I QUIT

[RacinM3]

No, this is not some dramatic "goodbye cruel forums" post on Off Camber!

I quit smoking last week. After nearly 20 years of being a moron (some would suggest that this is not necessarily the thing that defined me as such ;) ), I have finally seen the light. Although never a really heavy smoker (less than a pack a day, never understood how people could do 2 packs a day), I am amazed at how differently I feel just a 6 days into it.

Breathing is easier. At first, the coughing and clearing my throat (that were main reasons for quitting) subsided dramatically. I've noticed that they have returned with a vengeance, and I'm told that this is normal - I guess it's the body cleaning itself out.

I'm using the nicotine gum so that I don't become that dude on the news that's gunning down his co-workers. So now I'm wondering how I'm going to kick that habit. But I guess the nicotine delivered by the gum is much lower than that delivered by the smokes, so I'm already weaning myself, and on Jan 20, '06, I cut that usage by half, then by half again on Feb. 10. By March 3, I'm off it completely.

So wish me luck, we'll see how it goes!

[Cam]

Nicorette gum is a hell of a better way of quitting than the way I did! :p Good luck! :thumbup:

[Stu]

good luck dont screw it up.

or better yet. start smoking again because a lot of the cost of smoking is tax dollars, which should keep taxes lower for non smokers.

so start up again, pay my taxes for me.

[racer2c]

Good luck and it's a good thing you're doing.

I smoked for 15 years, Marlboro reds. I still get a craving everytime I'm in a bar though, but when I get home and smell the smoke on my clothes, bleck!

[Sean O'Gorman]

No, this is not some dramatic "goodbye cruel forums" post on Off Camber!

I quit smoking last week. After nearly 20 years of being a moron (some would suggest that this is not necessarily the thing that defined me as such ;) ), I have finally seen the light. Although never a really heavy smoker (less than a pack a day, never understood how people could do 2 packs a day), I am amazed at how differently I feel just a 6 days into it.

Breathing is easier. At first, the coughing and clearing my throat (that were main reasons for quitting) subsided dramatically. I've noticed that they have returned with a vengeance, and I'm told that this is normal - I guess it's the body cleaning itself out.

I'm using the nicotine gum so that I don't become that dude on the news that's gunning down his co-workers. So now I'm wondering how I'm going to kick that habit. But I guess the nicotine delivered by the gum is much lower than that delivered by the smokes, so I'm already weaning myself, and on Jan 20, '06, I cut that usage by half, then by half again on Feb. 10. By March 3, I'm off it completely.

So wish me luck, we'll see how it goes!

Add up the amount of money you have spent on cigarettes, and then convert it into the number of tires and brake pads you could've used in your racing. You'll never go back. :)

[dando]

I quit smoking last week.
Congrats, M3! :thumbup:

I quit back in September, and I haven't been back since. I can now actually smell smokers in other cars when I'm stopped @ lights, etc. :saywhat: It was tough early on (especially during the weekend of The Showdown in The Shoe when I partied a bit), but after the first few weeks, I was OK. Now the thought of smoking just doesn't appeal to me. Stay the course. :cool:

-Kevin

[RacinM3]

Kevin, I'm already seeing that change - my sense of smell has come way, way up. I smelled a guy having a smoke a couple nights ago while walking the dog. He was halfway down the block!

Sean - no way. As a racer you learn not to tally up total costs of anything. Start racing and you'll find out why! It is a sure way to take a short trip to depression-ville!

[Sean O'Gorman]

Sean - no way. As a racer you learn not to tally up total costs of anything. Start racing and you'll find out why! It is a sure way to take a short trip to depression-ville!

Tell me about it. I added up what I spent in bars every week and I could've run the '05 season on new Kumho V710s instead of year old V700s that were overheating after two runs on course. :P

[cart7]

Congrats and goodluck M3. I'll be right behind you. I've gotta quit this nasty habit, consuming way too much of my money these days.

[KLang]

Congrat M3! :thumbup:

I've been thinking seriously about quiting lately. Unfortunatly, my wife and I both need to and probably at the same time. Could be ugly. :saywhat:

[WestMcLarenF1]

The first thing I noticed was how much better food would taste. It was like a whole new world. I first tried the patches, but they irritated the skin so much I switched to the lozenges and the gum. It worked for me and it'll work for you. Another plus was not having to find a place in the airport to smoke or worrying if I had to stop and get a pack of heaters...... :gomer:

[JLMannin]

I've never smoked, but my parents did for as long as I know. My father has quit three times, the most recent quitting was about 10 years ago. My mother began smoking when she was 18, quit four years later while she was pregnant with me, then started up again for 30 plus years, telling my father and I she could quit whenever she wanted to for the last 15 years of smoking. One day, she woke up and decided to not smoke that day - and that was as far as she was willing to commit. Each morning, she made the decision not to smoke that day. Taking it day by day, at first, she quit. They take their cigarette money and use that for discretionary spending.

Best of luck to you, and I hope that you are able stay quit.

[SteveH]

Good luck, its not easy. I quit 19 years ago. Cold turkey. Inquired about the gum a few days after I quit and a pharmacist told me that the nicotine addiction is a rather easy one to break - only takes a few days. Its the psychological one that is the killer. In my case that was so true. Would dream I was smoking, even a year later would find myself reaching for a cigarette out of habit after a meal.

If you are having huge cravings there are several things you can do; brush your teeth, do something different, eat something (don't worry about weight gain now), exercise, etc. Keep a positive mental attitude.


:thumbup:

[RacinM3]

a pharmacist told me that the nicotine addiction is a rather easy one to break - only takes a few days. Its the psychological one that is the killer.

Although all the comments are encouraging (THANKS!), this is the most encouraging. I feel I'm well on the way to breaking the habit of smoking, and I have figured out diversions. Example: If I'm at the office and my cellphone rings, I'd automatically get up from the desk, go outside, and light up during the conversation. So my cellphone ring elicited a pavlovian (sp?) response. Now, I get up, and walk a lap around the building. I'm still going outside, I'm just not lighting up.

Work is the worst. Home is fine, because my wife hates smoking so much I'd quit doing it there months ago. So when I get home, not smoking is already a habit :) .

It's been a fear of the nicotine withdrawal that's stopped me before. It's good to hear that the physical addiction is easier than the mental one. I guess that saying "old habits are hard to break" is true.