johnny5

Congratulations Richard! 4 months smoke free is a great accomplishment. Keep up the good work.

I would say that once you put that last cigarette out for good, you can say that you have quit. The ultimate goal is to be completely nicotine free but if a NRT can help you get to that point, that is great. I quit cold turkey but it took me a number of attempts. If a NRT helps you out in the beginning, that is cool...as long as you work towards becoming completely nicotine free in the end.

Welcome Jessi. You are making a great choice by putting smoking and vaping behind you. Life is much better without being controlled by nicotine addiction. Keep us updated as to how you are doing. There is a lot of support here that can help you quit for good.

NOPE!

NOPE! Happy Friday everybody!

NOPE - I don't smoke anymore.

Well, the Cubs are somehow still in the postseason hunt. As of today, their current record would give them the second wildcard spot. Javier Baez is hurt, Anthony Rizzo is probably out for the rest of the regular season, and Craig Kimbrell (who has not been impressive since signing mid-season with the Cubs) seems to get hurt constantly. Lots of injuries. The one brightside, other than somehow still being in the postseason race, is that the Cubs promoted their top minor league prospect Nico Hoerner. Ranked as the 47th best minor league prospect by MLB.com, Hoerner is a versatile defender (2B, SS, and OF). In 33 major league at bats, he is hitting .364 with 2 home runs and 11 RBI's. A very promising prospect indeed. Since he was added to the 40 man roster in September, he will not be eligible for post season play if the Cubs make it to the postseason. Still, Hoerner looks like he'll be a big part of the Cubs' future. The rest of the regular season should be interesting.

Congratulations on 1 year smoke free, TobacNO and welcome to the lido deck. Celebrate big today! You've definitely earned it.

Welcome to the Lido Deck, Kdad! 1 year smoke free is a huge milestone. I hope you celebrate big today. You deserve it.

NOPE!!!

NOPE!!!

NOPE - Not One Puff Ever!

Interesting article and not a surprise to me. Prior to quitting nicotine for good, I tried to switch to vaping from tobacco three times in an attempt to quit smoking. Each time I vaped for roughly two weeks before going back to smoking cigarettes. This is just my experience but I felt I was vaping a lot more than I was smoking since it was easier to vape than smoke and I didn't have that nasty smoker's smell. I got weird headaches and felt sick by consuming that much nicotine. I actually grew to feel worse by vaping than by smoking. The best way to freedom is to put all types of nicotine behind you for good.

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Welcome aboard, Christine. I smoked for 20 years too. When I first started smoking (back in college), I had quite a few smoking friends and it was a social thing to do (also a stupid thing). As I grew older, fewer and fewer of my friends smoked and it went from being a social habit to an anti-social one. It was something I grew ashamed of as well so I get the feeling of isolation that can came from being a smoker in a world that increasingly looks down on smoking. Life really does become better on many levels once you quit for good. Not having to worry about how you smell or how other people see you as a smoker is one of the many benefits. Stick around. Read up on nicotine addiction and participate in the forums. The support and knowledge here can really help you quit for good.

Welcome, Tony! Educating yourself about nicotine addiction really helps. The more you know about the addiction, the better prepared you are to beat it. Also, support helps a lot too. You can find both education and support here. Read up on addiction on this site and please feel to reach out if you are struggling. Quitting might be tough but it is doable and a smoke-free life is much better than the pain of continuing to smoke.

Congratulations on 2 months smoke free, Diane! Keep up the great work!

Congratulations on 5 months smoke free, Warbelian!

NOPE - I don't smoke anymore.

Congratulations on 8 months of freedom, Solo! Keep up the great work.