Three Weeks Without A Cigarette

[BobMarleyWannabe]

After leaving Thailand and heading back to the states decided to quit smoking cold turkey, It has been three weeks without a smoke and in all honesty it has been rough. Thought best that I would get a fifteen hour headstart by quitting during a long plane flight but the problem is that not only had to deal with withdrawls also jet lag. I am not using any helpers like gum or patches so at the time of writing this post the nicotine has been flushed through my system, still dealing with the mental fixation. I have smoked for over twenty years, and quit once before for a period of two years, and know how easy it is to go back to old habits. Smoking is really a bad habit and after just purchasing a house for my wife and I in Thailand I really want to grow old and enjoy it during my retirement.

[Briggsy]

I am now 4 years as a non-smoker. As you know, it gets much easier. Don't focus too much on ciggies, if possible.

[williamjosh075]

I am a regular smoker, it was very difficult for me to stay without smoking for three weeks. Since I couldn't control myself, I started using electronic cigarettes. It helps me to stay away from tobacco cigarettes.

[gotlost]

After 40 years 2 packs a day a stroke will get your attention. Cold turkey for 5 years and never looked back. Don't even think of smoking.

[Kitsch22]

Beware the possible side-effects.

A few years ago (specifically: 2:30p.m. on 6 May 2003) I abandoned an 80-a-day cigarette habit and since then have smoked nothing with the sole exception of a few decent Havana cigars on the occasions of my (rare) visits to Cuba. The nicotine craving was a serious problem during the first few weeks, but is now controlled to the point where I am not aware of it on a day-to-day basis.

The big consequent problem was that during the six years after giving up the cigarettes I added 50kg to my body-weight so that, in my opinion, the net overall effect on my general health was negative. During the last six months I have managed to shed 15 of the unwanted 50kg but losing weight is proving to be a much more severe challenge than was the cessation of smoking.

So be careful that you do not allow food (particularly sweets, cakes, biscuits (cookies) and between-meals-snacks) to become a supplementary substitute for the cigarettes.

[williamjosh075]

Think of the loved ones, who need you till their life time. They will be really happy if you quit smoking.

[rucus7]

It is great to feel in control of that aspect of your life. Cigarettes are an incredible, insidious addiction. Stay strong and continued success. The addiction was so deeply ingrained in me , that a couple of times a week, I dreamt of smoking for 2 or 3 years after I stopped. It becomes easier with time.

[williamjosh075]

It is great to feel in control of that aspect of your life. Cigarettes are an incredible, insidious addiction. Stay strong and continued success. The addiction was so deeply ingrained in me , that a couple of times a week, I dreamt of smoking for 2 or 3 years after I stopped. It becomes easier with time.

Exactly true. You will acquire the sense of a taste, smell and you will totally find the difference once you stopped smoking. A non-smoker is the healthiest man.

[angiud]

Three months without a cigarette... after 35 years. Still a craving when nothing to do, after a good meal, when I'm nervous. And a general feeling of emptyness whaterver I'm doing.

For sure 3/4 kg overweight, but I do eat the same (or something less) of before. Only (a lot) of sugarfree mints. Actually I spend more money now with the mints than before with the fags...

More sense of smell, not so much more taste (the mint??), much less cough (still a little) and much better breathing.

My target now will be don't miss the smoke so much, get the 3 kg plus the 12 that I've gained in the last few thai years...

Good luck to everybody want to quit!!

[williamjosh075]

But smoking is fatal. It kills you. You will get many health disorders. So avoid smoking. Smoking will not going to solve all your problems.

[GarryP]

Tomorrow will bring me to exactly 4 weeks without smoking, after smoking between 20 and 40 a day for about 26 years. Not nearly as difficult as I'd expected but I had the help of hypnotherapy which I am sure got me over the first few days. In fact I have not been at all irritable and people have mentioned that I seem happier than usual. I still get cravings but they are very easy to overcome and are definitely reducing in number. I just feel such a dipstick for not having given up sooner but I had convinced myself it would be so hard.

