67/5'10'/190 lbs/no medical concerns... yet! ;/)

Well, I smoked from age 18 till 30 years old. Two packs daily. Kept saying my bad cough was from a cold that never went away. Actually I loved smoking, smoking didn't like me. Quit a few times, but when traveling to Europe and China, everyone smoked and I'd get back into it. What a hassle to quit again. Glad I'm smoke free (no more dope either), for soooo many years now, Thank U Lord.

You?

PS Quitting tips that I learned or invented myself:
Set a date to quit, like a month down the line to prepare mentally and physically, this is why... I wrote notes I was going to do so and posted them all over the house, put a pack of smokes in a big jar above the fridge, was NOT allowed to get rid of that ugly thing that reminded me of what my lungs were looking like, for a year after quitting. Also, made myself wait 5 minutes BEFORE I allowed myself a smoke once I wanted to (thus forgetting half the time and then needing another 5 when wanting one again), and also waiting 5 after waking up, and after sex, etc.! Half of the battle was that wait time, I started to get control over the body and it was no longer automatic, want/get, want/get, that was broken, making it much easier. Rule 2, I could NOT smoke in the house any longer, OR THE CAR (had to pull over to smoke, making it a hassle), or go outside, even in the rain or cold (that help cut it back too). The other were the notes, one stating it was going to be easy, the other was how much I HATED THE HABIT. Post these on your morrow, so you notice and read it every time you look at it. All this combined kinda made it easy. The idea is to stay quit, the notes of how you hate it reprogram yourself. If you fail, just set a new goal date, a month down the line, you'll eventually will. Man you'll get your tastebuds back, and you won't stink anymore, etc.. Good luck.

PPS If you've not quit FOR A YEAR YET, sorry, you'll have to wait and come back when you have (just kidding, you don't have to, but just for the heck of it, as a carrot dangling out there to STAY QUIT), let's play that you can't, and make a note to come back and include your name on this 'winners list'.

PPS Cold turkey is torture, my method above made it fairly painless. Try it, let me know how it worked for you.

Cold turkey 11/8/94 after three packs a day for 25 years. Craved them for over a year afterwards but can't stand the smell of them today. It was Gods will that got me through it. Thank God I never developed any type of cancer. I stuck to my other addiction.........fishing. Cost more but healthier results.

I quit Copenhagen in 1983. Best decision I ever made.

10+ years quit cigs 9/11/09 - I figured if all the survivors + family of who lost loved ones on that day could live without their loved ones I could live without cigarettes.

Lights on for the fallen . . . . . .

No snuff since October 2013...still have cravings but still nicotine free

Best thing I ever did, 1990. Don't miss it. Quit when I went to respiratory therapist school. Had a patient the other day, she smelled like an ash tray. Said she quit. I ran the arterial blood gas. ( don't lie to me, we have our ways) Carbon Monoxide level was like 13.5. Super high chain smoker. Heavy smoker is around 9. She didn't mention driving a corvair or being in a house fire. Going to the doc cause she just can't breathe. . I feel bad for the ones I take a liking to that just don't listen, knowing what lies ahead.

i quit a pack a day Kool 100's in the early 70's...cold turkey...threw the last butt out in Memphis TX...next to divorcing my cheating wife and marrying the lady i love now, quittin' smokin' was the next best thing i ever did...i'm gonna b 70 soon...prolly woodn't have made it this far if i hadn't quit...i don't understand...it says ON THE PACK, cigs will KILL YOU...listen to The Lord's still small Voice

I started dipping/chewing around ‘67/‘68 or so and have dipped or smoked till June of this year. Tried quitting a few times briefly but the craving tore me up. I finally got a prescription for Chantrix which insurance paid for completely and tried again expecting a battle. I was surprised from the first pill I never had the bad craving! It came a few times the first few days but only for a couple seconds. It went away like you’d flipped a switch after about 2 seconds. The only thing that took a month or so to go away was reaching for a cigarillo when I got in the truck, got on the phone, climbed on the mower,etc. It wasn’t a craving just a habit of when I’d usually light one. I’d just chuckle to myself and think “oh yeah, I don’t smoke anymore” and it was fine. I don’t know if Chantrix works that way for everyone but it made quitting very easy for me.

Oh and I’ve been off the pills a couple months now and still not craving tobacco. I took them for 90 days but feel 60 would have been plenty. Doc said he’d gladly go as much as 180 days if needed but I’m good. P T L!

Smoking and Drinking........Cold Turkey...Aug.79' No plan. No pills, No patches. The will to quit is up to you.

