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so i quit smoking...

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  • MedullaOblongataMedullaOblongata Member Posts: 434
    I was wondering what happened to this thread. Bravo! How is life?
    ginger_hammer
  • ginger_hammerginger_hammer Member Posts: 160
    Life is all good in the hood thanks Medulla! I have an app on my phone which now tells me that I've saved €215 and not smoked 458 fags. Its pretty pukey thinking of 458 fags that I would have smoked.

    Anyone else reading this and thinking of giving up - go for it! Do it before new years when everyone else is!
    MedullaOblongataTeflonSophiaMoomintroll
  • Son_of_ImoenSon_of_Imoen Member Posts: 1,806
    Great news (olds now?) ginger_hammer. When I saw an update to this topic I was afraid for a second you'd have a post you'd had failed, but you succeeded! Don't let your guard down, but the word is over now. Enjoy the feeling of not missing them, it's a wonderful feeling. Normality returns soon enough, but once you forgot all about smoking and you take a moment and think back, you'll feel glad you're not addicted anymore and have so much more time, attention and also money for the rest of life.
    Teflonginger_hammerMedullaOblongata
  • amftronamftron Member Posts: 109
    I've been a smoker for around 15 years, i'm getting married in 11 days and have been told in no small circumstances that that is it for smoking. I've cut down a lot these past few months but i struggle when i get bored, or when i drink (which isn't that often now).
    ginger_hammerTeflon
  • CzarnyCzarny Member Posts: 42
    I initially quit smoking for finance reasons, and was doing pretty well (having been a relatively newbie smoker of 2 years and sometimes making a pack last a week and a half), but when money stopped being a problem I felt like smoking again, especially that I'm a big fan of pubbing (beer and smokes go together like peanut butter and jelly, as Americans like to say).

    Instead, I got my hands on a pipe! I visited Peterson's in Dublin (great shop BTW, they make some quality pipes) and purchased a beautiful Churchwarden. They hava a sleek, long stem and a medium sized bowl - think Gandalf. After the initial expense, it ends up being cheaper than cigarettes - you don't smoke as often and €30 worth of tobacco can last for weeks. With the right tobacco it also smells much, much nicer. My strictly non-smoking friend often asks me to light up when I hang out with her because she loves that mellow smoke with a hint of vanilla and cherry. It's also much better for your health, and is a great conversation starter, especially if you meet a fellow piper :) You also get some major props from people, as our nerdified culture is obsessed with the whole 'gentleman' archetype. The ladies love it, too ;)

    Downside? Forget about a cheeky smoke in a bar or a two minute fag break at work. Packing and smoking a pipe is a bit of a ritual and takes considerably longer that whipping out a pack and scooping up a loosey, even for an experienced pipe smoker (which I am not in any way). The lack of inhalation might make it seem like you're not getting anything from the smoke, but it works for me. You should also clean your pipe after use. Long stem pipes have some... logistical issues concerning their transportation :P

    I can also go for prolonged periods of time without smoking a pipe and don't really feel an urge to do so, other than my enjoyment.

    All in all I wish you the best of luck, ginger_hammer. Don't take this post as encouragment to exchange one habit for another, I hope I didn't make it feel that way - it's just my personal take on the smoking issue. I hope to lay off the pipe, too, eventually :) Keep us posted on how you're getting on!
    ginger_hammerTeflon
  • Montresor_SPMontresor_SP Member Posts: 2,208
    edited December 2012
    As (yet another) ex-smoker, I can tell you that it is tough but also well worth it! And it gets MUCH easier with time.

    Whenever I needed a cigarette the first few weeks, I turned to (ordinary, not nicotine) chewing gum. It helped a lot!

    BTW, you've already done one thing right, by telling everybody on the Internet that you're quitting. The more people you tell, the stronger the motivation to hold out because otherwise you have to admit to all those people that you couldn't. :-)

    Good luck!
    ginger_hammer
  • KhemrikharaKhemrikhara Member Posts: 14
    Never have smoked, myself, but so so so many congratulations to you for kicking the habit. The things cigs do to your lungs... oof!

