I'm no doctor, or chemist, or even that smart, but I did,
after twenty eight years of smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, discover how to
quit smoking. My method may or may not work for you, but after watching a few
infomercials on TV offering cures for lots of money, that I know don't
always work, I thought I should share how I quit.
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Before trying my quit smoking method please consult with a physician.
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I was a heavy smoker right from the start, smoking up to two
packs a day in my mid teens gradually working up to three packs a day in my
thirties. Don't really know why I started, guess I just wanted
to be cool, although I doubt smoking did much to achieve that goal.
Over the years I tried everything to quit smoking; patches, gum,
the works. But nothing worked. Maybe I just lacked will power, I thought and tried
harder to quit. Still just failing results. Until one day at age forty three I suddenly
found myself unemployed. Coincidently, at the same time (2001) taxes on cigarettes were driven up.
A pack now cost about $5.00. That meant that I would have to spend about $465.00
a month to continue my habit. Well I have a wife and two kids who count on me
and I could not in good conscience take food out of their mouths to support my
habit. This was the motivation I needed.
So I asked my wife and kids to stay away from me for about
four days and went to bed. I just slept as much as I could and watched mindless
television shows. I found that the sleeping helped with the urge to smoke and
with no one making any demands on me I was calm enough to keep going. By the
fourth day I no longer felt the need to smoke the physical urges had passed. I
was past the worst part of it, now I just had to break the habit of reaching
into my pocket for those cigarettes. That took some time but I'm smoke free for
four years now, a little heavier perhaps but still smoke free.
Well that's the story of how I quit smoking. Hope that you
find something in it that can help you, good luck.
Incidentally, the nicotine that once stained my fingers, is
named for Jean Nicot, lord of Villemain (ca. 1530-1600), French ambassador to
Lisbon in 1560 when Portuguese explorers were first bringing back tobacco seeds
from the new continent of America. (Click here to read more about nicotine)