Keep it up everyone!

Nine years, two months, and 14 days ago.

Quit Oct. 1, 1988, 7:30 AM. Haven't smoked since. It CAN BE DONE!

(I just noticed that's thirty years ago. How did I miss that milestone?)

(October 6, 2018 at 11:09 am)Gawdzilla Sama Wrote: Quit Oct. 1, 1988, 7:30 AM. Haven't smoked since. It CAN BE DONE!

(I just noticed that's thirty years ago. How did I miss that milestone?)

Just out of curiosity, why did you smoke at 7:30 am on the day you quit?

(October 6, 2018 at 11:04 am)Jörmungandr Wrote: Nine years, two months, and 14 days ago.

I'm curious if you're willing to tell the story. How early did you start, how heavy a smoker were you, how long did you keep it up and what led you to give it up? Sorry if I missed it.

(October 6, 2018 at 1:24 pm)Whateverist Wrote:

(October 6, 2018 at 11:04 am)Jörmungandr Wrote: Nine years, two months, and 14 days ago.

I'm curious if you're willing to tell the story.  How early did you start, how heavy a smoker were you, how long did you keep it up and what led you to give it up?  Sorry if I missed it.

I think I started when I was twelve. I didn't become a regular smoker until high school. Over the years I smoked roughly a pack a day for 30 years or so. During that time, I quit a number of times, sometimes for up to a year. The last decade or so of smoking I wanted to quit, but was just never successful in completely leaving it behind. So it wasn't any one thing that led to my quitting, though the health risks were probably the most important reason. Ultimately, it just took multiple times, learning new things about myself and how to stay quit that eventually bore fruit. I'm sure both my age and my prior experience played a part as the last times I quit and relapsed, I didn't have a lot of problems with cravings, my relapses were more due to stupidity than inability to remain quit. If I could smoke for free without any cost to my health, I'd probably be right back there today. I still love cigarettes and smoking, and enjoy the smell when I'm lucky enough to experience it second hand. It's just not worth it, overall. Lately I've been amazed at the number of people I see smoking. There was a strong anti-smoking sentiment for a number of years there, but that seems to have waned. I wonder if things are getting better or worse on that front.

I made my father quit... though he rarely smoked, the one time I caught him I told him I felt he was a completely different person and I couldn't look at him the same again. Whatever works. :')

(October 6, 2018 at 12:22 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote:

(October 6, 2018 at 11:09 am)Gawdzilla Sama Wrote: Quit Oct. 1, 1988, 7:30 AM. Haven't smoked since. It CAN BE DONE!

(I just noticed that's thirty years ago. How did I miss that milestone?)

Just out of curiosity, why did you smoke at 7:30 am on the day you quit?

I was in a motel, getting my stuff together to move on and had a coughing fit. That did it, I flushed almost an entire carton of cigarettes down the shitter. I quit then, no more BUTTS for me. I usually had one or more before breakfast. (Did that answer your question?)

(October 6, 2018 at 2:28 pm)Gawdzilla Sama Wrote:

(October 6, 2018 at 12:22 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote: Just out of curiosity, why did you smoke at 7:30 am on the day you quit?

I was in a motel, getting my stuff together to move on and had a coughing fit. That did it, I flushed almost an entire carton of cigarettes down the shitter. I quit then, no more BUTTS for me. I usually had one or more before breakfast. (Did that answer your question?)

Yes it did.

Actually, now that I think about it, I was probably younger than twelve when I started. I hung out with kids that were four years older than me, and they started early.

(October 6, 2018 at 2:12 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote:

(October 6, 2018 at 1:24 pm)Whateverist Wrote: I'm curious if you're willing to tell the story.  How early did you start, how heavy a smoker were you, how long did you keep it up and what led you to give it up?  Sorry if I missed it.

I think I started when I was twelve.  I didn't become a regular smoker until high school.  Over the years I smoked roughly a pack a day for 30 years or so.  During that time, I quit a number of times, sometimes for up to a year.  The last decade or so of smoking I wanted to quit, but was just never successful in completely leaving it behind.  So it wasn't any one thing that led to my quitting, though the health risks were probably the most important reason.  Ultimately, it just took multiple times, learning new things about myself and how to stay quit that eventually bore fruit.  I'm sure both my age and my prior experience played a part as the last times I quit and relapsed, I didn't have a lot of problems with cravings, my relapses were more due to stupidity than inability to remain quit.

The most I ever smoked was maybe a pack a week and that for only a few months, so mostly socially. I don't really have a clear idea what the appeal of nicotine really is about. I'm guessing it is stress reduction.

My wife smoke about like you from just after high school to until she got pregnant with my stepson, about 13 years I guess. Getting pregnant was her motivation to quit and she took a class but without the clear an pressing need to quit right away I should think your method would get it done.

(October 6, 2018 at 2:12 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote: If I could smoke for free without any cost to my health, I'd probably be right back there today.  I still love cigarettes and smoking, and enjoy the smell when I'm lucky enough to experience it second hand.  It's just not worth it, overall.  Lately I've been amazed at the number of people I see smoking.  There was a strong anti-smoking sentiment for a number of years there, but that seems to have waned.  I wonder if things are getting better or worse on that front.

Kind of like the way naziism seemed to lose its grip on people after WWII. But now lots of people seem oblivious to the parallels in Trump's presidency. It really makes me wonder how effective our species may be in transmitting the learned realizations of one generation to those that follow. I think many might be overly optimistic on that score, and religion isn't even the worst of it.