# Former smokers - when/why/how did you quit?



## applecruncher (May 27, 2015)

I’ll go first.

When:
I quit September 1, 2014 – not all that long ago.  (I smoked a pack a day for about 40+ years.)

Why I quit:
1)   I was tired of literally burning up $6 - $7 a day.  Everyday. That money is better spent elsewhere, or saved.
2)   I was sick and tired of making sure I had enough cigarettes every time I went to a store. 
3)   The smell.  In my home, clothes, hair. (Even though I never smoked in my bedroom, the odor was in my pillow cases.)  The smoke stains on my inside windows …… horrible.  My kitty deserves to breathe clean air, and so do I.
4)   It’s a fire hazard. Very dangerous habit.
5)   People don’t want to be around a smoker.  Some won’t say so, but I can tell.
6)   That nasty hacking cough (phlegm…ugh) in the morning.
7)   My doctor said either quit or find another doctor. (!!!)
8)   Health – need I say more?

How I quit:
I looked at my reasons for quitting.  I tried to think of one good thing that has resulted from smoking cigarettes – I couldn’t.  I said out loud “This has to stop.” I sat and smoked the remaining cigarettes in my last pack,  Then I gathered my ashtrays, lighters, the empty pack and took everything to the dumpster outside.  It was quite dramatic.

Hardest part:  Not having a cigarette with morning coffee and after meals.  But that subsided.

I have not gained weight (actually lost about 10 lbs.), I do chew more gum, and there have only been a few times when I smelled the odor of cigarette smoke (people on street) and wanted one.  But not often. 

Let’s hear your story.


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## Ameriscot (May 27, 2015)

My last cigarette was Jan. 31, 1993 after smoking 1 - 1 1/2 packs a day for 25 years.  Breathing had become too much work and I was sure I'd have emphysema and die before I was 45.  I chose that date to quit because I was moving so would not associate my new place with smoking.  

Dumped all ashtrays, lighters, leather cigarette cases in the trash.  Got nicotine patches, gum, lollipops, and plastic straws for chewing on and to have something in my hand.  Prepared to be totally miserable every day for about 6 months.


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## applecruncher (May 27, 2015)

Meant to mention I also used plastic straw pieces....it helps.

Prior to actually quitting, I made many half-assed efforts, but I always knew I had a pack in the freezer, just in case.  For decades I had this terrible fear there would be a blizzard and I wouldn't have any cigarettes.  Ridiculous.


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## Ameriscot (May 27, 2015)

I only quit one time before and that was sometime in the 80's and my ex was bugging me to quit.  I didn't want to quit and it lasted about 5 months. When I quit for good it was my choice and nobody was bugging me.  I had a boyfriend who didn't smoke and my friends didn't smoke.


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## AZ Jim (May 27, 2015)

I smoked a pack and a half for 40 years.  I tried to quit several times, acupuncture, Nicoderm, The patch and none worked.  Finally I decided to try cold turkey but with a twist.  I decided I would quit by midnight on my birthday.  My birthday at the time was three months away.  During those three months every time I lit up I thought about my future quitting.  I didn't intend to, I just automatically did.  A week before my birthday I bought my last carton of cigarettes.

On the day of my birthday in the evening, I sat on our flagstone hearth of the fireplace and smoked cigarette after cigarette.  After I was sick of smoking I took the carton and pitched it into the fireplace.  The next morning I was regretting my decision but was resolved to stick to my commitment.  As I shaved and got ready for work I missed it so much I thought I'd go nuts but after while it went away, lunch brought new desires to smoke but like before I gritted my teeth and got past it.

That evening I went to bed and next morning I thought to myself "I made a full day without smoking, I'll be damned if it was f or nothing".  Soon a week went by, then two, a month all the while the urges were fewer and shorter in duration.  I began to notice food tasting a bit better.  At the end of a few months people were still telling me they admired my guts to have done this.

