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Hey, Blisstree Reader! We thought you might like these three new posts we just published: Can I Become An Ex-Smoker? Watch Me Try, Top 7 Smoking Myths That Stop You From Quitting and What Happens to Your Body When You Drink a Coke Every Day, For a Long Time.
This is the first in a series of posts by Bill from California, a Blisstree reader, former smoker, and active member of our passionate community of commenters.
Here’s an update: Before you comment, click to read Bill from California’s second and third personal essays about smoking.
Am I A Former Smoker?
Almost a year ago to this day, after roughly fifty years of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, I launched myself into a cold turkey quit. Despite the fact that my quit has been an imperfect one with warts, I consider it successful – though others may not. This post is about my quit, but mainly it’s about the many things (positive and negative) I’ve learned in the process.
Launching My Quit
By April 2009, I had tried most of the nicotine replacement therapies in various attempts to quit smoking – Zyban, gum, patches – without success. Then I heard about Champix (known as Chantix in the U.S.), which works directly with the action of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. Their quit program allows you to smoke normally for one week while on Champix, then you eliminate cigarettes and continue through a several-month program.
Like my previous experiences with NRTs, this one also failed me, as I found myself still smoking cigarettes well into the second and third week of Champix. So I decided to stop everything cold turkey. No more Champix, no more cigarettes. Most importantly, I set myself a short-term goal: Ten days without adding a molecule of nicotine to my body, so that I could at least get past the chemical part of my addiction and then re-assess. Those ten days were hellish to be sure, but somehow I mustered the strength to get through them and at that point I was launched on my quit.
The First Slip
My wife quit smoking 25 years ago. She slips once in a while in reaction to stressful moments, but she is able to limit them. Last summer we were in the south of France for several weeks. I had not smoked since my April pledge. One afternoon, after a pleasant meal in an outdoor cafe, the French couple at the next table lighted up cigarettes. Suddenly, and out of thin air, my wife and I had the same impulse: We bought the couple drinks and bummed two cigarettes for ourselves. It was a guilty pleasure that raised a smile, but I worried that my quit was finished. But rather than rush out, buy a pack for myself and smoke it, this time I gave the matter some thought. My choice was either to go back to regular smoking – intending to start a new quit at some undetermined moment in the future – or to declare that this time it would be different. What that meant is that this time the slip would be only a minor setback in a long-term, uninterrupted process. But what process and how to make it work? I know that continuing my cold turkey quit would not work – deprivation is not my style! So I set myself some long-term goals that seemed more realistic:
a) Do NOT slip back into regular smoking
b) Recognize and accept that I would continue to have slips, and most importantly
c) Figure out a way to control the slips so as to keep a) going.
Managing Slips
This is the most important and surely the most controversial component of my odyssey. I’ve seen that it cannot work for most, but it has worked (so far, at least) for me. Of course I resist slips, but I also allow that for me they will be inevitable – at least for the time being. When I do slip, I try to stay positive by looking back over the progress I’ve already made in avoiding a relapse into regular smoking. Only then do I buy a pack and allow myself a few puffs from one of them. Then – and this is important – I destroy the the pack irretrievably, by wetting it down under the faucet and tossing the nineteen survivors into the trash.
I’ve learned that if I keep the 19 smoke-able survivors in the house, I will smoke them. I’ve been known to rummage through ashtrays in the past. So I don’t keep the pack. A pack of 20 cigarettes costs more than six dollars in the San Francisco Bay area, and the taxes continue to rise. So, my method is expensive enough that, after slipping, I’m not so motivated to slip again. During the past year, the frequency of my slips has varied somewhat depending on the stresses that occur, but I’ve been able to continue my imperfect control over them. I’ve learned that it’s very important for me to feel positive about what I have accomplished, and I work on that.
Negative input needs to be confronted directly and rejected. For example, I’ve been told that what I have accomplished is not a quit, but rather that I have simply cut down to a cigarette or so per week, the total of all those stolen puffs. Surely one can make that interpretation, but for me it’s better to see it in another light as an achievement – namely that I have not been a regular smoker for a full year. I have gradually come to feel confident that I will never go back to regular smoking, but freely admit that I have not yet succeeded in eliminating the slips altogether. I believe that I will eventually, and that is my goal – the ultimate prize. In the meantime, though you may disagree, I will continue to think of myself as a former smoker.
Stay tuned for Part 2 by Bill: Bias in the Public Health Community
Original Blisstree Post By Wade Meredith:
I think one of the main reasons it’s so hard to quit smoking is because all the benefits of quitting (and all the dangers of continuing) seem very far away. So here’s a timeline about some of the more immediate effects of quitting smoking and how they will affect your body right now.
