Good News for Quitters!

This blog entry is for all you smokers out there!

I smoked around a pack and a half a day for 12 years. I started smoking when I was 16 years old and I dated a girl (Amy C.) that smoked. I told her that if she doesn't stop smoking then I was going to start. Pretty dumb huh? Anyway.. I smoked a few here and there over a few weeks and next thing I know I'm up to 1.5 packs a day.

I finally succeeded in quitting nearly 4 1/2 years ago and I seriously don't feel like I ever was a smoker. My wife didn't quit and she still smokes. She smokes in front of me all the time and I don't even feel tempted or desire a cigarette. I don't let her smoke in the house though. I won't allow my kids to breath it! Never did, even when I was a smoker.

I feel that it is important for me to say that one more time "I don't even feel tempted or desire a cigarette" because when I was a smoker and talked to people that quit I would always hear the usual "not a day goes by that I don't crave a cigarette" line. I always believed it and some of the people that give that line could have been telling the truth. I think that for many it is simply a bragging thing. They want you to think that it's not worth trying because you will be in misery from now on craving one. Well good news... I honestly and whole heartedly swear on a stack of bibles that I do not crave nor think about smoking cigarettes. I sit around people that smoke all the time and if anything I sometimes have to get up and move because the smoke bothers me.

I hope this is GOOD NEWS to those of you that are just now quitting.



I realize that there are many of you out there that have smoked for 40 years and you think that the longer you smoke the harder it is to quit and you might be right, I have no idea. All I can say to that is that If I can do it then you can too. All it takes is a lot of will power.

It took me three attempts to quit, the first attempt I made it 3 months and blew it. I then smoked for two more years. My second attempt I quit for 6 months and I got drunk at a new years party and thought to myself (Just a couple puffs, I won't even remember this in the morning) I was wrong!!

My 3rd attempt was a total success and I haven't smoked since.

Now for more GOOD NEWS...

Don't get me wrong it will not be easy but the good news is that the several attempts that you have failed in the past were not a waste of time or effort. I say that because at least with my experience, each time I quit, it seemed to be a little easier. Not easy.. but easier!

Therefore your failed attempts in the past were not a total loss.

There are ten million tips to quitting smoking and I'm sure that you have heard them all so I will just tell you the ones that I used.

First off I used the patches.
2nd I chewed on wooden pop cycle sticks.
3rd I chose other ways of rewarding myself instead of a cigarette.
4th I recognized my triggers and learned to re-associate my though with each trigger.
5th I thought to myself "I made it this far, I'm not about to blow it now!"

Number 5 is a good one. I quit smoking just two days before taking the kids on vacation to a southern California theme park. The whole time I was down there I wanted a cigarette soooo bad!! But I didn't give in and took control of my thought pattern. Then after we came home from the trip and I wanted a smoke I would tell myself the following... "I suffered badly down there on vacation and didn't give in so I'm not about to give in now!" and that helped.


Anyway... You can do it! Don't give up! Don't listen to people that say "you will always crave a cigarette".

Trust me; It will all be worth it in the end!

Good Luck!
John