Two years smoke free

[Samui Bodoh]

Hi All

 

Yes, I have made it two years smoke-free, and yes, I am proud of myself (Three Cheers For Me!). Okay, reformed smokers are the worst, so that is enough of that.

 

I am posting on my experience of quitting in the hope that it'll help someone else achieve success in beating the weed; if you are a smoker and you are reading this, then you are (consciously or unconsciously) thinking of quitting.

 

Do it. Just do it.

 

The single most important thing for me was the actual decision to quit. Okay, that might sound like a statement from Captain Obvious, but it wasn't; it took me 35 years to really, seriously, honest to God, decide to quit. Yes, I said numerous times that I should quit, I made half-hearted attempts on an irregular basis to quit, I always knew that I should quit, but I never seriously made the effort. And, I never seriously made the decision because I did not think that I could do it. 

 

But, I could and did. And, so can you.

 

What caused me to make the decision? It was a combination of factors;

 

• I am an early morning cyclist, and I used to get home from my ride and have my chest hurt (I called it 'lung burn'; smokers will know what I mean) for a while and I knew that it wasn't good. 
• I am in my early 50's and I asked myself when I was going to quit if I did not do it then; was I going to quit at age 55? 60? 65? Was I going to die a smoker? I came to the conclusion that if I didn't quit then/soon, I was never going to. And, I did not like that idea.
• The idea of "Money for Nothing". The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was spending a great deal of money for nothing; seriously, what does smoking buy you? If you spend cash on booze, it'll relax you and often lead to a good time sipping a few beers with friends or sharing a bottle of champagne/wine with a special lady, but what does smoking give you? Nothing. Nothing at all. Zip. Nil. Nada. 
• I saw a guy, roughly my age, who had a Trachea Tube, that little piece of plastic that you wear at the base of your throat when you have ruined your throat with a hole. And yes, I saw him puffing away. Still. I said to myself "that is not a pretty picture. Do you really want to be like that?". The answer was "No!".
• General anger at the cigarette companies. They got me hooked when I was a teenager, and it just <deleted> me off that my addiction was fueling their corporate profits.
• The inability to do anything without considering cigarettes. An example; as my user name suggests, I live on Koh Samui and I live within short walking distance to a gorgeous, white sand beach. But, I never, ever went to the beach unless I had my cigarettes with me. Never. Not once. Not ever. I thought to myself "being tied (hooked!?) to something like that is simply no good, and I needed to do something about it".
• Good luck. I am frugal by both nature and habit, and about 2 years and 10 days ago, the Thai government announced that the taxes on cigarettes would rise on Monday the 17th of September. I leaped into action; I made the decision that on that Monday I was going to quit.

 

What did I do and what worked?

 

In preparation, the Sunday night I broke and threw away all remaining cigarettes in my house before I went to sleep. I washed all the ashtrays and hid them in a cupboard. I put any and all lighters away in the 'junk drawer'. I had a different routine arranged for Monday morning (breaking routines is a crucial step). I put a clear, see-through jar on my desk and each day I made sure that I had the proper cash to put into it; at that time, I was smoking 2 packs a day which cost 174 Baht. Each morning, instead of lighting up my first smoke of the day while I read the news on my computer, I would place a 100 Baht bill, a 50 baht bill, a 20 baht bill and 4x1 baht coins into the jar. This was actually the single most useful thing that I did; I would have my morning ceremony of not smoking and instead look at all the cash that I was saving. I highly recommend this to any and all!

 

The first few days were... unpleasant, but I was determined, I kept looking at the jar, every time I had the cravings I would do something/anything to distract myself, and I gritted my teeth. After a few days, I realized 2 things; it was really unpleasant BUT I could bear it and secondly my jar of money was filling up fast. After that, it was simply a matter of hanging in there. Okay, I know, another 'Captain Obvious' statement, but I started to believe that I could actually do it and that made all the difference.

 

Days became weeks, weeks became months and (still mildly unbelievably!) months have now become years.

 

Do I miss it? Yes, sometimes, but not often. The days of having a 'craving' are long since gone, but every once in a while I think to myself that I would like a cigarette or a cigar; those thoughts actually scare the hell out of me as it is so insidious! But, I refrain. I still cycle every morning and I can notice a clear difference in not having 'lung burn', but more importantly I can actually feel that I take in more oxygen than I used to as I cycle. Food tastes better. I have... er.... ahem... 'more lead in my pencil'. I don't stink/reek of smoke. I have saved approximately 140,000 Baht. Yes, again, 140,000 Baht that I would have spent with NOTHING to show for it. 140,000 Baht. What would you do with a gift of 140,000 Baht?