- In 20 minutes your blood pressure will drop back down to normal.
- In 8 hours the carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) levels in your blood stream will drop by half, and oxygen levels will return to normal.
- 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 return to a normal level.
- In 72 hours your bronchial tubes will relax, and your energy levels will increase.
- In 2 weeks your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks.
- In 3 to 9 months coughing, wheezing, and breathing problems will dissipate as 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.
So, you have more immediate things to look forward to if you quit now besides just freaking out about not being able to smoke. So quit now!
View a high-quality graphic representation of this post here.
Update: Does this make you think it’s time to quit? Check out these 5 Smoking Gadgets That Might Help You Quit Smoking.
The Easy way to Stop Smoking by Allan Carr
GREAT BOOK for anyone thinking about quitting!!! I am so glad I spent the $11 dollars on this book. I
good on ye
well done everybody
hi folks i am 40 and smoked for 27 years this is my 14th day without a cig,i started champix on the 4th jan,over new year i had a very bad chest infection ended up on antibiotics doc not happy as i WAS a smoker,i knew i had to do something about it. i am feeling better within myself now but have good days and bad days i am trying to stay strong and positive…today ive felt a bit aggitated,hopefully telling yous all will help me through another day..
Is been 26 days seen I smoke my last cigarette. I am starting to feel better, my workouts are longer i don’t feel tired so fast. One of the key to quieting is haven the support of family members and friends. I also have not drink any beer at all and I think that is helping too because beer and cigarettes is like eating ice cream and cake..lol. but smoking will kill you in the end…good luck to everyone that quit today and are looking to these website for help and support….
I have not smoked for 5 months now. My husband and I had the laser treatment done and it worked beautifully. He had it done once before & quit for a year then started back up again with cigars – I think mostly because I hadnt quit & was a big temptation.
We both went for the treatment and neither has smoked since. Again, I can’t say laser will work for everyone but it certainly did the trick for us.
Good luck to everyone!
Hi Eileen….so pleased to hear you and your husband have quit but may i ask what laser treatment is and what it involves….i have never heard of it…..thanks …..Fiona………xx
After smoking for 35 years, my husband ended up in i.c.u. with heart failure. This was a major shock and wake up call. We are both only 55 years old. He stopped smoking immediately, which I never thought possible. Has not smoked since then which is 9 months ago. Now its my turn, but cold turkey for me….. forget it. I have been mentally preparing myself for quitting since he stopped and at last with the help of CHAMPIX tablets I started and it has been 5 days now and I am still as determined as when I committed to stopping. No cravings and a wonderful informative support system when I registered on their website.
Hi Louise…..i had a wake up call in Oct 2010 when the doctor told me i had ocpd and had to start using an inhaler….i gave myself a date for Jan 2011 and prepared myself to quit on that day….i also used champix and found them to be really good….myhusband stopped on the same day but had to use patches because he is on medication……we are both still non smokers and feeling so much better for it……i dont even need to use my inhaler…..i used to be on this site at least a dozen times a day when i quit but i found that the more i talked about cigarettes the more i craved for one,….so i havnt been on the site for a long time now but feel much stronger within myself now….good luck to you and your husband and to everyone else who has kicked this awful habbit…..xx
I quit smoking on friday… so I guess its 5 days and I seem to have no cravings for smokes, but am eating food like a monster. I smoked since 13 and am now 36. I decided to quit because I am going for kidney stones surgery on the 6th of feb and wanted to be in better health. Anyways everytime I feel like a smoke I tell myself I am not a dragon and don’t need to blow smoke.. It seems to work for me.. goood luck to all you!
2day is my 14th day not smoking,After 37 years of doing this i feel great.I’m doing this cold turkey, any tips can use them
Today is 21st of Jan 2012 and it is exactly 3 years back in 2009 on the same day that I stopped puffing those cancer sticks.
I have not smoked 32,500 of the cancer sticks @ 30 per day / 900 per month /10,800 per year.
That is more than 1,620 packs not smoked.
That is almost US$ 5,000 saved.
Plus visits to the Clinic & Doctors Fee and Medicine cost for the stupid smokers cough and breathlessness —- have stopped.
More money saved. I am a financial wizard !!!!!!
I have not slipped even once and will never smoke those cancer sticks again.
