Cloudy's Cafe, a conversation zone, May 28, 2007

[johnny]

Whoa....CC dropped all the way to the second page, i don't think i've ever seen anything like that happening before. Where did all the spammers go?

I was doing a little experiment, i wanted to see how long i could do without smoking a cigarette, and it's been tuesday afternoon since i last smoked one, and i don't really feel the need to go out and buy me a pack, which kinda surprises me really. So i guess i shouldn't have too much dificulties quitting IF i wanted to do so. I don't really see no reason to quit though, i just wanted to see how long it would take before i would dash towards the nearest shop that sells tobaccoproducts, and that hasn't happened yet.

[Ladyzekke]

Good for you Johnny. You know it only takes about 5 days or so to get all the tobacco out of your system. So by Saturday or Sunday you can consider yourself clean if you don't smoke one. Trust me it gets easier the more time that goes by. And I don't understand why you can't see a reason to quit, there are so many! You save money, you no longer have to worry about having them around you 24/7 like some kind of monkey on your back, and of course you get healthier.

I know some people say quitting only saves you a few years of life, but that's simply not true for everyone. I see people being taken out by ciggs in their 50s and 60s, and in this day that's considered young. Oh, and if you do keep going, you will start to notice the smell of ciggs on others SO much more, it is quite an eye opener. And to think that when I smoked, on my way in to work in the morning I'd smoke one cigg in the car with the windows down. I figured by the time I got to work my car and me was all aired out and nobody would ever knew I smoked. Boy was I wrong LOL! [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img] I can now smell a smoker a mile away, including in traffic!

Either way Johnny, I've always been of the notion that a person has to decide to quit on their own, so pushing or nagging anyone to quit never works. But that doesn't stop me from being encouraging however.

I can't believe this place fell to page 2 either. Maybe nobody has anything particular going on to talk about. I know I don't. Well, yesterday I called the cops cause I saw a body in my boss' old car out back at work. Turned out to be a homeless man doh! Black guy had the whitest legs I've ever seen! [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

[Cloudbringer]

Not bad, Johhny! Like LZ said, after a few days you'll have kicked it if you choose to. I remember my dad saying he could smell more, taste more and felt a lot better after he'd quit. And like LZ said, you save money too!

[johnny]

I made things easier for myself by not having anything to smoke in the house, i wonder if i could have done the same thing if i had a pack here. Also, the weather has been really bad here the entire week, so i didn't have to work, where i would have been around other smokers. That will be different tomorrow, because bad weather or no, fridays are always workdays for me. So tomorrow i'll be around smokers again, let's see if i can still keep it up then. I think it will be really tough when we take a break and get some coffee, that's when i usually light one up. We'll see.....

[Ladyzekke]

Well when I decided to quit I had ciggs all over the place. I tossed a lot out but a lot was leftover. Since I've quit, while cleaning, I've found partially filled cigg packs here and there, and I still haven't cleaned out my full ashtray in my car. These things don't tempt me cause I figured if I wanted a cigg, I'd want a fresh one and not some stale thing. So, in other words, the physical presence of a cigg didn't affect my determination to quit.

For you, it's different cause you are merely experimenting and testing yourself in a casual manner. It doesn't happen often, but there are a rare few who just decide they don't feel like smoking anymore, just out of nowhere, and just end up quitting with no problems whatsoever. It's a rare few though. And smoking isn't just a physical thing, it's also a social thing, and the social part can be the hardest to quit. I know it was for me (my own PC being my main social thing). So will be interesting to see how it goes for you tomorrow Johnny! Heck, I quit for 2 years, ten years ago, and ended up starting again just because I felt like smoking around certain people that also smoked.

[ 07-12-2007, 08:41 PM: Message edited by: ladyzekke ]

[SpiritWarrior]

Well, i'm on the nicorette and have been for months now...almost a year. It's been hard for me because smoking was a HUGE habit in my life. When they call it "a crutch", man that's a understatment. But then of course there was always this gnawing in my head about how much i'm ■■■■■■■ my body up. It's a horrible love/hate relationship that went on for years. You kinda feel guilty for succumbing to your craving, and yet can't stop. I tried to get off them a few times and failed but, using the nicotine supplements (nicorette gum) has helped alot.

Still, I crave the nicorette. But I figure it beats throwing all the toxins into my body 10-20 times a day. There was a time when I was on the nicotine gum, that I would gladly accept either a cigarette or a gum and had to remind myself I don't smoke anymore. Now though, I don't even think of cigarettes, but only the gum. If I see or smell smoking, I don't want one. It's odd because I am addicted to nicotine still, but I do not want it from a horrible cigarette anymore. It's like I have severed my emotional addiction firstly, instead of the physical.

[johnny]

My grandma smoked ever since she was 18, and at the age of 40 she suddenly decided to quit, just like that. To my knowledge she never laid a hand on a cigarette ever again. She's 87 now, an still doing relatively fine. If i have only half of her determination, quitting won't be any problem at all.

Again, i'm not really trying to quit, just wanted to see how far i can take this.

[SpiritWarrior]

I suspect the reason you aren't flipping out is because you know that you haven't had your last cigarette yet. The physical and psychological craving are so tightly interwoven that it is hard to tell where the craving is coming from.

I remember sometimes finally buying a pack of cigs after maybe a few hours where I couldn't get to the store, and then walking around with them contentedly in my pocket for an hour before opening. A part of me would say "wait a minute, I was prepared to murder for a smoke 5 minutes ago!", and it was true. But because I had bought them, my mind relaxed, and was more than prepared to wait for the body to start the real craving.

[johnny]

That's exactly what i did today, i bought a pack of marlboro's this morning, but i haven't opened it yet. I'm back home from work now, and there were several moments when i was tempted, especially when we were on a break, having coffee, and everyone around started smoking. I actually told one of em to take that smelly shit outside. Sheesh, i hope this attempt is not turning me into a grumpy old man.
[img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

[Ladyzekke]

Hey good for you too SpiritWarrior! I quit last year on August 20, so very soon it will be an entire year for me. I bought that gum too, but never did use it. Couldn't believe the price of it, $40 for twenty pieces! I'm tellin ya, they get ya going in, and they get ya going out! I only bought the gum for in case I went just absolutely nuts, but ended up being able to just get through it cold turkey. I wanted the nicotine out of my system as fast as I could. I smoked for 23 years and it also was a huge habit for me. I still think about them and miss smoking in general, but as so much time has gone by those thoughts are usually few and far between and not hard to handle. I do worry if something horribly stressful comes along, if I'll be an idiot and buy a pack. I hope that doesn't happen though. I know that it's been so long now that if I lit up it would taste like total crap, you really have to smoke a good pack to get back on that ol addiction train.

It is definitely not just physical but mental. I also had ciggs on me the entire time I quit. Still may have some about. Your mind will crave what it cannot have and maybe having them nearby somehow lessens that. I also have heard of a few people that just out of nowhere decided to quit and did so successfully. Me, when I decided last year back in April, it took me a few months of preparation before I actually did it. Everyone is different.

Your experiment is doing well so far Johnny, I bet even if you do smoke a cigg it'll taste like shit cause it's been a few days now and that's all it takes.

Stayed home today. Am sick with some cough thing. I don't know what it is. Not the flu or I'd be way sicker and I've had it since Monday. If I still smoked I'd be lighting up and making my cough ten times worse too!