Quit smoking today

I figured the easy way to handle the first day was to get hammered so I couldn't go buy any. Every time I wanted a cigarette, I started cleaning the house instead. I hate cleaning anything other than brew equipment. Actually I hate that too but have kept up on the epuipment since beerliness is next to cleanliness. Any way at this rate I wont be embarrassed for people to stop by and visit in about 3-10 days. Yah it is a mess, but I can see the curve of the earth now. I think I can, I think I can, Ah hell... I know I can!

good for you! I quit about 4 months ago, I smoked for five years. I don't even really think about it anymore. the hardest time for me was about 3 weeks in. although i admit, sometimes i have a smoke while i'm drinking with buddies

Congratulations! I smoked for 12 years and last weekend was 2 years smoke free. It can be done! I went cold turkey and after about 3-4 days it was all mental.
Some recommendations...drink lots of water and keep checking this thread. I'm sure there are a lot of us here who have been there and will lend support (online resources helped me A LOT!)

Good job, Cheers!

As Pf Brew alluded, after about 3-4 days, all of the nicotene is out of your system. From there, it's all mental. If you're looking for tips to help you stay off the sticks, let us know. I quit smoking about a year ago, although I'm to a point now where I might have one or two if I'm out drinking with friends.

Good choice, man. Your lungs will thank you, and those evil staircases won't seem so bad!

yeah the mental is the hardest part. I got use to smoking to and from work, then on my lunch break. the physical habit was harder to break for me than the nicotine

Good for you! I quit nearly 6.5 years ago when we found out SWMBO was preggers with my daughter. I had tried several times before that but I needed a really good reason to make it stick. I wish you all the best as you kick the habit!

mrr goodwrench, your avatar is freaking hilarious!

The hardest part to quitting, at least in my mind, is making up your mind that it's time to quit in the first place. People can try and force it on you, shove their stupid TV commercials down your throat, and otherwise try to encourage you, but it's a personal choice. Making that choice in the first place is 75% of the battle.

I quit on sunday.Good luck to you.My 7 yr old asked me saturday night to quit smoking so i would live longer so im done may have a cigar every once in a while tho

Woot! Good for you man. Been really thinking about quitting as well. Been eyeing up those plans for the Brutus 10 and figured out that at $7.00 per pack (Ohio) * 365 I could save over $2500 which would more than pay for the rig! That's enough to make me want to quit, after just a year's time. Keep it up bro!

Thanks all. I have signed up with ASH( Arizona Smokers Helpline) and really want to make this the last time I smoke. I'll accept any tips anyone might have. I've smoked for 30 years now and I would really like to breathe again. Once the house is clean I plan on using my mtn bike which I used to ride about 10 miles a day. I felt good back then but life got in the way, well not this time, its all about me.

Started smoking at 15. Swithced permanently to chewing after knee surgery in '99. Finally quit all tobacco Feb. 23rd of last year.

Stick with it!!!!! It is SO doable once you decide and have no shame using ANY means available to support you in stopping and staying that way.

Welcome to your new life!

I have a tip. Stay away from beer until you know you can drink without smoking. Beer will make you smoke.
I'm just sayin'

bsruther said:

I have a tip. Stay away from beer until you know you can drink without smoking. Beer will make you smoke.
I'm just sayin'

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If I had to give up smoking AND beer, I would have committed mass genocide

I was a closet smoker for 15+ years. Only smoked to and from work in the car.

Once our office moved 3 miles away...the opportunity was gone and it was easy to quit. It's the normal daily mechanical routine that makes it such a habit.

Been done for 5 1/2 years and no yearnings.

Get hypnotised...Quit 3 1/2 years ago after a $50 group session...Really helps with the mind fu*k...

BierMuncher said:

I was a closet smoker for 15+ years. Only smoked to and from work in the car.

Once our office moved 3 miles away...the opportunity was gone and it was easy to quit. It's the normal daily mechanical routine that makes it such a habit.

Been done for 5 1/2 years and no yearnings.

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This sounds exactly like me the last few years I smoked. the drive to and from work was killer, finding something else to replace the habit of lighting up while driving i.e. chewing gum, was critical for me

Good luck! One of the greatest things you'll ever do for yourself and the people that care about you.

Buncha quitters. You are really gonna reget this, especially when everybody quits and the gubmint ain't got no tax monies coming in for welfare and illegal babies healthcare.
Think about those poor little children dying because you quit smoking.
AP

I quit last month, its been 4 weeks and 2 days for me. I quit not for my health, but because the .gov raised the taxes again and im not going to pay 6 bucks a pack. I got over the whole mind thing after 2 or 3 weeks. I still use nicotine in the form of chewing tobacco, but I dont like it so much, so I think I will ween myself off the chewing tobacco, but for right now I am enjoying it. I fell much better by the way, and can smell and taste alot better. I was smoking 1-1.5 packs a day. Currently I chew 1 can every 2-3 days, and the cans are cheap here from 99cents-2.50 a can.

tireater said:

Get hypnotised...Quit 3 1/2 years ago after a $50 group session...Really helps with the mind fu*k...

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Not saying it works or anything, but my best friends moms boyfriend smoked cigs for 30+ years and got hypnotized and stopped like it was nothing.

Every time you get a craving though go and throw 7 or 8 dollars in a jar(pack of cigs), and after a while you will have some brewing cash saved up. Then you won't even think about buying a pack when 3 packs could be a new 5 gallon brew!

Plus.... when those temps in phoenix rise for summer, it makes it really rough to smoke cigs, unless you stink up the house. Having the smoke out in 115 degrees really help me quit

edit: Good luck though!!!!

good job!

deciding to quit is the hardest part I think. After that its a mental challenge to stick with it.