 

What can I say to people who are still smoking? It is time to quit. The medical research is all in and it is definitive; smoking kills (if you are one of the people that does not believe that; sorry, I can't help you). Can you do it? This is/was the vital question for me, and the answer is 'Yes"; I was a heavy smoker for 35 years and I quit, and if I can quit then anyone can. Should you quit? Yes. Pick a day and get to it.

 

That is my story. I honestly and sincerely hope that it helps someone quit as I know the benefits and I would like to see others reap the rewards as well.

 

That said, it doesn't matter a Rat's Ass what I say or advise because you (the smoker) have to do it. Period. End of.

 

So, do it.

 

A final note which assisted me greatly; may I suggest that you pop into this Forum every once and a while for some moral support? I certainly did and it was a great help; a deep and sincere 'Thank You!' to all who offered encouragement and kind wishes to me over the last 2 years.

 

Good Luck!

 

 

[Matzzon]

I am the first one to congratulate you. I have also been smoke free for about 2 years now. No celebratrions, though.

 

But what a bunch of Bull. That´s just like everybody that achieved something. Ooh, I have the perfect plan. Do like me! Same with wealth and carrier moves in life. People writing countless of books about it.

The only thing you can do is quit, and stand by your choice. There is no plan.

Same with your carrier. Get educated and be representative and you will succeed.

Wealth, yeah, almost always comes with a great idea and know how.

It´s not more to it. 

[Nyezhov]

I want a smoke soooooo bad.

[Skallywag]

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

That is my story. I honestly and sincerely hope that it helps someone quit as I know the benefits and I would like to see others reap the rewards as well.

+1

[Andrew Dwyer]

Well done to the OP , great advice !!

I stopped around 15 years ago after smoking since mid teens. One day I just decided I was gonna do it and did it, will power is your strongest ally .

But, if i needed to stop smoking now I would use the money in the jar method, possibly setting your self a target like a new scooter for example.
Find a photo of the mc you want ( but don’t have the spare cash) print it out and stick it on the jar, a quick glance in a morning will renew your waning will power.

Forget the patches and the gum ( and definitely the vaping after recent discoveries !! ), just set your mind to it and be strong !! but a little financial incentive certainly helps also !!

[Cadbury]

Congratulations! I know I have said this before as a warning but even though you have given up you are still only a smoker who has stopped smoking. 

I have given up for over 20 years but I still get the odd twinge especially for a nice cigar. The good thing is that these days that twinge only lasts for a nano second, so to speak. The longer you go the easier it becomes to stay a non smoker.

[mommysboy]

I just gave up (21 days). Actually quitting smoking was easier than quitting vaping, because I knew smoking was bad for me, whilst vaping is near harmless.  It's just that vaping is illegal in Thailand and I felt unsafe with the liquids.  If I was in the UK I guess I'd be vaping.

 

Anyway, what bothers me is not the giving up, but staying off it.  I suppose I just have to remind myself how dangerous cigarette smoking is and how I want to live a long, healthy life.

 

But methinks you protest too much.  Clearly, you were really, really hooked and are still missing it.  But I can only sympathize.  If we lived in a more enlightened country we could have the best of both worlds.  

 

 

[amykat]

The money jar was an interesting and good idea!

[Matzzon]

47 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Well done to the OP , great advice !!

I stopped around 15 years ago after smoking since mid teens. One day I just decided I was gonna do it and did it, will power is your strongest ally .

But, if i needed to stop smoking now I would use the money in the jar method, possibly setting your self a target like a new scooter for example.
Find a photo of the mc you want ( but don’t have the spare cash) print it out and stick it on the jar, a quick glance in a morning will renew your waning will power.

Forget the patches and the gum ( and definitely the vaping after recent discoveries !! ), just set your mind to it and be strong !! but a little financial incentive certainly helps also !!

Wow! Another one. Where is the world going. I have been advocating that too much use of social media is damaging a persons check of reality.

Really? So, today grown up people need a picture of something they want to get the thumb out of their <deleted> to do the right thing. It´s not enough with all the health benefits that quitting smoking stands for. No that would be too smart and realistic. Instead we need to look on pictures, like a 7 year old waiting for his new Lego Ninjago close to christmas.

You people are really something! Grow up.

[mommysboy]

5 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

Wow! Another one. Where is the world going. I have been advocating that too much use of social media is damaging a persons check of reality.

Really? So, today grown up people need a picture of something they want to get the thumb out of their <deleted> to do the right thing. It´s not enough with all the health benefits that quitting smoking stands for. No that would be too smart and realistic. Instead we need to look on pictures, like a 7 year old waiting for his new Lego Ninjago close to christmas.

You people are really something! Grow up.

 

I guess here is someone else really missing a good chuff????

[mommysboy]

OP hasn't posted a follow up- I expect he's popped down the shop for a couple of packs of Marlboro red.????

