Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Fags (cigarettes) and sore throats

Well this morning was the last straw for me I stood in the shower and as is my morning ritual I coughed spluttered and choked, my eyes bulged and my veins popped out as if trying to escape from my body. This is my smokers cough which took me almost to my knees.

So enough of this stupidity.... I am quitting today so if you guys dont mind I may use the forum a wee bitty as a crutch to get me through this next few days weeks whatever.

I came into work and sat down and counted the cost of fags a year to me roughly £2000 quid. Now that will easily cover a decent holiday or shiny stuff for the bike.

So here I am 4 hours in and 1/2 the Carbon monoxide from my last fag has left my blood stream. This is going to be along process as I fully know I am seriously addicted to fags.

So guys any tips or advice will be appreciated.

I know that the language differences are minor, but fags are called cigarettes in America, and all of my nasty minded compatriots are probably laughing at the title of this post. Now , cut it out, you guys!

But seriously, most medical studies have shown that quiting cold turkey works better than any nicoteen help drugs. When I quit, at the ripe old age of 20, I chewed flavored toothpicks to help with the urge to put something in my mouth. That is, when I didn't have my foot in it. Funny thing, I finaly weaned myself from the toothpicks, but the foot problem still reoccurs on a fairly regular basis.

Eric, congrats on WANTING to quit, thats the most important step. It wont happen any other way. I quit cold turkey, one day I just decided they were too nasty to keep smoking, and havent had one since. This winter I will be smoke free for 7 years. The hardest part was going to the bar for the first few months, drinking and smoking always went hand in hand. I took to chewing gum, and thats worked for me this long. Now I'm addicted to gum?!?!?

Well done mate. I quit last year. I'd wanted to stop for a while, so one day i just decided that was it. havent touched one since. Its the best thing ( health wise) i've ever done.

Keep it up!

I have tried a few times Eric, as I sit here reading these posts with a cig stuck in the gob. I admire anyone who can pack it in, unfortunately I seem to go a few weeks then start again.. Good luck

I know that cough, as well as all of my surrounding neighbors as I push my bike out of the garage at 0500 every morning...I got to the point where I was actually gagging..but only in the mornings...Well, today is day 10 for me without a cigarette, this is only like the 50th time Ive tried to quit, so by now, Im pretty good at it...Plus, me and Kimmy are going through some life changing events right now, and I figured what better time to quit than now...Working out pretty good so far, and ZERO coughing since I quit...

I used the patch. I did the whole cycle, no short cuts. I tried many times before but doing the complete program did it. It's been 6 years. Good luck and don't stop trying.

Good luck! Smoking is bad news for your health and darn expensive.
I used the gum, coffee stirrers and sugar-free candies. It has worked for over 6 years.

Good luck Eric. Try not to eat too much (you'll see what I mean).

Here's an excellent FREE web site that's informational and a great motivator.

With any addiction, the end-result is completely up to you.

I smoked on-and-off for 28 years (much more "on" than "off"). I've been "off" this time for 3 months now. I won't say "quit" until I beat my 3-year record. Until then, I've only stopped.

You can do it! I concur with the link above, the first 72 hours are the worst. Beat those few hours and you can master it!

Regards,

Tom

Well done on the first step. Wanting to quite. That is the most important step.

Everyone has a different way of quitting. I myself used the 3 step patches and i swear by them. They worked for me, but they do not work for everyone. BUT, i did not follow the recommended steps. I stayed on step 1 for weeks. Much longer then what the recomendations suggested. Then when i adventually switched to step two i stayed on that for ages.

After about 6 months i realized that i did not need patches any more, and as a plus. Didnt need ciggerettes either. That was 6 years ago.

One important thing to keep i mind. Stopping smoking is not easy. In fact it is bloody hard, one of the hardest things i've ever done. But looking back i concider it one of my greatest achievements. What ever you do, dont take the "I'll just smoke one to get me over this feeling" thats will undo all your work. Also, make it easier for yourself. If you always smoke in a pub, stay away form a pub for a few weeks. You gotta break the habit and it is tuff.

And lastly and most importantly, get help. Talk to people (us on here), tell everyone you know what you are doing and ask them to help you. If they smoke keep away form them for a while, if they dont get them to keep you on the straight and narrow. Smoking is a phyiscal and mental addiction, and just like any addictions a little help goes a long way.

Good luck!

Patches and Wurther's originals did it for me. 25 years of smoke, yuck. I used all three steps too except when it was time for the smaller patches I cut the larger ones in half and got twice as many at half the cost. I remember when Davy Jones from the Monkees got caught up in a confrontation with the media about using the word fag refering to cigarettes, it just goes to show "Politically correct" was around back then too. good luck

mike

mike

You could do it Eric!! First week is the hardest and eventualy each day will get eaiser. Hardest part will be no beer the first week.That is the weak link that will break you. Good luck.

I quit cold turkey when I quit. I found it much easier once I quit drinking. I'm not saying you have to stop drinking but maybe stay away from it for a couple weeks. I would do well then when I has a beer I wanted to smoke so I quit both at the same time 22 years ago. Also the idea of keeping your hands and mouth occupied is a good one, toothpick, gum, or other.