I quit in July, 1967. First day in Viet Nam with the Army. Gave away nine packs from a new carton of Marlboros, a new Zippo lighter ( I lost mine on the way over and just bought a new one at the PX), some lighter fluid and flints.

I figured there were enough things that could kill me over there without smoking. Haven't touched one since!

I quit October 3, 1989 at 12:00 noon and haven't missed them yet. I was smoking 2 packs of Marlboro Reds a day. Didn't know how bad I smelled till my sense of smell came back a few months after I quit.

Quit vape Sept 17th..... Nearly 2 months now....
Quit smoking Opening day of deer season 2017 started in '94

Quit smoking November the 8th of last month. Wife says I smell a lot better. I would love to fire up a Pall Mall orange right now, but I ain't. I was spending between 150.00 and 200.00 bucks a month on cigs. That's money that I can spend on fishing stuff and ammo. Anyone got any ideas on how to get the tobacco smell out of the truck? I've vacuumed the heck out of it and changed the cabin air filter, and put dryer sheets under the seats. Hang in there, guys and gals. we can beat this.

2/3/19 almost one year now.

I quit dipping 2 years ago this month after dipping snuff for about 15 years. Dentist visit is what finally made me decide once and for all. I had a white patch on my cheek where I always had the dip and it looked bad! I used the herbal snuff for a couple months to quit, I just liked to spit!

11/18/1990. I quit after smoking a pack a day for 12 or 13 years. Got tired of having bronchitis all the time, and I didn't want to be sick for Thanksgiving that year.

While at work, we had a designated smoking area. I avoided that at all costs. But, when I had the urge, the need, I would leave my workstation and walk down the hall to the water fountain. After a few drinks of water, I was ready to go back to work.
There were many times I was tempted to start again (had previously quit 2 or 3 times, for a year each time and then started again), especially seeing someone in a movie light one up. The urge just came right back. But I'm coming up on the 30 year mark, and happy for that!

I quit 17 weeks ago tomorrow, I don't know if I feel any different yet or not. Just stopped cold turkey only a straw to chew on. Started when I was 18 I'm 60 now. I want a cigarette once a day at some point.

I quit dipping Sept 18th, 2018. I had been dipping for over 30 years. Started at about the age of 15. I quit cold turkey this time. After several attempts using various products, cold turkey was the only way that ever stuck. I still get cravings when I do things like fish or hunt, but I will not go back. Any time now that I see someone's spit bottle, or a dip thrown out in the parking lot, my stomach turns a little and wonder how I did it for so long.

Put my last cigarette out after the SB last year 2/3. So Monday will be 1 year.

Started when i was about 13 and quit when i had a minor heart attack in 04' . 16 yrs ago Jan 9th , 2004 i smoked my last cig . Used the patched for 6 weeks and alot of church prayers . Funny i never craved one when i started the patch , a yr later wanted one but got busy working and forgot it and never craved since then . I agree about it stinks now that i've quit . I can smell a smoker in the same room or when i pass them in a hallway . SO glad now and i think about all the money i have saved not buying any cigs .

Quit cold turkey in 2010...used to smoke a pack a day without blinking an eye, even more when I drank.

Gave it up when I woke up coughing up a lung, lit a smoke, and thought, this can't be my life. Put them down and never looked back.

My first few weeks I was an a$$hole, started chewing gum and mints to satisfy the "mouth feel." Then as I got farther along it subsided, about 2-3 months in. Every now and then, I do get cravings but I refocus that craving into moving around the house, taking a walk, or drinking water.

Last pack I bought was $0.85. Never look back!

I'm happy I kicked the person that tried to get me to quit.....luv my snuv!


Cigs, that's a different story. Those are sickening.

Mouth Cancer is still alive

10 years last Sept.

Looking forward to 10 years. Smoked my last cigarette May 14th last year. Congratulations Ted.

Hey, I quit a couple about truly this summer, I had started with smoking about half a pack of american spirits a day, then went to dipping. But I quick after I saw what it was doing to my aunt. Im very happy I quit, dont miss it at all

I smoked about a pack a day for 4 years while in the Air Force. Towards the very end of my enlistment, I was shipped out to Kuwait for Operation Enduring Freedom which turned into Iraqi Freedom. We worked long hours with activity levels that went from 100% frenzy to 0% dead with nothing in between. In the dead times all we did was sit around in the desert and smoke; cranked it up to maybe 3-4 packs a day for those several months.

