Craven and Bi-Polar Bear have inspired OCCOM BILL to finally

There you go Smog! Why not quit on Thursday, November 18th, 2004?

Thanks Soz... but it's no longer a big deal. Sometimes I go whole days without even thinking of a cigarettes now. I can smell the smoke if the person driving in front of me is smoking. ... and true to Fox's prediction... its starting to smell bad to me. There is no effort in not smoking now.

Edit= Fixed date.

Butbut, how can I quit on a date that has already passed?

Good goin' guys! 4 and 5 months already.
Noticing the stink is usually a good sign of "soooooo over this".

Thanks! I suppose it would be a good sign. Are you gonna try to get Set to give it a shot on Thursday?

Today's big news in England is the banning of smoking from restaurants and all pubs that serve food; the pub is the centre of the smoking culture and there is a big outcry.

They did that in Florida a while back... with the loop-hole that Taverns are exempt as long as receipts show greater booze sales than food. Suddenly everyone had a large "open air" dining area and bar. That "pubs that serve food" description is a little disturbing as it sounds like they're going to be banning food in some of the drunker hangouts. Drunks need food… not good.

I've always maintained that very few people go to pubs for their health. While I choose not to be around smoke any more than I need to be, I still strenuously oppose people not having the right to be so long as the product itself is a legal. But oh well.

Update on my nephew: as previously discussed he is a heavy smoker. When he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, it was speculated that it probably originated from somewhere else with the lungs being the most likely point of origin. Well the Ctscan was negative and the tumor itself turned out to be much smaller than originally thought and the lab report is also negative. So we had much to be especially grateful for this Thanksgiving.

So after this scare is he going to quit smoking? He's thinking about it.

Glad to hear you got some good news, Fox. I'm starting to think that the whole "quitting is hard" mantra is mostly a clever way for BIG TOBACCO to tell their customers it's okay to fail... and the Billion Dollar "Quitters Aid" market isn't going to help. Remember, THEY said it was impossible to run a mile in 4 minutes. It still isn't easy, but now lots of folks are doing it. Fast miles in Marathons are run in 4 minutes. Quitting smoking isn't exactly a four minute mile, either. There must be one hundred million members of that club. How tough could it be?

(Yikes, I've become a born again A-hole )

OB
OB, that's OK. You're our born again A-hole---and we overlook it.

BBB :wink:

Reminds me of how I used to get rid of telemarketers. I tell them my husband sells insurance and I just found the Lord.....do you have a minute? They thank me and hang up quickly. Would probably work if I told them I had just quit smoking or drinking or womething too.

I've followed perhaps more addicted persons than any of you.

It's an interesting and phascinating observation:
most, if not all, tell afterwards, how easy it has been and that, of course, everyone else should follow the way how they did it. (Alcoholics tell e.g. "you mustn't go in any other clinic than this one", same with those hwo were addicted to heroine, nicotics say ... )
:wink:

Well there are some things that are the same for everybody. Everybody who quits smoking for instance will still have the same powerful cravings and those who are able to train their mental and emotional response to treat them as temporary annoyances are going to succeed more than those who do not know to do that. Same with alcoholics - most who succeed know they must retrain their response to certain stimuli whether or not they know it in those specific terms.

Other than that, I agree Walter. It's somewhat different for everybody. I had one friend who went through 30-day in house treatment for alcholism seven times before it finally took. I have others who never had formal treatment or counseling but never took another drink after walking into their first AA meeting. Still others have managed to quit without either, though I doubt they had as much fun doing it.

There is no definite right or wrong way to quit smoking either. Once you've got it done, it seems easy enough as Obill just testified. I feel the same way when I was past the physical, emotional, and mental addiction of nicotine.

It doesn't feel so easy when you're going through the withdrawal and retraining though, and everybody has to find their own motivation and way to do that.

Thanks BBB!



I don't think it much matters what "method" you use. Fox is dead on. Accept that cravings are a hangover from something you used to do... or fail. I doubt there is a method that can eliminate the cravings themselves. I'm reminded of when an Iron-Man type athlete was at my house for a party and pointed to the weight room and said "I see you've got a weight set in there" with a teasing smile. I said "yep, any advice?" He said "Yep, use it."

Bill---you used the term A-hole! That was the word of the weekend. All those A-Hole holiday drivers......

Anyhoo....hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday weekend. Christmas is just around the corner.

And tomorrow marks the 3rd month of not smoking!

And the third month my husband has been "quitting". Bill, I too have become a born again A-Hole...I get on his case all the time now. I am worried about his health, blah blah blah, why can't he quit blah blah blah, he just needs to not have that cigarette and he will be on his way to not smoking blah blah blah. He will probably divorce me for nagging. :wink:

Three months, already? Good for you Kristie! It must be doubly tough living with a smoker. Well done!

Gold stars for Obill, Jer, and Kristie!!!

Does anybody else qualify?

Kristie, I chain smoked for a good two years after my husband quit. I tried not to do it around him but did smoke when on the computer so it was in the house. I am ashamed of that now, but as you and everybody else knows, nobody quits until that day they wake up and choose not to do it anymore. If threats of going to hell, loss of income, child abuse, failing health and/or death aren't sufficient to make people quit, it is unlikely nagging will do it.

My advice is to back off and do what we women do so well. So very subtely wrinkle your nose to express displeasure at the smoke smell....but don't use a disdainful expression - it should be pained and long suffering. Look concerned when appropriate. Suggest lots of nonsmoking activities--restaurants, movies, playing cards at non-smoking friends' houses, etc.

If you do this well, it could hasten that day he figures it's easier to be a non smoker than a smoker. Don't overdo it though or he'll catch on and interpret it as nagging.

Thanks for the stars Foxy :d

Congrats on 3-months Kristie! That's GREAT!!!

A family member went to have one acupuncture session and hasn't smoked since.