One last point, it is critical that you tell everyone who will listen that you are quitting which makes it harder to fail.  Throw out ashtrays.  By doing it this way you give yourself time to precondition your mind to quitting and it makes it easier.  Now, after all these years of non smoking I smell cigarette smoke a half block away.  Do yourself and your family a favor and do as ole AZ Jim did and quit that unhealthy, expensive, life shortening, disgusting smoking habit.  It's been 25 smoke free years for me since I quit and saved some life.


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## Ameriscot (May 27, 2015)

Jim, I chain smoked the night before I quit.  Then dumped everything.  

A lot of people look for a magic pill to quit but if you aren't extremely motivated, you will fail.


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## Son_of_Perdition (May 27, 2015)

Quit at age 31 after 15 years, built up to 2 packs a day.  1976, was working in a data center and it was not allowed around the sensitive equipment.  I can't remember how much they were a pack but it was a drain on my income.  I quit the night I was standing outside in a blizzard near zero and thought I can't believe what I will go through for a butt.  It's been almost 40 years, the urge stayed with me for several years but finally got that monkey off my back.  Cold turkey and a lot of celery and carrot sticks.


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## applecruncher (May 27, 2015)

I calculated the money saved (or spent elsewhere) instead of on cigarettes.  Boggles the mind.


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## Lon (May 27, 2015)

I am one that likes control, primarily of my self. I tried everything from hypnosis, group therapy, gum etc. I just couldn't go 48 hours without a weed. I would check out car ash trays for a butt when I was out as well as soggy butts on the evening lawn. I smoked from age  20 to 60 a pack & 1/2 a day. I was able to quit after going into the hospital for surgery. Four days in hospital did it and I haven't had the urge since. Quitting smoking is the hardest thing I ever tried to do. It's been over 20 years now and fortunately my lungs and heart are fine. I was smoking when I was running 60 miles a week  35 years ago.


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## Mrs. Robinson (May 27, 2015)

I quit on Nov.17th,1988. I was 38 and had been smoking for about 19 years. I was up to 5 packs a day. Yes,5. I smoked Tareyton 100s exclusively,4 packs a day until the last year. One day I ran out while waiting for a refrigerator to be delivered. I was desperate and smoked one of hubby`s Barclays (not a 100). Decided they weren`t bad so I switched-because,after all,they were a "better for you" cigarette. However,because they weren`t 100s,I started smoking one more pack a day. Did that for one year,then saw Yul Brynner on TV one morning. He was dying of cancer and they asked him if he could change anything about his life,what would it be? He said "The cigarettes." I never smoked another cigarette-quit cold turkey then and there. I didn`t want to have that regret. Unlike some of you,I did NOT throw out my cigarettes. I had a brand new pack in my leather case with my lighter and I carried it with me everywhere. For me,it was knowing I COULD have one if I wanted to,but was choosing not to. I chewed on the red coffee stirrers from the fast food place next to our business for about three months,til hubby asked me to "please STOP!" He quit two days after I did,BTW. But he never loved smoking the way I did.


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## AprilT (May 27, 2015)

I just didn't buy another pack and was done with it upon making up my mind to quit 5 years ago this Nov.  Tired of the smell, inconvenience and and cost.  It wasn't my first quit, but, it's how I've done it before.  I wasn't a truly heavy smoker, but, I was becoming one, years past it was a whole lot easier for me to quit, but the last time, it seemed my graving was stronger, but, I still was able to say goodbye.  Ever so often, I do still get a tinge of a desire, or once or twice a year I have what I consider a nightmare of me regressing and I am so happy when I wake to find it was just a dream a horrible dream, but thankfully a dream.  I don't see me going back, though I had thought about those electronic ones at one point, but, it appears they're not all that much better except to not stink up the place.


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## applecruncher (May 27, 2015)

> saw Yul Brynner on TV one morning. He was dying of cancer and they asked him if he could change anything about his life,what would it be? He said "The cigarettes."



I remember the Yul Brynner ad. He said "Don't smoke. Just don't smoke." IIRC the commercial was aired after he died.

