Quit smoking a year ago

[230RN]

Midnight:01, 07 September 2018

A Friday.

It has been one year since I had a cigarette or smoked anything.

I was running close to two packs a day since I re-started in about 1993, having quit previously around 1978 or so.

But  in 1993 I took up with a woman who smoked, and at first it was "Oh, honey, I'll only smoke outside."  That lasted  until the first freezing rain, when it bacame "Oh, honey, I'll only smoke in the bathroom with the fan on."

That lasted only a week.

I still remember one night reaching across the kitchen table to her pack and lighting one up.  "You sure you want to do that?" she asked.

So I smoked from then, 1993, until last  year, September 7th, 2017.  Figuring "only" a pack a day at "only," say, $4.00 a pack average over the years....

Twenty four years, 8,760 days, call it about $35,000, just figuring on average.

Wouldn't mind having that much back in my pocket.

Terry, 230RN

[Scout26]

Congrats.  See how easy that was ?   

I was standing in line at a gas station tonight.  Had some time to kill so I stopped to grab a couple packs of gum to keep in the car.  The lady in front of me asked for a pack of Salem cigarettes.   


"$8.03" said the man behind the counter as the set them there.   I almost did a spit take and said a quiet thank you to myself for quitting when they hit $2.00 a pack back in 2000.  (15 March 2000 for me).

And yeah, even though I probably averaged $1.25 per pack while I smoked (a half pack per day), I sure do wish I had that money back also...

[K Frame]

Nice!

[MechAg94]

 

Good to hear. 

[TechMan]

Congratulations!

[MillCreek]

Good for you.  One of my new clinics attracts a large Asian population, of which probably 85% of them are from the People's Republic and above 55 years old.  This patient population has smoked like chimneys for decades, and I am astonished at the mortality and morbidity data I am reviewing every month.  They are dropping like flies from lung cancer, pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure.  Interestingly enough, they tell me one of the reasons they come here is for the medical treatment; the PRC generally does not provide aggressive treatment to someone over age 50 with lung cancer, etc., unless you are connected with the Party or can pay for it yourself.

[Ben]

Good for you.  One of my new clinics attracts a large Asian population, of which probably 85% of them are from the People's Republic and above 55 years old.  This patient population has smoked like chimneys for decades, and I am astonished at the mortality and morbidity data I am reviewing every month.  They are dropping like flies from lung cancer, pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure.  Interestingly enough, they tell me one of the reasons they come here is for the medical treatment; the PRC generally does not provide aggressive treatment to someone over age 50 with lung cancer, etc., unless you are connected with the Party or can pay for it yourself.

I am unsure if you are talking about China or California. 

Great job Terry!

[MillCreek]

^^^Mainland China, since I suspect I would not see these sort of figures from people from California. 

[grampster]

Way to go, Terry. 

I don't remember...oh wait.  I had a couple cigs one night around a campfire last month.  First time in many years.  (I'd been sipping guzzling a fair amount of brandy)  They were awful..harsh...stinky...taste bad...burned.  I remember thinking years ago that I couldn't imagine not smoking.  Well I got a really good taste of why I was so wrong about that.

[Ron]

That’s great news man!

When they hit around $2 a pack I made several attempts to quit until it finally stuck.

When I did my sleep study it was commented to me that they could tell I used to smoke but no longer did.

My lung volume was too high but my oxygen uptake was normal, typical of ex smokers apparently.

[Brad Johnson]

Excellent. Keep it up!

Brad

[230RN]

Interesting how the smell from other smokers on this end of the building permeates through the whole house.

I guess it gets through the attic, the crawl space, up electrical and plumbing passages, through outdoor breezes...

Moderately annoying.

Trouble is, I did gain weight and can't seem to lose it.  Weight control never used to be much of a problem for me once I set my mind to it.

Thanks for the comments.  I hope this can encourage others.

Terry

[Ben]

Interesting how the smell from other smokers on this end of the building permeates through the whole house.

I find it interesting that you got your sense of smell back, so to speak. I've been in vehicles with smokers and former smokers who won't believe that I smell cigarette smoke coming from the vehicle in front of us at lights. Until they see smoke swirling in the car's interior. 

When I lived in the condo, if I had a window open, I could smell smoke when someone lit up in the parking lot 100 feet away. When my last downstairs neighbor from before I moved did it, it was terrible, even with the windows shut. I had to buy an air purifier specifically because of him.

[grampster]

When Swmbo and I are driving too and from Florida in the winter and back in the spring, we can actually smell smokers in cars on the interstates or on the back roads we travelled the last 3 years instead of the interstates.

[230RN]

Yeah, and before the emission controls, we couldn't smell those cigarettes because of the exhaust.