Quit Smoking, Stupid!

My Top Nine

notsmoking — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:46:32 +0000

When you are trying to quit smoking it is often recommended that you write a list of reasons you want to stop. Then you can refer back to them when you feel like lighting up. Hopefully, when I am having a-lack-of- nicotine induced fit, I will remember to read this!

9. I want to be physically fit. It would be nice not to be out of breath while climbing a flight of stairs. Or while vacuuming.

8.Cost. I’ve always found those claims that if you quit smoking you will save enough money to take a nice vacation, a bit lame. What good is a vacation if you can’t celebrate it with a smoke? Cost is relative. You can afford what you want to afford. But, it is expensive.

7. I want to strengthen my singing voice. I love to sing, In the car, while cleaning the house, while writing. I don’t know where I would be without music. I don’t sing badly, but I know my singing voice will be even better without the cigarettes.

6. I stink. I know it’s true. My clothes stink, my breath stinks, my hair stinks! Smoking does a funny thing to your nose. It stops smelling the nasty cigarette smell. It’s your bodies way of adapting. Makes it easier to continue though. I don’t think I would want to quit so badly if cigarettes didn’t make you stink like a million asses.

5. It’s not cool. I don’t want to be my mother!! It used to be cool to smoke. Not so anymore. Damn, you can’t even smoke in a bar anymore! I started smoking as a way of rebelling against my mother whose motto was, “Do as I say, not as I do”. Oh yeah, watch this mother!

4. I want to be a good example. Especially for my daughter. When you smoke it sends the message, “I don’t care about myself” to those around you. At least thats what I’ve read. I think it sends the message: ‘I’m an addict. If you don’t like it, go away.’ So there!

3.I don’t want to die of cancer. I’ve always thought that if I got lung cancer from smoking cigarettes, I wouldn’t seek treatment. But that is a bit martyrish. Especially since I am a mom. Chemo and a smoke anyone? Honestly, it is a horrible way to die.

2. Straight up vanity. I have lip wrinkles. I am 33 and I have lip wrinkles!!

1. Just to say I did it. Maybe I will make myself a nice gold badge that says “Reformed Smoker” when I reach six months of not smoking.

‘Ah-Ha!’

notsmoking — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:09:04 +0000

I have tried numerous ways to quit smoking. I’ve tried the patch, the gum, and going cold turkey. I’ve tried hypnosis and self help books. One of the best books I’ve read is “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking” by Allen Carr. If you are trying to quit smoking, and have never read the book, I highly recomend it. There is a catch to the book though, you must be committed to NEVER smoking again.

Allen Carr’s hypothesis is that to quit smoking all you have to do is not smoke another cigarette. Simplistic, I know. His theory is that withdrawal is all in your mind. He says he can help you quit forever, with NO withdrawal. He exerts that nicotine only stays in your system for about 10 minutes, not for hours and hours, making it easier to quit. Which explains chain- smoking, and no withdrawal symptoms in the morning (for me anyway!). He even goes into why smokers crave cigarettes after eating.He encourages that you don’t use the patch or the gum, unless you want to become addicted them as well. He says you will feel pity for other smokers, because they don’t know how to beat the ‘monster’.

This book has many editions. The first one I read addressed pregnancy and smoking, and all the chemicals contained in cigarettes. The latest edition I read excluded these issues. Which is ashame, as society drops the ball when it comes to smoking and pregnancy.You come to a point in the book where you have an ‘Ah-ha!’ moment. This is where everything he has stated in the book clicks and you can say “I quit!”. This happened for me after reading the statement “What if the next cigarette you smoke is the one that triggers cancer in your lungs?” Ah-ha! I don’t want that!

There is a catch to this method. You must be ready to quit FOREVER. You can’t start back up with the ‘logic’ that it was so easy to quit, you can just use the book again. It doesn’t work that way, and you are playing a dangerous game. I admit, I have quit twice with the book. It still works, but somehow it’s not the same. The first time I read it, I had already quit smoking and was using the patch. About half way thru the book, I ripped off the patch. I no longer needed it. I felt no withdrawl. I had finally beaten it! I gave the book back to my friend who loaned it to me.

Then, life and life’s drama got in the way. I started smoking again. What I should have done is not picked up a cigarette but picked up the book instead. (Which is what Mr. Carr suggests when tempted to smoke again.) A few weeks later, I jumped on line and ordered a copy of the book for myself. This is when I read the newer editon. It worked, but didn’t pack the same punch the first one did.