    But yes, keep up the good work mate!
    ginger_hammerTeflon
  • eltonbarreleltonbarrel Member Posts: 262
    well, i quit smoking last year at my best friend marriage.
    too well-tailored!
    blue jeans is better!!
  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963
    congratulations. I'm an ex-smoker as well. Damn hard to quit - cigs are as addictive as heroin (so I've read) and anecdotally I can say they are very hard to quit cravings. Unfortunately the temper thing lasts more than a couple days, just try and think when you are about to explode is this really something to be THAT angry about.
    ginger_hammer
  • DinsdalePiranhaDinsdalePiranha Member Posts: 419
    best of luck to you, just one question: how are you handling the smells?

    there were some days when I felt like not lighting up, and that's when I learned two horrific things:
    - your sense of smell becomes somewhat extraordinary when you suddenly stop smoking
    - humans are fucking disgusting

    though I see you started the thread in november, so I'm gonna guess you had some time to adjust, but seriously... the cravings and everything is well and all, but suddenly feeling like everybody around you has either died and kept on walking, rot and all, or mates with a dead skunk regularly... well, that was one of the most harrowing experiences of my life.
    Son_of_Imoenginger_hammer
  • ginger_hammerginger_hammer Member Posts: 160
    Thanks yes sometimes a dulled sense of smell is better! On the bus to work for sure.

    Am watching all the harsh stop smoking ads on telly over new years and glad I packed up before hand. Currently have saved 428 quid and not smoked 912 fags according to my phone app, which is crazy really. Didn't give in over xmas which was most pleased about and had some big sessions out drinking.

    Cheers to all for the messages :)
    Quartz
  • thedemoninsidethedemoninside Member Posts: 188
    I want to tell you that I was inspired in part by this thread to quit my skoal addiction. Was pushing a can a day and I really got tired of carrying around a nasty bottle and tearing up my gums. My coworker told me that a can of dipping tobacco can contain as much nicotine as a carton of cigarettes. It would explain my insane rage compared to when I quit smoking 3 packs a day a few years back.

    Basically this is my warning to you, to avoid smokeless tobacco products in a hope to use nicotine without tearing up your lungs. It is even harder(if you can imagine) to quit.

    First day with the patch. My jaw gets tight like it is rusting at the joints, but it passes after a few minutes. Add to this the fact that chewing tobacco gives you morning diarrhea, so quitting the habit gives you constipation. The real test will be when I have to return to work on Monday.

    Cheers.
    ginger_hammer
  • thedemoninsidethedemoninside Member Posts: 188

    Thanks yes sometimes a dulled sense of smell is better! On the bus to work for sure.

    Am watching all the harsh stop smoking ads on telly over new years and glad I packed up before hand. Currently have saved 428 quid and not smoked 912 fags according to my phone app, which is crazy really. Didn't give in over xmas which was most pleased about and had some big sessions out drinking.

    Cheers to all for the messages :)

    I was wondering if you have experienced the same thing as me. Nicotine has a way of numbing emotions, and making you feel like a different person. SO after many years you get used to the numbness and the way you feel becomes the new norm.

    I don't think I realized how much I was neglecting my 3 year old before I quit. I would come home exhausted from a hard day of work, watch a little tv, and then play a computer game for a couple hours before bed. My kid would be trying to get my attention, and would get it briefly, but my priorities were not as they should have been.

