Ten Things I Won't Miss Anymore When I Quit Smoking
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10. Enduring the elements. Raining? Snowing? A mixture of heavy concussion inducing hail and 60 mile an hour winds? You're still standing around outside getting pelted with ice chunks because you have to feed your addiction!
9. Yellow fingernails, fingers and teeth, oh my! Ewww. This is probably one of the worse things about smoking, when you're younger and the effects of smoking will not become apparent for years to come. It's gross, it looks incredibly unprofessional and it's really hard to get rid of on a day-to-day basis, when you're still a smoker. Some have told me Lava soap works, but I can't find any in my neighborhood, so the best thing I've found is to scrub my hands with a pumice stone. Ouch.
8. The financial consideration. It's minimal, now... A buck seventy five every 2-3 days because I roll my own, but still. Even if you do roll your own, think of the financial considerations down the line, medical insurance, doctor's bills, etc.
7. Smelling like an ashtray. My hair! My beautiful hair, by the end of the day, smells as if I have been rolling about in a dirty alley. Skin, clothes, breath, they all reek of cigarettes. Not terribly sexy, is it?
6. Ashtrays. Eww. They reek, too!
5. Destroying my electronics. Cigarettes and cigarette smoke wreak havoc on electronic equipment.
4. Missing out on important moments because I need a cigarette. Nothing makes your kid feel less special than telling them you can't watch them do something totally awesome because you need your cancer stick right NOW. I've gotten more flak from my daughter about smoking because of this... "Mom's gonna have a smoke, then I'll read to you." "But mom, noooooooo, I don't want to sit next to you, you smell BAD!" Hurts, don't it?
3. Constantly craving a cigarette. It's like having a monkey on your back! Basically when I'm smoking, I'm having a cigarette to avoid nicotine withdrawal. It's a never-ending cycle of addiction, wake up, have a smoke, stop feeling so bad for a couple of hours, get agitated, have a smoke, stop feeling so bad for a couple of hours, have a meal, have a smoke, stop feeling so bad for a couple of hours.... News flash! You feel bad from SMOKING. Stop doing it. Yeah, it'll hurt for a month, but then you'll never have to feel nicotine's nasty hold on you... again.
2. Not being able to taste my food. Perhaps a mixed blessing, at first, as a I go nuts trying all the foods I love and actually *tasting* them for the first time since I started smoking at seventeen, I cannot wait to be able to taste my food again.
1. We're down to the most important thing I won't miss when I quit smoking! I'm not going to miss the look on my daughter or boyfriend's face whenever I light up a cigarette or tell them I'm going out for a smoke. We're talking serious guilt-city, here, and it's bumming me out to look at them, the two folks who love me so much, have to watch me hurt myself. Bah! No more I say!
Thanks for coming along with me on my little rant, here. I'm sure there are a lot more reasons to quit smoking, but this is *my* list. If you have a few yourself that aren't on here, please, by all means, add them to the comments section. If you've some tips on ways to minimize cravings, add those as well!
- Married to Cigarettes Cartoon by Jason Love
Married to Cigarettes Funny, Daily Cartoon by Jason Love... - Ways to Stop Smoking Cigarettes & Quit Smoking for Good: A Hard Habit | Quit Smoking | Reader\'s
25 Ways to stop smoking cigarettes and ways to quit smoking for good can help you towards a healthier, smoke-free life. - Ten Reasons You Should Quit Smoking
Smoking is bad for you. You already know this. Therefore, I’m not even going to mention the usual suspects like cancer and emphysema. Why should I? You figure those things are too far off to worry about.... - Effects of Smoking
The effects of smoking are countless. From the impact to your health, the health of those around you and even the damage it can do to your home, it blows my mind that smoking is still so popular.
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You have obviously done the reality-check thing-- Make a hard copy of this and read it at least three times a day-- and good Luck with it. The truth will free you.
