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NOPE!! I SPY.............................................................Salmon lined up to come join my Treager Q. Of course you might spy a Cooper also.

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

NOPE! Deception Pass. Where I was Married, and from the San Juan Islands it's the entrance to the Pacific Ocean. !

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Not One Puff Ever! Good morning. This is a picture taken in Ottawa Ontario in September 2017 (courtesy of suchadonatello, reddit) which overlooks the Ottawa River and Parliament Hill. This is how the fall can look like in Ottawa. I live about fifteen minutes from where this picture is taken and I am hoping for some splashes of fall colours again this year.

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Good morning everyone, Many thanks to everyone for your support. Yes, one month is an important milestone. But I know that I still have a lot of relapse prevention work to do to reinforce the gains that I have made and to slidify this quit to ensure that this is the real deal. I have been here before too many times. Here is one of my favourite quitnet relapse prevention posts. I re-read it again today to remind myself that when a quit is lost, it always starts with stinking thinking in the head. Not one puff ever! REPOST: 10 Steps to Starting Again From Pic on 12/22/1997 11:58:35 PM 10 Steps to Starting Again 1. "Try" to quit (try, as opposed to "do") 2. Idealize what life will be like without smoking 3. Associate your daily problems and disappointments with the fact that you’re not smoking. 4. Begin to buy into the idea that you’re more miserable now than before you quit 5. Start responding to your problems with, "If this keeps up, I’m going to smoke" then add "anyhow" then add "so why suffer anymore?" (Alternate 3-5: 3. Associate your success with the idea that you’ve licked the nicotine habit. 4. Begin to buy into the idea that you could smoke without getting hooked again 5. Follow-up this idea with, "I haven’t smoked in ___ days/weeks/months/years" then add "I haven’t had any cravings" then add "I could have just one" ) 6. Buy, borrow or steal a cigarette. 7. Find a quiet, secluded place where you can be alone with the substance to which you have attributed all power and promise for fulfillment of your needs. 8. Feel yourself calming down even before you light up, which is actually the beast ceasing to scratch at your insides as you prepared to feed the addiction. 9. Light-up and suck in all the poison you can get in that first drag, while beginning the battle against being disappointed in yourself, noticing that this fight is not half as ferocious as it was to get the nicotine. 10. Within a few hits, feel dizzy, cough a little, smell the stink, and realize you’re not going to stop smoking that cigarette, you’ll keep smoking despite the bad feelings, and wish you hadn’t given in. I hope this scenario scares you as much as it scares me. In writing it, I drew from my personal experience and noticed some things that might be helpful in the future: A RELAPSE STARTS IN MY HEAD Steps 1-5 all have to do with how I think. IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO FULLY RELAPSE without doing some or all of 1-5. A CIGARETTE IS NOT THE ANSWER AND THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ONE.

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G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

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This is profound for me. In the past, I know I believed that if I had just one, I could always quit again. Yes, I became an expert quitter. But I never found true freedom. The true freedom that can be gained when you start to challenge stinking thinking. That stinking thinking that causes you to believe that smoking can offer relief from stress or enhance moments of pleasure. The real path to freedom is never taking one puff ever. Many thanks for posting this again @jillar

Not at all. Quitnet Repost, July 20, 2007 Good morning. This quitnet gem reminds me that the real challenge and opportunity can be found in replacing stinking thinking. I'ts not even a war on smoking. It is really about understanding that smoking never had anything to do with helping to feel better, find pleasure or eliminate stress. Keep the quit. Gene Just because you've... ... Been addicted to nicotine for years, that does not mean you will always want to smoke. From gummer on 7/20/2006 9:46:17 AM Not at all. In fact, it is precisely BECAUSE I was addicted to smoking that I will never smoke again. And not because I can't, but because I don't want to. Once I got rid of those fanciful thoughts about smoking... that I loved it, that it helped me do this and that, that it made things more enjoyable... and replaced those beliefs with the reality that all it ever gave me was addiction... then my outlook changed. From then on I'd look at smoking and SEE what it would really give me if I lit up. And I wanted no part of it. That's when the struggle ended. When I discovered that I no longer wanted to smoke, no matter what. Even a craving would no longer tempt me to smoke. So as you negotiate the early cravings and withdrawals, try to remember that just because you feel this way now, it does not mean you will always want to smoke. Things will change the longer you stay smoke-free. Your views will shift as you move away from the addiction. Try to strip away any positives you still see in smoking, because once you do and you are satisfied there are none, the war will be won. Gummer

