One year ago today...

**kzoo1** · 06-03-2009, 04:23 AM

I quit smoking! I haven't had a cigarette, cigar, or any tobacco/nicotine since.

This is the longest I have been nicotine free in my entire adult life! Woo Hoo!
And freedom is amazing. It boggles my mind how much I was chained to the smokes, it held control over almost all facets of my life. I no longer make decisions based on my smoking, I just do what I want when I want. Plus I'm not paying any more "voluntary" taxes by buying cigarettes!

Sorry - but I just had to brag...

If you are interested in how, check out:

http://www.allencarr.com/

**bythbook** · 06-03-2009, 04:25 AM

FANTASTIC!!!

congratulations to you - believe me I know what an accomplishment that is... good for you!

I read Carr's book - there is some good sense in there, and it is honest.

I will NOT smoke a cigarette in your honor today. (Or any day.)

**bluepunk18** · 06-03-2009, 04:25 AM

Congratulations on your first year! I hope there are many more to come. I've been trying to get my best friend to quit, he hasn't yet...maybe I'll point him to your link.

**Johnny Dale** · 06-03-2009, 04:28 AM

Congrats! I quit when it cost me 70 cents to buy a pack of smokes in a machine at a bar. I got fed up and said I'm not paying that kind of money for cigarettes anymore. Heck, a carton was over $10!

Have no idea how much they are now!

I used toothpicks as my crutch for a few weeks.

**Obsessed** · 06-03-2009, 04:29 AM

Brag all you want - Congratulations!

**jazzman** · 06-03-2009, 05:10 AM

It's not bragging if you really have something to brag about. The final motivation for my quitting cigarettes was not health or money--I felt OK and I could affort the $1 or so per pack--but the feeling that I had become a slave to my addiction and to big corporations.

**Black Adder** · 06-03-2009, 05:56 AM

Great feeling, isn't it? It'll be ten years smoke-free for me this coming November. Best thing I ever did for myself.

Don

**kzoo1** · 06-03-2009, 07:12 AM

Thanks for all the well wishes!

It really is great to be free from the "weed".

**tpoof** · 06-03-2009, 08:02 AM

Originally Posted by kzoo1

Thanks for all the well wishes!

It really is great to be free from the "weed".

A tip "o" the hat to you my friend and a BIG THUMBS up!

been 8 years for me this past Jan 1...
best thing I ever did... reading your post I looked into my daily notes for Jan 1, a year later...
it says...9125 cigs COULD HAVE been smoked!

WOW! big numbers..
I was a pack a dayer for many years..

and like you have said...

It really is great to be free of the weed!

**nikkuchan** · 06-03-2009, 08:57 AM

That deserves a true, genuine congratulations.

I quit myself after smoking for a few years. Oddly enough, I didn't feel all irritated and crazy for a smoke like other people say they do. True, I did feel the urge to smoke, but it wasn't much stronger than having a crazy for a particular snack, and as each day went by I found myself craving it less and less. I guess being lazy helps; when my options are keep lounging around or getting up to go to the store to get more cigs, I found the urge much less compelling.

When I told my friend that I quit smoking cold turkey, he asked me what I was doing smoking cold turkey in the first place.

**Nick D.E.vious** · 06-03-2009, 09:05 AM

Congrats on quitting smoking! I quit smoking now for almost two years. It was the best decision I ever made. By the way how many of you quit cold turkey? That's how I did it. I did find that for me, I used cigars as an excuse for my relapse prior to the two years when I attempted to quit. So this time around no cigars and certainly no tobacco in any way period...I gotta admit, when I see some of you gents with your pipe smoking hobby you make it look enticing. However, I know me and what it will lead to (more cigarettes). That's just how I am, so I just HAVE to avoid it all at all costs.

**sapito318** · 06-03-2009, 09:10 AM

Congratulations sir, that is an accomplishment.

**kzoo1** · 06-03-2009, 11:07 AM

I guess it was "cold turkey", but it didn't seem like it at the time. Using the Easy Way method, I was able to change the way I viewed cigarettes in context to my life. Essentially once I got over the fear of living without them, I was able to just stop. No cravings, no weight gain, no problems.

toxicbumps- I'm like you- I know I can't smoke tobacco again, period. I used to enjoy a cigar now and then, and a pipe when fishing, but that just led to wanting more ciggies...

**pal** · 06-03-2009, 11:20 AM

Well done! If you can stop for a year then you can stop for the rest of you life. Good luck to you!

**highball** · 06-03-2009, 11:28 AM

When I quit 8 years ago it was the flu that helped me out. I was so sick with the flu that, I did not smoke for 3 days.

That was all it took to get over a 2 pack a day habit , I still want one from time to time but it only lasts a min or two