Twenty-one years since I stopped smoking.
This coming September 2018 will mark twenty-one years since I stopped smoking and I have never felt better, but it was not easy to quit, I had tried numerous times before and had failed. But now one could safely say that I am a none smoker because I haven’t smoked a cigarette for twenty-one years and I do not get any cravings nor do I have any desire to start again.
I started when I was a teenager and had been smoking for all of my adult life, and I could not remember at all what it was like to be a non smoker, my clothes smelled of tobacco smoke, as did my fingers and any space that I occupied, such as my home, car and truck. Apart from that I was developing a chest cough and had headaches, and sore eyes from the tobacco smoke sometimes going in my eyes.
How I Stopped.
It was a Monday morning, I had been waking up through the night, because I was going through a rough time in my life, and each time that I woke up, I lit up a ciggie and smoked it. I looked in my packet, there were three cigarettes left, I thought to myself ”I have to stop this”, I smoked the cigarettes that were left, one as soon as I got up, one on the way to my work, and the last one when I got there.
Lunchtime came, I had no cigarettes since arriving at work that morning, so I thought to myself, ”If I can go this long, around four hours, I can do it another four hours”, and this I managed to do. Finally, I arrived home that evening, I locked myself indoors, with no desire to go out and managed to get through the first evening without lighting up.
Tuesday morning arrived, and when I woke up I felt good and I challenged myself to keep going with the none smoking. If I can do it for the last twenty-four hours, I can do it for another twenty-four hours, and this I did. On the first Saturday, I had been stopped for five days and I would have been stupid to quit stopping. I was not really missing it, I just kept challenging myself to go longer and longer without smoking. Nothing will happen to me, I won’t die or become ill, I would just carry on living.
A week went by, then a month, followed by six months, by this time I was doing great, as I couldn’t remember ever going this long before, without smoking, my food tasted better, my home smelled better and best of all, I felt better.
I didn’t use anything except sheer willpower, no patches, no lotions, no hypnosis and nothing to substitute smoking, just a very strong desire to stop.
Savings.
At the time a twenty, a day habit would have been equal to around £1100.00 per year, around three pound a packet. I was smoking nearly sixty a day, so a years supply would have cost me triple this amount per year, so over the last twenty-one years, not only have I saved my health, I have also saved myself quite a considerable amount of money, as I know that the cost of a packet of fags has risen to around £10.00 today.
I hate to think what state my health would be like today had I not stopped back then. Although I may have done some damage to myself in the twenty years that I did smoke, I am so glad that I stopped when I did as I look at people that I know who still smoke, and notice how they cough and splutter and how their breathing is wheezy and heavy.
Smoking Ban.
Since the smoking ban in public places and in the workplace was introduced, I have to laugh at people who go outside in all weathers just to smoke a cigarette, they are prepared to get cold and wet just to inhale tobacco smoke, you can see them stood outside of office blocks, factories, warehouses, pubs, restaurants and airport terminals. Most places have designated smoking areas where a smoker can go to light up, I am glad I am not in that club.
Do you want to stop smoking or have you quit already? How did you do it? Did you use anything to help you? Or perhaps you never even started in the first place, if so I would like to read your thoughts on the subject so please leave a comment in the box below for discussion.