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Raya Quit Date: June 30 / 2011 Posted April 14, 2015 Its late and I am awake , and I got thinking how this quitting process has truly has been a roller coaster . Remember the first days quitting smoking are much like a roller coaster so if an hour from now you don't feel so good; RIDE IT OUT . There may be bit of a turn, and you feel queezy and wonder if you made the right decision ; RIDE IT OUT. There may be a hill , and you are filled with fear where you don't know whats on the other side ; RIDE IT OUT. Then you overlook that fall ahead of you ; and it takes your breathe away ; RIDE IT OUT . You may feel fear and panic and tears ; you may feel like screaming , shouting and you are just hanging on for dear life ; RIDE IT OUT. There are smooth patches and straightaways and the roller coaster does come to a stop, but in the beginning of quitting smoking just as in a real roller coaster ride , we don't quite know what to expect . It looks big and it looks scary . We step on with little faith and with little hope only protected by a buckle ; for the RIDE OF OUR LIFE. Oops! ( think I lost myself there and all of you LOL) Lets get back to quitting smoking and lets just sit at the top of this rollercoaster and think about things a bit shall we . Yup we have stopped at the top, and we are rocking back and forth . la ta da ta da back and forth. Ok so this is my thinking : If we were to ride the same roller coaster everyday then we would know what to expect and we are not as fearful when we know what to expect . Our fear and anxiety slowly subsides . The ride is still exciting and becomes rather enjoyable and even comfortable. We find the next turn won't scare us and the next hill won't take our breathe away , and roller coasters won't scare us anymore . And at the end of the day we get off excited and thrilled that we accomplished the uncertain and the unknown . Thats why "ONE day at a tIme works . Do it over and over and over ; at the end of each day be a winner . Some day you will tell this story to your grandkids, the story about the smokers rollercoaster quit ride . Perhaps someday you will go on a roller coaster ride with your kids and grandchildren to the county fair ; you will eat cotton candy ; ride on the ferris wheel ; or just watch ; but please if you do please share with them all the dangers of smoking and help them to understand that listening to advertisements about smoking and other smoking methods. may look appealing ; but they are preying on your young ; killers of your health ; your families health ; thieves of your money , and your life time. Smoking will never bring you happiness . Teach them that happiness is free ; you create it. There is no charge . OH by the way ? Are you still rocking back and forth up there on that roller coaster ? Move forward . You have a lot of friends cheering you on and waiting for you below . C YA ALL TOMORROW Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/5103-ride-it-out/

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You definitely can do it Gene....one day at a time and you will get through the first few months!! Just keep plugging along and we will make a big party on the Lido Deck at 1 year quit!!!

Keep focused Gene, Let’s make this your forever Quit

So much truth in this. As we ride it out, the cravings lose their power. Thanks for sharing!!

MarylandQuitter Quit Date: 10/07/2013 Posted August 1, 2014 I Know I'll Quit Again Video discusses the risk of allowing yourself to relapse using the logic that you can always simply just quit again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHp8yFnHbZQ Get Right Back In The Saddle? Still quit right away but figure out what went wrong and what happened so it doesn't happen again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcEzzFM6c7A "Well at least I attempted to quit smoking. That's better than not trying to quit at all." This comment was stated by a clinic participant who, after five days of not smoking, gave in to an urge and took a cigarette. It was only going to be one cigarette, he thought. But by the end of the day, he was up to his old level. So what about his logic that at least trying to quit smoking is better than not trying at all? If this was his first attempt, it could be said that it was a learning experience. Maybe he just didn't understand the concept of addiction. He did not believe one cigarette could reestablish a physical dependency on nicotine. After taking one cigarette, he lost all control. So now, if he would ever quit again, he would not question the concept of one cigarette causing a total relapse. But this was not his first attempt quitting. It was his second time in our clinic, as well as multiple previous attempts at other programs, hypnosis and on his own. He once quit for two months before relapsing. At that time he broke all physical dependency on nicotine. Also, after two months he successfully overcame many trigger situations which cause many smokers to initially relapse. Work pressures, family problems, and social situations are obstacles that all ex-smokers initially face when quitting. He overcame all of these trigger situations. But then, one day, out of sheer boredom, he took a cigarette. In that attempt, too, he relapsed right back to his old level. Obviously, taking that cigarette was a serious mistake. This attempt, too, he chalked up to experience. But when considering his latter attempts, it is apparent that he learned nothing. Unless he objectively evaluates what causes his relapses to smoking, he is wasting his time trying to quit again. Because instead of recognizing his past attempts as failures, he rationalizes a positive feeling of accomplishment about them. This type of rationalization all but assures failures in all future attempts. Don't allow yourself to get into the same rut as this man did. On again, off again, one withdrawal after another. Quitting smoking is only the first step in smoking cessation. http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_03_11_at_least_i_tried.html Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/2156-relapse-i-just-cant-do-it-right-now-i-know-ill-quit-again-back-in-the-saddle/

