OK , I planned to give up smoking but screw it

[It was not a pretzel]

I'm a weak willed bastard at the best of times ;)

Honestly, for the first time in my life I really wanted to pack it in, but at this time in my life shoul I even try?

I've filed for bankruptcy and have a ton of stress and hassle right now. I haven't been paid payed for months too so that's getting to me aswell.

I've got that evil book (don't know what it's called, but it's the one that makes even the most avid smokers give up, I've seen it happen) in the cellar for a rainy day. Should I get it out or save that SOB book until the stress has let up?

[toddzilla]

1. get it out, read it!

in times of stress, keeping yourself occupied with something constructive works wonders. if you have a hobby, do it. if you don't .. get one!!

no, smoking isn't a hobby :)

[zanana]

2. The time to quit is NOW.

I waited for a less "stressful" time to quit, too. It never came, so I decided to just do it. It worked. There'll never be a "good" time to quit. Just don't obssess about it too much, and remember that failure is PART of the process! Good luck!

[Bossy Monkey]

3. Patch is cheaper than cigs so bad financial times is the best time to quit

See catpower's thread http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=167883&mesg_id=167883

[It was not a pretzel]

4. mmmm

if I think about it I'm probably looking for excuses to carry on smoking. :(

The3 problem is I don't yet dislike it, it's not had a noticable effect upon my health either.

I'm going to try to give myself that bif painful kick up the jacksee I need.

[NJCher]

5. takes 20 years to grow a tumor

...so how many more do you have?


Cher

[It was not a pretzel]

7. about 4

What made me seriously think about it was the fact that my Auntie died of lung cancer a few weeks ago. She was not diagnosed with it but apparently had it for over 12 months. She was only 68, looked fantasic, so young and healthy for her age, even on the day of her death. She only smoked handful of cigerettes a year. I'm glad she nor anyone else ever knew.

[sandnsea]

14. The addiction likes to smoke

You don't. A little nicotine craving pacman in your head that's yapping around... cigarette, cigarette, cigarette. It'll tell you, pretzel, anything to get that cigarette. Don't believe a word of it.

[StaggerLee]

6. You can do it!

All night long-

I hope that someday you can join the ranks of the former smokers. I can't begin to describe how good it feels to have that monkey off my back. I can even go out to bars/clubs and have no desire to smoke whatsover. (and yes I do drink)
The time to quit is now- but you have to call that shot.
Good luck-

[It was not a pretzel]

8. Cheers

I can't remember a drink without a cigarette, since I was 15 or 16 really. I thinks that's probably the hardest part, separating the one from the other.

Can#t wait to tell you of my first 24 hours :)

[StaggerLee]

9. You'll get there

BTW- I love your screen name. I get a laugh everytime I see it.
:D

[rock]

10. Bully for you

But don't throw it up in everybody's face. The facts are smoking is unhealthy, and yes, I'm a smoker. The most I got up to was 2 packs a day. Then a couple a years ago I was able to reduce it to 1 pack a day. Within the last year I reduced it to half a pack. I'm now working on 5 a day. (I can just about do this, it's 6 at last count). Now my point, smoking less is good. Don't look for the statistics, everybody will tell you it's bad, but nobody has a single statistic to back up their claim. I really enjoy smoking, and feel most ex-smokers are pissed that I smoke. They know how good it is. So smoke less and enjoy it.

[MercutioATC]

11. I quit almost cold turkey 3 years ago with the gum...

...only used it for a week and then only 5-7 pieces a day. I found that the chewing the gum fed my need to control the nicotine intake more than the patch, which just sat there.

BTW, don't lose heart because some people will tell you that they quit 20 years ago and still crave cigarettes constantly. I honestly felt NO cravings after the first month or two and I started to feel better after about 6 weeks.

Just do it. Believe me, it's worth it.

[JitterbugPerfume]

12. Talk to my best friend

Rosemary
She ghas smoked for over 40 years that I know of, probably longer

She just found out she has throat cancer

[morningglory]

13. Smokers who end up quitting, usually quit several times before they

finally get it done. Don't give up.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

15. Let's do some figuring...

How many cigarettes are in a pack?

How much does a pack cost?

Divide the cost of a pack by the number of cigarettes in a pack.
How much do you pay for each cigarette?

Every cigarette you don't smoke is that much less money in the republican piggy bank.

[arwalden]

16. Been There With Ya...

I can tell you from personal experience that you TRULY have to be in the mindset to face the challenge of quitting.

The patch or gum helps, but you have to be ready to grunt and growl a little bit. It's not easy.

But it's worth it.

So... you're not ready to quit this week. At least you're thinking about it seriously.

Think some more. Make a list of all the benefits of quitting. Then think on those a while longer.

When things in your life calm down and you're ready to try again, you will. Just because you didn't quit this time, doesn't mean you can't quit.

Give it another try!

-- Allen

[OrdinaryTa]

17. The Best Time to Quit

The best time to quit is before you get emphysema. That will really ruin your outlook. It's bad shit.

[Ellen Forradalom]

18. Better than planning to give up screwing, but smoke it

:-)

[EFF BrandyWine]

19. I quit cold turkey in 1982,

it was the hardest thing I ever did but after a month I rediscovered self esteem, I could hardly believe I'd done it. I used to smoke a pack a day (from age sixteen to age fifty-five) so I bought a bank and started saving what a pack a day would have cost. I saved a lot of money and every so often I'd take my long suffering husband out to dinner on my "smoking money" or buy myself some cool item. At first I missed it a lot, but I wouldn't give in. I just got out of the house so I wouldn't think about it.

I can't tell you how wonderful ot was to be 'clean' after so many years of addiction. I now find smoke irritates my throat so I stay away from smokers but I heartily support your first thoughts in that direction. The time will come when you will decide you've had enough and make the decision to give it up. You will also re-discover your self esteem. Good luck to you. Just remember, don't give up. Things will get better soon.

editd for strange word.

[Pert_UK]

20. Give up now - there's never a good time to do it....

Seriously, you'll always be able to find a good reason why you won't give up smoking RIGHT NOW.....but it's not really a good reason, and you'll just end up smoking until you die.

My dad went for a checkup a few months back. The doc took a chest X-ray and said "Oh, there are some shadows here but that's from your heart attack...".

My dad said "What heart attack?"

He'd had a mild one without even knowing it.......He gave up smoking that day and hasn't had one since....Not bad, considering he's been smoking since he was 12 (and is now over 60). No patches, no gum, no nuttin'....Just quit.

And I would say that if you're having financial trouble, now is the perfect time to quit!

P.