[Matzzon]

1 minute ago, mommysboy said:

OP hasn't posted a follow up- I expect he's popped down the shop for a couple of packs of Marlboro red.????

Yep, the preassure got on him, when all the cheers and claps on his back didn´t emerge. 

[ravip]

11 years smoke free.

Courtesy: Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking.

Read the book and quit cold turkey. It was a piece of cake.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Wow! Another one. Where is the world going. I have been advocating that too much use of social media is damaging a persons check of reality.

Really? So, today grown up people need a picture of something they want to get the thumb out of their to do the right thing. It´s not enough with all the health benefits that quitting smoking stands for. No that would be too smart and realistic. Instead we need to look on pictures, like a 7 year old waiting for his new Lego Ninjago close to christmas.

You people are really something! Grow up.

I stopped smoking without any incentives but for some people it’s not that simple. Some people are easily distracted, from stopping smoking, or their will power is not that strong and need some help.
Accepting that we are not all the same would be a good step for you but then again you come across as someone who cannot understand why people don’t like your favourite music/food/humour etc.

Using incentives to help stopping smoking is helpful and arguably better than chemical options or hypnosis etc.

Of course stopping smoking without any help at all is the best option and everyone should try it that way first, but by your way of thinking if people cannot make this work for them they should do what ??
Just continue smoking ??

You, my friend, are really something, unable to differentiate between peoples limitations !!

Time to leave your bubble and see the outside world for what it is !!

Oh, and yes, grow up .

[Stocky]

3 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Yes, I have made it two years smoke-free

Congratulations!

 

Not an easy thing to do, I know, it took me three attempts before I eventually managed to quit - that was 26 years ago.

[AhFarangJa]

Well Done Bodoh !!!!

Good post, hopefully motivate a few more people. Even one more is a success.

Keep it up mate.

25 years now, and no desire to start again !!! 

[thaiguzzi]

A couple of observations.

# I stopped nearly 18 months ago. Just stopped. No patches, no gum.

No biggie, but then i smoked roll ups for 35 years, not the chemical filled taylor mades.

# Re money saved - in my case not really, as 10 baht per day on a 40 grm packet of Thai rolling tobacco was never going to break the bank.

10x365 = 3650 Baht per annum...

# My mother just had her 80th birthday.

She has been a heavy smoker all her life since her teenage years. Been smoking roll ups for the last 20 years. Had a stroke, had a heart attack, doctor said if she smokes again the next one will kill her.

Still on 40 a day.....

 

 

 

[Tayaout]

I stopped smoking a long time ago. I used nicotine patch and did a bet with my roommates. If any of them caught me smoking they would get $100. I still smoke once every other year when drunk and the next day my throat hurt. 

[Matzzon]

2 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

I stopped smoking without any incentives but for some people it’s not that simple. Some people are easily distracted, from stopping smoking, or their will power is not that strong and need some help.
Accepting that we are not all the same would be a good step for you but then again you come across as someone who cannot understand why people don’t like your favourite music/food/humour etc.

Using incentives to help stopping smoking is helpful and arguably better than chemical options or hypnosis etc.

Of course stopping smoking without any help at all is the best option and everyone should try it that way first, but by your way of thinking if people cannot make this work for them they should do what ??
Just continue smoking ??

You, my friend, are really something, unable to differentiate between peoples limitations !!

Time to leave your bubble and see the outside world for what it is !!

Oh, and yes, grow up .

You, It has nothing to do with the like of music, food or humour or anything else where things can differ. That´s all ok, but you can not go through life so weak that you are unable to control your own urges and body. That´s not acceptable in my world, but I know. It´s the new world, now we should feel sorry for each and everyone and understand their difficulties. It´s a weak world, and therefore there are so many failures and only the few and strong survive.

You see, good olé Darwin had a point after all.

[Vacuum]

2 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

I want a smoke soooooo bad.

I'll get my at 7pm today.

[Nyezhov]

4 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

I'll get my at 7pm today.

Chronic?

Ciggie?

Rorita Style? 

???? ???? ????

 

[Vacuum]

3 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Chronic?

Ciggie?

Rorita Style? 

???? ???? ????

 

I'll report tomorrow. 

[Cadbury]

For those contemplating vaping as a safe alternative perhaps they should think again, the Thai doctors could be right after all.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-16/im-horrified-by-the-damage-vaping-does-to-lungs/11516316

[Dexlowe]

Good one, SB. I quit smoking and drinking 5 years ago after being told I'd had a heart attack. Cold turkey. Didn't need no tip jar incentive, lol. Had about a week of discomfort, then pretty much clear sailing after that with only occasional urges which don't last long. I vaped, which helped a lot, but was careful and watered down the liquid (distilled water only). Stopped that because supplies were difficult to get back then and the equipment cheap and shoddy and a pain to deal with. 