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There must be some extra chemicals in the vape stick that makes it much worse. I didn't cough much when I smoked. A little in the morning but that was it, unless I had a cold or flu.

Hi Debbie, Welcome to the Train! So glad that you decided to quit vaping. The other day I saw an article on the NY Post about a young woman who loved vaping until her lungs collapsed and black goo poured out of her. I was going to upload it here so everyone could read it, but I didn't have a chance, but right now seems the perfect time for you and everyone else to read the article. I think when you read this, you will stay away from vaping forever. Like smoking, vaping is an addiction and you can definitely quit. It's not easy, but so doable. I was a smoker for about 40 years. This is the 2nd and last time that I am quitting for good. What helped me in the beginning was taking cinnamon sticks and pretending they were cigarettes. I would suck the air in and make believe I was smoking. The cinnamon tasted a thousand times better than any cig that I ever smoked. I bought myself a whole bag of the sticks and would keep one in my purse and a few scattered around the house so I would always have one handy. If you don't like cinnamon, cut up plastic straws work well too. Please read the article below, because after you read it, I don't think you will ever want to vape again. Best of luck to you, and please keep coming on here so we can give you support. This group of people helped me through many many difficult times in the beginning. If it wasn't for them, I don't think I would have been able to do it. https://nypost.com/2024/09/16/lifestyle/vaping-addict-finally-quit-when-lungs-collapsed-black-goo-came-out/

Congratulations @Genecanuck! One month quit is awesome! I hope that you celebrated in grand style. I’ve enjoyed reading all the material you have contributed to the site. I feel that I have a solid quit going but it never hurts to reinforce something so precious.

Congrats @Genecanuck!! That 1st month is always the hardest to get through and now, it's done & dusted! Still more work to do of course but you've kept a steady hand on not smoking so far - no reason not to keep that up going forward. Be sure to take some time today and treat yourself. Rewards along the way for a job well done are important!

Keep going!

Congratulations on your 1st month quit @Genecanuck and thank you for all your contributions to the board. Have a great day!

Yaaa Gene .. Huge Congratulations on your fabulous 1 Month , great achievement.. Kerp going … Uowards and Inwards

You did it Gene, you got to a month quit!!! That's so great! Congratulations!!! You are doing really well. Keep up the great work!! Onward to month 2

Congratulations on the 1 month mark!!!! Huge step. Stay strong and focused and you are well on your way. Best wishes. Also, like the pictures you`ve shared. Spent some time in Toronto years ago and loved it. Best wishes.

Well done @Genecanuck! I’m so glad that you joined the forum. You are on the road to sweet freedom! Rock on!

babs609 Quit Date: 07/13/2012 Posted September 28, 2015 As a young child and early in my teens, I was very confident. I wasn't the prettiest, smartest, most athletic, or funniest girl (well..I did win class clown in the 8th grade) as a matter of fact, I was an average teenager...but I was okay with that and pretty comfortable in my own skin. Somewhere along the line....in my teens...there was a decline in that confidence. It wasn't sudden. It was so gradual that I didn't even know it was happening. Years and years went by and I still thought inside I was this confident person I used to be but I wasn't. I was playing the role of the person I used to be. The person I wanted to be again. I didn't know how I lost it...I only know I wanted it back. Fast forward 25 years later and I quit smoking. It wasn't until then that I realized how much smoking had destroyed my confidence in myself. I didn't make the connection until I was free from the addiction. Today, more than ever. I realize how really damaging smoking is for not only physical health but mental health as well. I can honestly say that I am worthy, I am healthy, I am loveable, and I can achieve absolutely anything I want to in this life. Amazing! It wasn't even something I had to do....all I had to do was STOP. Stop putting things in my mouth and lighting them on fire...sounds simple enough, right?? LOL...the funny and ironic thing..is that it really is that simple. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/6028-smoking-turned-me-into-a-total-coward/