Mrs R - 5 packs a day....WOW.  



> though I had thought about those electronic ones at one point, but, it appears they're not all that much better except to not stink up the place.



AprilT - I tried these e-cigs (vaping) a few months prior to actually quitting.  They're not cheap and I realized I was just supplementing and looking forward to my "real" cigarette.


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## Mrs. Robinson (May 27, 2015)

applecruncher said:


> I remember the Yul Brynner ad. He said "Don't smoke. Just don't smoke." IIRC the commercial was aired after he died.
> 
> Mrs R - 5 packs a day....WOW.
> 
> ...



Yes,I remember the commercials after he died. And I think the interview that I watched that day was also aired after he died and they were showing it because it was the "National Smokeout Day.",when everyone was encouraged to quit.

Yes,5 packs a day. Disgusting,huh? I couldn`t do that these days because of all the places where you can`t smoke now that you could then. Restaurants,hospitals,grocery stores,workplaces etc.


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## AZ Jim (May 27, 2015)

The took the most poignant Yul Brenner public service announcement off the air, it was the one where his picture came on and his voice saying "I am Yul Brenner, and I am dead" and he went on to ask people to quit.


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## applecruncher (May 27, 2015)

Btw – Amal Clooney was a smoker. When she started dating George, she quit cold turkey.


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## RadishRose (May 27, 2015)

Back in the 80's I had quit more than a pack a day for just over one year cold turkey. I went back to it during the divorce and just quit again. My last CIG was early a.m. 3/23/15 just before a surgery. As it turned out I was 5 weeks in hospital smoke free with no patch or aids. It wasn't too bad. More difficult is staying smoke free now. It's been another month since I've been home.

What works for me is what worked back in the 80's....remembering the craving will pass!!! It does. I still want one several times a day but the desire passes quickly. I just don't want to lose the progress I've made during all this time. That also motivates me.

My best to all those who remain smoke free and keep trying if you lose it now and then. Never give up!


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## Josiah (May 27, 2015)

Quit cold turkey in 1964.


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## Jackie22 (May 27, 2015)

RadishRose said:


> Back in the 80's I had quit more than a pack a day for just over one year cold turkey. I went back to it during the divorce and just quit again. My last CIG was early a.m. 3/23/15 just before a surgery. As it turned out I was 5 weeks in hospital smoke free with no patch or aids. It wasn't too bad. More difficult is staying smoke free now. It's been another month since I've been home.
> 
> What works for me is what worked back in the 80's....remembering the craving will pass!!! It does. I still want one several times a day but the desire passes quickly. I just don't want to lose the progress I've made during all this time. That also motivates me.
> 
> My best to all those who remain smoke free and keep trying if you lose it now and then. Never give up!



One thing that helped me with the craving, was to brush my teeth after every meal.

I quit cold turkey too, my late husband asked me to and besides it was turning my wallpaper yellow...lol.....never mind my lungs.


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## tnthomas (May 27, 2015)

I just quit after three days of horrible flu; realized that I hadn't taken tobacco for about 72 hours, so I just figured it was a good opportunity to make it permanent.  That was it, it's been five years.


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## Geezerette (May 27, 2015)

When did I quit for good? 10 pm, June 3, 2009, right before the ambulance came  that took me to the Heart Hospital. In there for a few days, got a stent, survived. While in there, daughter cleaned all the cigs & ashtrays out & luckily I lost all cravings. Sometimes I miss it, especially the comraderi of taking a break with other smokers, but would not go back to it. Had a quit for as much as several months  couple of times before, but started again at times of severe stress, like being suddenly downsized ou of my job. The thing  regret in addition to all the $ it cost, was how I had that smoker smell all those years, even with perfectly clean  person &  clothes.


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## Shalimar (May 27, 2015)

Quit cold turkey five years ago, cravings lasted for over three years. Hardest thing I have ever done. Much more difficult than losing weight.