I used patches Eric, the Niquatin Step 1's are like 40 fags in the pace of 10minutes when you first put them on... but i have started back since then. I'm always on and off the cigs, once for 3 yrs.

Good luck fella!!!

Trouble with patches is it does break the habbit but not the addiction. You are still taking in nicotine thus keeping the addiction but just changing the source. Take that source away and you will look for another....back to cigarettes.

If you can hang on for the first three days, it starts getting better after that. Once you start noticing how bloody nasty smokers smell, you are on the home stretch.
Something that helps is to clean out all the ashtrays and put them away. If you need to leave out one for visitors, be sure to keep it washed out when not in use.
A healthy alternative to satisfy the habit of sticking things in the mouth is carrot or celery sticks. Celery is probably best because (so "they" say) you burn a few more calories chewing it than you gain from eating it.
Watch a lot of Monte Python, Ab Fab and Fawlty Towers reruns. Mindless comedy keeps the brain busy.

FANTASTIC to hear you quit Eric!! My gf and I quit 2 1/2 years ago, both cold turkey. It was pretty easy for me since I wasn't much of a smoker to begin with, for her it was a differnt story. She smoked for near 20 years. It's a daily decision for her choose not to smoke, but she makes the right choice each day.

You have company Eric, I have tried and failed to quit smoking more times than I can count (cant get past 20).
I've tried patches, nicotine gum, hard candy, morphine
even got hypnotised once( I still smoke but now every time I hear a phone ring,I cluck like a chicken).Even attended
a 6 hour company paid for how to quit smoking seminar.

So now tommorrow I'm going cold turkey, I figure the 3 day
weekend here. Will at least be a help in not haveing to deal with work stress.Theres no beer in the house and I dont plan to get any.(I know 4th of July weekend and no beer
shameful, but I think the founding fathers will forgive me).
I've notified the Mrs to keep off my back about the long neglected hunny do list. And I have no plans to drive a cage in the holiday traffic.

Tell ya what Eric, lets make a bet, first one of us to give in, has to wear a pink t-shirt with "I love fags" printed on it. Nah bad Idea sorry mate. And good luck.

btw the morphine line was a joke.

Giving up is easy.....I've done it hundreds of times!
Good luck, just don't become one of those Nazi ex smokers who feel the need to evangelise to anyone they even suspect might have had a fag.

Good for you man, I can not really give you any tips since I have never smoked anything (seriously, never) However I can tell you what's happening when you cough. I worked in a medical animation where I had to show the effects of smoking in the lungs... what you cough up is the mucus formed after the alveoli in your lungs get destroyed; so you are basically coughing your lungs out, slowly. I hope that you visualize this and use it as encouragement. Quitting will add apprx. 10 yrs to your life.

There was an exhibition of real human bodies without the skin in Atlanta a while back called "Bodies" one display towards the end is a pair of healthy and diseased lungs showing clearly what it looks like... next to it was a transparent trash can which was overflowing with cigarette packs from visitors after they took a look at the display.

Ah I found the link: BODIES

another motivator would be that you would be saving a ton of money and with prices of oil and food sky rocketing it will be handy the extra cash.

Good luck!

Well Jack as they say a problem shared is a problem halved. So best of luck mate I have now went 24 hours without a fag this time I dont feel as bad I think its down to actually being angry. In the past I have paid lip service to quitting but this time I am angry at the hold those bloody things have over me.

This morning was weird I usually light my first as I get my first coffee of the day, I felt nothing. The hard one was when I walked to get the bike as soon as I get to the outdoors out comes the lighter and the fag and like a Harrier Jump Jet the trail of smoke is left in my wake.

Apparantley according to all the sites the chance of aheart atack is now greatly reduced so thats on bonus and today I am £5-00 / $10-00 better off as well.

To all the messages of support from you guys many thanks. Oh and now way will I ever become a non smoking evangelist I could never be that much of a hypocrit.....or could I.

Smoking ...

D--n ...

It seemed like such a good idea to start, when I was ...

Four?

(I held off as long as I could)

G'don you guys that are wanting to quit.
I quit a two pack a day monkey 25 years ago, after 17 years of smoking.

I did it cold turkey, but do what works for you, a buddy of mine who I swore would never be able to quit, did it seven years ago with the patch. Use whatever help you need.

Keeping busy helps, and starting some exercise program will help speed up the detoxification of your systems. Now I don't mean you start training for the Olympics, but start taking a walk every day, and gradually increase your distance. It's good if you start to run out of breath, helps encourage healing the ravages of years of smoke.

Which brings another point: You often hear about quitting adding years to your life, and it's true.
But it's much more than that. It's the quality of those years.
If someone smokes all his(her) life, he almost assuredly will die from a smoking related illness.
If he's lucky, he'll have a major heart attack or stroke that gets the job done quickly.
Probably won't happen though. The medical personnel are better able to save you these days, so you can live for years afterward despite the major neurological damage that can leave you impotent, incontinent, in a wheelchair, and drooling.

