A decade of "light" smoking

[Ren]

Hello!

 

I am 30 years old and I've been a light smoker for the last 12 years. I never got up to more than 5-6/day, and some of those months and years were actually smoke-free. My quit has never stuck, and I think partly it's because smoking so "little" didn't seem like a big deal. Then I developed bronchitis last fall and it never went away. When I smoked, my lungs felt better for a minute but then I was just angry that I was addicted to tobacco and I knew I needed to quit for good. I'm also a soprano in a professional choir and was trying to keep my smoking a secret from as many people as possible. Yep.

 

My (most recent) quit date was March 18 so I'm currently staring down my fourth week no ciggies. I'm hoping to find some support here so that I don't smoke again. In my household, my sister in law always has a pack, not for smoking directly, but she mixes it in with her funky jazz cabbage. My wife quit smoking with me (she smoked even less than I did but she picked it up because of me), but has been taking a different route - she's had around 5 smokes in the last month, giving in to a craving when it's been a few days and she feels like it's ok, I guess. Needless to say, this has been difficult!!!

 

I am also using an NRT for the first time ever, which I firmly believe is the reason I haven't had a smoke yet. I can sit outside with my wife while she smokes and I don't want any - IF I make sure I've just had a nicotine mint. I'm using NicHit, these little 1 mg mini-lozenges that you pop under your tongue. They burn a little, but I like it because it reminds me of my throat burning a little when I smoked. I've only been using between 2 and 4 of these a day, even right after I stopped smoking. I intend on continuing to use them for the next two months. I'm just concerned that it's keeping me addicted to nicotine (because it is) and that when I stop the NRT I will just want a smoke, and there will be that pack sitting on the table one day with nobody home.....nightmares. 

[beazel]

Hi Ren & welcome! (cute Avatar!!) So happy you've made the decision to quit at such a young age - such a smart move!

 

Keep with the lozenges, it's so much better than smoking. If they help...that's the way to do it.

 

Take it one day at a time, one moment at a time , if you have to - it adds up to a forever quit!

 

Please read as much as you can about the addiction - knowledge is a powerful tool, as is mindset.

 

Commit - you are doing great so far - that first month is tough!!!!!!!!

 

Please hang around, post often and let us know how it's going or if things get tough, we'll help get you through those tough times.

[Sslip]

Hi there Ren, glad to have you on board. Smart move on choosing to ditch the smokes, despite the relatively light usage. Damage is damage and we have all been playing Russian roulette. I can tell you that I always considered myself a relatively light smoker for the first ten years or so and then slightly heavier for the next 10 and heavier still the 10 after that, you get the picture. 

 

Don't worry too much about about the use of NRT to start with, many here have done the same thing. Yes you will still be feeding the addiction to nicotine, but in a less harmful way. You need to break the habits of smoking first and foremost and get off the cancer sticks, NRT will just be one thing in your toolset. 

 

Can your wife and sister in law help you by making sure there are no smokes around for temptation? 

 

Settle in here, read lots and post as much as you can. There will be lots of good advice and you'll be able to pick what works for you. 

 

Awesome job on getting three weeks in already! 

[Whispers]

Hi and welcome, good choice to take your life back. There is no such thing as safe smoking. Educate yourself on the addiction. You will be given great advice here

 

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/even-one-cigarette-a-day-can-still-kill-you-study/

[notsmokinjo]

Welcome. I joined at the same stage in my quit as your at now. While I don't live with smokers, most of my friends smoke and a large percentage of them offered smokes knowing I had quit. Like you I used NRT but when the time was right to stop it was actually easier than the first few weeks post smoking.

So Beazel and Sslip pretty much covered it all... Read, read, read...learn as much as you can...watch the videos here...and NOPE... I still take my quit one day at a time... It just makes it so much easier only worrying about 24hrs. Oh, and remember everyone's quit experience us different, you will know what us right for you. Stay strong and keep your quit.

[jillar]

Welcome ren and congratulations on taking back your life at such a young age. Being a member of a support group was for me instrumental in having  success. You're surrounded by people who know what you're going through at any given stage. Use us to your advantage. Keep reminding yourself why you decided to quit and all the benefits you start seeing by staying quit. You can do it, we're all proof

Edited April 11, 2018 by jillar

[Sazerac]

Welcome Ren,

Congratulations on your quit.

You Don't Smoke anymore.

Trust your decision and trust your commitment to yourself.

You don't smoke anymore.

You'll be strong enough to put down the nicotine too, when you decide.

We'll help.

s

What a splendid collection of advice from Beaz, Sslip, Whisp, nosmojo, jillar and I see Doreen has replied too.

