the tangle..
@chicksdigscars (5483)
April 20, 2012 4:30am CST
I am a smoker. 20 a day. And not proud of it.
I have tried to quit on numerous occasions since I started smoking at 16. I’m 25 on Monday, and the longest I have gone without smoking is probably about 3 weeks. My last attempt was about 3 months ago, and I lasted 5 days. I probably could have gone longer, but my darling partner who was meant to quit with me, decided she didn’t want to play that game, and continued to smoke, and my will-power simply left me. Pity really, I was quite proud of myself. I have to add though, that I wasn’t smoke free those 5 days, but I had cut down from 20/25 a day .. to 2.. which in my eyes is a massive achievement, especially considering I circle all my breaks in work around smoking, so I had to change my entire day!
I am thinking of quitting again. Well no, not thinking of it. I want to.. but I wanted some advice and opinions from people who are smokers here.. on quitting.
Cold turkey, patches, inhaler.. all ways to help us quit. The newest one I have seen is something called a tangle. It came in my NHS Quit Kit the other day. It is a little object comprising of little interconnecting plastic pieces, that allows you to pull the object apart, and wrap it around your hand and twiddle with it.. quite smart if you ask me considering it’s all about the hands with smoking.. isn’t it?
The box contains lots of anti-smoking information.. a dial to let you know what your body is going through on Day 1, Day 2, Day 12, Day 13 and so on.. and also another dial to let you know how much money you are saving. However, there are no patches, no gum.. nothing like that. So realistically it is a box of will-power lol!
What do you think of this, and of the various ways to quit smoking?
3 people like this
4 responses
@purplealabaster (22085)
• United States
20 Apr 12
People are different, and the easiest way for a person to quit smoking is also different. I have never smoked, but I have gone through the process of quitting smoking with many people ... yes, I have gone through it with them, because I was right there watching, supporting, actively helping and sometimes being the "punching bag" (not literally but verbally) when they were going through mood swings. One of the biggest things I have learned is that each person needs to do it in his or her own way and time, and sometimes it takes many attempts to find out what the "right way" is for each person. During this process, loved ones and close friends need to be supportive and do whatever they can to help without "pushing" the person too much and making the person feel that he or she has to quit, because that is counter-productive and often leads to the person deciding to smoke again, because they start feeling like it is not really their choice but that they are being forced into it.
1 person likes this
@purplealabaster (22085)
• United States
21 Apr 12
I am so sorry, Hatley!
Your son is right, though - your husband had to want to quit, and if he didn't then there was nothing that you could have done to make him stop. That is not to say that it is always easy, even when people want to quit, but if they really do not have the desire to quit, then they never will.
I know people that have quit smoking for their own health, and I have also known people that quit smoking for the health of their loved ones. It seems that the ones that quit smoking for the health of their loved ones actually had an easier time quitting than the ones that quit for their own health. I guess that the fact they were putting a loved one at risk was strong than their own health and safety - or maybe it was just pure coincidence that they are the ones that had an easier time.
Your son is right, though - your husband had to want to quit, and if he didn't then there was nothing that you could have done to make him stop. That is not to say that it is always easy, even when people want to quit, but if they really do not have the desire to quit, then they never will.
I know people that have quit smoking for their own health, and I have also known people that quit smoking for the health of their loved ones. It seems that the ones that quit smoking for the health of their loved ones actually had an easier time quitting than the ones that quit for their own health. I guess that the fact they were putting a loved one at risk was strong than their own health and safety - or maybe it was just pure coincidence that they are the ones that had an easier time.
@superbadx (484)
• Malaysia
20 Apr 12
Well, i am 18 and i started smoking since i was 15. I don't know whether this is because i did not been smoking as long as you guys are, but i can actually live my day without smoking. Smoking actually relieve me somehow for sometimes, i do not need it so much or have the craving for it, maybe a little just when i see people smoking especially my friends. I think of myself to smoke as social thing and some people do so, like for hanging out, partying, or other things that basically the same. The most i've been without smoking are 3 days. I can do more but i do not. Maybe also because i'm not a heavg smoker since i usually only smoke 5-10 everyday. 10 is the most and only if i was hanging out.
1 person likes this
@anne25penn (3305)
• Philippines
21 Apr 12
People don't believe me when I tell them that I used to smoke more than a pack a day. This was in the 90's and I was working as a manager at a fast food chain and I picked up the habit since everyone was smoking then. But I was able to quit when I wanted to. And I didn't use any of those therapies that are recommended for smokers so that they can quit. I just decided one day after I finished my last pack of smokes to quit. And it has been 13 years since I have quit.
I don't believe smoker who complain that they salivate or have a bad taste in their mouth when they stop smoking and this will go away once they smoke again. It's more psychological. One can quit without people telling them to stop smoking and you can resist the urge to stop smoking again afterwards.
A few years after I quit, I was working in the call center business and people here smoke like fiends
! My closest friends were smoker, would offer me a stick, but I would just refuse. I would smoke a stick or two when there is a party, but it's not an everyday thing for me and with my asthma, I haven't smoked a stick for years now. Just set your mind to it. It's like quitting from going to a favorite restaurant even if you have been a regular patron for so many years.
! My closest friends were smoker, would offer me a stick, but I would just refuse. I would smoke a stick or two when there is a party, but it's not an everyday thing for me and with my asthma, I haven't smoked a stick for years now. Just set your mind to it. It's like quitting from going to a favorite restaurant even if you have been a regular patron for so many years.
@toniganzon (77120)
• Philippines
22 Apr 12
I began smoking at 17 and that lasted only for a year. I smoked 20 or more in a day and that depends on what the occasion was. If i was drinking with friends i could smoke more. It was more fun that way. I was influenced by friends who smoked. We lived in the same dormitory, we smoked after eating, when we were bored, watching tv or drinking. After a year we parted ways because they went off somewhere, quit school and i was left alone with loads of books to study and no more friends to smoke with. That made me stopped. And i never looked for it ever. I guess it's because i just had a brief (a year) encounter with it that's why it was easier to smoke.
But i always believed that if there's a will there's a way.
