Topic: 2 years to the day....

[mcpuffett]

since i gave up smoking , will power thats all you need  , anyone else managed to kick the habit?,    mick.

[angeldeville]

Been about 3-4 for me, congratulations!

[nickjtc]

Well done to anyone who has managed to give it up. Your bodies thank you!

[Ernie]

i quit drugs in 79, quit drinking in 87, quit smoking in 93,and guess what .......still gonna die 

[Rushoid]

I'm working on it. I've gone from 1 - 1 1/2 packs/day to a pack lasting 3-4 days. I'll probably quit altogether after this weekend. It's hard to do when most of your friends and coworkers smoke too. And when you're trying to lose weight. 

[eldar]

I would rather die on the move than in a small cloud of smoke!

[750goes]

Gave up in August 2000, when they took me to hospital after a heart attack..

My wife took my packet as I was waiting outside the emergency room, after she parked the car..

I'm still here, and feel like having a puff every morning - but I haven't had one..

[supersport_CB400F]

I’m having a biffta now Mick, these things are expensive……well done!!!..... I wish I could sack them

[Rushoid]

Gave up in August 2000, when they took me to hospital after a heart attack..

Yeah, my good friend had one a few weeks ago. He's 2 days older than me (36) so that really made me think... My other good friends are still puffing away though. They're in denial... 

[clarkjh]

I quit over 11 years ago.  Frame of mind is the most important thing.  I tried to quit 3 time before, always started back up.  I finally started thinking "I quit" and "I'm not a smoker".  I still have the craving once in a while but I quit.  Keep the Faith.

James

[Ratfink]

Been three months strong for me. No drink either....I miss weed though\.   

[Daves_76_SS]

I have tried a number of times!  It's very difficult!  I lost my dad to smoking, and I still can't quite kick the habit!

[miles nowhere]

I started the patch a month ago, and have gone the last 3 days without any smokes. First time in 15 years ive gone a whole day without a cigarette...Dont think i would have ever even thought to try(short of emphyzema) if it wasnt for having a kid...we'll see how it goes i guess.

[Rushoid]

I went 2 days without one and turned into a complete ass. I figured I'd better ease into it or my wife would end up killing me in my sleep!

[750goes]

A few simple words from my wife after I got home from hospital fixed everything....

If you have another one "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU"

laugh laugh......until she said......YOU GOTTA SLEEP SOMETIME......with a really wicked evil look in her eye...

that wasn't my real reason but it sure helped....

[Dave K]

Shucks, Dr. told me in Jan. 2005 that I have cancer, still have the cancer but it was real easy to quit smoking then. Like the old ad says "everyone quits eventually".

[750goes]

DaveK,

sorry to hear that 

[ElCheapo]

I quit smoking along time ago when I stopped playing with fire. 

Wish I could quit, it is still sort of my stress crutch.

I don't smoke, the cigarettes do 

[mcpuffett]

thanks for the encouragement fellas , one of the reasons i gave up was because i lost my old man to cancer and he was only 49  , and the other is i have 3 kids aged 17, 15 and 10  , i'm 44 next birthday and i would like to stick around for a bit longer yet  ,   mick.

[Dave K]

Please do stick around. Sure it is tough to quit, if you make it tough to quit. Look at every moment that you think about having a smoke, as a moment to invest. No one wants to loose their investment, so each day passes and soon you realize you made it a week, then two weeks, etc. So when you feel the need to buy a pack, take that money and put it in a safe place for mad money and then go buy that something you wanted with the money you saved, saving your life. When I quit, smokes were $3 a pack. That is over $1000 a year to buy toys and live longer to enjoy them. I am sorry about your Dad and I bet his whole family hated to see him suffer and eventually lose him. When I was going through my 5 major surgeries and 36 days of radiation, you see so many people that are on oxygen and worse. They may be sucking wind, but they aren't living. My cancer is not known to be smoking related, but....... My cancer will be with me till it kills me, unless some of the new break throughs in medicine work. It may take 5yrs. or  up to 20yrs., but before that happens I will have many more surgeries, and it will probably be in my liver, lungs, bones and brain before it takes me. People will say, we all will die of something and they enjoy smoking. Of course smoking isn't just cancer, it is also emphysema. In my job as a Realtor, I see so much of this. People laying in beds on breathing machines, stressing their hearts with their poor lungs, that in time, they have a heartattach that thankfully takes them out of their suffering. Being dead isn't so bad, it is the long journey that kills you! Sorry for the sermon..........

