I quit smoking as of 5 minutes from now, officially.

I had quit on New Years Eve 1998, but somehow fell back into the habit. The wife busted me last summer and was not happy and I told her I'd quit on my own terms if she'd just leave me the f*** alone for a while. I got pestered a few times about quitting since that day and told her to leave me alone on it. I haven't announced the quit yet, but I will tomorrow morning.

Sure hope I can hold to my promises to myself. I wanna live.

Good on you, and Happy New Year!

Stand firm, my friend. Consider this day a new beginning.

You can do it!

You’ll be much happier when you do. Good luck. 👍🏼

Its hard to do. I wish you luck.

stop and analyze just what good that expensive habit does you. i smoked for 40 years. quit by substituting chew. that was harder than stopping smoking to quit by far!
today my heart is paying me back for that bs. please for your own sake stop. and then demand the rewards from the wife for doing so!

Tough deal for some and nothing for others. Have a son who is severely hooked such that he will do a 2:00 AM run to the quick stop to get a pack if he's out. With his hacking and coughing all day long, I don't see him getting past his 50's.

Good luck and get-er done.

Smoked a bit as a kid but spent near year working as a butcher after exiting high school. One was too busy using both hands, and there just wasn't time to light up. Never started up again. That was when a pack was about a quarter. Now it's 6 or $7.

Just a humorous follow up. When we first encountered one of Cookie's photography buddies his wife relayed that she'd let him get into the hobby if he'd just quit smoking. It came to pass and there was probably $30k in top end gear in the rig's back seat. I offered, with her full agreement, that it would have been cheaper to just let him die.

Best thing I ever did. I smoked for 16 years, one day I decided to quit. Haven’t held a cigarette in my hand since that day. Honestly the hardest part of quitting for me was the ritual. Have coffee and smoke. Drive and smoke. Eat and smoke. Drink and smoke. Once I got past all the times I was used to smoking, it was over. I had stopped.

You can do it, I quit a 3 pack a day habit 26 yrs ago.

Good luck Riverrider! Hope you d well from here on out.

Summer 1999- - - - -I took half a pack of Winston Lights out of my pocket and put them in the console of the car I was driving before walking into an emergency room while having a heart attack. An hours later I had the first of two stents installed in my heart. The car is parked out in the north pasture now, and the smokes are still there. If I ever need one again, I know right where to look.

The single most impactful thing you can do for your health and longevity is to quit smoking.

Good on you.

As soon as you feel the urge coming on suck on a peppermint. Worked for me 15-20yrs ago when I quit smoking. Helped me 9 years ago when I quit dipping. My dumb ass started again 5 years ago. As of three weeks ago I quit again..... And yep, peppermint is my crutch. Hasn't been too bad really. But I'm stubborn, one I decide to do something I stick to it.

Good luck to you Sir 👍🏻

Good luck, it will take commitment. My mom smoked for 50 years and when she decided to quit she took commit lozenges, I’m not sure they are still available but there is always something out there to help you quit but it takes some power on your part. Buddy of mine when he retired he was going to quit smoking, every time he got an urge to smoke he picked up the 22 and went squirrel hunting, he killed a bunch of squirrels that year but he quit.

You got this, RR!

Just don’t take up chewing as a substitute.

Chew addiction is an absolute beast to stop.

Spit.

🦫

whenever you get the urge to grab a pack, make a detour to the nearest ammo shop and buy some more of that instead.

How many years have you smoked?

I have a good friend who is 61 years old and used to brag- joke that he has been smoking since he was ten years old, he is now facing stage 4 lung cancer a 2 tumors on his brain. About 30 years ago he successfully quit, using hypnosis and acupuncture, but ended up starting again. He’s out joking about it any more.

Best of luck,your family will thank you.
Think of the money savings

Hang in there!

11 years quit.

How anyone ever got past the sick feeling when you started smoking is beyond me. I couldn’t finish a single cigarette without getting sick, so I never smoked and never understood how someone would continue after getting that sick…

Stand firm, you’ll beat it. It’s all will power

I quit four years ago. Never ever thought I would. I’m sure glad I did.
Only time I miss it is when I’m listening to my beagles run.
Hang in there! You can do it!