I'm sure it will be tough, but totally worth it.
congrats on quitting! i live with my in-laws and my mother in law smokes. the walls are disgustingly yellow, my clothes constantly smell, 2nd hand smoke is something horrible and yea. not to mention that she almost died right before our wedding because of it this past december and though she didn't end up dieing, she got out the day before, which was a miracle. so what does she do.. she lights up as soon as she gets out. then goes back to the hospital earlier this year and lights up more. i just don't get it. o.o
I made a mixed-media installation regarding to Camel C-Note. This piece is now showing at my local museum. I was hoping the presentation might make my audiances thinking of quit smoking. Feel free to check it out:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Eco-Redefinition
I still have trouble making my husband quit smoking.
Good luck! :)
It is a very complete list there, having smoked for many many years, and several periods of total abstinace from smoking, Have stopped and am glad that i did..
Now my pets do not look at me and avoid me when I sit down and after a smoke.
The impact of smoking on others really hit me just recently.
We had to look after a ring neck for a fellow worker who was going on a business trip. Well the poor Bird was a drab dull grey cammo green, who shuffled around on its perch. Well as I always take my Goompy, also a ring neck, for a shower under the garden sprinklers,I took the house guest as well.
Some fiveteen minutes later, and sitting in the sun preening itself it was a different bird all together.
Well after a month the owner of the bird was back from the business trips and when confronted with her bird she could not recognise it.
The sad fact is that she and her family smoke so th poor feathered beastie will undoubtably end up drab and grey green again, with a shortened life expectancy.
Nice to hear from you. I know you can do it. Think of your daughter for this. That is a great incentive!
Keep on hubbing!
Umm, could not vote cause nothing fits. Heavy smoker for about 35 years, quit a few years ago, and not too proud about it. I just quit doing what I did not want to do anymore - what to be so proud about? :)
I'm really embarassed to admit this, but I quit smoking about 16 years ago (hated every minute of the first month) and during this past stressful year I've picked up again. Not as much as I smoked 16 years ago, but it's just as nagging of an addiction. Plenty of heart problems and several cases of lung cancer in my family so I'm once again kicking myself--not to mention the cost if you don't roll your own! And beginning April 1st they're going up again. Good You Tube clip.
"I still have trouble making my husband quit smoking"
that's part of the problem, surely? You can't "make" someone do something like that.
Good hub indeed. I too smoke but never had yellow nails, I have heard it many times but never experienced it. Maybe I do not smoke so much. You also said smoke affects you electronics goods? Is that true? I didn't know about it at all. I liked your Hub although I do not have plans to quit right away but sometimes down the line I will, I am sure.
This is a great hub! Maybe I should forward it to my mother- she smoked all the way through my childhood, and I endured the wrath of cigarette smoke too- my clothes stank, our walls got yellow extremely quickly and I always worried so much about my health and well as my mother's. Now I've moved out and aren't subject to second hand smoke I hardly even cough or have a sore throat, and my clothes and hair smell good again, but thinking about how my mum does this to herself makes me sick to the stomach- if only she would quit!
I think smokers get so wrapped up in their addiction they never think about what its doing to others, not just in health terms, but mentally as well- I worry about every person I know who smokes because I know the outcome can be awful.
I used to smoke around 50 cigarettes a day. Then suddenly the need to learn yoga arose. I enrolled for a private course. The instructor asked me to take a deep breath. I did, and I started coughing.
That was somewhere in the middle of October 1996. Although the instructer never said a word about my smoking I decided to stop at the end of the month.
So I went on a smoking spree and smoked a lot more than I usually do until the 31st of October.
Since the evening of the 31st of October 1996 I have not smoked a single cigarette.
I am not really proud of this so I did not take the poll. Well the fact is I discovered later that I never really needed cigarettes.
So that's my story! Hope you liked it!
Congratulations good for you! As your breathing becomes easier (and you probably never even felt your diminished lung capacity because it sneaks up on you) make a point of doing some prana deep breathing exercises it helps the lungs and your whole body heal faster and helps keep your system from slowing down too much. They are even figuring that out in western medicine now. Also milk thistle is a great tonic to help you get rid of toxic residues.
congratulations! I think it's a great idea that you go out there and share this experience with others in such an inspiring way! I hope you and many other people will be smoke free!
