(the credit for well writen English goes to my American sis;-)
(the credit for well writen English goes to my
American sis;-)
| I do not smoke anymore for: |
Click HERE to discuss the subject in the website-forum
You've got broad band? Then click her for
Video 1 and
Video 2
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After
all, the smoking addiction is more stubborn than alcohol- or drug addiction:
If you had predicted last summer that I would add a page to my website that
dealt with quitting smoking, I would have laughed heartily and I would have
declared you to be nuts. Me? Quitting? Being
a confirmed smoker who considered the cigarette to be his best friend, who
couldn’t keep his hands of cigarettes for 40 years, who had been smoking more
than a pack a day? No way!
I would like to stop but would it be worth it having to go through hell?
Why
this “stop smoking” page:
Not because all of a sudden I know it all and want to help the reader to
quit the habit as well. It doesn’t
work that way. As a matter of fact,
I myself am still in the middle of kicking the habit.
But maybe this page will serve a double purpose and will also provide me
with a shot in the arm to remain committed and strong.
After all, it has been two months and there still are moments every day
that I have the urge to want to grab a cigarette.
Camels
without filter:
Do you see
the cartons of cigarettes in the background?
Those are Camels without filter. “Camel
cigarettes contain a blend of choice Turkish and American tobaccos to bring you
full smoking satisfaction with Camel quality.”
Yeah, yeah…ughe ughe. Two
full cartons and 4 packs remaining in the other package, 24 packs of 20
cigarettes each, bought in Luxemburg.
As I am working on this page they are still on top of the closet, even though I
haven’t smoked since
What is it that you hear people often say? When
you quit smoking, throw away the cigarettes.
Remove all smoking paraphernalia from the house so you don’t have to
resist the temptation. Well, I see
it somewhat differently; if a
cigarette that is within easy reach can tempt you today to light one up again,
then you will, if that cigarette is not available, very likely go out and buy
another pack. And if that would be the case, your mind isn’t ready yet to
really quit. Is your body ready to
quit? Hmmm………after 77 days, I
have the feeling that the body will never be ready for that.
Still, I hope that this will soon change.
On the other hand, what are 77 days if you consider the addiction has
lasted for 40 years? But luckily,
common sense tells me: keep your paws of those coffin nails.
Smoking
and doing sports:
Maybe you
have read by now that I have been jogging for 20 years? No? Well, then you know
now. Road running and running
shorter distances on the track. I
can’t count the times that people would ask in amazement; “You, running
marathons and you’re still smoking?” How do you manage to do that?
I would always reply; better to smoke and run than to only smoke.
That may have been true but the smoking sure put a damper on my
performance. Even being a smoker, with intensive training, you can build up
endurance, but be assured that it is a lot easier for the non-smoker.
This I have noticed after 2 ½ months of not having smoked.
I have an enlarged heart and always used to have large lung capacity. The reason
for this is playing the clarinet and the saxophone for years; it was part of my
profession. But when you hang up a
job like that and only blow Camels, it’s pretty logical that the lung capacity
diminishes. I realized that it was
the smoking that caused this but…. You refuse to do something about it,
because you don’t want to give up your very best friend, THE CIGARETTE.
Pfffff!
|
77
Days: |
 |
The
stick behind the door:
What was
actually my greatest incentive to want to stop smoking? Not wanting to cough
anymore? Wanting to feel healthier?
Have better taste? Not having to listen to the annoying anti-smoker anymore?
No filled ashtrays or fiddling with cigarette butts in the car? No
gnawing urges anymore in an airplane, public transportation or public places,
etc.?
 |
What
is the best way to quit? |
Now
I see the man with the hammer:
"Looking
back, it wasn’t that bad!" This
is what an acquaintance said to me recently, someone who had quit 2 weeks before
I did. Grrrrrr….then I get upset
and I don’t really want to hear it. After
all, looking back, I thought that it had been difficult, very difficult and
I’m still going through hard times. But…..the first 7 to 10 days were pretty
easy. First of all, smoking was a
virtual impossibility. I think that
I would have burst out in terrible coughing fits if I had lit a cigarette.
And…remembering the severe asthma attacks, believe me, you don’t want to
smoke.
But then… a little later, the body says, “hey…enough of this torture, what
happened to my usual dose of nicotine? You’re not so sick anymore that you
don’t want to light up a cigarette. The result is that the body starts to
protest and you start to get second thoughts.
I didn’t sleep well, became nervous, irritable and came down with a
severe cold, not having had many serious colds over the years that I was active
in sports. A cold that didn’t want
to go away and involved all things that come with a cold, sore throat, chest
pains, coughing, lots of mucus, sinus pressure, etc. I also became cantankerous
because I had lost my constant companion and I didn’t enjoy life anymore.
In short, I had reached the point where a marathon runner would say: “Now I
see the man with the hammer!” Fortunately, those signs turn out to be
temporary because otherwise, life would become unbearable.
What
about the positive effects?
Yes,
there are many and that’s a good thing. They
provide the very necessary support from time to time to not fall back.
1.
First of all I noticed (maybe this is a personal thing?) a much
easier stool. It wasn’t bad before but now: I get
up, wash and often before having breakfast: hollikidee!
So what about the “poop” cigarette? Evidently, not need for it anymore.
2.
What else did I notice? Of course, no more smoker’s cough.
This was something that had gotten worse and worse. Boy, unbelievable,
how I had coughed for years. That cough was actually gone after the first week,
the smoker’s cough that is. I now
cough in the morning and sometimes a little bit at night but that is not
relevant and can be blamed on the asthmatic bronchitis.
But luckily, that is also improving and getting better every day.
3.
Do taste and smell improve? You bet! Everything tastes stronger
and what you used to like, you like even better now.
But not smoking that cigarette also triggers hunger pangs, at least it
does with me. As a result I eat more snacks between meals.
I also eat more fruit but that doesn’t seem to satisfy enough. Doing
sports I drank a lot of water regularly, now I consciously drink even more
water. It does repress the hunger a
little bit and the urge for nicotine becomes less as well.
4.
In the morning I experience a very important advantage.
When I wake up, I feel a lot fitter and feel much more refreshed.
Feeling good is obviously the motivation for many things in life.
To satisfy the desire of lighting up that cigarette was also very
pleasant. I enjoyed it very much for
40 years. But the price you pay for
it in the end is simply too high, (and then I don’t even want to talk about
the ridiculous price of a pack of cigarettes these days).
5.
Are there more positive things to mention? Of course!
My gums have never been very good. Because
of special treatments we had kept the problem within bounds but I notice now
that not smoking anymore has had an extra positive effect.
You feel it when you brush your teeth.
6.
Despite the asthmatic bronchitis, I notice that on good days, I
breathe a lot more air. Asthma knows
its ups and downs but there are days that when I do sports it goes very well and
I clearly profit from my smoke-free lungs. Who
knows, by not smoking anymore, maybe in time, I will be able to eliminate this
asthmatic little devil. Hopefully, hopefully!
In any case, it will be an extra incentive to stay away from cigarettes.
http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/
http://www.chriscor.com/linkstoa.htm