    I did not even realize I was being this way until I got that massive amount of nicotine out of my system. It just dawned on me a few days back that I needed to play with my child, especially since she thinks I am the greatest. It won't always be like that, so I am glad I figured it out. It made me pretty disgusted with myself, to the point that I believe if I keep this experience in mind I will never go back to using the shit again.

    elminsterginger_hammerDrugar
  • ZanianZanian Member Posts: 332
    I don't get why people think it's so difficult to quit smoking. I've quit at least a dozen times already. 'Getting pretty darn good at it.
    DinsdalePiranharexregmch202
  • Son_of_ImoenSon_of_Imoen Member Posts: 1,806
    edited January 2013
    I myself found it almost always easy to quit smoking, it never was a very tough habit for me, but I was very much addicted to the mind-altering effect marihuana had and each time I quited smoking I felt back into the habit of smoking tabacco because of the 'joints' as we call them: big self-rolled cigarettes with a combination of tobacco and marihuana. The difficult bit was learning to accept my emotions in their purity and depression in it's full, without fleeing into marihuana-enduced haziness. Like thedemoninside wrote about nicotine, THC also changes your personality, till it's out of your system (which might take 3 months to a year, because of it's chemical property of sticking to your fatty tissues).
    ginger_hammer
  • Kitteh_On_A_CloudKitteh_On_A_Cloud Member Posts: 1,629

    Thanks yes sometimes a dulled sense of smell is better! On the bus to work for sure.

    Am watching all the harsh stop smoking ads on telly over new years and glad I packed up before hand. Currently have saved 428 quid and not smoked 912 fags according to my phone app, which is crazy really. Didn't give in over xmas which was most pleased about and had some big sessions out drinking.

    Cheers to all for the messages :)

    I was wondering if you have experienced the same thing as me. Nicotine has a way of numbing emotions, and making you feel like a different person. SO after many years you get used to the numbness and the way you feel becomes the new norm.

    I don't think I realized how much I was neglecting my 3 year old before I quit. I would come home exhausted from a hard day of work, watch a little tv, and then play a computer game for a couple hours before bed. My kid would be trying to get my attention, and would get it briefly, but my priorities were not as they should have been.

    I did not even realize I was being this way until I got that massive amount of nicotine out of my system. It just dawned on me a few days back that I needed to play with my child, especially since she thinks I am the greatest. It won't always be like that, so I am glad I figured it out. It made me pretty disgusted with myself, to the point that I believe if I keep this experience in mind I will never go back to using the shit again.

    I didn't know you had a daughter. I'm sure she's way happier now that she's getting more attention from her daddy. :) Suggestion: if she likes playing with LEGO, buy a small package of it and build the thingie together with her! I've seen my boyfriend construct a small LEGO helicopter together with his little nephew of 5 years old and the little guy just LOVED it. It was really heartwarming to see. :p
  • thedemoninsidethedemoninside Member Posts: 188
    Yeah, we play with lego's mostly. Sometimes I can get her to play Castle Crashers with me on xbox. She has become quite good at it.
  • Kitteh_On_A_CloudKitteh_On_A_Cloud Member Posts: 1,629

    Yeah, we play with lego's mostly. Sometimes I can get her to play Castle Crashers with me on xbox. She has become quite good at it.

    I'd watch out if I were you. Someday she might even beat you! :p
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    I remember the day my 9 year old nephew beat me at Mario Kart, even though I had 10+ years of experience with the game.
    I smiled, congratulated him, then went outside and punched a horse right in the neck.

    One day, I'll get my revenge...
    Montresor_SPDinsdalePiranhaTJ_HookerSirK8
  • valkyvalky Member Posts: 386
    Drugar said:

    One day, I'll get my revenge...

    Nope, you won't :P
    Reminds me at the youngest child of a friend of mine, barely 5 and can handle Super Mario like a Pro. Why is always super mario involved in that age?

    Ah I was 'allowed' to play a level for him while he watched and gave me hints&tricks...I felt humiliated!

    *uhm* topic..tried like a million of times to stop smoking or in reality in was only 4times, but since I separated with my last gf I try to see no reason to stop. Vicious circle it is indeed!

  • Kitteh_On_A_CloudKitteh_On_A_Cloud Member Posts: 1,629
    @valky: No girl is worth destroying your body for. Trust me. :)
  • thedemoninsidethedemoninside Member Posts: 188
    edited January 2013
    Removed cause of double post
  • thedemoninsidethedemoninside Member Posts: 188
    edited January 2013
    It's funny, I did not choose to quit for my own health, or for anyone else. I didn't even have a reason. People keep asking me why I quit, or make guesses. One day I just said "fuck it I'm done" and that was that. It is kinda nice not having a reason to quit, because even if I failed I wouldn't be failing anyone including myself, since there was no real goal in the first place. The lack of pressure to quit makes quitting easier. It's weird how that works.