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## QuickSilver (May 28, 2015)

July, 1986....  for 7 years....  Then May 1995 was the last cigarette I ever smoked after a 2 year relapse..  So 20 years.


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## Pappy (May 28, 2015)

Back in 1999, the week I retired. I wanted to completely change my 45 year old bad habit. I did, and I never looked back.


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## QuickSilver (May 28, 2015)

I still miss it sometimes...  Only just recently I was stopped at a stoplight and the guy in the car next to me was smoking.. it smelled wonderful, and I admit to trying to breathe in a few wafts...  gross..


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## Cookie (May 28, 2015)

Not much of a smoker, but quit for good in the early 90s because I got a headache every time I smoked a cigarette.


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## AZ Jim (May 28, 2015)

I find the scent of someones cigarette smoke repulsive.  Nasty.


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## applecruncher (May 28, 2015)

One thing I find strange is that some (not all but _some_) non-smokers hate the smell of cigarette smoke but they're okay with the smell of marijuana (which personally makes me want to gag).  Just something I've noticed (not lately but here and there throughout the years).


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## QuickSilver (May 28, 2015)

AZ Jim said:


> I find the scent of someones cigarette smoke repulsive.  Nasty.




It really depends....  stale smoke on clothes or an ashtray are repulsive... BUT..........a  freshly lit cigie can smell pretty good if it hits you just right..


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## jujube (May 28, 2015)

I've never been a smoker but my late husband was a heavy smoker.  He tried and tried to quit but would go back to it after a couple of weeks.  What got him to quit?  I had chronic bronchitis that was turning into emphysema.  The pulmonary specialist told me I needed to quit smoking.  I told him I didn't smoke and he said that if I lived with a smoker, I might as well be smoking myself.  I went home and told my husband what the doctor said; he took the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and threw it in the trash.  He never smoked another cigarette in his life.  That's what it took.  There wasn't as much talk about second-hand smoke back then as there is now.


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## Ameriscot (May 28, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> It really depends....  stale smoke on clothes or an ashtray are repulsive... BUT..........a  freshly lit cigie can smell pretty good if it hits you just right..



Same here. Usually I find it stinks but sometimes it smells tempting.


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## Cookie (May 28, 2015)

My father was a very heavy smoker most of his life; when he passed away at 82, everything in the house stank so bad we had to keep all the windows and doors open while we cleaned up. Living there as kids we didn't really notice it that much, but after my mother died, I think he smoked himself to death.


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## AprilT (May 28, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> It really depends....  stale smoke on clothes or an ashtray are repulsive... BUT..........a  freshly lit cigie can smell pretty good if it hits you just right..





Ameriscot said:


> Same here. Usually I find it stinks but sometimes it smells tempting.



Yep, most times it smells repulsive, but every once and a while when it hits just at the right moment, I try to suck in a whiff as if I were a vacuum cleaner and savor the moment, but, mostly, I move away from anyone smelling of and who is smoking, it's often more of a rancid aroma than pleasant, same with _most_ other burning tobaccos/leaves marijuana


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## Kitties (May 28, 2015)

I smoked about 5 years. Quit from one day to the next at 25. After several failed attempts. I usually cracked on about the 6th day. It's a strong addiction. So glad I quit.

It was still a lot easier than trying to loose weight.


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## Kitties (May 28, 2015)

Second hand smoke I now find repulsive. It took about 3 years until I didn't like the smell of it. Now I can't stand it and move away whenever possible.


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## AprilT (May 28, 2015)

Kitties said:


> I smoked about 5 years. Quit from one day to the next at 25. After several failed attempts. I usually cracked on about the 6th day. It's a strong addiction. So glad I quit.
> 
> *It was still a lot easier than trying to loose weight*.



Yep, for me too and many people would agree, you have to consume food, so for those with a food addiction, it's much tougher, not so tough if you don't have the addiction I guess.  I can quit smoking so much easier than I can lose weight.  I wish I could give up bad carbs for even one full year straight, much less four and half.  Sigh.


