[hotrodsally]

I quit smoking many years back. I was just getting over a particularly nasty bug one winter and was on my way to the fridge to get something to eat after 3 days of hell, when I grabbed a cigarette (the first one in 3 days) and lit it up. It felt like I was sticking a knife down my throat. I crunched it out in an ashtray and proceeded to crush and toss the remaining half-pack and another spare pack into the trash and never looked back.

Within a day or two I was at coffee shop having coffee and kept the little plastic stir stick and started chewing on it. Amazingly, it satisfied that hand to mouth motion. For the next 6 months or so, those plastic stir sticks became the surrogate for cigarettes.

Here's the good stuff that happens as a result of quitting in addition to the obvious stuff like improved health for you and those around you (including your furbabies) and the money factor:

1) Your sense of taste and smell improves.

2) Your clothes and hair no longer smell of smoke.

3) You may have to clean carpets/upholstery/drapes to get the smoke out of them, but that's a good thing (see number 1).

4) Your lips no longer taste like burnt tobacco, making you more kissable .

5) When you wake up in the morning your mouth won't taste like somebody washed an ashtray in it.

6) You'll feel better and have more energy.

7) Your accompishment is of you, by you and for you. No one can ever take that away. Ever.

8) You'll be less stressed. You don't worry about being down to your last half pack of cigarettes or running to the store late at night to make sure you have a cigarette to smoke in the morning when you get up. You won't have to seek out "Smoking Areas."

9) You'll look better.

10) You'll open new doors socially (a lot of non-smokers flat out avoid smokers).

11) As a non-smoker you'll pay less in health care and insurance premiums.

12) You can through away your ashtrays.

13) You won't worry about starting a fire while driving because you won't need to flick the ashes out the window.

14) No more "burn holes" in your clothes and upholstery.

15) When some one asks if you smoke, you can say, "NOPE!"

The list goes on and on.

There is no downside to quitting. A lot of people are concerned about weight gain. If you can find a no-cal surrogate ( no wise a$$ remarks please ), like a stir stick, you might avoid weight gain alltogether, but even if you gain a few pounds, dumping that weight will be a breeze with all your new found energy.

Good luck! You can do it!

[Ladybugsmom]

Some facts from your friendly pharmacist here.... Nicotine increases the metabolism of some things in your liver, including caffeine. So, when you quit, you may also end up cutting back on caffeine (which, if you're like me and have it in the form of a mocha, would reduce calories for you). This change in metabolism without the nicotine may also be part of the reason for weight gain - not just replacing the hand to mouth activity - but that part of the weight should come off once your metabolism re-balances...

[25thanniversary]

My wife hated me when I smoked she kept telling me to quit. I would quit for a year then i would pick up a beer and it came along with a smoke. Had my 1st child and I quit again after his 1st birthday I picked it up again. I did tell my wife once we have another baby I would quit once he/she was born. Well it's been since 2005 since I had a smoke and I feel much better. I quit cold turkey I noticed gas prices were going up so I would just go to the gas station. And instead of buying a pack of smokes I would just but gas instead until i have no more money in my wallet. I did pick up a smoke called black cigarettes for this new years but i couldn't even smoke half of it.

i would never smoke in my camaro so this is a goodway to quit smoking don't smoke in ur camaro.

[~Stacy~]

I'm 29 and I have never even tried it once I hated going to the bars when I turned 21 my eyes would be burning from the smoke. Now the bars are smoke free but I go out to a bar once or twice a year. Yes, if I'm on vacation somewhere aka Vegas I don't mind doing bar hopping but they just don't turn me on

[babaron]

Here is one more reason: your car will be worth more if you sell it as one owned by a nonsmoker.

One peice of advice on weight loss: DON'T waste a bunch of $$ on weight loss gimmicks and programs. Just exercise at least 3x/week and eat following these 3 simple rules:

Eat real food (avoid the processed crap)
Mostly plants,
Not too much.

BTW, ignore my sig pic.

[cam62]

This is from the American Lung Association
20 Minutes After Quitting:

• Your heart rate drops to a normal level.

12 Hours After Quitting:

• The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.

2 Weeks to 3 Months After Quitting:

• Your risk of having a heart attack begins to drop.
• Your lung function begins to improve.

1 to 9 Months After Quitting:

• Your coughing and shortness of breath decrease.

1 Year After Quitting:

• Your added risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's.

5 to 15 Years After Quitting:

• Your risk of having a stroke is reduced to that of a nonsmoker's.
• Your risk of getting cancer of the mouth, throat, or esophagus is half that of a smoker's.

10 Years After Quitting:

• Your risk of dying from lung cancer is about half that of a smoker's.
• Your risk of getting bladder cancer is half that of a smoker's.
• Your risk of getting cervical cancer or cancer of the larynx, kidney or pancreas decreases.

15 Years After Quitting:

• Your risk of coronary heart disease is the same as that of a nonsmoker

[ibeck]

I. Got. This.

[smokingcamaro]

I want to quit so bad!!! I will never smoke in my camaro but still smoke about half a pack a day.

[hotrodsally]

When you do, we're here for you!

[BowtieBelle]

Originally Posted by smokingcamaro

I want to quit so bad!!! I will never smoke in my camaro but still smoke about half a pack a day.

You can do it! Think about how much mod money you'll have Half a pack a day-- let's say 4 packs a week at $5 a pack-- that's $20 a week, $80 a month, almost $1000 a year!

[PoorMansCamaro]

my step mom quit when she met my dad. she did it by chewing gum. lots of gum. lol

[hotrodsally]

Originally Posted by BowtieBelle

You can do it! Think about how much mod money you'll have Half a pack a day-- let's say 4 packs a week at $5 a pack-- that's $20 a week, $80 a month, almost $1000 a year!

$5 per pack??? Another good reason to quit. (I couldn't afford to smoke now even if I wanted to....)

Originally Posted by PoorMansCamaro

my step mom quit when she met my dad. she did it by chewing gum. lots of gum. lol

PMC, so she quit so she could have a chance for a true romance with your dad, a non-smoker?

[cam62]

Florida is considering doubling the sales tax on cigarettes.. that will bring name brand to well over 6.00 per pack!

[BowtieBelle]

Originally Posted by hotrodsally

$5 per pack??? Another good reason to quit. (I couldn't afford to smoke now even if I wanted to....)

Actually they are closer to six for Marlboro or Camel By the carton they are about a buck a pack less....