Gave up Cigarettes for Lent
 

So, I was planning on quitting this spring since smoking is stupid and I hate that I made such a horrible decision to ever do it in the first place. Anyway, so I've been smoking 1-2 packs per day, except during basic training, for probably like 10 years. Okay I guess just that many for the past 5 or 6 years. Anyway, I should not have started again after basic.

So, I'm an honest man that does what I say I'm going to do, but it'll take some work to fight back this powerful addiction. Originally I said that I would quit cold turkey this spring, but then the first day of Lent came, and I figured what the hell. Yeah, I'm an atheist, but this has its perks.

I think it is so exciting to quit smoking. I can't wait for smell and taste to regain full splendor. ...and lets not forget my chance and living healthy for many more years increasing my the days that I stick to it.

The best part about jumping into Lent was that it worked perfectly at giving me an excuse to stop procrastinating; grab the bull by the horns.

Anyway yesterday, day one, was pretty decent until I started to relax for the evening and enjoy some Lost S4E02. I had some major withdraws last night. Not pain like heroine or crack, but severe anxiety. I was flipping out. I'm not going into detail, but I was melting down. I manned up and pressed on. This morning no big deal, but I'm not feeling normal at all.

The best reason of all, I feel, is that when Lent is over, 40-some days from now, I'm sure I will be done smoking for good.

For fun. I'm adding a poll to see if you all think I can do it or not.

By the way - feel free to place side bets on when I'll crack, but I'd give odds to those expecting me to succeed, I will.

Cold turkey is the only way to go. That lousy feeling will start going away in a couple of days.
You won't need the full 40 days. You should be done with it for good within a couple of weeks.

I quit cold turkey after being a 10 pack-year smoker. I'll tell you the truth: the first few days, maybe the first week, was complete and total agony. Once you get through that, you'll be okay.

I found an application for my Palm that kept a running clock of how long I'd been quit, how many cigarettes I'd NOT smoked, how much money I'd saved, and how much time I'd NOT shortened my life by, by not smoking those cigarettes. There were times when the ONLY thing keeping me from smoking was that I'd have to reset that clock.

I googled up a page of such apps: http://www.fileheap.com/software/stop_smoking.html . You might check it out; it was a great tool for me.

I use Lent to break myself of bad habits every year. Regular soda, refined sugar, no exercise--all of those things have gone by the wayside, one at a time, each Lent.

The thing about Lent that helps is the timing--it's 40 days of sacrifice, plus it comes right as spring is starting to show. The two together just seem to work for breaking bad habits.

Good luck!

I used a decidedly low tech approach myself.
Whenever I got to a typical smoking time (i.e. after a meal, getting in the car, breathing more than 3 times without a smoke, etc) I chewed on a plastic coffee stirrer thingy. After a few weeks the smell of plastic made me nauseous, but it worked.

Alright, who voted that I would fail? That's not nice. ;)

Thanks for the 'good luck' and I'll check out the app.

I gave up Lent for Lent, but I still believe in Herk! YOU CAN DO IT!

Okay fine. It was me. I was just going with stats, but then again I don't know you. And I should have been more supportive as a fellow smoker. Humble apologies for that non-vote of confidence.

That being said, YOU GO! Prove those stats wrong! Breathe clean, breathe deep and no more annual percentages for Phillip Morris. And I find it extremely inspiring to watch others get over it, so maybe I'll finally be motivated to do the same

:thumbsup:

yeah, it was me too. I dont want to be the only one that failed at this.

but seriously, good luck with that, and i hope you kick the habbit.

It'd be interesting to see where current versus non- or former-smokers come down on the two options. I voted that you can, because I did.

+1

I've been all three, but unsure if my perspective is any better than anyone else's.

I've been an avid nonsmoker who used to hide my parents' cigarettes in attempts to keep them from smoking, current smoker who's been an ex-smoker twice - once for three months, another time for about one month. http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/mad/mad0228.gif

Would you like me to tell you my favorite method of quitting? http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/e...ilgrin0039.gif

Cold turkey. And baby carrots. Bags upon bags of baby carrots.