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## applecruncher (Aug 11, 2015)

Bumping this up - maybe some of the newer members have a contribution.

btw Mrs. R, I am still shaking my head...5 packs a day. Wow. mg1:


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 11, 2015)

I quit when I was around 30 after smoking for 15 years, 1-1/2 pks. a day of Marlboros.  I always like to smoke, but like you AC, I was getting out of breath just walking up stairs, phlegm in lungs, etc.  After several tries, ended up just quitting cold turkey, and switched healthy things for it, like jogging, Jazzercise, etc.  Posted this thread about smoking a couple of years ago.  https://www.seniorforums.com/showth...e-Adults?highlight=quit+smoking+mature+adults


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## applecruncher (Aug 11, 2015)

With me it was more the hassle and expense of keeping myself supplied with cigarettes.  And that phlegm is nasty.

Funny thing is that decades ago, most (over half) of the people I socialized and worked with and most relatives smoked.  Now I can't think of any who smoke.

And people used to say "Oh, we/I don't mind if you smoke (outside or whatever)" when the truth was they HATED it.  Some people had those "Thanks you for not smoking" cards so you knew upfront they didn't want it on their property.  To me, than makes more sense.

Like many boomers I started working in "Mad Men" type offices.  (smokestacks) :shrug:


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 11, 2015)

I think the maximum price I paid for a pack was 75 cents in machines, today's prices are crazy, I couldn't afford the habit now and wouldn't want to overpay for anything like that really. :dollar:


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## applecruncher (Aug 11, 2015)

Average is $7.00 a pack here.


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## Butterfly (Aug 14, 2015)

I still struggle with it.


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## MaryZPA (Aug 15, 2015)

After smoking a pack a day for 40+ years, I finally quit in July, 2007. My first grandchild---a 6 month old baby girl---was coming to visit with her parents that month. I knew I wouldn't smoke in the house while she was there, and it seemed foolish that I'd miss spending time with her so that I could go outside for a cigarette. I quit cold turkey and once I got through the first couple of days, it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared it would be. It's been liberating not to have to worry about where and when I can smoke.


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## Shalimar (Aug 15, 2015)

Ten dollars in BC for a pack of cigarettes. Many people purchase them at a discount from First Nation People.


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## Jackie22 (Aug 15, 2015)

TEN DOLLARS A PACK!!!!???   Wow!  

Mary, congrats on the stop smoking....and welcome to the forum.  I quit 20 years ago, but it was not easy for me.


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## Georgia Lady (Aug 15, 2015)

I only smoked about four years.  I quit in 1987 cold turkey.  I could not concentrate on anything for one month except fishing.


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## tnthomas (Aug 15, 2015)

Georgia Lady said:


> I only smoked about four years.  I quit in 1987 cold turkey.  I could not concentrate on anything for one month except fishing.



It's funny, I haven't wanted to fish ever since I quit drinking...<shrug>


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## RadishRose (Aug 16, 2015)

I've smoked all my adult life except for one year when I quit but then started again and continued another 20 years.

I am smoke free again. My last cig was on 3/23/15, just one, at 6am, just before going to have surgery.  Almost 5 months.

The urge is still there but only 2 or 3 times a day now and short lived. What helped me was being hospitalized, couldn't smoke and refused the patch. I don't know if I could have done it without that stretch of time.


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 16, 2015)

RadishRose said:


> I've smoked all my adult life except for one year when I quit but then started again and continued another 20 years.
> 
> I am smoke free again. My last cig was on 3/23/15, just one, at 6am, just before going to have surgery.  Almost 5 months.
> 
> The urge is still there but only 2 or 3 times a day now and short lived. What helped me was being hospitalized, couldn't smoke and refused the patch. I don't know if I could have done it without that stretch of time.




Congratulations RadishRose, being hospitalized helped you to make that healthy decision to quit the smokes...every cloud has a silver lining. :love_heart:


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