No smoking

[crazyjim]

I quit smoking a year ago after starting after experiencing my first rocket attack in Vietnam in June 1969.  I've gained 25 pounds so far, but feel better.

[Belugawrx]

Good man Jim

I quit 1 1/2 yrs ago myself, have put on some pounds, but dont hack up a lung every morning....

Congrats brother

[High octane]

I quit smoking on Thanksgiving of 1984 as I couldn't puff anymore. Shortly thereafter I was diagnosed with double pneumonia. Although I really haven't gained any weight, it sure feels great not to smoke anymore. My better half has given up smoking several years ago also.

[MrObsessive]

Congrats Jim! Funny thing about smoking------I tried to smoke a cigarette back when I was in the 7th or 8th grade perhaps (early '70's), and I remember coughing so hard I saw stars!

Never touched another cigarette since, and I lived in a household where my Dad smoked up to three packs a day at one point!

[JerseyRed]

Nice job Jim!!! There is nothing better you could do for yourself. I quit 24 years ago after smoking for about 8 years and the smell now makes feel ill. Even the smell coming off someone who smokes doesn't make feel good.

[Draggon]

Good for you, thats something to be proud of. Just don't pick up again. I quit a few times, and it got more difficult each time. Its been 21 years off cigarettes now. I gained 35 pounds pretty quickly. 

[Snake45]

I've smoked since college, but I quit drinking in 1984. Does that count for anything?  (I lost weight but my wallet got fatter, imagine that!)

The Lovely Mrs. Snake started smoking about a year and a half ago. And she is definitely old enough to know better! Now she wants to quit and says she wishes she hadn't started, and all I can tell her is, "I TOLD you at the time not to start." That doesn't seem to help.

[crazyjim]

I've gained 25 pounds that I didn't need or want.  After smoking for over 40 years, I thought it would be tougher to quit.  So far so good and I don't really miss the cigarettes.  The inside glass on my truck stays cleaner and I don't have to stand outside in the cold to smoke anymore.  We keep a supply of celery and radishes on hand.

[10thumbs]

Great news Jim!

Congrats.

My wife likes maybe 10 ciggies a day, I'm not a smoker.  She smokes only in the kitchen (window and exhaust on) and after a good meal in the dining room.  Windows open afterwards.

The place does not smell at all.  Good so.

As for smoking and other vices, tolerance is the way to go, my opinion.  Tolerance meaning, not what others accept, just do it in a measured way.  A little of a lot of stuff might be good for you and your soul, just keep it under control.

I hope for you that you find ways to accept that your new life is indeed the better way.  More important, that you appreciate yourself more.

 

[dieseldawg142]

....

Edited May 10, 2018 by dieseldawg142

[Xingu]

Congrats Jim. Now you can afford more kits. Your body will adjust and the weight gain will stop. You will then be able to do a little exercise and the weight will come back off.... Then we will see about entering you in a marathon.

[mikemodeler]

good for you Jim!

was it hard? did you just cold turkey it or use a smoking cessation aide?

still puffing myself (35 yrs) and am at the point where i would like to give it a serious kick at quitting. my job keeps me ok despite the smogs, for me it's more the money thing...we pay $10 a pack, times 2 a day, do the math for a year (retarded!). could have had my crewcab painted yrs ago, kid is also coming up to driving age- going to need more money.....

That is about $7300 a year, and I doubt it will get any cheaper! 

I never smoked (tried it, didn't like it) but my parents and older siblings did. Despite quitting some time ago, my oldest brother is now battling lung cancer. My parents quit late in life and they lived into their 90's!

[Dave Ambrose]

Congratulations, Jim! I lost my dad to cigarettes. We might have been able to save him, but he couldn't stop smoking when he absolutely had to. Stay with it, you're going to feel better for it.

[oldnslow]

Keep it up Jim , always good to hear of over coming something you wanted to get rid of.

[crazyjim]

good for you Jim!

was it hard? did you just cold turkey it or use a smoking cessation aide?

still puffing myself (35 yrs) and am at the point where i would like to give it a serious kick at quitting. my job keeps me ok despite the smogs, for me it's more the money thing...we pay $10 a pack, times 2 a day, do the math for a year (retarded!). could have had my crewcab painted yrs ago, kid is also coming up to driving age- going to need more money.....

It actually hasn't been that bad.  I used the nicotine patch and went to 4 really stupid classes. I think my biggest assist was keeping celery sticks nearby.  Just to have something in my hand, you know.

Once cartons went to $50, I bought the little machine, filter tubes, tobacco and was making my own cigarettes.  The cost was about $9/carton and took me 45 minutes to complete.

I have the machine and should put it up on ebay to sell.

[crazyjim]

Congrats Jim. Now you can afford more kits. Your body will adjust and the weight gain will stop. You will then be able to do a little exercise and the weight will come back off.... Then we will see about entering you in a marathon.

Affording kits has never been an issue for me. I see.  I want. I buy.  Marathon?  Not going to happen.  I don't think my knees would take punishment like that anymore. I did run the mile, 2 mile, and cross country in high school and college though.

[crazyjim]

Thank you everyone for the comments.  I plan to never have another cigarette.

[High octane]

Thank you everyone for the comments.  I plan to never have another cigarette.

That's a GREAT plan, and I hope that you stick to it. You won't be sorry.

[tmathew1us]

Congrats Jim!!!  You have done a very good thing for your health and showing others that is not too late to quit it great, too. 

I am not a smoker, but as you pointed out, I would imagine that just the habit of having something in your hand for so long that is not there anymore will take some getting used to. 

 

[espo]

I was a heavy smoker into my early twenties. 2-3 packs a day of the old red Pall Malls before they invented filter tips. Yes I would light one off of the old one. I got a sinus infection and was deathly ill. The doctor told me if I wanted to live to see my grand children that I would have to stop now. I only got one grand son out of the deal and my son doesn't even know now where he or his ex are. So that didn't turn out well. Like so many other I gained weight since then I could really taste food for the first time in years. Being an ex smoker I really can't stand to be around smokers at all. I just never realized the smell that was in my hair and on my clothing when I smoked.

[Roadrunner]

Quitting in 2017 is but one of my resolutions, but perhaps the most significant.

[High octane]

Quitting in 2017 is but one of my resolutions, but perhaps the most significant.

Good luck as it's a tough road to travel, but it will be well worth your efforts.

[crazyjim]

It's not that bad Kevin.  Just get it in your head to quit.

[Belugawrx]

After trying cold turkey a couple of times, after 40 yrs smoking

I did the Champix thing ....

$300, I was quit within a month,...and have not had a craving since,....Yahoo !!

[Tom Geiger]

Good for you Jim, keep at it!  

Like Bill Geary, I had a mother who smoked constantly, and I think that was the thing that turned me off to it.  I've never been a smoker.  I agree that cigarette smoke really permeates into everything. I remember going to restaurants and leaving my coat in the car to avoid having it bathed in smoke.  Even then, I remember going home and not being able to evade the smell.  I changed clothes for bed and realized it was in my hair. I had to take a shower!  Awful lingering stuff.

January should be interesting.  They have given fair warning at work that smoking will be banned on the properties. In December they demolished the smoke shacks.  Off the property involves driving a car. Parking spaces are like gold, so we avoid going out to lunch.  Can't imagine having to do that a few times a day. We'll see how that goes!

 

Edited December 31, 2016 by Tom Geiger