Oh that is hilarious. Okay, bring on the naysayers. Just better for me when I do succeed. ;)

haha I always tell people that my New Year's Resolution is to stop making New Year's Resolution's.

Damn it, why didn't I think of that. That would be a far more interesting poll.

I vote you'll fail.. and it will happen the first time you get drunk.

Plus.. since I'm a smoker I enjoy having others smoke with me. :D

Raw cinammon sticks, even better, at least for me. You can gnaw on them, keep them in your hand, suck on 'em ... very handy. Which reminds me. Keep someone around that can keep you busy kissing or something when you go through the rough cravings.

Haha, fortunately, aside from Scotch or thick, dark beer once in a blue moon(never to the point of getting wasted), I don't drink.

I quit for two years...



And I'm right back at it. I missed it.

I gave up religion for lent once...

Don't be so sure you have it licked after 40 days though - can't let your guard down. It sneaks back up on you real innocent like. I was a pack and half for a good 17-18 years until last March and I swore up and down I was all or nothing.

I smoke like twice a week now. No problems going 4 or 5 days, but as soon as I crack a beer I feel like you did watching Lost. It's weird. I feel like it's more difficult to quit the habit I have now then when I was full time - it doesn't feel as "urgent" an issue.

You need to keep that motivation you have now every second of every day for a good solid year.......at least that's what I'm guessing. I bet you go through Lent.

Excellent point. Nicotine sucks. What a horrible drug.

Perspective is important. The one thing I've learned is that if you feel that you're "giving up" something, you'll always feel a void without it.

Focus on the negative aspects and what you're gaining instead. That way there'll be nothing to miss. :)

Yeah i quit for a while too (against my will i might add)

i missed it as well. Nothing better than a good cigarette after a nice big meal.

"Focus on the negative aspects and what you're gaining instead"

This is the key I think. It's not so much the health thing that kept me going. As a frequent flyer, things like when you're plane is delayed 45 minutes trying to figure out if you have enough time to run out for a smoke and get back through security in time to make it. Not being paranoid in meetings that you wreak of smoke. In general, not revolving every second of every day around when you're next smoke is gonna be, is a phenomenal feeling. That's what really keeps me going (with where I'm at anyway)

Well put. I'm still at work. I'm still maintaining my bearing. Life is moving on, but very very slowly. I'd really like to eat a huge meal, smoke a big bowl, then two or three cigarettes...

On the other hand: I'd really like to shed this ridiculous addiction, live longer, smell better, and have food taste better, so I'm moving on.

I think I've just decided that I'm going to come talk to TFP when times get tough through the quitting. You all can laugh at my agony and make me feel okay about it at the same time. TFPFTW!

ok.. well when you do drink that first scotch after a nice meal.. you'll crack..

Grr, sounds pretty good, but you aren't going to talk me out of this, and neither is the scotch.

If you are truly ready to put away the ashtray, you can do it. You may want to talk to your doctor though, I hear that new medication Chantix has been quite successful. It makes the cigarettes taste pretty awful, in fact some smokers will even smoke a cigarette or two a day while on it just to reinforce the negative aspects of smoking. Unfortunately as it makes cigarettes taste bad I hear it can make other things nasty tasting to some people, even causing nausea. On the upside, you can get a prescription and ask for a partial fill at the pharmacy. That way if it does not seem to suit you after a few days(it often is not covered by insurance, without a prior authorization which requires other modalities to be tried first) you would not be out the full fill price.

Wow, that sounds even worse, but genius.

my insurance covers chantix, but you need to be careful.. don't take it if you have any history of depression.. as it seems to be a major downer for a lot of people. There are numerous reports coming out about suicides and other issues associated with the drug now.