Edited March 26, 2010 by GarryP

[williamjosh075]

That is really great. You can quit. So try your best.

[Charger770]

I too have used Allan Carr's Easy way to stop Smoking book, but in it's Ebook, or audio form.

It's the entire book, unabridged, and read by someone I can't recall, who has an English accent.

Anyway, I left the audio program playing on the laptop, on repeat, for a few days while I worked at the computer.

The effect was 'reverse' brainwashing, and it gave me the headstart, or springboard to 'take the leap' and muster the courage and logic to walk away from smoking.

It is indeed fear that stops people from quitting. A fear that is more imagined than real.

So armed with the logic to dispel any reasoning or justification to continue to smoke (which is one of the tricks the mind plays), I set aside a few days to be by myself. Exercise is recommended, both in order to flush nicotine out of the system quicker, and to mark a new beggining in a non smokers life, thus making the quit attempt more real, but in this current 40 degree heat I'm not exercising outdoors. Instead, I stayed indoors perusing quitting forums ad naseum to keep the reverse-brainwashing up, drinking copious amounts of water, and eating fruit. I'm now curious as to how often when my body was actually having a pang of thirst, I lit up instead of having a drink of water??

(On that note: I onder how often we reached for the cigs whenever our body/mind tries to tell us something important? I suspect cigs to be an emotional suppressant as well as as an established appetite surpressant).

So in actual fact, nicotine withdrawal is not really a big deal. After a few days (and what's a few days after 10 or 20 YEARS of smoking?) it's remarkable how manageable it is.

The trap is in the mind, as is explained in The Easy way to Stop Smoking.

For some reason, which is starting to seem strange to me even after only 3 or 4 days of quitting, our mind goes on these melodramatic panic fits, initially triggered by relatively mild nicotine withdrawal. Over the years the mind has learned to throw in all kinds of panicky scenarios at the mere idea of quitting, such as; I'll never be able to live/function/drink/smile/relax etc again without smokes, thus keeping you smoking. It seems easier to just go along with it then face all that adversity.

And that is the smoking trap in a nut shell. It's a completely fabricated situation of; "I cant live or function without them" triggered by a little nicotine addiction which is then the catalyst to triggering years of self-invented, imagined scenarios as to how terrible life will be if you quit - Beat that mind frame, and you beat smoking.

Oh and the other thing - your atitude to it all is probably paramount above all.

If you mourn the loss of smoking you will ALWAYS be one of those wretched souls who yearns for it, and will probably start again sooner or later.

If you rejoice at being free, it's plain sailing after a few days.

And it really is that simple.

[KKK]

40+/day for 40 years till 23rd April 2010..the day of my heart attack and a 400K baht hospital bill. Not had one since then.

Miss them..YES

Using any kind of substitute (patch, gum, e-ciggy)..NO..too easy to become addicted to those

Still reaching out for the packet that is no longer on my desk/bedside table/dashboard...YES

Putting on weight...YES..10kgs in under 10 weeks

Drinking more...not noticably..1 big bottle beer/day on average..no wine..no spirits

Feeling any better for it....not yet..but it takes time

Gonna become a fanatical anti-smoking advocate..never..you do as you please

Hope I can continue quiting...are you ever sure you're over it....addictions last a long time

Edited June 11, 2010 by KKK

[Who, me ?]

9 years cigarette free, after 15 years smoking 40+ a day

I had a few tough month, but I don't think of smoking anymore. I even feel bothered when someone smokes near me. But I just shut up and move a bit further.

Hold on, it's worth the effort

[tartempion]

Believe me, when you will say "ten years without a cigarette" you will feel a lot better.

I smoked my last cig May 3rd 2000, never looked back (smoked 20/day for 37 years)

Second best decision of my life (first one being nice Thai woman I live with since 18 november 2001, note the best decision came later )

[R123]

Be strong in your mind. Are you a man or a mouse?

