YOU ALL NEED TO CALM DOWN!

[Structo]

Good work Lefty!

Nicotine has been compare to heroin as far as addictive properties.

Problem areas are when you normally smoked, like with morning coffee, after a meal, after sex , etc.

Disassociating those activities from smoking takes some time.

Keep up the good work!

[Mark]

Perhaps you and your wife can some of the money saved from cigarettes into an account and upon reaching a certain time without smoking reward yourselves, perhaps a holiday would be the ticket as taking up smoking would also let the other person down.

As you've gathered a lot of people here really want to see you succeed, as you American say we are rooting for you.

[Turret]

It's 5 days only since I am no smoker. I'm ready to kill myself, I'm shaking and it's difficult to focus since then. I was smoking 2 packs a day. I promised to my son I will quit, so I did. Fingers crossed, kindly please

[skyboltone]

Good for you Torg. It WILL get better. You have no idea how much better you will feel after another week.

Dan

[Leo_Gnardo]

Problem areas are when you normally smoked, after sex

Oh no Tom you reminded me of that bad old joke:

Q: Do you smoke after sex?

A: Hm, I dunno, I never looked.

Hey it's Saturday night, get it while you can! Live it up some...

[Leo_Gnardo]

It's 5 days only since I am no smoker. I'm shaking and it's difficult to focus since then. I was smoking 2 packs a day. I promised to my son I will quit, so I did.

At 5 days you're on the downhill slope. Every hour that passes, the poison will leave you, and most of it already has. After that it's just nerve endings demanding their "fix." Mind over matter torg, you CAN do it.

As time goes on, and as Lefty has noted, your senses of taste & smell will return & you can enjoy life so much more. YOU will also smell better and your friends & family will sense that, even if they say nothing about it.

Take it from a former tobacco investor, you guys were putting me out of business... and I don't mind that at all.

COURAGE!

[LeftyStrat]

It's 5 days only since I am no smoker. I'm ready to kill myself, I'm shaking and it's difficult to focus since then. I was smoking 2 packs a day. I promised to my son I will quit, so I did. Fingers crossed, kindly please

Drink LOTS of water. It seems to help with the jitters. Every time you get what seems like an uncontrollable urge, get up and do something. The first couple of days I must have walked around the block four or fives times a day.

Yeah, strangely nicotine actually improves short term memory, so the first week I was a little foggy.

If you find yourself eating to compensate, get some grapes or strawberries or other small fruit. When I got the urge to snack, I'd eat a couple of grapes.

And remember that every day gets easier. First week is the worst.

And read this time line:

http://whyquit.com/whyquit/a_benefits_time_table.html

[LeftyStrat]

I quit June 24th, 2013. It's been one year. I am happier, I am healthier, I get sick less, and I will be around longer for my wonderful wife and three amazing kids.

Bupropion (150 mg) will block the pleasure receptors. After a while smoking and taking the drug, you'll just say, "why the hell am I doing this?"

It's a process called extinction. Take away the endorphin rush, and you lose the motivation to smoke.

It's similar to the Sinclair Method for alcoholism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Method).

Remove the endorphin reward and your body won't crave it anymore. Your body will unlearn the addiction.

Sorry if this sounds preachy, but if I can save one of you from smoking addiction, someone that loves you gets to spend more time with you.

I'm a happy camper.

[Mark]

Great stuff Lefty, smoking is a tough addiction and the smoking lobby has been powerful for a long time. I thought smoking was finally a dead duck until I saw this.

http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transc ... 026465.htm

The paper mentioned is owned by Murdock who also owns Foxtel.

Rant over, I want to point out I am very happy to hear of your success, it's awesome!

[LeeMo]

You go, Lefty!
I quit (I just stopped buying 'em and lighting 'em) 20 plus years ago. My oldest son gave my wife and I pure hell for smoking. He was about 13 at the time. So, we quit together. He's 36 now . He started smoking at about 17 -18. He finally really quit about two years ago. Kids 'll make ya do that.
Enjoy those grands. They are the best. We sure enjoy our (so far) two.

Never light the next one!

LeeMo

[sepulchre]

Well done, Lefty! Keep it up, pal. I know a couple times I got the urge out of the blue at about a year. But it's nice to feel so much better, smell and taste stuff, breathe easier and keep a BUNCH of money in your pocket.

[jestaudio]

Well done lefty, 1 year is a real milestone, food tastes better, no more coughing and all the other crap, nearly 6 years for me, I've put on a few pounds but hell carrying a bit of extra weight is far better than killing yourself by degrees

[cbass]

All right Lefty ! I new you could do it.

[JazzGuitarGimp]

Wow, Lefty! It's been a year already? That's awesome, man! Keep up the good work!

[David Root]

I quit cold turkey when I was smoking three packs a day. One month of physical withdrawal then about three of psychological. I kept an unopened pack on the kitchen table the whole time. It was my second try at quitting.

It dawned on me that if I didn't quit I'd never see 50. Luckily I had only been smoking about 10 years, and at a lower level most of that time.

That was 37 years ago. I just turned 69.

Oh, and don't believe all that dumb-ass macho guff about smoking, ie "Anyone can quit smoking, but it takes a real man to face lung cancer."