I recommend this book to anyone ready to stop smoking FOR GOOD. My mother (who has chain-smoked) all my life, stopd smoking for about four days with the book. It is worth a try. It goes to show that attitude goes a long way. Right now, my attitude is plain ol’ crabby.

3rd hand smoke?

notsmoking — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:46:10 +0000

A few nights ago, a local TV station featured a story about the dangers of third hand smoke. My first thought was, ‘Whats next??’ followed by the obligatory eye roll. We all know smoking is bad for you and we all understand the dangers of second hand smoke. (Keep beating the dead horse!) The perky blond reporter explained that “third hand smoke” is the smell that lingers on clothing and hair after smoking a cigarette. Researchers believe that the lingering stink of smoke is dangerous especially to infants and children. The perky reporter wrapped up the story with a glistening white smile. Apparently she isn’t a fellow nicotine addict. If they had played “Toxic” by Brittney Spears in the back ground the news cast would have been complete.

OK, so I can accept the third hand smoke theory. After all, infants are by nature fragile and sensitive. As a parent I have always been keenly aware that I stink after smoking. To combat this, I am an avid hand washer and gum chewer. I have a coat I wear only when I smoke. I have never smoked in my home in order to keep my children safe from my toxic fumes. (Hey, sometimes you have to work for your habit, right?)

My parents on the other hand, were not so PC about their habit. As a kid I thought nothing of walking into a hazy, smoke filled house with ash trays and lighters littering the tables. One day at the playground one of my friends admitted she wasn’t allowed to play at my house anymore. We were playing on the swings, twisting them up so we could spin around and around on our stomachs.

“Why?” I asked, shocked.

“Because when I go home I smell like smoke,” she said. “My mom hates that.” At six years old, I was already being penalized.

This was in the ’80′s before it was terribly un-PC to be a smoker. Today’s society is a different story. We are more educated. We are all ‘thinking green’. Our government is passing laws prohibiting smoking almost everywhere. In a way, this is good. Once you quit, it will be easier to ‘reform’ knowing when you enter a bar no one will be smoking. But, non- smoking government officials and the intolerant non-smoking public have dropped the ball when it comes to addiction. No matter how many bans you pass on smoking or how high you tax cigarettes, there will always be people who smoke. If you tell them they have to smoke inside a glass booth and shower afterward , they will. As a smoker, you feel tremendous pressure not to smoke from the public, and tremendous pressure to smoke due to the addiction. It is a no win situation.

Since we now have “third hand smoke” I propose we add “fourth hand smoke”. Fourth hand smoke could be defined as the pollution in the atmosphere from millions of people smoking millions of cigarettes a day. Maybe fifth hand smoke could be defined as the number of toxic cigarette butts thrown out into the streets by smokers who are banned from smoking near any buildings or the general public. Certainly a cigarette butt is carcinogenic. But, don’t touch it! Then fifth hand smoke would become third hand smoke!

I am down to two smokes left in the pack I bought yesterday. I suppose tomorrow I will try the patch. Again.

And for reading my irrational and smoke ridden rant, you deserve a funny.

Hello World!

notsmoking — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:28:55 +0000

I read once that quitting cigarettes is as hard, if not harder, than getting a junkie of heroine. I dabbled in smoking when I was 13 years old. A girlfriend of mine from church would smoke cigarettes stolen from her mom behind the track at school. Pretty soon, I joined her. Some church girls we were! And I wanted to be cool, right? Besides, my parents were both smokers. These things must be worth smoking if my mom could suck down two packs a day! It didn’t take long before simple teenage rebellion grew into a pack a day habit. At seventeen the first thing I would do in the morning was smoke. Literally, my hand would reach for a cigarette immediately after turning off my alarm. I have quit six times only to find excuses to start back up again. Once I quit for two years. This time it was only three days. In light of my failures so far, I want to share what I have learned so far in my journey to become a “reformed” smoker. I would love feedback from you, dear reader, as well.

This is my first post. Day three is a failure. Gave up and bought a pack of smokes at the gas station on my home from taking my daughter to school. I feel disappointed and relieved as take my first drag. A weight is lifted and added at the same time. It tastes good. I sit on my front porch, coffee in one hand cigarette in the other, and watch the snow birds twittering around the yard. Half way through I get a head buzz and feel like I may crap myself. I throw my butt into the street and sigh. Beaten again.

Laughter is the best medicine and a great release.

Here is your moment to release.