Thank you for the inspiration.
It will give all of us smokers
something to ponder...
took the pole only 9% on my choice
could not believe how many "non" smokers
read and took the pole hhhmmmmmmm!
maybe they wonder if they can find "good" reasons why
we smokers smoke.....ey ;-)
Holy smokes, guys! I leave for a day to do a couple of mystery shops and this is what happens?!? I can't believe how many people have read this hub already, thank-you so much, all of you for your support and taking the time out to read my hub.
goldentoad: You made the right decision, I think. Ahem.
Rochelle Frank: Thank-you, that is a fantastic idea, I appreciate your support!
starrkissed: I haven't quit yet. I'm cutting down, still. I've been trying to quit since New Years Eve and I thought writing this hub would help remind me why I'm trying to quit. Thanks for your support, though, I appreciate you coming by and taking the time to comment.
yxhuang: Someone down the line mentions it best, you just can't make somebody else quit. They have to want to do it for themselves, too. Thank-you so much for the link, I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment and share!
justmesuzanne: Thank-you!
Just_Rodney: Aww. That poor bird! I think going outside to smoke was one of the best things in the world for us, now our clothes don't smell, (well at least not my daughter and boyfriend's clothes,) like cigarette smoke anymore. It's sad, because I can tell the difference in the air and at first I thought my place didn't "smell right," but now I just realize that it was all that nasty smoke in there fouling the place up. I feel really badly that I was smoking around my family and pets, I didn't think about it as much before, but it is really awful. Thanks for coming by and commenting, I appreciate it, your story really made me think.
eovery: Thanks! I appreciate you coming by and showing your support.
Misha: Cigarette smoking is more addictive than cocaine. It's a huge deal to quit and I'm very proud you! *smile* Congratulations on being smoke-free!
druneric: I'm so proud of you that you quit! And you know what, you *can* quit again. You'll want to be around for that precious grandbaby of yours a few more years, so please try and quit again, soon! Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, I appreciate you coming by and sharing with us. (And yeah, geesh Louise and a picnic basket, cigarettes are getting ridiculously expensive, aren't they?!?)
LondonGirl: Right on!
ThePioneer21: Thank-you so much for coming by and taking the time to read and comment. Yes, I am ashamed that I smoked around my daughter and I agree, it is getting caught up in your addiction. I think it is incredibly self-centered.
packerpack: Usually smokers only get yellow nails / fingers if they hand roll their own smokes w/o a filter or smoke filterless cigarettes. Yes, smoking seriously messes up your electronics you have to stay on top of vacuuming them out & blowing them out with canned air if you smoke in the house. The sooner you quit the quicker you'll be on the road to recovering your pre-smoking healthy set of lungs. Good luck!
quicksand: Hey, thanks for coming by and taking the time to read my hub and share your story with us. Well, like I said to Misha, I'm proud of you for quitting. The Carr method talks about how we don't really "need" to smoke, too. I think it's a very interesting concept and something that has helped me a lot through my cravings, hopefully as I continue to put it to use I'll gain more levels in will power.
linjingjing: Thanks.
Hot Dorkage: I've been working out a lot so I'm noticing a lot of strange things. (I do not remember my bones creaking and cracking as much last year as I've heard them do in the last couple of weeks. Sad.) My lungs fluctuate from day-to-day right now, but I'm sure once I fully kick the habit and do some of the detox you and others have suggested they'll start feeling really great. Thanks for the advice and support!
HypnoBob: Thanks! I hope more people will read this and share their stories with us. Thanks for coming by and taking the time to read and comment.
fan417: I found that really interesting, too! Thanks for coming by and taking the time to read and comment. I appreciate it!
Good luck! I feel like making a list of things you won't miss will definitely help you stay on track.
In your poll I said that I've never smoked, but I actually smoked on-and-off for about three months when I was sixteen. I heard it would reduce stress. HA! What a lie. I gave it up pretty quick because it was actually causing me more stress than it was reducing. Also, you know - the smell.