Smoking is for the weak and for total losers. It destroys your life and those around you. Smoking stinks. It is expensive.

I smoked for ** years but am 5/6 years off the habit. Quite frankly giving up coffee had more side effects.

If you can go 3 weeks, you can go another 3 weeks, then another and so on. Time will help.

The only way to give up is to have sustained will power.

Say to yourself as appropriate:

"I am in control of my life and my destiny and not nicotine"

So:

Do you want a good life; or do you want to be for ever known as a loser?????????

[saakura]

Be strong in your mind. Are you a man or a mouse?

Smoking is for the weak and for total losers. It destroys your life and those around you. Smoking stinks. It is expensive.

I smoked for ** years but am 5/6 years off the habit. Quite frankly giving up coffee had more side effects.

If you can go 3 weeks, you can go another 3 weeks, then another and so on. Time will help.

The only way to give up is to have sustained will power.

Say to yourself as appropriate:

"I am in control of my life and my destiny and not nicotine"

So:

Do you want a good life; or do you want to be for ever known as a loser?????????

Good advise, but the original post is a year old. Does the OP have any update on this??

[koto]

Aloha

It may sound silly, butt it works, I quit 7 years ago, I also bought a 30 baht pacifier, hung it around my neck and every time I wanted a cigarette I sucked on it, looked a tad silly, but not as silly as smoke coming out of my face, I have also had 2 other people quit, doing same, remember when dealing with one of the hardest addictions there is to quit, we must take measures that work, look silly, live longer, UP TO YOU. CHOK-DEE.

[bkkjames]

Just over a week for me - cold turkey. Feels weird, no nicotine cravings anymore but feel a bit off for sure.

[GarryP]

Yesterday was my first anniversary of quitting. 1 year went really quick. It has not been difficult at all. Once or twice a month I may get an itch, but never scratch it. Can put it out of mind in seconds. Best decision I have made in years. Still have a quit smoking book if anyone wants it. I have offered it several times before but no one was interested. BTW the book did not work for me even though it is highly recommended.

[kaeri]

12 weeks for me. Still want to smoke but not going to. I started smoking 43 years ago and was a good pack plus a day smoker for 30 of those years. good luck to eveyone who is quiting.

[JohnPark]

That's been 3 weeks so far for me but been at work the whole time, hope I can still manage when I get back to drinking.

[dale8]

Hello, it is a good thing to try to quit smoking but I found the most difficult part of quitting was the psychological and emotional. I used the lozenges for a few weeks at the start of my quest because the physical dependancy as I smoked about 20 a day for more than 30 years, and I took a week off of work so I would not assult anyone as I was going through withdrawl. A big thing for me was learning how to live without smoking like waking up and going through the morning routine, driving, eating, and all the other daily life activities. I told myself I was a non-smoker 1000 times a day to brain wash myself because that is what I wanted to be, and I did reduce the number of lozenges every week so that I only used one a day after waking up the last week of 4 that I needed to use them. I never dreamed about smoking or having a smoke in my sleeping dreams before I quit smoking, but I have had a number of dreams when I was sleeping that I was smoking so it is like losing a friend. Good luck to all that try to quit smoking, and keep trying to quit as I hope you can get some ideas from this post. At this time I have quit smoking for 4 years and 7 months, and I have no interest in smoking and I do not think about it as much now too. It does get better in time, and I did love to smoke. Cheers

[Travel2003]

Stopped in mid April, 2011, after 33 years with smoking about a pack a day.

Status after these 6-7 weeks:

Notable Changes so far:

Im easily irritated and act more agressive.

I have gained 6-7 Kg.

Have gotten lazy (less energy).

Eat larger meals.

Nibble more in between meals.

Sleep problems.

Personal benefits so far:

Absolutely none.

Other people's benefits so far:

I probably smell bether.

Myths:

I still have not enhanced my taste buds, as promised by all experts after 3-4 weeks.

My sense of smell has not gotten any better yet.

I actually think the smell of cigarette smoke smells delicious now. I want to sniff the smell in whenever I pass someone smoking.

