Quitting Smoking

bobdadruma

Platinum Member
I just wanted to announce to you all that I have been restructuring my life as of late.
One of the things that I have finally done is to quit smoking!!!
I have smoked a pack a day or more since 1974.

I did it cold turkey without the help of any gum or patches.
It has been three weeks and I feel great!
The first two days were rough but after that it got easier with every passing day.
Why I didn't do this 30 years ago???

If I can do it, You can! All that it takes is for you to make up your mind that enough is enough.
It is so nice not to have that monkey on my back anymore.
I feel free as if I have been reborn.

If any of you are thinking about quitting I urge you to give it a shot. You won't be disappointed.

It's kind of funny, I still sometimes check my pocket for the pack of cigs in the morning before leaving the house for work. I always laugh to myself when this happens.
It's not because I want a smoke, It's just habit. You know, Keys, Wallet, Cell Phone, Cigarettes.
Old habits dye hard.
 
Well done, Bob.

I'm a hopeless nicotine addict. My mum was a chaino all her life until she died at age 72. I seem to have taken after her.

I quit last year but I'm still addicted to the gums and lozenges. Once I quit for 2 years, using gums and lozenges, but fell off the wagon. Another time I quit for one year.

What you did was not as easy thing!
 
The key, like you said, is to get rid of the habit ones first. First thing in the morning with coffee, after a meal, while having a beer etc. Once you get rid of those, then the just for the heck of it ones come easier. Congrats. Now do the math on what a pack costs times 365 days and plan your next vacation.. At 4.00 x 365 you are looking at over 1400.00. Nice vacation fund. Congrats.
 
Well done, Bob. I admire your inner strength and good-will of doing it!
 
I have to laugh at the fact that Cigarettes are legal. They do so much harm to so many people, and are so addictive, yet the government says ok because they get the tax. Same thing with alcohol, yet they make marijuana illegal. What a bunch of hypocrites.

I am very glad to hear that you were able to quit that terribly addictive substance. Hopefully polly and others will be able to give it up also. It is a complete waste of money, health and time. Guess I am a little bit passionate about this topic. Sorry. :)
 
I came down with pneumonia in January and was sick for almost two months. It was one of the biggest breaks I've ever had. I was so sick that I just couldn't possibly inhale cigarette smoke, so I quit smoking without really going through the withdrawals. It's been two months now without a fag and I will never go back.

Yes, I gained some weight. That I don't like so much. But I no longer wheeze, there's none of that funky yellow gunk to cough up. It feels like my lungs have doubled in size.

And I'm no longer spending absurd amounts of money lining the pockets of big tobacco.

Congratulations Bob. It's like being a new person, isn't it?
 
I'm currently struggling with quitting right now. Stressful days at work really break my will. I've only been smoking half a pack a day for 6 years, but it's still a challenge. I commend you on your strength and wish you continued success with it.
 
Take that RJ Reynolds!

Glad to hear it Bob.

You da MAN dog!
 
Smoking is not just a habit it is a physiological addiction, your brain becomes a slave to nicotine...those kind of addictions are hard to break.

Good job that things are working for you.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and so the process of stopping something that kills you will make you a happier person at the end of the day.

I have to laugh at the fact that Cigarettes are legal. They do so much harm to so many people, and are so addictive, yet the government says ok because they get the tax.

The government basically has smokers by the balls, the prices go (slowly by surely) up and up but since smokers are addicted they keep buying. Funny thing, in Australia some of the tax from cigarettes goes towards anti-smoking advertising.

I guess in the end of the day the health care costs outweigh the tax benefit the government gets.
 
I guess in the end of the day the health care costs outweigh the tax benefit the government gets.

Some years ago I did an analysis based on the reported health costs. Then I checked the tax revenue and it was much, much more. Now that smoking has reduced and the black market has built up, maybe that's change.

There's this cute gimmick where they attribute just about every other condition and death to smoking. Trouble is, people die anyway. Further, there's no taking into account the fact that a high percentage of the health budget is spent on intervention in people's last weeks of life. Everybody who doesn't die suddenly incurs this cost, whether a smoker or not.