If I remember my religious education right, Lent is intended as a time of penance and self-improvement to prepare the individual for the celebration of the birth of Christ. It seems fitting that denying yourself a pleasure that brings you harm helps to prepare the mind and body for such a celebration. From a spiritual angle, it will help make you stronger.

From my perspective, any excuse to quit smoking is a good one, and if tying it to something so meaningful to you helps, good for you. Remember, your chemical dependence is over after three days, after that it's all in your head.

Actually doing it for Lent is a bit of a joke to me. Some of my family and many friends over the years have been catholic. Of the lot of them, I remember seeing a few fail at giving up something up for lent(unless they picked something lame and easy). I didn't laugh or say anything to them; it didn't even bother me, but I do remember thinking I have the tenacity to give anything up especially if I believed I was indebted to a god that loved me. Even without that feeling though, I think I can muscle through it just on perseverance alone.

So it has become a bit of a spiritual thing for me. More like me vs. myself. I think I have what it takes to defeat me. We'll see.

I smoked for 20 years. I quit cold turkey. For me, It was the only way.
(This was before Chantix was available.) The only products that were available were simple nicotine replacements. Such as the patch and nicorette gum, And these wont work because the thing you're trying to rid yourself of is an addiction to nicotine.
As long as you're using one of those replacement deals, you're still keeping your bodies nicotine levels right up there where they would be if you were smoking a cig. Only difference is you're not stinking. And, ok, it probably isn't hurting your lungs, much. But you're still an addict.
The reason why your body craves a cig, is the drop in the nicotine level stored up in your body. So as long as you're replenishing that nicotine you will still be an addict. Changing the method you imbibe the drug wont cure the addiction.


Good luck to all of you who have made the commitment to quit.

I believe that anyone can quit. But you have to convince yourself that you want to be a non smoker, mentally psych yourself up for it, Envision yourself nicotine free and smelling fresh. Suffer through 2 or 3 days of withdrawal and after that, it's just a habit you do with your hands. The cravings will go away as soon as you've purged the nicotine from your body. So take up knitting, wood working or something to occupy your hands with. :surprised: :thumbsup:

damn! i knew I was in the wrong hemisphere :)

I remember Lent as a kid - it meant Fish and Chips for dinner on Fridays (no meat). Best time of year ever - hardly seemed like a sacrifice to me.

What I suggest is not give it up completely love. Why commit yourself to something you know you might not see through? not that i'm saying you wont see it through cos i have every faith in a person who wants something bad enough, they'll do everything in their power to make sure they get what they want and need.

However, my take on lent has recently been changed to not giving something up and making that committment just to be lax in the middle when my body starts craving whatever it is i've given up, but rather try to live a healthier lifestyle...no more junk food, no more fizzy drinks, try to smoke less, excercise more, whenever you feel the craving for a smoke or a fizzy drink or junk food, you put the amount of money that you would have spent in a jar and at the end of the week, give that money to a charity or the church or the poor.

well, thats how i'm going to try this lent...wherever i can, to just try and be an all round better person...

well, i wish you the best of luck in your endeavour. :thumbsup:

I've tried quiting so many times that I've lost optimism. Good luck though.

The problem with that is that it's hard to go halfsies with cigarettes. Cutting back never works; it's all or nothing.

Cold turkey sucks. But if you're ready to quit, it beats smoking. If it doesn't, you're not ready to quit. That's the way I figure it, anyway.

..

Whew now that my TFP addiction is back in full swing I thought I'd give you all an update.

The quiting is still going well. I'm chewing about a pack of gum every two days but hey, it beats the alternative.

So yeah, I'm still a successful quiter. I've been run down with all different shades of horrible sickness over the past couple of weeks, and honestly I don't know if that helped, hurt, or had no effect. The cravings haven't been to bad, and other than as a means to pass time, they've nearly entirely ceased. Yay!

Take that negative-poll-answerers. Ha

I believe in you!! I think you can do it. Every person I have ever talked to who has quit smoking has done it cold turkey.