365 days Tobacco FREE!!!!!!!

[Crimson Fish]

I find smokeless tobacco works wonders, and has twice the nicotine of a cigarette.

Good ol' pinch of Kodiak or Skoal does the trick.

One of my buddies at work offered me a cigarette, and I told him that I had quit so I could start improving my health for my diving. He said, "So you dip instead huh?"

To which I replied, "Yeah, I'd rather get a mouth disease than a lung disease if worse came to worse."

He laughed and said, "Yeah, but if you get a mouth disease, where you gonna put that tube you breath through when you're underwater?"

Needless to say he raised an interesting point.

Strongest dose patches you say?

 

[JRScuba]

Congratulations to everyone that quit. You have just increased the quality of your life. The benefits are endless. Get as much exercise as possible, it will start reducing some of the damage that has been done.

Since everyone quit just for the sake of quiting, that means that you have not encountered any of the physical damages that are caused by smoking. That is a good thing.

If you have a need to know what I'm talking about PM me.

Again, congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dscheck]

I used the lozengers for about 3 days, then I couldn't stand the taste anymore, so I stopped using them too.

What helped me a lot was to stop going to where smokers are, like at work instead of going to the smoking area, I would stay a my desk, visit another non-smoker...etc...

Funny thing is even when I smoked I couldn't stand the smell of cigarettes, so if I smell them now it's even worse, but way down deep inside a small urge nudges at me.

I find the largest urges come when I hear state sponsored quit smoking ads on the radio ...weird huh????

Keep up the good work to all that have the courage and will power to quit, it is worth it, like it was stated before...over $1800 a year


Thanks for all the encouragement.....

 

[Daxter]

Congratulations!!! I have been off of smokeless tobacco for almost 5 Months. After about 15 years of chewing I quit cold turkey, dont even think about it now.

 

[Derek S]

Congrats dscheck! As a former pack a day for nearly 15 years smoker myself, I understand what you went through. I tried so many times and failed, even once when I first started diving.

This coming Tuesday marks week 38 (Day 263 today - I quit Jan, 11 2005), and I can't begin to tell you how happy I am with the results. The wife and I are going out today to buy some exercise equipment so I can get back into top shape so I can pursue technical diving when my skill level reaches that point.

I used the patch for about 2-2.5 months, then realized that I didn't need it anymore. Sure I still have cravings to this day (I suspect I will for the rest of my life), but they aren't ever strong enough for me to want to even take one puff of that nasty sh_t again!

And with the money I've saved ($5-$6 per pack, per day), it has already purchased me a canister light, will pay for the exercise equpiment today, and will pay for my technical training (about another 100 or so dives IMHO) as well as my custom cut DUI drysuit when the time comes (30lbs to lose!).

 

[drbill]

Fantastic... you'll never regret it. I know how hard it is. It took me three tries before I finally went tobacco free 30 years ago. Now it is just second hand smoke.

 

[Rick Inman]

Congratulations!! I've got about 10 years myself.

To celebrate, meet me out back and we'll have a smoke.

 

[Don Burke]

Congratulations.

It has been 18 years for me now. The "just one" thing bit me several times and it always took me at least six months to put them back down.

The nicotine is long gone, but every once in a while one of the mannerisms pops up.

 

[plankspanker]

Congratulations!! I've got about 10 years myself.

To celebrate, meet me out back and we'll have a smoke.

haha thats cold!

Its been a little over a year for me and I am so glad I quit. I used wellbutrin for about two months and that was that.
As that one guy said don't even think for a minute that having "just" one won't hurt. I quit a few years ago for 6 months and feeling quite good about myself I decided to have one during a stressful afternoon at work. The next day I had another and so forth. After about a week I decided that I couldnt keep bumming them from people so I bought a pack and I'm sure you can figure out the rest. I was really shocked how quickly I relapsed and that knowledge will prevent me from ever having another one. I have no problems admitting that I am that weak.
I quit because I got heavily into diving and thought it would help my air consumption in addition to some of the dangers that go along with heavy smokers and diving. I wanted to quit before that for the other 100 reasons but it's stange how easily it is to ignore the long term health risks while you are strongly addicted. The commercials with the lady with the voice box (from throat cancer) used to give me chills but not enough to quit. Then the annoying "truth" commercial would come on and I would want to smoke a pack out of spite....
I do hope I never make it to the self righteous ex-smoker phase though.

 

[Rick Inman]

haha thats cold!

Yeah, I kinda stole that from Garrison Keillor's shtick on quitting smoking. Very funny.

Speaking of Keillor and smoking, here's a litte poem by him:

Once I lived the life of some renown
Everybody liked me in this town
People dropped flowers in my way
I had a big plate at life's buffet.
And then I began my slow descent
I discovered what suffering meant
I knew loneliness, grief and regret
All because I smoked a cigarette.

Nobody knows you
When you take a smoke
You pull out a Marlboro or even a More
They look at you and point to the door
You stand on the sidewalk and take your drag
You and the lady with the big garbage bag
I tell you young people, and it is no joke,
Nobody knows you when you take a smoke.
So don't get started.
Nobody knows you when you take a smoke.

© 1997 BY GARRISON KEILLOR