Smoking does incur its own costs but there's a lot of false math going around.

As well, smokers die earlier than nonsmokers. Around 10 years earlier on average. Which ten years do they lose? The last 10. Nearly all the time society gets all the productive work out of smokers but pays fewer pensions than for non-smokers.

The sooner people die post-retirement, the better it is for the economy (less infrastructure costs, health burden, the person's estate flows on, no costs for seniior's cards etc). None of this is taken into account.

If governments were serious about reducing the number of cigarettes smoked they'd allow smokers to register as addicts so they could buy cigarettes singly. What makes it hard for every smoker trying to cut back (be it just a cutback or preparing to quit) is that if they crack they have to commit to a full 20 cigs (at least).

Obviously, the more stuff you put in an addict's hands, the more they will consume. I speak as a nicotine addict.

Trouble is, this would make it easier for pirate cigs to slip through the net and the govt doesn't get any tax for black market cigs. Hence the ban on singles (masquerading as preventing kids from buying them - never mind that it's illegal anyway).

Governments win brownie points for fighting smoking, but they are just grandstanding and pulling in tax $$.
 
Thank you all for the great responses.
I would also like to add that I have stopped drinking vodka.
I used to drink vodka almost every day.
I now only allow myself three beers max during the course of an evening when I am at a social event.
I have stopped drinking when I am alone.

I have also lost 10 pounds and my waist is slightly below 36 inches now.
I was at 38.

Recent personal events in my life forced me to take a hard look at myself and I didn't like what I saw at all.
Good things have already begun to happen as a result of the changes that I have made.
I can't elaborate any further at this time.
 
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Thank you all for the great responses.
I would also like to add that I have stopped drinking vodka.
I used to drink vodka almost every day.
I now only allow myself three beers max during the course of an evening when I am at a social event.
I have stopped drinking when I am alone.

I have also lost 10 pounds and my waist is slightly below 36 inches now.
I was at 38.

Recent personal events in my life forced me to take a hard look at myself and I didn't like what I saw at all.
Good things have already begun to happen as a result of the changes that I have made.
I can't elaborate any further at this time.
Glad to here. The more you talk about it, the easier it will be to be accountable. That is what we are here for, Not to argue about double pedal this, and metal that, or Jazz this. Keep up the good work. The Vodka is usually just a crutch to help you get through the week. I find the drums a much more positive crutch. Two thumbs way up :)
 
Congrats, I very much admire your willpower. I recently went through a stint trying to use Chantix to stop. Had some really bad reactions to it and I am just now after two weeks stopping that pill getting over the side effects. I quit for 2 1/2 yrs. once and I am bound and determined to quit again. Never quit quitting. And 4 bucks a pack !! I wish, try $6.00 plus for the cowboy killers. Congrats again and hopefully I will not be too far behind you.
 
I'm sorry but it really pisses me off to hear about you guys struggling with this stupid unnecessary product. This is the second forum I have been on where it has come up, and so many of my drumming friends have told of their struggles. This crap is like trying to kick a hard narcotic. Yet it is sold for all to have. Anyone that can on here, please try and quit. Use this community as a sounding board, for the help you may need, along with other helps you seek. Do whatever you need to do to just say no.
 
I was spending $60USD per week on smoking.
I can have a new pro cymbal every month or a new car for that much cash.

In Connecticut cigs are around $8 a pack or more.

The thing is that I pass by at least 8 places where I can buy smokes just within 5 miles from my home.
That's what makes it so hard to quit. It is so easy to obtain.
 
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I used to smoke for eight or more years, I started around the time I was 14. I quit when I moved from regular cigarettes to the roll it yourself kind.

Initially it was a cost saving thing, they are far cheaper in Australia, but the fact they required more effort discouraged me from just lighting one up, especially while drunk.

In the end I just ran out of money due to problems with my job and cut them out due to necessity, I haven't smoked since (except for the odd one after a few beers).

Not the most inspiring story, but for those on the lower end of the income scale, I feel your pain when it comes to the expense of the things
 
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