Future:

Planning to start again after 6 months time.

Why?

Either Im so fat and untrained, I need to get back to smoking.

Or, Im in so much better shape (physical condition) that I can take up the delicious smoking again, for a while, before I stop again.

Most noticeble in this thread so far:

Someone stated: If you can go 3 weeks, you can go another 3 weeks, then another and so on. Time will help

Thank you to R123 for that quote, which might be the one I need to get going.

[lovenim]

I stopped multiple times during my 20-year smoking habit, but somehow I had never quit mentally, and I think this is why I kept going back to it eventually after every attempt. Because I had not quit mentally I was feeling deprived and as if I was denying myself something.

3 years ago I started studying hypnosis out of sheer curiosity. Later on I also attended a masterclass on smoking cessation. The studies, and especially the masterclass, were a very powerful eye-opener as to what we do to ourselves mentally when we think in categorical terms such as "must" / "need" / "have to" etc... Sure, it is possible to stay stopped for years, but unless you actually mentally let go, you will continue to have cravings and either feel unhappy or start again. It's a mental attitude / focus thing: when you quit, do you REALLY quit? Do you quit by willpower (which is possible but frustrating) or do you quit with the power of your imagination and your belief, using positive imagery? I believe that herein lies the crux of the matter. I also think that the weight gain issues many people experience may be due to eating excessively, and that the excessive eating comes from the frustration of feeling that one is lacking - all things that can be undone when one uses the power of the imagination rather than the force of will to stop.

I know that when I quit for the last time, it was for good. No going back! Some posters have pretty much nailed it by suggesting to simply think of other things than cigarettes... it's really almost all in the mind.

I am a certified cognitive-behavioural hypnotherapist based in Bangkok, so if any of you want some free advice, feel free to message me.

Edited June 8, 2011 by lovenim

[Kalbo]

Although it may not help much to hear at the moment, but it does get a lot easier. One thing I found that helped me was to understand the nature of the addiction, making it a lot

easier to deal with whatever your body or mind is going through. If possible, have a read of Allen Carr's "The Easy Way'. I wish I'd found it when I first quit.

[Travel2003]

I also notice that when Im out, I drink a lot more now.

Suddenly there is more time on my hands when Im out, so I noticed I will consume 1 sometimes 2 drinks more per hour.

That is about 8-10 drinks more per night.

Hmmm, normally smokers have heavier hangovers, but it is reversed.

[lovenim]

Suddenly there is more time on my hands when Im out

that's entirely a subjective experience, so it merely seems you have more time, right?

why not focus more on your surroundings and less on the fact that your hands are less occupied than they used to be?

imho, it's largely a matter of focus. think self-focused attention vs attention on external events.

it may take time to be able to redirect your attention without conscious effort, but over time it will get easier.

[transam]

Stopped in mid April, 2011, after 33 years with smoking about a pack a day.

Status after these 6-7 weeks:

Notable Changes so far:

Im easily irritated and act more agressive.

I have gained 6-7 Kg.

Have gotten lazy (less energy).

Eat larger meals.

Nibble more in between meals.

Sleep problems.

Personal benefits so far:

Absolutely none.

Other people's benefits so far:

I probably smell bether.

Myths:

I still have not enhanced my taste buds, as promised by all experts after 3-4 weeks.

My sense of smell has not gotten any better yet.

I actually think the smell of cigarette smoke smells delicious now. I want to sniff the smell in whenever I pass someone smoking.

Future:

Planning to start again after 6 months time.

Why?

Either Im so fat and untrained, I need to get back to smoking.

Or, Im in so much better shape (physical condition) that I can take up the delicious smoking again, for a while, before I stop again.

Most noticeble in this thread so far:

Someone stated: If you can go 3 weeks, you can go another 3 weeks, then another and so on. Time will help

Thank you to R123 for that quote, which might be the one I need to get going.

Yep, I can agree with all of that, so logging off now and having a ciggy. Good night.