After an open ended extension of my deployment, we finally got word we were rotating back home in a week. I remember looking down at a lit cig and saying to myself I don't want to take this [censored] home with me. I had just opened a carton of cigarettes that day, so I took them all and gave them to my buddy and gave them to him. Went cold turkey right then and there.

That was in May of 2003 and I've never looked back. The hardest part for me was just the habits. It felt weird not lighting up after a meal, or when I jumped in the car. I had to keep toothpicks or gum just to have something to stick in my mouth and to do with my hands.

I dipped at least a can of Copenhagen a day from the time I was 16 (1983) until four months after I retired from the Army (November 1, 2014). I quit because a few of the jobs I applied for had tobacco free policies for new hires. (I joke with my buddies that I really quit because I found out civilians get pissed if you spit in their trashcan at the office.)

It's saved me a ton of money, not just on the cans of Copenhagen, but on the Cokes I'd buy just so I'd have something to spit in. I do still reach for the can in my back pocket after I finish a meal or I'm hunting or fishing with guys who dip. I go through those plastic toothpicks on my Swiss Army knife by the dozens, and drive my wife nuts chewing straws. I don't miss dipping, but once a month I'll have a no kidding nicotine craving, even after five years. After seeing what happened to Kirby Puckett and seeing my blood pressure drop a ton after I quit, I'm happy I did.

Quit a pack a day about 10yrs now. Extremely happy.
Took several attempts over 35 yr. period.
Not smoking anything again. No vape, cigs, stogies, dip.

Jan. 7th., 2017- Heart attack while helping daughter move furniture. Terrible chest pain for almost an hour because my wife did not initially believe it was a heart attack.Yes, we’re still together. She finally took me to the ER.
Smoked a pack a day for 50 years but had wanted to quit. Heart attack convinced me to do so. Quit that day and even though it was difficult, I do not regret quittin nor do I ever want a cigarette again. Can’t stand the smell either.

I quit in 1979 after smoking for 15 yrs. I had a ruptured appendix, but the test did not show the problem. The Doctors, after hours testing finally decided to do exploratory surgery. I did not know if I was going to live or die from all the pain I had. I promised myself if I survived I would not smoke another cigarette. I kept that promise, but it was a fight for two years before they quit smelling good and started stinking. After that I never craved a cigarette again. Appendicitis may have been the second best thing that ever happened to me. Accepting Jesus Christ as my savior was the best.

AMEN, great story and ending... the best there could be. ;/)

Cigarettes about 15 years ago
Cigars about 8 years ago
Dipping now but need to quit

Never smoked but started chewing tobacco and dipping right out of high school during all of my ball playing days and then when I started bass fishing for a ton of years. Then about 6 years ago my wife quit smoking. A couple of months after that it gave me the willpower to stop dipping. Tried the non nicotine stuff for a couple of weeks but couldn't handle that stuff so just quit that and for some reason I never had one issue with not dipping anymore.
One of the major things that came out of it is how many foods, especially herbs and seasonings, and different vegetables had an actual distinct taste that I never knew. While dipping a lot of things just had the same bland taste. Now it is amazing how so many different things have such flavors. For instance I didn't really know what Cilantro was all about. Now I use it a ton because I like the flavor so much. I can mix rubs for my meat and fish and chicken smoking now and pick out the different flavors if the seasonings.
Never had a problem quitting and never had any regrets so I feel really lucky.

4 weeks and its driving me nuts

10+ years last September.

I still dream about having a cig in my fingers, then I look at it and throw it away. Then I go p33......

I had a 3 pack of cigarettes and 1 pouch of crew habit a day. I tried all tools out there beside hypnosis to quit without any results. In 2009 I went to Baylor Dentistry where they found oral cancer. The doctor removed 2 teeth, removed the skin from the roof and both sides of the inside of my mouth. He also performed a lip shave on me. This procedure consist of removing a 1/4'' of the total length of my bottom lip with a scalpel while I just set there. My wife took a picture of my lip full of stitches when we got home. The doctor said when people are smoking or dipping outside in the sun your lip is acting like a sponge soaking up all the nicotine. My wife hung my picture on our freg. and every time I thought I wanted a smoke or dip I thought about what I had gone through. By looking at all the stitches in my lip and unable to eat solid food for months I stopped cold turkey. It's been over 10 years now and no tobacco needed. If I could had only put that money I was spending on tobacco products into a bank account I would be very wealthy now.
Thank you lord for giving me strength!

I quit cold turkey in 1984 because my brother quit the day before. I wasn't just about to let him outdo me. I am 71 now with no health problems but he has copd. I thank him daily for quitting

Almost 3 years now, Can’t stand the smell of it when others light up!

