How I Quit smoking
Updated June 08, 2015.
I quit smoking in December of 1984 at the age of 30. I had smoked since the age of 16, and had progressed up to a pack a day (or more). My starting to smoke followed the typical scenario. I thought it was cool, my friends were all doing it. I got so sick the first time I inhaled, I should have just quit then. Unfortunately I didn't, I learned how to inhale and I learned to like smoking, I was hooked.
Even going to nursing school and learning about the health hazards of smoking, didn't stop me from lighting up.
With the invincibility of youth, I thought none of that would happen to me. I always said I could quit anytime, but I didn't want to, I liked smoking. Besides it gave me something to do with my hands and my mouth.
So what made me quit? Smoking didn't seem so cool anymore, I was actually beginning to feel like a social outcast. Smoking was not allowed in the hospital any longer. I had to go outside to have a cigarette. Then there was the cost. Cigarettes were costing about $2.00 a pack at that time. As a staff nurse making $10.50 an hour it was putting a dent in my budget. Another very important factor was my future husband, he didn't smoke and I knew he didn't like me to smoke.
None of those things were enough though to make me want to quit. I finally came to the realization that I wanted to quit and that it was the right time. So I just quit. I finished the last cigarette I had and did not buy anymore.
It wasn't easy, I went through withdrawals from nicotine. I was not pleasant to be around for several days.
I would dream about cigarettes and see myself smoking in those dreams. I chewed lots of gum and tried to keep my hands busy, cleaning and sewing. I thought about cigarettes constantly, but in the end managed to stay away from them completely.
It was one night at work when I really knew that I was no longer addicted. I was giving my end of shift report to a "smoking nurse" and as I stood next to her I noticed how bad her breath was, how she just reeked of smoke. It was at that moment when I knew that I would not smoke again. It may take one or two tries, for some even more, but it can be done. Use the wonderful aids for smoking cessation that are available now. You'll feel better for it.
I quit smoking in December of 1984 at the age of 30. I had smoked since the age of 16, and had progressed up to a pack a day (or more). My starting to smoke followed the typical scenario. I thought it was cool, my friends were all doing it. I got so sick the first time I inhaled, I should have just quit then. Unfortunately I didn't, I learned how to inhale and I learned to like smoking, I was hooked.
Even going to nursing school and learning about the health hazards of smoking, didn't stop me from lighting up.
With the invincibility of youth, I thought none of that would happen to me. I always said I could quit anytime, but I didn't want to, I liked smoking. Besides it gave me something to do with my hands and my mouth.
So what made me quit? Smoking didn't seem so cool anymore, I was actually beginning to feel like a social outcast. Smoking was not allowed in the hospital any longer. I had to go outside to have a cigarette. Then there was the cost. Cigarettes were costing about $2.00 a pack at that time. As a staff nurse making $10.50 an hour it was putting a dent in my budget. Another very important factor was my future husband, he didn't smoke and I knew he didn't like me to smoke.
None of those things were enough though to make me want to quit. I finally came to the realization that I wanted to quit and that it was the right time. So I just quit. I finished the last cigarette I had and did not buy anymore.
It wasn't easy, I went through withdrawals from nicotine. I was not pleasant to be around for several days.
I would dream about cigarettes and see myself smoking in those dreams. I chewed lots of gum and tried to keep my hands busy, cleaning and sewing. I thought about cigarettes constantly, but in the end managed to stay away from them completely.
It was one night at work when I really knew that I was no longer addicted. I was giving my end of shift report to a "smoking nurse" and as I stood next to her I noticed how bad her breath was, how she just reeked of smoke. It was at that moment when I knew that I would not smoke again. It may take one or two tries, for some even more, but it can be done. Use the wonderful aids for smoking cessation that are available now. You'll feel better for it.
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