Smoke free

[Krewzer]

Come on guys, I love you, but you gotta get off those things.

One of the reasons I quit was it was getting harder and harder to get up those steep grades. I tried to quit cold turkey on a week long hike one time and spent a miserable week thinking about nothing but how long before I could buy a pack cigarettes. I knew right then I had to get a grip. I finally did kick that smelly, dirty, nasty, dangerous, expensive, habbit a few years later and have been free for about 20 years.

Been there, done that, ain't never going back. So why are so many still smoking?

Drinking beer isn't allowed in my state if I don't smoke?
Heavy breathing is such a turn on?
In case I climb Everest, I want to already have own oxygen bottles?
I just love the way mouth tastes when I wake up in the morning?
It helps the farmers?
It helps corporate America?
I want to help with global warming?
I want to smell like the Marlboro Man?
I'm hooked and need help!!!

Here's one way. The next time you run out of smokes, check the time. Don't say I'm quitting. But, say I'm going to wait until the next half hour. If it's noon, just wait until 12:30. At 12:30 just tell yourself to wait another 30 minutes. This is so much easier than telling yourself you're never going to have another cigarette for the rest of your smoke shortened life. Repeat this for the next 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months, 3 years. But mainly, just quit 30 minutes at a time. Worked for me. I'm told it takes about 3 days, to purge most of the nicotine from you system, that gives you something to build on.

Go for it. Good luck.

[mingo]

next time you feel like getting on your anti-smoking soapbox, wait until the next half hour before posting that message on whiteblaze. if it's noon, just wait until 12:30. at 12:30, tell yourself to wait another 30 minutes. go for it. good luck

[corentin]

Really ...quit trying to put us healthcare people out of business....I get so much amusement out of watching someone drown in his own lung secretions. Can't buy fun like that!

[c.coyle]

... that will probably get me in hot water:

Q. What should you do if your girlfriend starts smoking? (Scroll down for answer)













































A. Slow down and use a lubricant.

[Vi+]

My physician once checked my health and asked, “Do you prefer to live longer, or smoke more cigars? That's a decision you need to make.”

That didn’t do it. I rationalized my way around that.

Several months later, my employment took me to the VIP ward of a hospital with mixed patients. The cancer patients had all been smokers.

I worked midnights. The ambient sound level during the midnight shift is much less than during the other shifts. You could hear the cancer patients enduring their suffering from outside their muffled rooms. They screamed for days. I decided a lifetime happily smoking was not worth more than twenty minutes of that pain. We all appreciated their deaths.

I just stopped smoking.

I feel better now. I'll just kick my soap box back over to the corner.

[Amigi'sLastStand]

.... So why are so many still smoking?

Drinking beer isn't allowed in my state if I don't smoke?
Heavy breathing is such a turn on?
In case I climb Everest, I want to already have own oxygen bottles?
I just love the way mouth tastes when I wake up in the morning?
It helps the farmers?
It helps corporate America?
I want to help with global warming?
I want to smell like the Marlboro Man?
I'm hooked and need help!!!

All are correct, yep, especially #s 1 and 3.... except the last one. I can quit whenever I want. It's easy. Done it a thousand times.

[Krewzer]

Whoa!!! My apologies Mingo, soapbox so noted. Should of known that list of reasons would P*** somebody off. Thought it was cute at the time and might have been useful. Nothing cute about cigarettes I guess, in the woods or at home. Can't edit, and I'm not sure I would anyway, so if you can, ignore all that stuff about oxygen bottles and Everest.

BTW, some of the best people I know smoke; family, friends and a world class AT hiker or two.

I don't think we've met, but if you smoke, that wouldn't make me think more or less of you. But I believe, as do most smokers and non-smokers believe, you would be better off not smoking. Smoke 'em if you got 'em...and Good Luck!

[Nightwalker]

I quit smoking 4.5 years ago, and immediately gained a ton. I exchanged one health problem for another!

[mingo]

Whoa!!! My apologies Mingo, soapbox so noted. Should of known that list of reasons would P*** somebody off.

not pissed off. just think it's a little pointless to preach at people about the evils of smoking. of course, smoking is stupid. personally, i only smoke when i hike.