9/11/2009 - coming up on 11 years soon.

I'm happy I quit, haven't had a cigarette since, unless dreams count - had one last night where I flicked the cherry off the butt and stepped it out with my boot.

For some reason I still have dreams where I'm smoking. Go figure . . . . .

Adding:
It's been over 10 years now and no tobacco needed. If I could had only put that money I was spending on tobacco products into a bank account I would be very wealthy now.
Thank you lord for giving me strength!

Really . . . . . .

3 years Nov 19th

Haven’t looked back

Dipped Copenhagen for 46 years 1+ cans per day. Quit cold turkey 4 years, 4 months ago. Hardest thing I've ever done. Still miss it occasionally but will never go back. Thirty cents per can when I started, was in a convenience store the other day and saw it for $6 per can. Wish I had that 6 bucks back plus interest for every can I dipped over those years

3 packs a day for twenty years to cold turkey 11/8/94 and never looked back. I craved them for a year but never started back up. I thought I would save some money but along came a boat, another boat, some new lures and more new lures, rods, reels, boat bling, gas, hotel bills, more rods, more reels, etc, etc!! I'm a happy camper!!

Day before yesterday made 30 years since I quit. (11/18/1990)

3 years now smoke free

I believe that a lot depends on your willpower. For example, I have been smoking for a long time, but at any time I can stop doing it, I also did not smoke at home on purpose, and I still stick to it. Good luck everyone

31 years here! Cold turkey and never looked back.

I quit 8,298 days ago .....

Quit 09/2010 after smoking a pack a day for 35+ years.

I dipped snuff, chewed tobacco and smoked cigars and cigarettes for several years. Been quit long enough to feel a lot better and would not go back.

34 days this time.

Quit in 2010 after 38 years of a pack a day. Still would love to pick it up again but quitting was so hard, I don't want to go through it again. I will say that my sense of taste and smell are much stronger than it ever was. I did not like the $20 - $30 a carton cost or the time when I run out and have to pay $4 for a pack at a convenience store. I realize it costs much more now days. Either way, I could afford to pay the price to smoke. I'm still amazed at the people that I see who don't have a pot to pi$$ in or a window to throw it out of yet they still spend money on smokes. Oh well... priorities

I quit 5 years ago, been dipping Copenhagen 46+ years, at least a can per day. I'll never go back.

Aug. 79'...drinking too.

I smoked my last cigarette at 11:55 am on October 3, 1989. Never dipped, chewed, or smoked cigars. But for three years or so I would have smoked a cigarette a mile long. Finally woke up one morning and no more craving.

3 months as of 8-13

Its proven smokers get COVID less. Covid obviously doesn't like Tar and other goodies from Cigs..

Five months, don't like the weight gain (25 pounds) and there are days I'd still chew my arm off for a smoke.

12 years tonight I threw away a 1/2 pack and swore them off. Yes, I would love to have a smoke now and again but the urge passes.

12 years tonight - I recognized the sacrifice our brothers and sisters made on that fateful day and I dedicated my quit to them and their survivors.

If their survivors had to live without their heroes I could certainly live without cigarettes.

Quit NOW . . . . . Tobacco is doing you no good.

The above is me to just change date to 1999 instead of 94

I think I am allergic to the smoke now. I get sick and can't breath if I get in a room now.

Dipped for 40years+ 76 days quit. Like pulling teeth to stay quit but so far so good.

smokes 1976

Still glad I quit, but dang this extra weight is just as bad.

October 10th 1984. Very glad I quit. I can't remember the last time I not had a craving to light up.

I can't remember the exact date, but it was in 2006 for cigs. Then did cigars for a year and weaned off of them. Seemed pointless. So about 15 years ago. I used to love a dip or chew while hunting. I don't even think about it anymore. Now if I can get off the juice, that would be nice. Not ready for that though.

Guess I'll add my name to this.

Started Copenhagen in the 80's in high school. By the late 90's, I ate 4 cans a day, would have ate 5 if I had the money. Quit Cop in mid 2000's, but picked up Levi Garrett till it got too expensive. Found the Skoal Snus in 2012 and have been using about 2 cans a day since.

Brings me to today. 3 Weeks ago had my regular doctor visit, doc told me I was going to be diabetic if I didn't loose some weight, change what I'm eating, quit dipping and quit drinking. So I went home, dumped about $200 dollars in tobacco in the trash can and quit Cold Turkey. Told the Doc I would lay off the beer, which I have, but I'm a whiskey drinker and I'm not giving that up, other than no drinking during the week.