    Plus I'm in my 30's and I have half the testosterone pumping through me than I did in my teens, so I don't fly off the handle or get aggressive nearly as easily. Plus with age, you learn that there are tons of stupid problems that you cannot fix, and people you can not change, so you are quicker to shove the dumb crap aside and move on instead of dwelling on it like a baby.

    As for @valky getting stressed over women, reach for a new woman instead of a cig. They are all bat-shit crazy at some point during the course of a relationship, and men are too simple to handle it in a way that is satisfactory to them. So find one that looks good from behind and have fun while it lasts ;)



    ginger_hammer
  • LythunylLythunyl Member Posts: 30
    edited January 2013
    I really can't for the life of me figure out how people get started in the first place.

    With cigarettes that is. I can see the Gandalf-appeal in pipes.
    ginger_hammer
  • Son_of_ImoenSon_of_Imoen Member Posts: 1,806
    I thought it was stress-relieving, back then when I was young and 20. Little did I know it would cause much more stress in the long run...
    ginger_hammer
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    I find it totally disgusting, but I'm also jealous of that little moment of happiness that I see some people have when they have their first drag off a cigarette. I guess that's what gets people hooked.
  • Kitteh_On_A_CloudKitteh_On_A_Cloud Member Posts: 1,629



    As for @valky getting stressed over women, reach for a new woman instead of a cig. They are all bat-shit crazy at some point during the course of a relationship, and men are too simple to handle it in a way that is satisfactory to them. So find one that looks good from behind and have fun while it lasts ;)

    Not all women are 'bat-shit crazy at some point during the course of a relationship'. Sounds like us women are some kind of hysterical beings, which isn't true.

    Also, I'd rather suggest @valky to find a woman with good manners and some common sense in her head. Looks only last for a couple decennia, afterall. Then the wrinkles appear. Choose a partner for their personality and you're far better off.
  • thedemoninsidethedemoninside Member Posts: 188



    As for @valky getting stressed over women, reach for a new woman instead of a cig. They are all bat-shit crazy at some point during the course of a relationship, and men are too simple to handle it in a way that is satisfactory to them. So find one that looks good from behind and have fun while it lasts ;)

    Not all women are 'bat-shit crazy at some point during the course of a relationship'. Sounds like us women are some kind of hysterical beings, which isn't true.

    Also, I'd rather suggest @valky to find a woman with good manners and some common sense in her head. Looks only last for a couple decennia, afterall. Then the wrinkles appear. Choose a partner for their personality and you're far better off.
    Nope, you're wrong :p You can't tell me there isn't a woman out there that hasn't gone on some hormonal rampage during pregnancy, or flipped out over something stupid during her time of the month. Hell...sometimes your gender doesn't even need those 2 reasons to be self centered bitches lol. My wife is a sweet and thoughtful woman, but she screamed at me for moving our childs carseat once, because it was "Installed at the police station to make sure it was correct" She hates when I call her out on that one, being that the whole argument was so asinine. Oh and women just hate being wrong too. It is hard as hell to get them to admit they aren't so damned perfect.

    This is just general observations from years of experience, and it will vary greatly from woman to woman. However, at some point one of you women will act nutty and take it out on a man who will probably be completely unprepared to deal with it.

  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    I'm just going to nip this one in the bud;

    @thedemoninside
    Don't go there, for all our sakes.

    @everyone
    Let's not bring this whole debate up, please?
    swnmcmlxiTJ_Hooker
  • Kitteh_On_A_CloudKitteh_On_A_Cloud Member Posts: 1,629
    @thedemoninside: Let me just say that I'm glad as hell to not be married to a man with such a condescending attitude about women.

    Moving on.
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