Great hub! Just looking at the pictures was enough to make my skin crawl. I know you can do it...this hub is a testimony to your ability to create.
JPeaslee: Thanks! I think it's awesome that you stopped so quickly after starting. I was pretty much immediately hooked, (I started around sixteen, too,) quickly escalating up to a pack a day within a week of first starting to smoke regularly. Thanks for coming by and sharing with us, I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment.
Jody Heckenlively: Thanks! I appreciate the compliment. Aren't those pictures completely hideous?!? Yugh!
Great Hub. I quit on 22nd December 2008, and haven't had a cigarette since. I did it with the help of the Nicotine Solutions course online and via phonecalls. No drugs, patches, inhalers or anything else other than support, advice, tasks etc. I have been keeping an online Hub diary since I started the course, (you do the course for 6 weeks before actually stopping smoking). If anyone is interested my diary can be found at http://hubpages.com/hub/My-Diary-of-Giving-up-Smok
Trust me, I have tried most of the known methods for quitting smoking, Zyban, Champix, patches, inhalators, accupuncture, hypnosis, willpower etc, but this has been the easiest, AND the most successful. I don't even think about smoking most days, and if I do, it isn't a 'craving' but a 'thought', a 'memory', or whatever you want to call it.
Good luck to all of you who want to stop smoking. I feel great ever since I did :)
Good luck! Though I am not a smoker myself, I know a lot of people that are and I know that quitting can be tough. You have a great hub here, and if you need motivation to stay on track come back and read your hub again to remind yourself of why you don't need cigarettes :)
lacey marie: Thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to come 'round and comment. I'm still trying to quit smoking, it's really hard, but this does help.
I am on my fourth year of cigarette cessation and will never turn back to cigarettes again. I am so proud of myself and of you and wish you only the best. The only downside to stopping smoking is getting your lungs back. I heard it takes at least seven years before your lungs even begin to start healing (depending on the duration of time a person has had cigarettes in their life).
moebrooklyn718: Yea! Thanks for stopping by and commenting, I appreciate it & am proud of you, too. I still haven't managed to quit, but I'm sure I'll be able to. I'm concerned about lung capacity, too, I used to sing and quit singing shortly after I started smoking. I miss singing and would like to resume once I quit, but I'm not looking forward to listening to how much damage I've done to my throat / lungs.
Nice hub. i want to dedicate or send this link to all my smoker frnds.thanks..
apeksha: Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment, I really appreciate it.
Very good article and tips that I will follow closely..
Well, I certainly hope this is all behind you now. I need to also. Wish me luck. peace, CC
ralwus: No, I'm *still* trying to quit smoking. I just started taking Chantix and it's really helping me. The list of side-effects is pretty terrifying, so wish me luck, too. I wish you all the best, good luck in trying to quit smoking, remember to just keep trying! Thanks for stopping by and checking up on me.
I was afraid of Chantix as it gives vivid dreams. I have enough of those without that. My brother-in-law tried it and he quit for the nightmares he had. LOL Good luck with it now. I'm seriously thinking of going to this Dr who helps with acupuncture, wife's boss did it and it worked great.
Honestly, I don't understand how acupuncture works, but I've heard it works great, too! Just because I don't understand something doesn't mean it ain't real :)
I like Chantix. It's working for me, but that isn't to say that it works for everyone. Honestly I haven't quit smoking entirely yet, but this is the closest I've ever come and I feel really a lot better about my chances of quitting with Chantix than I have anything else I've tried.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment, ralwus, always love hearing from you! Good luck!
Well, I sure hope you are successful now. Thanks and I must do it too, for my heart and my love. CC
i can totally relate!!
nice one!
Thanks, nwright1080! I'm STILL trying to quit smoking. I've come really close a couple of times and after 2-3 days of looking like a smack addict, (sweats, chills, HIVES, and more,) I'm almost getting tired of trying to quit! I keep reading this every day, and hopefully, it will help. Chantix worked the best, but there were issues with it that are too personal (TMI,) to get into.