So in 3 weeks, I went from eating and drinking anything I wanted to cutting almost everything out of my diet. Down 20 pounds now and got a long ways to go! I was 340 pounds 3 weeks ago, my goal is below 300 for my November Doc visit.

.

Best of luck to you bigrebar!

That right there is one of the hardest things to break....well done skeeter!

congrats and Thank you for your service

I was 11 , a neighbor kid and I stole some cigs from my mom ( unfiltered Pall Malls ) . We smoked them ( puffed them , didn't inhale ) in the garage . Mom comes home , smells the cigs in the garage and confronts us . She walks the neighbor kid home , tells his mom . Comes back , walks me to the backyard and says --- "so you wanna smoke ?" ---I look up dumbfounded , shrug my shoulders . She sits me down and breaks out a package of cigs and hands me one and herself one . She lights me up , herself also ---- then starts telling me how to smoke , how to really inhale the smoke , take deep breaths ---really enjoy that smoke in my lungs.
I am coughing like crazy -- she brings out another , and another ---keeps making me inhale deep . Before I know it , I am puking like crazy , sick as a dog . I tell her no more . She says no way --- you wanna smoke --then smoke --lights another one , I keep puking ----never touched another cig and can't stand the smell 50 years later .

Over 4 years since I quit smoking cigarettes. Supposed to improve your health, right? Since then I've developed atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, been hospitalized 4 times in the past year. Had a couple of heart procedures, temporary improvement, then right back. Another heart procedure next month.

Current condition probably unrelated to past smoking, says the cardiologist.

I quit cold turkey at age 31. ( smoked from age 17 ). I threw a half a pack away and moved on. I had my moments of cravings but didn't give in. It has been 3 decades since and I am DAMN GLAD I quit. Now working on developing a routine/habit of doing body weight exercises and those are coming along but it is harder than I thought just getting into a groove making it a part of my daily life. I do like the changes so far and I am going to keep pushing forward. ....Good luck to all that have quit or are thinking about it..

I quit cold turkey around 10 years ago...used to smoke a pack a day easily. Also dipped when I couldn't smoke.

I'm beyond happy I quit! I hated the feeling in the morning of needing to smoke, the need to clear my lungs when I woke, and the smell my clothes had.

When I quit, I gained weight due to eating everything I could get my hands on.

I found Crossfit and went ballistic with it. Lost the weight and need to eat / smoke about 6 months into it.

I've been off of them cigarettes for about 2 months. I get cravings often but I haven't given in yet

Last one was on November 4th.

last one was July 1 of this year!

2006, my grandaughter was 6. She was sitting in my lap reading a book and said,..papa, your mouth really stinks.
When they went home I threw a half a carton of Salem 100's in the dumpster. Never looked back.
The best way to quit smoking is quit buying. No excuses.

Started chewing tobacco at 18 playing ball. Went from chewing tobacco to dipping during my 20+ years playing fast pitch softball tournaments and then when I started fishing bass tournaments. Told my wife if she quit smoking I would quit dipping. Then all of a sudden because of work incentives she quit. I was caught off guard but had to at least attempt to stop so I got some of the herbal dip to try to help me stop. It about gagged me for a couple of weeks until one day I spit that stuff out and decided that wasn't going to do it. Then a couple of days later I realized I hadn't even dipped the real stuff and wondered how long that was going to last. A couple of more days and then a couple of weeks went by and before I knew it I was Dip Free. Not only was I pleasantly surprised that I didn't miss the stuff but about 6 months later I really noticed how my sense of taste and smell changed. I was experiencing flavors I had completely forgot about during those years. So glad I quit and so glad for me that it wasn't even a problem that I feared. I just quit.

October 11, 2022 just prior to my second and much more involved back surgery that included two levels of fusion. Smoking has a detrimental effect on the body's ability to heal and recover from surgery, including adversely interfering with the fusion process.

Experienced cravings when I woujld first wake up in the morning and had a cup of coffee...eventually they passed. Experienced cravings when I got in the truck to drive, when I go in the boat to fish, when I enjoy an alcoholic beverage, and after relations with the wife...well the last one is only an assumption or expectation or hell, just plain conjecture, but the point is they came, they went, and they are no more. It still amazes me how bad it smells when someone else is smoking and how oblivious I was to that smell.

Very happy that I quit, finally, as I feel so much better than before. And I smoked at least a pack a day since my sophomore year of college, which was in 1983.