One-year on......but hold the champagne!

[nsd_user663_27261]

Hi everyone

It's been a while since I came in here, I hope everyone who was quit on my last visit has stayed quit.

Today is exactly a year quit for me, yes I'm delighted and feel much better but I'd be lying if I said the job was done.

I know each smoker/quitter is different and we all have different experiences but I reached the conclusion that for me the lure of smoking will always be there.

I've given up plenty of times before and some of those occasions have been for long periods so even after a year I know that I could slip - I have no intention of smoking again but every so often I get weak moments, I'm not convinced these will ever go away.

Those who were in here a year ago will remember that I struggled with place association, sadly this is a still a battle for me, as time goes by of course there are fewer and fewer places that I re-visit as a non-smoker compared to my last visit as a smoker but I still struggle with pubs I've not been to for a while or airports when I'm used to smoking a dozen in half an hour before going through security, thankfully these moments are short in time, maybe a few seconds rather than the full-on cravings that lasted hours in the early days.

I always thought that once I broke the habitual cig like after dinner, driving, when out drinking etc that it would be easy, it definitely becomes easier but the desire to smoke has never completely left me.

But the benefits are huge, no more wheezing, no more smelly breath/clothes, no more discarded cigarette ends outside my back door, no more wasting money !

Anyone on this journey of becoming a non-smoker I can only warn you all to beware, never let your guard down, you may think you're through the worst of it but a single weak moment can set you back months/years.

Stick with it and fight all the way, nothing is better than the feeling of being a non-smoker, but this is not an easy journey and unlike most journeys you will never know if you make the destination.

And if anyone does crack pick yourself up and go again, never give up giving up.

I wish you all well....

[Hidden]

Great post Horse

Welcome to the penthouse.....

I agree that the job is never done and eternal vigilance is of course the price we pay, however it is well worth it given the benefits!!!

Keep up the good work

[nsd_user663_11805]

You are right to stay vigilant - stay strong!

I am 1 month shy of a two year quit and someone is smoking close to me right now and honestly, it smells good.

Then i think of the way i used to smell all the time, think of the coughing and phlegm i used to hack up each morning. That's gone... no coughing no phlegm and no smell! I can breathe now. I'm fitter, healthier.

I fly a lot as well and i used to plan each airport out. Where i could smoke, how much time i had to smoke and how long it would take me to get to the gate after my last cigarette. Not anymore. The only planning i do now is what shopping i need to buy for the relatives with space left for a pint or two at the bar. No cigs.

Anyway, i'd say the desire to smoke HAS left me after close to two years. The memory of smoking and the temptation though has not.

Don't give in. I know i won't.

James