Maybe you'll get lung cancer and get to take all kinds of wonderful toxins that kill the cancer cells, hopefully before they kill you. But people I've known who go through chemo say they don't care which it kills, the cancer or them, just make it stop.

Or that wonderful killjoy emphysema (that's the one that got my dad). You can live for quite some time with the big E. You get to pack an oxygen bottle wherever you go, and you know that "smoker's cough"? Kid stuff compared to spitting out pieces of your lungs.
And the time comes when the oxygen supplement no longer keeps up with the bodies need for it. Your mind goes. Similar to Alzheimer's you develop dementia. You no longer know your loved ones or even who you are, so you finally die. Alone. In a diaper.

Thanks for the post- I'm going to join in the quitting this weekend. I've used patches, gum, lozenges and the prescription stuff and I'm one who has to go cold turkey. My xyl will not like it for a few days, but in the end it'll all be good.

Keep it up man,

WORTH EVERY LITTLE BIT OF EFFORT!!!!
still off them for 23 years and 5 months,
Just remember that nicotine thing never goes away just STAY focussed and off the fags,
It is probably one of the BEST things you can do.

I'd tried many times to quit smoking having smoked since i was 12 but each time i packed in i ended up buying a pack a week later. Half @ssed attempts at quitting..probably because if the truth be told i actually enjoyed smoking - especially after food or with alcohol. I knew it wasn't good for me but i continued anyway...

Around 12 years ago it got to the stage that i would wake during the night (in my HGV) thinking my heart had stopped and would be gasping for breath... but even when i realised i wasn't about to drop dead the first thing i'd do was light up a ciggy... Being a wagon driver meant i'd often be awake at 1.30am and the first thing i'd do was light a ciggy.. this lead to me smoking 60+ cigs during the day...

One night i simply looked at the pack of ciggies and realised that these little sticks of tobacco had taken over my life...and being an Aries man didn't like the idea of being told what to do by these sticks of tobacco... so for me it was a stubbornness thing.... i packed in there and then and have never smoked since... how did i do it? Simple .. i no longer WANTED to smoke...

Whichever way you look at it if you REALLY WANT TO STOP SMOKING - YOU CAN....MIND OVER MATTER.... what will happen to you if you DON'T light up? Apart from save money and improve your health NOTHING? Nothing bad will happen!!

It's a fight that's worth fighting...not easy..but VERY ACHIEVABLE!!!

Normally i'd wish someone good luck in their quest to achieve a goal but there's nothing 'lucky' about quitting smoking... if you WANT to stop then you really CAN....
sorry for the CAPS...
And so 12 years later i'm riding around on the benefits of quitting...add to that holidays to the USA funded by the savings....
Oh dear.. i sound like my father..

Bandit

Good you quit smoking,now do it for the good of your body and your family and friends.Also one I did not read above is this angle.DO you like paying TAXES? Most people do not.Here in the USA they tax the crapola out of tobacco and alcohol.So think of it this way you are giving yourself a tax break.Also the money your saving you could pay off your present bike or maybe make payments on a new bike! I believe a pack of smokes cost around $5 here now.One kid at work was always smoking,but complaining he could not afford a new bike or much of anything else.I use to just thing if he would quit smoking he could get that bike he dreams of.I did good and did not coment to him.He would get trouble aready from everybody about smoking at work aready. SO remember when you quit you are ****** off the government because you are giving them less of your money,so ****** them off and be happy.

Its now been somwhere around 65 hrs since my last smoke. Havnt killed anything yet(But I realy realy want to). Today was hard.Out riding wife still smokes and likes to stop now and then for a cig break. It was tough not to ask her for a drag, and once I made her wait a little longer before I stopped somplace.But I'm now about $20 richer. And haning in.

Hang in there buddy!

I'm gonna quit soon myself. nearly £6/$12 for 20 fags here. Once I get back from Ibiza I'll give it a go.

I might be getting made redundant later today... so now is not the time for quitting for me

I've never smoked so it would be easy for me to say just quit. But since I don't know what anyone who is trying to quit is going through, all I can say is hang in there and best of luck.

the money you save, (or don't pay in taxes to the government) can be used for other stuff, ie; a new bike....treat yourself with the money you use to spend on cigs. when you get out the calcualtor, you'll probably find that a bike payment is less, and you'll still have enough left over to cover insurance, gas, and maintenance...what a deal...and guess what, you'll be healthier and happier for it.... good for you and best of luck.....

First weekend over jeesus I could have killed with bare hands ...went for a walk looked at the bike thought about a wee run and couldnt get focused as every where I normally go involved beer / coffee / ciggie so decided to try and do something differen. I have given up on the walking idea ...I will stick without the fags .....has any body noticed how good cherries taste ****** I must have eaten my body weight in cherries over the weekend.

Jack glad you are still hanging on in there this is bloody torture who said it gets easier ....speak up cmon ....grrrrrrrr it will be worth it in the end ...