June 16, 2002-June 16,2010

[vivfox]

Today I am cigarette free for EIGHT years!!! Hooray for me!

I chain smoked for 20 solid years. On June 15, 2002 just 4 months after my 40th birthday I lit the last cig in the pack and said to myself, "this is the last day of school for smoking cigarettes. No matter how bad you want to have another smoke, you will pretend this is the last day of High School and when you walk out that door, you can never go back."

I knew I was going to gain weight but made the decision it was better to be fat than a cigarette smoker. I decided to wage a war against my body and I knew I would win. I had cravings 4 times a day for 11 months. Each craving lasted anywhere between 10-45 seconds and then passed. Each time the craving came I would take a deep breath in, and then let it out. This is what we do when we are inhaling anyway, so I just repeated the process without the smoke.

When I quit I was smoking Marlboro Menthol's. Do they still exist? I haven't noticed anyone smoking them in many years. When I quit, the cost of those cancer sticks were $4.50 a pack, though I always bought them by the carton. I feel so bad for people who are addicted to nicotine today because the damn things are sooooo expensive.

When I was in my 30's I used to say to myself, "someday you are gonna have to pay for all this nicotene you are putting in your body." I knew it would affect my health eventually. Cigarette smoking is the number one cause of sleep apnea and sure enough it happened to me. I used to wish I could sleep at night with an oxygen tank and in a sense I do. I sleep every night with a C-pap machine. I have to wrap a breathing mask around my head and the mask covers my nose and mouth. It looks just like someone you've seen on tv lying in a hospital bed. Thanks to cigarette smoking and marijuana smoking, this is the way I will sleep for the rest of my life. But I pray to God that the apnea never goes away because thanks to this problem I know I will never smoke again for the rest of my life.

Peace and Love, Viv

[Nathan]

VERY cool. Nice job, man.

[MissLadyLoki]

Congrats, viv! You did a great job

[holidayroad]

I think it's great that you were able to give up your habit. Congratulations!!
That takes a lot of hard work!!

[Tango]

Congrats, Viv! We all have some sort of dragons that we must slay in life, I think. You have slayed the fire breathing dragon--a giant of a monster! Hopefully you can deal with it's evil twin in time. Check this article on sleep apnea:

http://www.weight.com/sleep.asp



Best of luck to you in your battle.

[LikeAWillow]

Congratulations I know how hard kicking the habit can be.

[JWS]

Congratulations!

[skcin]

Good for you.

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by Tango

Hopefully you can deal with it's evil twin in time. Check this article on sleep apnea:
http://www.weight.com/sleep.asp
Best of luck to you in your battle.

Thank you Tango for the info. However I've read this a long time ago. Like I mentioned, I have prayed the apnea won't go away. It's the best incentive to stay smoke free forever!

Thank you all for your kind wishes and support. Apnea may not happen to any of you but more than likely all that smoking you do will find a way to come back and haunt you. Pot smoking is worse for you than cigs because you try even harder to suck all that smoke down your lungs. I wish I knew the potential dangers of marijuana before I started.

[nailatixela]

This is great to hear. Congrats, Viv!! We're proud of you.

[Nathan]

Well, of course marijuana smoking is actually where it's at, but...

[SapphireSister]

Congrats, way to go! I am 33 and have been smoking on and off for 10 years. Right now I'm on and it's bad. Bought Nicorette 2 weeks ago and haven't chewed one piece. I find that the worst cravings come when I drink...

[Macfanforever]

Wow,Thats great,I love to get my friend to stop,he already had 4 heart attacks already.I never caught the habbit,Thank god.

Look at all the money you saved,It probably pay for all the last Stevie/FM concert tickets in the past 3 years.

[Musicman408]

Congrats on kicking the bad habit. Best thing you could have done for your health!!

[jannieC]

I quit three years ago after a 20+ year, 1-1.5 pack a day habit. I gained 20 lbs and never really shed them, but I smell wonderful and I feel great. Smoking is evil.