I quit chewing over a year ago after seeing the bodies exhibit in Vegas. Seeing what tobacco does to your body, it became easy to quit. I miss it sometimes, but have stuck with it.

Cheers!

Every time you wanna light up think of how you can spend the money on brewing instead.. :rockin:

I'm off them 6-7 years now, I can't even really remember to be honest it's so long now.

I used Nicotine replacement in the form of a Nicorette inhaler and it helped me beat the actual smoking habit and then a few weeks later I dealt with the nicotine withdrawals, I found it a lot easier that way.
I think the nicotine replacement courses are illegal in the US, which is a pity, cos they do help.

Joe, the beer will start tasting better as your taste buds come back. Good luck.

I wish you the best of luck. I keep telling myself that I'll quit too. I usually get a week and then fail. My work has a smoke room where I always take my breaks and that makes it very hard for me to quit.

Sunflower seeds worked for me. I kept sunflower seeds everywhere. Everytime I got the urge I threw a handful in.

llazy_llama said:

The hardest part to quitting, at least in my mind, is making up your mind that it's time to quit in the first place. People can try and force it on you, shove their stupid TV commercials down your throat, and otherwise try to encourage you, but it's a personal choice. Making that choice in the first place is 75% of the battle.

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I believe this is also the key to successfully quitting. You gotta be doing it because you want to.

nghtmre4u said:

I quit on sunday.Good luck to you.My 7 yr old asked me saturday night to quit smoking so i would live longer so im done may have a cigar every once in a while tho

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On the other hand, the little ones can be quite an influence. I couldn't imagine how that'd pull on the ole' heart strings

double_e5 said:

Sunflower seeds worked for me. I kept sunflower seeds everywhere. Every time I got the urge I threw a handful in.

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My uncle did something similar to help. It was the nicotine that was a problem but just the oral fixation. He carried a bag of mini carrots around with him. He just needed that hand to mouth routine.



Good luck. +1 to the beer starting to taste better. You should brew an honorary "Welcome Home Taste buds" beer

danorocks17 said:

yeah the mental is the hardest part. I got use to smoking to and from work, then on my lunch break. the physical habit was harder to break for me than the nicotine

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So...Very...True.

I curse the day I lit up for the first time (after my damn Statistics 308 final sophore year in college)...

It's coming very near for me...cig tax in RI just went up to the highest in the nation...a 'buy 1 get 1 free' pack of Parliaments was $12. Jesus...

I know a few people who have had success using Chantix to quit. I'm four weeks into it, and it has been remarkable. Much easier this time around than when I tried to quit with the patch.

Sorry dude, I just realised that I told you my story and didn't even wish you the very best of luck, sincerely.

bsruther said:

I have a tip. Stay away from beer until you know you can drink without smoking. Beer will make you smoke.
I'm just sayin'

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I already found a fix for that. Get hammered so you won't drive to the store. It's working so far. I strongly disapprove of drinking and driving.
I'm using the patch for now. I've thought of chantix but its a bit pricey for me in the current economic situation. I have also thought of hypnotism, but since I've been called stubborn minded by several of the ex SWMBOs, I'm not sure if it would help or hurt. The hovel is beginning to resemble a house, I just wish trash pickup was more than twice a week. I'm often thinking about what I could do to the brewtrailer with the extra $40 a week and how much better beer will taste. Thanks for your ideas and keep them coming! I'll try just about anything to be a successful quitter.

to everyone that is quitting because its too expensive, what if you moved and the smokes are half the price you are paying now?? or you win the multi million dollar jackpot in the next lottery?? would you still smoke??

money can not be the reason you are quitting.

I have smoked for 15 years, I quit this past Monday.

I quit for myself not anyone else.

If I can quit anyone else can I am the definition of chain smoker, for the past 5 years I "cut" it down to 2 packs a day

I think for most people who are trying to quit, that extra cash in pocket is just icing on the cake, not a sole motivator (if it was, they can always learn to roll their own and save some cash)

i agree, i dont think it's just the price. homeless people find cash to buy smokes, so there has to be another motivator i.e. heath reasons, kids, wife nagging your a$$ to quit, personal hygiene, ect

I used nicorette gum to quit and became addicted to it. Chewed for a year. Then to quit that I switched to the patch. Used the patch for two weeks. I've been nicotine free for 4 years now.

good luck man! once you get the nicotine out of your system and you can start to smell and taste again you'll walk by someone who smells like stale smoke and think, "did I REALLY smell like that?!?" a lit cigarette still smells good to me but the smell of stale smoke on a person or their breath after a smoke just turns my stomach.

GregR said:

good luck man! once you get the nicotine out of your system and you can start to smell and taste again you'll walk by someone who smells like stale smoke and think, "did I REALLY smell like that?!?" a lit cigarette still smells good to me but the smell of stale smoke on a person or their breath after a smoke just turns my stomach.

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That may take a while since I'm patching it. But I do know what you mean from previous almost successful attempts. After so many years it will be the habit first then the nicotine addiction.

YOU CAN DO IT YOU CAN DO IT YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!

Since you really can't stay perpetually druk while you detox from the nicotine, I found that atomic fireballs, and candied ginger really helped me get through it...and wasabi peanuts...the hotter the spice, the greater it helps burn that craving away!!!

Hang in there brother!!! You can do it!

I smoked 2 packs a day of Camel straights for almost 15 years. I quit in 1984. Just put 'em down one day and that was it.
In all the years since, I have found the worst smokers to be the self righteous
ex-smokers. I would rather sit in a smokey ol' bar anyday than have to put up with knuckleheads preaching to me about why someone should not smoke.
I say to anybody that wants to quit, dont try to justify it, just do it. Then remember where you came from.
AP