[littlelaurel59]

At $2.75 a pack, smoking a pack a day adds up to $1003.75 a year. That would buy a lot of great gear.

[DawnTreader]

2.75???
that is crazy cheap..
5.51 in Michigan

[betic4lyf]

Tobacco is Wacco

[Lilred]

I quit smoking in October of 2000. Used the patch and it worked fantastically. Never even thought about a cig all day. After a week and a half, I forgot to put a patch on one day and still didn't think about a cig at all. Haven't smoked since and haven't had the craving to either. Everytime I see those poor schmucks huddled outside their work offices in the cold, smoking, I thank God I don't do that anymore.

IMO anyone who disses somebody who advocates quitting smoking is in extreme denial. It's got to be the filthiest, nastiest, most unappealing habit out there.

Oh, and if you do smoke, Research has just been revealed that shows that smoking pot does not lead to lung cancer, and that the thc in pot actually attacks foreign (cancer) cells. If you smoke cigs and pot simultaneously, the thc in pot helps counter the cancer causing agents in nicotine. Just an FWI.

[Lilred]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/pr...5F83414B7F0000

Here's an article from scientific america.com

Not advocating pot use, just passing on info for those that indulge.

[Two Speed]

. . . that smoking pot does not lead to lung cancer, and that the thc in pot actually attacks foreign (cancer) cells. If you smoke cigs and pot simultaneously, the thc in pot helps counter the cancer causing agents in nicotine. Just an FWI.

First, congrats on quitting.

However, just because pot doesn't cause cancer doesn't mean it's going to be good for your lungs. Emphasema (SP?) and loss of lung capacity is still an issue.

Still prefer the odor of reefer to tobacco any day, though.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

lilregmg - thanks for the post re: new use for cannibus. Here's an abstract of the study.

I quit smoking from 1979 - 1988. I quit (hopefully) for good in 1992. If I ever had any doubts about the decision, they were ended by watching my husband's uncle drown in his own secretion. After quitting, my overall health improved as did my endurance.

As others note, you can buy a lot of cool gear with the money saved.

Need incentive - Perhaps some of you could try quitting and putting the money you save in a jar. At $3 per pack -
A Feathered Friends nylon 3 season bag is only 115 packs away
A JRB No Sniveller or Nest is only 80 packs away
An MSR Titanium cookset is only 30 packs away
A Tarptent Rainbow is only 72 packs away

[TN_Hiker]

I quit smoking cold turkey on March 18th of this year. I have noticed increased lung capacity, increased sense of smell and taste. I have also noticed that my pants are getting snug----I must be retaining water or something..lol For you ex-smokers does the urge ever go away for good? The urges are fewer and shorter, but refusing to slip this time. According to the tobacco executives smoking is not addictive---so glad it isn't or I would be serious trouble......

[the goat]

[quote=TN_Hiker]For you ex-smokers does the urge ever go away for good? [quote]

yes and no. i used to smoke between 1 and 2 packs/ day for 12 years. i quit 1 1/2 years ago, but i still gotta have a drag or two when i'm getting drunk. probably works out to a half dozens cigs/ year. i can deal with that.

[Alligator]

I quit smoking cold turkey on March 18th of this year. I have noticed increased lung capacity, increased sense of smell and taste. I have also noticed that my pants are getting snug----I must be retaining water or something..lol For you ex-smokers does the urge ever go away for good? The urges are fewer and shorter, but refusing to slip this time. According to the tobacco executives smoking is not addictive---so glad it isn't or I would be serious trouble......

I only smoke when I'm hiking and occasionally if I'm drinking and others are smoking around me (resistance breaks down). A rate would be like 1-2 cigs/wk. This is a compromise that works really well for me, going on over 10 years since being a regular smoker. I don't think it would work for 99% of regular smokers BTW. Being in the vicinity of cigarette smoke sets off some of my receptors, but it is totally manageable.

[stoikurt]

I used to be a heavy tobacco chewer and snuff dipper. In 2000, I was diagnosed with cancer (Hodgkin's Disease). Though not necessarily related to tobacco it was enough of a wake-up call to me. I put it down that day and haven't had any since. I'm now cancer free for 5 years.