Best of luck to all of you who are attempting to quit . You will win . You must win , against those Cancer sticks
hi.im 51 years old been smoking since i was 9 or ten i have never stopped for even 1 day.recently started feeling smoke in the back of my throat when i breathed in heavy whitch caused bad couthing. i then decided i had to try something .so got mints from chemist when u feel like a ciggarete u take a mint .the mint burns ure throat so u dont feel like smoking.been of the cigs now for 10 days .now when i breath in i dont feel any smoke. hardest time for me is after dringing coffee. best thing is people i know cant believe i could stop so good feedback. also felt sick first week dont anymore. good luck everybody.
I have been smoking since I was 16. I am now 47…smoking for waaaaay too long. Tried to quite about a dozen times…never made it past a week. I am now tobacco feee for 3 days and hanging on. Today was a stressful day, and I REALLY wanted one…but i didnt. Its uplifting to read what everyone has done. Keeps me hopefull that i can make it this time. Thanks everyone!!
Great Job to ALL of you:)
I started in college along with drinking. I’m 10 yrs younger and have stopped smoking for about 2 wks. I work out regularly and have when I smoked too. I get the craves here and there but they don’t seem to last long. My diet has been the same, protein and veggies, etc. and I think to myself maybe that is what keeping the cravings away. Not sure. My grandfathers both smoked, uncles too. My parents never. I hated it growing up. So, I thought for sure I was doomed. I have proven, as well as you so far, that cold turkey is good. I really want one right now, but I think about it for a sec and then go back to doing what I’m doing. When I have a cocktail(s) that’s when I should really want some right? It’s been two weekends and I haven’t asked, bummed, or bought. My teeth are whiter after two weeks. My clothes are fine and my skin appears better. I’m looking for the little things that smoking has “tried” to damage and keep that in the back of my head. I don’t have to worry about smelling bad or over cologning myself in the am or pm. I’m NOT diverting my old habits because I want to push through the old habits and make them NORMAL again, but just without the cigs. Smoking has been a big lie to me and has robbed me of years of youthfulness. It’s robbed everyone of their youth and lives. So, I can’t go back. I have to try and remember the times when I thought it was horrible, it stank, I didn’t like the people that smoked and keep that in mind. KEEP GOING Y’ALL!
I am 46 have smoked since i was 14 quit 2 yaers ago for a lil over a year,started back up,Quit this time december 30 2011 for good 19 days tomorrow cold turkey and alot of prayer..Like Nike says just do it..Quit I will pray for you…
congrats to you Eric,my wife and I quit in October 2011,and going strong,no desire to smoke . We believe that what ever you set your mind to do can be accomplished. First we prayed and then just quit believing God,any one can do it !
After 40 years @ 2 packs a day of 16mg smokes Ive been free for 7 days. A tip for the over 50 yrs of age smoker -cold turkey for the first 5 days (it can be done!!) + plenty of water. This has a really dramatic effect on the system – more good than harm – u sure know your insides are undergoing a major refit/rethink – then lozenges not patches (if u need them) and walking. All I can say it that I’m done for the next 30 seconds but Ive been saying that for the past 604,800 seconds. Heres luck to you and me
thatgood martin i been of the fag 14 week i was on 30 a day
CONGRATS!!!! I smoked for the last 30 years…and it really is tough!!! I can relate to your message. Keep on keeping on…WTG!!!
I am just trying to get through every minute. Its only been 3 days for me, and i am finding myself REALLY aggrivated by everything!!! AHHHH
Please pray for me.
Allen Carr saved my life. i would have never believed that i could just read a book and never feel like smoking again – especially since nicotine gum, patches or champix didnt work for me. I quit in 2008 and have never felt the need for a cigarette. i wish more doctors would prescribe a book like this rather than have people waste their money on cures that are designed by non-smokers to help smokers quit. if you are serious about quitting, please read the book.
Hi everyone! I quit smoking 7 months ago, I smoked for 40 years,average of 1/2 pk a day. I’m not going to say it was easy cause it wasn’t but I love the way I can breathe now and laugh without coughing up a lung. I smell great and no raunchy taste in my mouth when I wake up in the morning, no more freezing out in the cold to have a nicotine fix and no more watching the clock in no smoking areas. I did find a health coach to advise me on what to eat and supplements to take from day one to now, having her help definately made the transistion of smoker to non smoker easier ( I had tried on my own many times before and failed)I am so much happier as a non smoker and know in my heart that this time I will be succesful. For anyone who wants to know what a health coach does you can go here, there’s some good reading there as well http://www.springmorning.co/index.html Congrats to all who have quit! To those thinking about it….just do it! Save your life, you CAN live without cigarettes, you Can’t live with them!