Started at 15, quit about 40 years ago. Tried many times. What finally worked for me was quitting one at a time. Still carried a pack around, but each time I wanted one I’d tell myself, “No, I can get past this one. Maybe I’ll have the next one, but not this one.” Then I’d get busy until the urge passed. Same thing every time I wanted one. Knew I was just playing games with myself, but it worked. Finally got to the point to where I only had the urge a couple times a day, then a week…by then it was easy to just let it go.

It isn't easy, but damn sure worth it
Hang in

Seriously - Take it at 5 minute intervals. Then extend it gradually. You can do anything for 5 minutes... even quitting smoking... I know.

I love the taste of Camel shorts and I've never felt sick. I don't want to risk the health dangers so I don't smoke. But chewing tobacco, I love that but it messes me up

Good luck to you!

Don’t know how long you smoked, but may I suggest you talk to your doctor about what you can do about checking your current health status, maybe some imaging, to make certain you don’t have anything going in your lungs already that may develop into cancer later. My brother quit at about age 50, but the cancer still got him several years later. He had a huge inoperable tumor in his chest that spread throughout his body. Not a good way out, trust me. When he was diagnosed, my father, who had smoked for 63 years, quit, and lived until minutes before he would’ve turned 96, but COPD plagued him throughout his remaining years, though never to the point he had to live on a oxygen tank.

Again, good luck.

Hang in there and don't give in to temptation.
I saw several friends who were going to have "just one" to curb the cravings. It lead to them being hooked again.
If you have just one you are most likely going to give in and start up again.
My late wife could never give them up and she eventually got lung cancer and passed.

Please hang in there. . . I'm rooting for ya

I did the same thing but when I quit I put a whole pack, unopened, in the glove box so at least I'd have a fresh cigarette if I failed. (👀)

If you feel like you're going to give in, buy a cheap or expensive cigar and take a few drags off of it. It will take the urge away and you don't get that defeated feeling that you would by smoking a cigarette.

Good luck brother that’s a big move

When you really want to quit you will. I started a number of times only to backslide. Oxygen sat. is never above 90 on my best day now due to 35 years of 3 packs a day, but quitting was the best thing I ever did.

Surgeon that did my knees was a roommate to my liberal-ass brother the Dr., and he allowed as to how he had to put me into deep sleep, and me being overweight to begin with, as a smoker I stood a real chance of stroke from the procedure. He told me if I paid 'em down just 6 weeks before the surgery it would reduce that chance by 50%, if my dumb ass wanted to start back up later, that was my choice, but as my friend and Dr. it was good advice. I had known him most of my life and he was not prone to be a bullchitter, so I thought yeah, I have saved up for that elk hunt and wouldn't it be a bitch if I died during getting my knee fixed...I still have that partial pack of Marlboro Lites, have not had one since.

Some people are lucky and the smell of a cigarette will be really offensive once they stop, not me, my mouth waters every time I get a whiff, and a stiffy if someone is burning a good cigar.

I have not had an upper respiratory infection like I got every year when I smoked since I quit, twice that crap turned into pneumonia, so immediate betterment of life and health was apparant.

Hang in there RR, you can do this.

Some good suggestions above. Just take it one day at a time. Have faith you can do it.

Prayers sent.

Similar story with my dad. He quit but it was too late as he got cancer couple years later. He fought it for years but finally lost. Won’t say he lived for a while with the cancer, he existed.
Good luck to the OP.

I smoked 3 or 4 packs of Camel straights a day for decades until my daughter was pregnant with my first grandchild. I decided that I wanted to be around to watch him grow up. I quit cold turkey 25 years ago. It's tough to quit, you can do it. The urge to smoke eventually passes.

Pharmseller is right. Single best thing you can do for yourself. You may inspire others and save their lives as well. Make your home and car into smoke free environments. Some of the meds and nicotine products can help a little. Deaths sucks. COPD and stroke might even suck worse. Just win.

Hang tough, RR! It is a monumental task ahead of you! I quit 20 years or so ago. Hardest and best thing I ever did!

Good luck! Nicotine gum helped me quit. Someday I'll quit the gum...

Good for you. Smoked occasionally when I was turkey hunting. Can see how one can become addicted.

Stick with it, discipline, self respect and willpower. You don’t need them.

You got this…

I quit the day before I turned 48. just turned 70. Haven't cheated once!

I wanted to be a good example for my Wife so she would quit then also.

NOOOO... didn't happen.

She now has throat cancer from smoking for over 50 years.

She's now going through radiation and chemo.