 

Edited April 11, 2018 by Sazerac

[Doreensfree]

Hi and welcome Ren.

Congratulations in making the decision to free yourself of this horrible addiction...

Take a seat and buckle up...this train goes all the way to freedom....

All the above is great advice...we also have a daily pledge...NOPE....it's a promise to yourself not to smoke for the next 24 hrs...

We will support you all the way...you can do it...

[Reciprocity]

Welcome aboard Ren! Nova Scotia eh? Nice one hoser My Mom & dumber brother live in N.B.

 

Anyway, as you will find out if you haven't already, there is no just having one here and there to keep the addiction at bay. You are just prolonging the withdrawal process doing that and who want's that? You can use the NRT if you feel it's right for you and yes, that's keeping you physically addicted to nicotine but, while you are on the NRT the idea is to start working on the mental part of quitting. That's the process that takes the longest anyway. Just think about all the associations you have formed with smoking and other activities or situations in your life. Even just smoking lightly, you will need time to rewire your brain to live life comfortably without smoking.

 

When you feel you are strong enough, ditch or cut down on the NRT based on the product or your doctor's recommendations. Read all you can here. Watch the Joel videos. Education, determination and great support will get you there. Remain active here. It helps big time

[Ren]

Thanks everyone for the very supportive words!! It's all very helpful. And I am grateful that your main advice is to get more information. Knowing what smoking cigarettes are actually doing to you is an extremely powerful motivator. There is an exhibit currently showing at our natural history museum called Body Worlds RX that displays full and partial sections of real human corpses that belonged to people who donated their bodies to science. Among many other interesting exhibits, was a head-to-toe cross section of the insides of a smoker and a non-smoker, side by side. I'm sure you can imagine the differences. 

 

I'm also finding relief in taking it one day at a time...I thought my father-in-law always smoked but I just heard the story that he had quit for 6 years once but then took it up again. I hate stories like that because I don't feel like I can not-smoke forever!! I just don't trust myself yet, so I'm at peace with using the NRT for now! I can tell I have a strong psychological addiction to smoking and it helps to have something I can take when the anxiety ramps up that actually have a calming effect because my brain is all, yay nicotine!  

[WeegieWoman]

Hi ren, nice to meet you, im quit around 160 days. I used nrt too. Dont worry about being on it, how long youll be on it, or getting off it. At the start of my quit i thought boy if im on these patches forever so be it. They were soooo good at getting me off the fags. But then i just kinda naturally came off them with no hassle. So for now dont think too far ahead. Quitting is a marathon not a sprint. You sound like you are doing great. Keep celebrating every day you dont smoke. And just keep educating yourself like you are doing already. 

[johnny5]

Welcome aboard, Ren, and congrats on quitting smoking.

 

Even though you were a "light" smoker, you never know which of those cigarettes is going to cause irreversible damage.  Even smoking a small amount will keep the addiction alive.  It is best to give up the smokes completely and I'm glad you have made this decision.  

 

Stick close to this site.  As others said, educate yourself about nicotine addiction and post about your experiences.  There is a lot of support and knowledge you can get here that can help you quit for good.

[Lin-quitting]

Hi Ren, I'm glad to meet you. Congratulations on your excellent decision to quit smoking. I was once a 5-6/cigarette/day smoker, many many years ago. And then without even realizing it I was over a pack a day with no real knowledge of when or how it had happened. And then for a period of time it was almost 2 packs a day. And then one day I realized I had been doing this for over 40 years. It can happen all too easily. So you are doing the smart and courageous thing by quitting now.

 

Stay active and post often: this place can definitely help you succeed. Learn and understand all the reasons why NOPE is the only way to succeed.

 

Welcome aboard.

[Sazerac]

You have the choice to smoke or not smoke.

The  power is in you hands.

Love,

S

[Reciprocity]

Hey Ren. I read your post about "getting more information on smoking  "It is important to not only know what smoking does to your bodies health but equally important in the education process is to truly understand that nicotine is an addiction and just how that powerful addiction will do everything in it's power to get you back to smoking. It will play tricks on your mind to get you to feed the addiction. Read. read, read, the "pinned" posts on the Quit Smoking Page and watch all the Joel videos you can. This stuff will help educate you on what's really going on with nicotine addiction and will show you that by refusing to give in to the addictions demands for long enough, you too can be free for life if you want to be. Education about this addiction will help you make the right choices because as other's have said ....... the choice is yours. Smoke or don't smoke - your choice. NOPE is the only way (Not One Puff Ever)!

Edited April 12, 2018 by reciprocity

[onthemark]

Hi Ren,

 

Congratulations on your quit. It's literally the most important thing you can do for yourself and for those who care about you.