years ago last month and just reading this thread I'm craving a smoke. I've also heard that when you quit dreaming about it you are finally over the habit...I'm still dreaming about it. :D

David is so right, though...don't ever think you can just have one smoke because you will take up the habit all over again. Then, all the bad stuff associated with it will return...the expense, the nasty butts and ashes, the panic when you realize you are nearly out and it's 10:00 pm, the health concerns and most of all, that horrible smell.

[Mike Henderson]

Hang in there - you can do it! You will get over the craving eventually.

I quit over 30 years ago (about 1974 or 1975). For me, to really get over it, I had to go through every situation where I used to light up. For example, sitting in a bar drinking a beer and not smoking was tough. But once I did it a few times, it seemed normal to have a beer without a cigarette. I quit back in the days when you could smoke in bars and restaurants.

It was also a lot cheaper back then. If I recall correctly, when I was in Vietnam in the early 70's a carton (not a pack) of cigarettes cost $2.00. Even stateside a carton wasn't very expensive, even at civilian prices.

I've never regretted quitting.

Mike

[Ken Fitzgerald]

:D
What a timely post for me. Stopped smoking three weeks ago to the day. After over forty years of being a smoker I'm finally free. And this time it's for good. I know because I stopped for a year in '85. Had it whipped. But after a year, sitting in coffee shop one cold winter morning waiting for the shop to heat up and shooting the bull with the morning coffee crowd, a couple of guys lit up. (This was in rural Nevada where everyone smoked and when you could still smoke in public places.) It smelled so good and I thought "What the heck...one smoke can't hurt now right?" WRONG!!!! Within a week I was back to a pack a day. The worst part was having to tell my family that I had started again. Boy did I feel stupid! So this time, I know better. Once you stop you can never smoke again, ever. Also, this time I really wanted to stop because I feel like I was really pushing my luck. Plus my son and his GF are already talking about stopping now too. And after only three weeks I feel so much better. But my god the craving!!!

Mark Twain once said that it was good to smoke because there were times where you really needed something you could throw overboard. This was one of those times for me. He also said "Quitting smoking is easy... I've done it dozens of times." Boy, do I know that one! But other than that year, this is the longest I have ever gone without smoking since I was 14. And I know that no matter how hard it is, I am determined that I will never smoke again. So it's really good to hear from others who have been through it and have succeeded. Thanx for the great post.....

David,

Congrats to you too! And don't worry...the urge to kill someone...anyone will eventually subside. Hopefully, not with you hands around someone's neck as the realization hits you of what you have just done!:eek::rolleyes::D

Hang tough my man!

And again to all you recent quitters......this is one of those things in life you can be proud that you willingly quit. It ain't easy and you have to run this marathon alone. But ....you can hear the cheering crowd!

[Glenn Clabo]

Well done Howard! This is much bigger deal than you may realize.


Benefits

When smokers quit, within twenty minutes of smoking that last cigarette the body begins a series of changes.

At 20 minutes after quitting:


blood pressure decreases

pulse rate drops

body temperature of hands and feet increases

At 8 hours:


carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal

oxygen level in blood increases to normal

At 24 hours:


chance of a heart attack decreases

At 48 hours:


nerve endings start regrowing

ability to smell and taste is enhanced

The first year after quitting:

At 2 weeks to 3 months:


circulation improves

walking becomes easier

lung function increases

1 to 9 months:


coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decreases

1 year:


excess risk of coronary heart disease is decreased to half that of a smoker

Long-term Benefits of Quitting

At 5 years:


from 5 to 15 years after quitting, stroke risk is reduced to that of people who have never smoked.

At 10 years:


risk of lung cancer drops to as little as one-half that of continuing smokers

risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases

risk of ulcer decreases

At 15 years:


risk of coronary heart disease is now similar to that of people who have never smoked

risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked

[Dave Verstraete]

Howard
Great Job
My date was July 31, 2002
I still want one once in a while. I quit one other time but decided that I could have "just one". Yea, Right. Don't make that mistake.

Good Luck

[Jim Becker]

Congratulations, Howard. This is a good thing you are doing for yourself and those who depend upon you.

[Lori Kleinberg]

Congratulations, you have probably accomplished one of the hardest things in life, quitting smoking. Its been about 17 months for me and I still think about having one all the time. Keep up the good work.

[Walt Caza]

Awesome Howard!
I hope you can stick with quitting.

David, I hope this does Not mean you are going to start getting snarky with us in the forum again?
Just kidding, I am glad you stuck around and continue to contribute to so many discussions.

All quitters have great reason to feel proud...I hear it's tough!
take it easy,
Walt
:)

[David DeCristoforo]

SNARKY? Who you callin snarky? You talkin to me? Just kidding huh? You want kidding? I'll show ya kidding!

Ha ha. Funny guy right? But here's the deal. It ain't "tough" It's a beeach. No other word for it. I think that's why it's so important to really want to stop. Because otherwise there is no way you would ever put yourself through something like this. As to feeling "proud", yeah that's a thing. But it's nothing against how stupid you feel for having gotten yourself into such a pickle in the first place. Not to be getting down on myself or diminishing the importance of dealing with something like this. But really, we all need a good kick in the pants now and again and who better to administer it than ourselves?

[Mike Henderson]

But it's nothing against how stupid you feel for having gotten yourself into such a pickle in the first place.
Man, is that the truth. It's exactly the way I felt when I was smoking.

Mike

[Gary Kvasnicka]

I quit 4 years ago this month, last cigarette June 17, 2004. I smoked for about 25 years. I still catch myself reaching for the pack that always resided in the cup holder in my work van. The LOML suggested after I quit that I take the money I spent on smokes and spend it on something else I enjoy. Since then I have bought a new table saw, joiner, drill press, and lathe. I had quit a few times in the past... I wonder why it worked this time?

Hang in there, just ask yourself... Who is stronger me or the cigarettes? Don't let them win.

[Burt Alcantara]

I stopped about 30 years ago. Ran out of smokes during a blistering freeze. Smoked all the butts in the house. Then I got angry about having to go out for smokes so I quit. Was hard the first few years but one day I developed an allergy to cigarette smoke so now I hate burning tobacco of any kind.

Learn yoga or meditative breathing. It's something you can do in a minute or 2. After you do that you wont have the desire to smoke.

Burt