Best of luck, Frank, you CAN do it if I can. If you have insurance, many plans will help if not totally cover the Chantrix, and I really recommend that! I've been trying to quit for over 10 years, and this is the first time it's stuck this long with me, and I believe it was the pills to give me that start. It's a three month program, but I stopped taking them after 1 month (no insurance & no job...if you have both of those or the cash, though, I would recommend going the full 90 days... ).

Even without insurance, it's still cheaper than cigarettes and your Doc will more than likely call in that scrip for you without a visit!

Haven't had one now since December 20! Do I want one? Hell, yeah! Am I gonna have one? Hell no!

RK

Right on... If I'm still having difficulty a week from now, I'll definitely call in the pharmaceutical cavalry.

In my experience, the 72-hour point is when the craves are the worst, and after that, they begin to taper off.

I'm looking at the craves in a different way, this time:

1. I don't crave heroin. Why? Because I've never shot heroin. Therefore, the craves are caused by smoking; not the cessation of smoking.

2. Each crave is a sign of healing; of sickness, weakness, disease, and slavery being driven from the body. They are the mewling cries of a dying monster that I've been feeding for the past twenty-two years. I will revel in his death throes.

3. Craves are tough to deal with. Lung cancer, COPD, and emphysema are a hell of a lot tougher to deal with.

4. There is no place on my body to which I can point with one finger and say, "HERE! THIS is where this crave is hurting me!" Therefore, the crave needs to have nothing physically done about it. It is purely psychological, and whether I give into it or not, it will fade on its own. I refuse to become emotionally involved with it. Instead, I will examine it dispassionately, and then release it and continue on with my day.

5. There's no such thing as, "Just one." I've had plenty of opportunities to shoot smack, or snort crank or coke. I've never done it. The fear of getting hooked was enough of a deterrent. This is an addiction that I am well aware of, and it scares me even more. The fact that it's so easy to come by, makes having one or buying a pack on impulse, even that much more of a danger.

6. There's no such thing as, "Well, now that I'm no longer addicted, I wonder what one would taste like, now?" Bullshit... That's the addiction-mind setting the lure and the trap.


Tonight, before bed, I will be smoking my final cigarette. As it is written, so may it also be done.

Congratulations to all you quitters !!!
My wife asked me not to smoke around her when she was pregnant with first child
so while on vacation that summmer i took 1 pack to last me the week , finished them up first day and that was that ( she says i was a miserable SOB but i didnt notice ) well its been 21 years since ..No Regrets

When your ready, your ready, and it sounds like you have decided to be done with smoking for good. I started at 14 and smoked two to three packs a day for almost 40 years. 3 years ago I quit for a year, this year with a host of medical complications, not all due to smoking I quit again, been a year and 3 months so far. The one thing I did was everytime I felt a craving I would stop what I was doing and physcially tell myself "I no longer am a smoker". and that craving would start to fade away.
Keep going day by day.
Rick

Thanks!!

I've been a slave for the past twenty-two years. Right now, this is all fresh and new, and I'm feeling pretty apprehensive and full of self-doubt. I've got some nicotine lozenges and some patches, too.

The Good:

1. So far, I feel pretty good.
2. No real craves.
3. I still smell nice and clean from my shower.
4. I feel balanced, peaceful, and calm



The Bad:

1. It would be so easy to just go buy a pack, unwrap it like a Christmas present, and then light up.
2. I feel weak. I've tried to quit before, and each time, fallen flat on my face. The junkie-mind is sitting there, perched and craven, just waiting for me to blow it.
3. Can I really do this?
4. I worry about withdrawals.
5. I keep catching myself fantasizing about what a cigarette would taste like. "Just one" won't hurt, right? Pfft... Yeah... After I'm f'king dead.


For now, I am taking it one day at a time. I am vowing to be patient and kind with myself. One day at a time, one hour at a time, one crave at a time...

I quit for about 9 months about 2.5 years ago. It was not hard, but easy to start again too. It only takes one. I usually go cold turkey. For me I just need to think of other things and the cravings go away. Just have to be motivated to quit. I always found those nicotene things were crutches and never helped me quit. I got started again because I had a fight with my wife that day and was really in a bad mood. Stupid excuse I know. I didn't have a craving that day at all before the fight.

Frank, I have found that the times I crave a cig most is when I am idle and don't have anything to do. Object of the game is to keep your mind off the cravings by anymeans necessary. Crave a cig, do a push-up, walk outside and take a deep breathe, get a drink of water, anything to keep your mind off the urge. Don't give up though I am down to one cig every once in a while but that is not good enough, working on quitting completely. You can do it, we can do it.

Right on, Goose. Just taking it a little at a time... If it were easy, I suspect no one would smoke anymore.

I think its like alcoholism. It only takes one and you're hooked again. The goal is to become a smoker who chooses not to smoke. I hear they are raising prices on cigs again anyway so good time to quit (not that there's a bad time)

Funny that you mention that Sly, can remember years ago usd to get get a pack for 1.75 always said they go over 2 bucks gonna quit. Years later and almost 4 bucks more a pack and I was still smoking, just goes to show the power of addiction.