Quitting smoking...

[lolguy999]

stop smokin, start chewing

[jjgold]

Good luck Herbie. Been there. quit three years ago after 22 years of 1-3 packs a day. I still use the commits (3-4 a day, nice crutch when out with the drinking/smoking/golfing buddies)and even though I relapsed in Costa Rica (when in Rome I suppose) I didn't take up the habit again. You can do it and you'll feel a 1000% better every day. I can breathe again, I don't cough every 5 minutes and climb stairs without stopping and I am way more active and I didn't gain much weight. It is hard as hell though I offer you a world of support. It is definitely worth doing.

Good story there

Its proven you get healthier when you quit
Chewing aint healthy

[Cap dat 4ss]

I've never been a smoker either but I have vices and I've tried to break those habits so I know it's hard to kick them. I've heard quitting smoking is the hardest.

But here's my two cents, take it for what its worth.

I've worked in healthcare now for over 10 years. I've worked as a paramedic and nurse. One of my early jobs was performing treadmill stress tests with injected thallium. This allowed us to see the inside of the coronary arteries with a fairly high degree of specificity. Anyways, anecdotally after performing between 5 and 10 thousand of these test I can assure you hands down the single largest independent risk factor of heart disease and stroke is smoking. Smokers ALWAYS performed the worst on this test and had the worst outcomes. Maybe not at your age but it ALWAYS caught up with them. Their skin looked horrible, they all stunk, their hair was fragile, their teeth were yellow, they just generally looked nasty and it was from years of smoking.

Now I work as a bedside ICU nurse and have done so for over 5 years. Over these last 5 years I've gotten to see exactly how devastating heart disease and strokes can be to families but more importantly it takes everything away from the individuals. Let me die before I have a heart attack and can't walk 50 feet without being winded because I now suffer from heart failure because I had a heart attack because my coronary arteries were blocked from smoking. Remember, I will bet both my legs that smoking is the single largest independent risk factor for coronary vessel blockage and if your coronary arteries are plaqued up so are the arteries in your brain, legs, groin and everywhere else. It's just sad to see these people and the lifestyle changes they have to make later in life. They do not get to enjoy the "golden years" as the rest of us do. Obviously those that stroke are gorked and you can imagine how much that would suck. To be completely in your mind but unable to move anything. One of the worst things I see is that a lot of these people actually suffer for years and even decades. They don't just die. They just suffer. They can't breathe, they can't walk well, they can't function. It's honestly horrible.

Listen, I tell you this stuff partly to scare you but everything I've said is very true. I wish all smokers could come spend 1 week with me and I PROMISE it would be the best method to quit smoking there has been. Whats coming for you LVHERBIE if you don't quit is a life you don't want to live and once it's here its too late. You can't un-stroke or un-heart attack, all your left with is feeling sorry for yourself that you didn't quit earlier.

I really hope you can quit. You are still young enough that your body can heal and fix itself. If need be pick up another habit during the meantime do it and then break it later. But I swear Herb, nothing is as bad as smoking. Good luck pal.

[thechaoz]

I can say I was a heavy smoker. The way I quit, and it's still not easy, is to slowly cut back daily and/or weekly. So if you are a pack a day guy really try to cut out an extra 2-3 smokes on a daily basis for a week (more if you can). And so on and so on. Eventually get to the point where you only smoke when you are ready to rip your head out, maybe like 5 a day. Then slowly go down until you are ready to completely quit and you've adjusted your lifestyle accordingly.

[305GURU]

GL man. Cuz in CR you guys smoked so much it made me want to start lol...

[MonkeyF0cker]

I've quit about 47 times. Once quit for 2.5 years and started again. Just don't ever tell yourself that one cigarette isn't going to hurt, because before you know it, you're smoking 1.5 packs a day again.

I just started another quit. When I quit for 2.5 years, I did it cold turkey. But now that I've been smoking for 10+ years, I can't do it cold turkey anymore. I've tried the patch, gum, Chantix, etc. My best results have come with Chantix. It's not a fun ride at the beginning, but it is worth it. I hope we can both say that we're permanently non-smokers sometime soon, Herbie.

Good luck. And stay strong.

[chilidog]

I've quit about 47 times. Once quit for 2.5 years and started again. Just don't ever tell yourself that one cigarette isn't going to hurt, because before you know it, you're smoking 1.5 packs a day again.

I just started another quit. When I quit for 2.5 years, I did it cold turkey. But now that I've been smoking for 10+ years, I can't do it cold turkey anymore. I've tried the patch, gum, Chantix, etc. My best results have come with Chantix. It's not a fun ride at the beginning, but it is worth it. I hope we can both say that we're permanently non-smokers sometime soon, Herbie.

Good luck. And stay strong.

You gotta admit, the dreams from Chantix in the beginning are pretty fun. There were days I couldn't wait to get to sleep to see what I would dream about. They got to be a bit too much for me though, so I had to say g'bye to Chantix.

[spankie]

One year, one month, one week, five days, 41 minutes and 27 seconds. 8160 cigarettes not smoked, saving $1,734.12. Life saved: 4 weeks, 8 hours, 0 minutes.

Quitting cigarettes was the best thing I ever did. Feel like a million bucks health-wise.

[sportfan]

I quit for 1 week but couldn't take it no more , too addicted to nicotine

[Glitch]

i was trying to quit...

had my second to last cig with a buddy i gave my last cig to yesterday afternoon.

havent smoked all day but im gonna go buy a 10-pack right now i think. sucks. i bet youre smokin too herb

[face]

smoke only 2 or 3 a day for 3 months. then quit.

[Glitch]

deal.
sold.