[mcpuffett]

hi dave, i'm sorry to hear about your health issues and i hope everything works out ok ,  mick.

[mennedy]

Stopped drinking in September of 95. The Lord (or some all powerfull entity) touched me on the shoulder and whispered in my ear, "You don't like the taste or smell of that anymore." Saved my marriage, family and life. Don't object to drinking, just don't handle it well myself.

Smoked for 33 years as was my inalienable right and I enjoyed every single one. Dr called me in to his office in Jan 96 after a physical with some results he wanted to discuss. DaveK knows the feeling. But I dodged that bullet. He wanted to inform me that within 5 years I would be on oxygen and limited to my home for other than short trips. Emphysema. No work, no soccer and no life. I started on the patch - again. However, he prep'd me better than other Dr's. The patch gives a constant supply of Nicotine eliminating the spiking effect of cig's. Give it a chance and it gives you time to address the lifestyle issues/associations. I now drink coffee again, can eat without cravings, and so on. However, I lost all my friends at work. I didn't "share" the common bond and was unwelcome. Can live with that.

Smoking is a personal habit. As such it is a personal decision and has nothing to do with others. The implications of smoking were made very clear by the US Surgeon General in 1972 (I'm Canadian) and I clearly remember that day. You must quit smoking for yourself. Miles nowhere: you quit smoking so "you" can enjoy your children. Not so they can enjoy you. You want to help them grow up, see them succeed and spoil their kids.

Habits are never "broken". They remain with us until we choose another habit in their place. You can choose not to smoke but I chose to start riding a motorcycle instead of smoking. It is safer!!!!

To all of you trying to quit, I commend your courage, wish for your strength and have endless respect for the wisdom of your choice. You must however also be persistent. If you fail, don't be hard on yourself. There is no shame in failing. The shame is in giving up. So, after that cigarette or even a pack, forgive yourself your transgression, move past it and try again with renewed vigour. I quit 20+ times between January and April 16 1996 when I had my last one. Now, I just ride more - it is too hard to smoke on motorcycles!!  

[petercb750]

Dave - mate, hang in there and enjoy it while you can buddy.
Your message (and mick's) should be enough to make anybody quit. I haven't had a smoke for about 12 years, booze the same - couldn't do one without the other, so went cold turkey, and I was pretty heavily into both at the time.
Do I feel better for it now? Nah, probably not but maybe a bit, but who knows, it may have added a few years for me to go riding my CBs - and I can do it anytime without thinking "now how many drinks have I had?" And I don't have to keep stopping to light a smoke - aahh, non stop riding - what could be better??  Every now and then I have a craving for a nice cold beer and a good "roll-your-own" but it soon passes, and life goes on.
Keep smiling dude.
Cheers
Peter.

[Bodain]

Sure. It's easy. I've quit counteless times. Thats what I do. I quit smoking. I plan on quiting again.

[Dave K]

Well, I admit, I may be a traitor to the SOHC clan, but not to Honda. Of course I still have and always will have the K3. Always wanted a cafe racer/crotch rocket though. I dreamed of them since seeing Dick's Cycle West's bikes back in the mid '70's. So last week I brought home a Honda CBR 600 F4. It is fun! I can spend hours, just looking at it.

       Now, the health issue will put a whole new outlook on how you look at things. I used to be a restorer of things. Old Corvettes, motorcycles, guns, etc. Now, I don't really want long term projects. I want to go out and play. Nothing wrong at all with time spent in the shop, but I want things at a faster pace since I have a very good chance of not doing it while on Social Security. This may sound very strange, but at this time, I feel great.(radiation though is punishing! Surgery is a piece of cake, I have over 41" of cuts done to my neck) The tests though all show that I am not normal. hehe Anyhow, once you get past the idea of your own mortality, you worry about the things that are important to you such as what will your wife do when your gone. What will your daughter do. Did I do a good job supporting them? Did I teach my daughter the things that she will need in life? Did I get the house in order so Mom can sell it at a good price, if she chooses to move? Did I make a difference, in their lives. You certainly can't live for just today, but don't burn all your bridges, getting to tomorrow.

     Oh, on feeling better since I quit. I would say yes. I have even more stamina than I did then. I am also an avid hunter. I never realized before how much I smelled, how much better I can smell things and how it had to affect my hunting. For that reason alone, I should have quit so I could have enjoyed my hobby even more.