Virgil B.

Just for fun, I ran the numbers with a young man. He was 20. If he quit smoking and put the $ saved in his 401K (MI prices) until retirement age, he’d have around $2 Million. We were both a bit surprised. I think he still smokes. Addiction is tough. Not everyone beats it. Some do. Be one of them.

Congrats! Enjoy the health benefits and extra money in your pocket.

Hang tough you got this

I hope it works for you RR!

Good for you RiverRider, best thing you can do for yourself and family.
My best friend passed away 3 weeks ago at 68, heavy smoker, lung Cancer started the whole thing off.

Quit dipping nearly 21 years ago. One of the hardest things I ever done. Dentist said mouth cancer was immeninent. I leaned on that thought in my weak moments.Stay focused. It's for your life, which is really all a man has.

With that attitude you simply aren't ready. Quitting is easy once you have the right attitude.

About 30 years ago, while on a love boat cruise to the Mexican Riviera, sitting by the pool one day, I met a man with a huge scar down the front of his chest; the fresh scar was from him being cracked open like a chicken for open-heart surgery. He was traveling with his drop-dead gorgeous daughter who was in her mid-20's.

One night, while half in the bag, playing blackjack and smoking my 40th or 50th cigarette of the day, I saw his daughter across the room; she was talking to friends and lighting up the room. I thought to myself: "Damn, it would be nice to be in love with a beautiful woman again." Then I thought: "If she ever kissed me she would probably throw up from the taste of stale cigarettes." Then I thought: "It would be nice to live long enough to share my life with a beautiful woman again." And I also thought: "My life is worth saving so I could actually have a chance of doing that."

When I went to bed that night I left a nearly full pack of Camels on the nightstand, knowing I could never have another puff, as I would be a smoker again. That next morning we were pulling into Puerto Vallarta and I just left the cigarettes on the nightstand as I left to tour PV. Drinking a glass of tequila after lunch that day, I thought: "God....DAMN a cigarette would be good right now." And I realized that, if I wanted to stay off cigarettes, I HAD to quit drinking. So I did, right then and there.

Though I went back to drinking within a year or so, it was only social drinking, never to the excess I once had. Yet I never again touched tobacco.

Decades later I quit drinking and have been sober for years.

Anyone can quit. You just have to decide that your life is worth saving.

Stand strong Brother it's not going to be easy but you already know that.

If you stumble catch yourself, if you fall pick yourself up and Ye Shall Enter The Brotherhood Of Quitters!

smokers dont have self respect ?....bob

My last cigarette I bummed off my brother in law sitting in his Chevy pickup. Mar 1980.

You can do it!

Wishing you success.

Very well put RiverRider!

I smoke 7 to 10 per day, sure is hard to put the dam things down forever, drinking and smoking go hand and hand.

I hope you can finally quit for good.. I thank God every day that I never started.. The cost of that habit today is UNreal... Best wishes to you sir...

Good luck.

River Rider - please know that Joy and I are rooting for you.
Take care, my friend - and best of luck and good wishes to you.

Quit all forms of tobacco 15 years ago, cold turkey, and haven't looked back. Before that I would go from cigs to chew to snuff to cigars and repeat telling myself that some forms were better for me than others but they weren't.

RiverRider: Best of luck with your resolution!
I know if successful you be healthier and wealthier the rest of your days.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

My ex got breast cancer. Been a smoker for years. Saw a picture of her after her double mastectomy. Pack of cigs on the table in front of her.

I used to smoke a little but then I realized how much each cigarette cost(now 10. A pack) and I put it in gun terms- I could buy a new rifle every 2 months with that money. Haven’t had one since.

I quit chewing after 25 years. THAT WAS HARD! It took me almost a year of doing and failing and then it finally stuck! Have not chewed in 20 years and am SOOOOOOO glad I quit. You can do it if you really want to.

RR, whatever your motivation to quit is, don’t let that little 3 inch roll of tobacco rule your life.
I quit a 15+ year habit of dipping and occasional smoking (socially while drinking)cold f’n turkey back in early ‘14. Was a tough initial few weeks but I wasn’t going to let that little can beat me. Gained some weight which I’ve lost since then.
I felt better, saved $80-$100/month not buying dip, AND my life insurance premium dropped 60% after a clean blood test.
F’uck tobacco.