I stopped smoking 2 months ago after more than 30 years of addiction. I’ve tried quitting many times but the sense of loss and depression always took me back to those little cancer sticks. The longest stint I did was 4 weeks.
This time I’m using patches and they really seem to help. You still need will power but I’m not experiencing the withdrawal symptoms that I found so difficult to deal with. I’m not irritated, angry or depressed. They’ve also helped me to realise that it’s the nicotine that I’m addicted to and not the habit of smoking. I’m feeling really optimistic this time and looking forward to dropping down to the lower level patch at the end of the week.
I’ve also been spending my ‘smoking money’ on frivolous things that I wouldn’t normally buy. It’s great looking at something and knowing it was ‘free’ because i’ve quit.
Good luck to all those going smoke free this year.
Well done Sue. I’m a smoker- currently using Paul Mckenna cd and book to prep for becoming a non smoker. Reading what you’ve said I think you are going to be one of the success stories cos you seem to have found the right mind set. You say you’re positive and optimistic and basically you sound “confident”. You’re doing so well!! I wont say best of luck as it isn’t luck that’s working for you – it’s your own strength and confidence. Keep it up love!!!
Hi All. This is my 2nd time at quitting. I am 41 this year and have smoked since I was 13. Im only on my 4th day, but I have noticed this time around I feel very nauseus all the time. Has anybody else had these symptoms since they quit? Other than that I am holding my own,so hopefully I can continue the fight!!
I’ve been smoking for 5 years now I’m 18 and it’s my 4th day too, honnestly drink a lot of water, and it will go away.
hi chris it go a way soon.
hi chris it well go away soon,i stop 17 week ago .i feel not to bad.
hi chris,i am also 41 this year and smoked since i was 13.this is also my 2nd attempt….I am on my 14th day now off the cigs with the help of champix,im not sure weather u r using anything or going cold turkey,sometimes i do feel a bit sick,not sure if it is a withdrawl or the champix..hopefully this passes for us and we are smoke free the rest of our lives………..all the best
Allen Carr’s book is fab! For the first time in twenty years I have quit cold turkey and am on day 4 with minimal withdrawal symptoms and a positive attitude to quitting! Any time I feel I need to smoke I pick up the book and read a few lines…Good luck to everyone quitting this year! x
Hi, everyone, Wow its amazing to see all the people I recognize on here. I havent been on here for months, but as of Jan. 1st it has been one year since I smoked my last cig. This site helped my sooo much. I promise even though it feels like you are giving up your best friend it does get easier. Most days now I dont even think about smoking a cigarette. I want to say thank you for the people on here that really help me get though those first few weeks. You guys helped my change my life. A special Thanks to Fiona, Bernadett, and Hang tuff.
Hellllllllllllllooooooooooooooo Sherry………..Fiona here…..just came on here for a nosey and happened to see your comment…..i found that being on here a lot at the start was pretty hard going as all i was doing was talking about cigarettes…..thats why i disappeared for a few months…..had a little blip but am now well and truley back on track….i used champix which i thought were great but after my blip i had to do cold turkey, and am so pleased i have managed to stay away from cigs…..my husband has also still quit so we can help each other if things get tough…..well dne on your 1st year….i am very proud of you….keep it up Sherry…..xxxxx
Remember I said I finished off the half of pack of cigarettes after 4 d ays NOT smoking??? Well…guess what happened with the remaining half of pack? I finished that off yesterday!! So….having not purchased any more cigarettes, I am, once again, resuming Quit Day 1….
@ Dee: well, honestly, there never seems to be the right time to quit…so I just jump right in there and try to do it. But to me it’s like I am two people: the person who believes I will never be successful in quitting (that’s the nicotine addiction monster, really, not me, talking); and the second person is the real me who wants to stop, knows all the reasons why to stop, and all the reasons TO stop, has a hard time stopping, but continues to try to stop until it’s a success. Smoking is the worst habit I ever developed!!! Nicotine is out of your body in what, 2 – 3 days??? It’s the psychological part that’s the hardest to overcome. We will do it and we will be happy NON SMOKERS!!!
It worked best for me to set a date and do it, but everyone is different. I’ve quit three times, all had set dates. The last one, August 24, 2011, has stuck thus far. I was hypnotized. I realize that doesn’t seem to work for everyone, but I cannot praise it enough. I literally don’t even THINK about cigarettes or smoking, with very occasional, fleeting thoughts, but not cravings. It was the psychology of the addiction I needed help with, and hypnosis seems to have done the trick. If I can quit, you can too!