Thank you for this, I have quit for 2 months now and miss it so much....whenever I have the urge to start again I visit your page and go through 1 -10 to remind myself of how much I hated smoking. It is such a love hate relationship but you speak for all smokers!
One thing I did was told myself I am not going to smoke today and don't think about tomorrow. Psychologically this works better as QUITTING is so final
I hope you have quit yourself by now
skyeball: Wow. That is so awesome, thank-you so much for taking the time out to read and comment. You've mentioned something a friend of mine said, too, about not thinking about tomorrow and taking it one day at a time, I love that advice and completely agree with you!
Here's what happened with the Chantix, in case you guys were wondering... It worked great for about a week, my desire to smoke was really diminishing. Oddly, no dreams, as well, I'm a vivid dreamer and was surprised (delighted, in fact,) that I didn't have to deal with that side affect.
After about a week however, I started feeling really weird. Not bad, per se, just off. The edginess of trying to quit was still there, of course, but vastly diminished compared to other methods, (patch, gum, sheer will,) that I had tried. About three days into week two, I started laughing and just couldn't stop. "People are dying throughout the world," Mr. Newscaster would say, and I would bust up laughing thinking this was HILARIOUS, (but not really,) after a couple of days of that I just couldn't take it anymore. I did want to tell people what happened with the Chantix, I don't want to discourage anyone from trying it, the varied side-effects are so vast that you don't really know how it will affect you, but it still beats smoking, imho, I wish I would have stuck it out and just ignored the way I felt.
No. I haven't quit smoking yet. Your comment made me feel terribly ashamed that I haven't managed, to date.
I've cut down. I do think the Chantix helped in that sense... there isn't that weird urgency anymore unless it's the first cigarette of the morning.
I've been having some stupid health issues that are totally related to smoking, (sinus infections, colds, etc,) so I am going to attempt to quit again, this month (October,) using the gum. Thank-you so much for your well-wishes, they're just what I need to get me back on track!
Awesome reasons to quit smoking. I quit for over 5 years and the one thing I loved the most was the smell of my shirt at the end of the day. Downy April Fresh! The smell of my hair made me excited to buy nice shampoo. I linked to this in my hub. I hope you don't mind.
Tams R: No, I don't mind at all... if you happen to see this add the link in a comment & I'll link to yours, as well, thank-you, so much.
How have you managed to continue to remain smoke-free after five years? Are there any tricks or links you care to share? I'm on-again and off-again. I've found that I really enjoy the freedom from being cigarette-free, then the next time I'm at a party or bar I find myself lighting up again and it's extremely frustrating! I have enjoyed using the new e-cigarettes, though, even though they're not meant for "quitting" purposes, the way I see it is every e-cigarette I've smoked is several regular cigarettes I didn't have, so it's a win in my book! Thanks for taking the time out to read & comment, I really appreciate it. Hope you come back soon.
As I don't know if we're supposed to put our links in comments I will tell you it is on my profile, How I quit smoking for over 5 years. I must also tell you, I stayed quit for 5 years, but started again after a scary diagnosis that was supposedly to result in my death within 3 weeks of the day I started again. That's my valid excuse anyway. But, my method did work and will work again for anyone including me interested in heading down the path to being a non-smoker. Best wishes!
Tams R: Oh, my gosh... are you OK? I'll take a look at your profile, of course, but I have seen other people link in my comments section, personally sometimes it's just the easiest way to get ideas across.
Yes I'm ok. I had a tumor that grew very rapidly and the doctors believe it to be malignant and fast growing. Turns out, it was benign. At the same time I had developed a few other issues and those are yet to be evaluated, but I believe them to be benign as well. I just got the attitude if I were going to die in 3 weeks as projected why worry about smoking. I wish I hadn't now.
Tams R: How terrifying. I completely understand, if someone told me I had less than a month to live I would start smoking again, too. Hopefully you will find your way back to the smoke-free path, it can't help your health issues, and we want you around for years to come!
goldentoad 3 years ago
I smoked cigs for awhile as a teenager, but between pot and tobacco it was too much on my lungs, had to give at least one up.