Now you will have more money for topless dancers and good whiskey! Tough to quit. My dad smoked for ten years too long, emphysema had him on inhalers and oxygen for 4 years and he did get better.

RR, I know from face to face experience that you are a real gentleman, a good buddy and that you do wise things in life. You deserve to be such for a long time.

My humble perception is that, as you once again face this difficult task, you try to bring to bear the values and disciplines that have worked so well for you in other areas of your life. Enable the factors you treasure most in life to drive your discipline during the early constant urges to resume, and you can become increasingly successful.

There is a lot of life opportunity before you - let's maximize the benefits of that.

Addiction's not such a big deal really. I quit masturbating at least once a day.

#bestrong

started smoking at 15. When I quit, back in the eighties, I was doing three packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day. Stopping was fairly easy. I kept an unopened pack on the dashboard of the truck and on the bedside table. That kept me from making that 2 AM trip to the 7-11. After a week, I tossed those and never smoked again.

What the hell are you gonna do for a 'bad habit' now?....

I can still remember the first time I smoked a cigarette. I was six yers old and one of the neighborhood kids swiped a pack of smoke from his dad. Got dizzy as hell but in some way it felt good. After that I smoked whenever I could sneak one from the smokers in the family. By the time I was 14 my folks knew I smoked and never did anything about it. I was going to a Catholic school at the time and one day my two buds and I were waiting for the streetcar to go home when Sister Mary Jane shows up. She asked if our parents knew that we smoked and of course we all said yes. That was on a Friday as I recall and on Monday, first thing in the morning Sister says that on her way home she caught my buds and me smoking. She then said we told her out parents knew we smoked and were OK with it. Upshot was my two buds were hauled off the the boys lavatory and the yells from them were heard throughout the school. In 1975 I was a three pack a day smoker with a cigar or pipe or two thrown in. My wife had been trying to get me to quit off and on and frankly, I did try only to fail Then one day she says the Seventh Day Adventist are in town and are giving free classes on quitting smoking. I was thinking it'll be a futile gesture but I agreed to go. Interesting three evenings. First they said a prayer for the Lord's help and then interesting lectures. At the end of the first class as we were leaving, they were standing at the door and asking us to throw out smoking materials, matches and lighters in the waste baskets. I asked to keep the lighter because it was a gift from the detachment I was in when I left Korea, suitably engraved. Funny thing I didn't smoke that night nor the next day nor any day after that until about three month after the classes. Just no desire. While at work, at the time three month later I bummed a smoke from of coworker. I wanted to be sure I'd really quit. Sure as hell I got that same dizzy sensation that I'd had way back when I was six. Two drags and I put it out. Haven't smoked since. I then realized that in some way tobacco had a stoning effect. Rather mild but that how it felt to me. I'd literally carried a buzz on for 31 years. I had that first smoke in 1944. I thought it was cool. Now I realize I was fool for not quitting sooner.
One thing that was good in that system was each one of us had a buddy. If the urge came on we could call our buddy, day or night and talk the urge away. My buddy turned out to be the father of one of my hunting partners so we paired up. He had lung cancer but he never said what stage. He never stopped smoking was dead about six months after the class. He told me shortly before he passed that he just could not stop.

Two things I got from that class. One is I found that deer hunting at the higher elevations was a lot easier. I could keep up with my buds instead of gasping like a fish out of water. Second, I found out I could get it done. Quit cold and stick to it. If I can do it, so can the OP
PJ.

I have a friend who smoked heavy for 35 years. Definitely a manly man that big guy. Couldn’t quit but sure tried.
Went and got hypnotized. Never smoked again, must be12 years ago at this point and loves life without.
Sharp, hard working guy whom I never thought something like that would work.

Osky

I dunno, man...I haven't thought that far ahead and I have no idea. You got any suggestions?




I appreciate the words of encouragement, fellas. I'm actually feeling pretty liberated and there's none of that nervous anxiety and jitters I've heard about. I actually have been preparing myself for this for seven or eight months, reminding myself of the expense and the other negatives each time I lit one up. The one thing I will miss is a smoke with my first cup of coffee each morning but I can find another way to start the mornings. I've done this before and I can do it again...and I won't again fall prey to the notion of how good a hand-rolled smoke (I can roll one that looks like a filterless Camel) will be after a grilled steak in hunting camp.

I recommend masturbating. On the upside it's easy to quit when the time is right.