 

For our friend posting above about us being weak, well, I would rather have a few "weak" friends with all their foibles than a pretend tough guy who thinks he's above everyone else. It's a human thing, you know.

[mommysboy]

59 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

For those contemplating vaping as a safe alternative perhaps they should think again, the Thai doctors could be right after all.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-16/im-horrified-by-the-damage-vaping-does-to-lungs/11516316

That's not vaping as such, but contaminated black market THC oil.  The contaminant is thought to be vitamin E acetate which acts as an oil.  OIl in the lungs is really dangerous as we see.  Vape juice does not contain oil.

[Sunmaster]

I've been smoking for nearly 30 years, now 45. The last few years not that much I think, maybe 4-5 cigarettes a day and vaping on and off.

 

3 months ago I had a small bike accident and broke my collarbone. The doctor told me that I should stop smoking to speed up the healing process. Since I was just laying on my sofa the whole day, I thought why not, let's give it a try. The change in routine really helped me and in the end it was actually much easier than I thought.

I haven't touched a cigarette since, not even vaped...zero nicotine.

The biggest physical change was constipation for the first few weeks. Wow, never experienced anything like that. Thanks God for the bum gun!! ????

 

It's been 2 months now and I rarely think about smoking now. Not even while drinking alcohol, which really surprised me.
 

 

[Kerryd]

7 1/2 years for me, after being about a pack (20-25) a day man for around 35 years.

 

I recall, quite clearly, smelling the breath (and clothes and hair) of other smokers a couple weeks after I quit and the realization that I used to smell just like them.

 

That smell and that memory has kept me from being tempted again. Last summer I was home visiting friends and one of them is a heavy smoker. Hearing him wheeze and hack with every drag of a cigarette made me glad I quit when I did.

 

I think my lungs are permanently damaged though. I'm not sure what it is, but whenever I ride around somewhere and pass a place that is cooking a certain thing, as soon as I get a whiff of it I start coughing. Not sure if it's Oyster Sauce in a wok over an open flame or what, but man, it's instant coughing session for me.

Just keep remembering why you quit in the first place and any time you are tempted in the future, recall those reasons (and any others). The hacking cough and wheezy lungs. The smell of a smoker's breath (and clothes and hair). Cigarette butts and ashes everywhere. The sight of someone with cancer wasting away until they look like a gaunt scarecrow before a painful death.

(My dad died of lung cancer in 2010. I hate that my last memories of him are how he looked in the hospital bed at the end.)

There are plenty of good reasons to not smoke again and no good reasons to start up again. After the first few days, it gets easier to say "no" the longer you go.

[Sujo]

Well done OP. Kudos to u.

 

I quit a few years ago in australia but it was done with a lot of help from the quitline. 

 

When i felt like falling off the wagon a call to them really helped and reinforced my belief in myself.

 

But according to some i should never try asking for help and instead got back into it and died a painful death.

 

Next time i go for surgery will just tell them not to put me under and i will do it myself. ????

[Golden Triangle]

Well done SB, I knew you could do it mate, I am about 6 months ahead of you, and to be honest I don't miss it at all, keep up the good work, you are past the difficult bit.

[mommysboy]

56 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

7 1/2 years for me, after being about a pack (20-25) a day man for around 35 years.

 

I recall, quite clearly, smelling the breath (and clothes and hair) of other smokers a couple weeks after I quit and the realization that I used to smell just like them.

 

That smell and that memory has kept me from being tempted again. Last summer I was home visiting friends and one of them is a heavy smoker. Hearing him wheeze and hack with every drag of a cigarette made me glad I quit when I did.

 

I think my lungs are permanently damaged though. I'm not sure what it is, but whenever I ride around somewhere and pass a place that is cooking a certain thing, as soon as I get a whiff of it I start coughing. Not sure if it's Oyster Sauce in a wok over an open flame or what, but man, it's instant coughing session for me.

Just keep remembering why you quit in the first place and any time you are tempted in the future, recall those reasons (and any others). The hacking cough and wheezy lungs. The smell of a smoker's breath (and clothes and hair). Cigarette butts and ashes everywhere. The sight of someone with cancer wasting away until they look like a gaunt scarecrow before a painful death.

(My dad died of lung cancer in 2010. I hate that my last memories of him are how he looked in the hospital bed at the end.)

There are plenty of good reasons to not smoke again and no good reasons to start up again. After the first few days, it gets easier to say "no" the longer you go.

 

I have wondered the same. But my young daughter generally coughs for exactly the same reasons as me and as you have described above, and she has never smoked in her life obviously.

 

We must have damaged our lungs to some extent, yes.  I think it also depends on genetics, and history of exercise.