You can quit smoking easily, if you actually have the heartfelt desire to quit, and have made the decision.  Then, it’s easy.  I quit smoking 9 years ago, at age 55, after smoking for over 30 years.  I just stopped.  the decision came one day, quietly, from inside myself: “I don’t want to smoke anymore.”  And it was true.  i no longer felt any desire to smoke.

I tested it a couple of times in the next 2 weeks, lighting up 2 or 3 times, putting it out after a puff or two.

I never had any withdrawal.   I was happy I didn’t want to smoke anymore, and that was enough.

I was immediately saving $100. + every month.  It would be even more today.  I have had THOUSANDS of dollars to spend on better things since then.  And best of all, I am still alive.

Why did I quit?   Simple.  My son was 15 at the time, and I felt he still needed me around.  Do you have children?  Think about how they will feel if you died before your time…..  They need you around.

You have the power within you, to decide you don’t want to smoke anymore.  If you feel you can’t access that power right now,  find something that will help you release that power.  It is there, it is a part of you.

Elliott

The hardest times for me to not reach for a cigarette are when I am alone. The family is gone, the house is quite and I have “me” time. That’s when I really want to smoke.

I think that I wouldn’t be hurting anyone else, and no one else has to know. I realize that this kind of thinking is ridiculous, but in that moment it seems to make sense to me because that’s how bad I want to smoke.

It’s best to keep busy at that time when I feel no resolve for my mission. A lot of times I journal, or call a friend, anything to keep my mind off of smoking. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that this desire to smoke will ever truly go away, but I’ve been told that it will leave, so I press onward.

I suppose the thing that keeps me the most motivated is my family. My daughter has begun to ask me if I will die from smoking. This really stung me to my core. I’m doing this mostly for her. I want to be a good example and I don’t want her to constantly be worrying that her mother is going to die.

Everything that is said about quitting smoking is so true. It’s extremely hard to do, and if you’ve never smoked then you do not understand what a struggle it is to quit.

We are not just talking about the weak-willed here either. This is really hard to do.

Studies have shown nicotine is as addictive as cocaine, and other highly addictive drugs. I am not surprised by this study. I suppose the only true difference is that smoking and chewing is socially acceptable and even then, it is becoming less and less acceptable in this current society.

Many places are banning smoking altogether, if smoking is allowed, it is in only designated areas and it would not be unlikely to get a dirty look from someone who happened to pass by through a cloud of smoke on their way to the restroom.

Smoking bans are another issue altogether. In several states across the United States you could be fined in for smoking in the car with a child. The law would actually be protecting that child from the dangers of second-hand smoke.

The smoking population is certainly dwindling. Those of us that are left are having a harder time be militant in the face of reality. Reality being that there is really nothing positive about smoking. Not to the smoker or to those around the smoker.

I think it really is a losing battle and maybe we should not be sore losers about the matter.