Having quit a 26 year habit about 3 months ago I was reminiscing over the benefits I have enjoyed and thought they might be a good incentive for new quitters - others could maybe add the benefits they have found from quitting the nicodemon, here's my start;
- I smell better and so do my clothes
- my house, car and office smell heaps better
- I have more breath and clearer breathing
- I leave the house without having my pockets stuffed full of ciggies/lighters etc
- my fingers and teeth are no longer stained yellow
- my hands and breath no longer stink of cigarettes
- my garden it no longer littered with stinking buts
- the ceilings and walls are nice and white and staying that way
- I don't have to empty stinking ashtrays
- I am no longer a slave to my addiction
- I am free to enjoy a 2 or 3 hour movie (or whatever) without having the nag to go outside for a smoke
- I don't have to feel guilty about subjecting others to my smoke/smell
- I don't have to stand in the cold/hot/rain/wind to smoke and lose my seat in the pub/room where ever !
- the carpet is not constantly covered in a fine layer of tobacco (I rolled my own)
- my pockets are not constantly lined with tobacco
- I don't have to worry about running out of ciggies/filters/papers etc
- I don't need ciggies to enjoy a drink or coffee
- food tastes better and the taste lasts longer
- I never cough in the morning anymore
- I don't worry about the fact that I am killing myself anymore
- I am proud of my own newly-discovered self control
- people no longer pity or shun me because of my addiction/smell
- I am saving HEAPS of money
- I don't have to worry about my lighter running out and having back ups everywhere
- I don't have to clean the inside of my house or car windows or curtains as often
- I don't burn holes in my clothes, furnishings or carpet any more
- I don't burn my fingers any more
- my family and friends are proud of me for quitting
- I am proud of me for quitting!
- I don't have to worry about getting duty free ciggies when I travel or constantly ask friends to do the same
- I don't care that they put the price of ciggies up and hide them in the shops, or use plain packaging
- I don't have to worry about starting fires with my discarded buts
- I don't have to feel guilty for littering wherever I go with my discarded buts
- my friends and family don't have to worry that I am killing myself with cigarettes like granddad did
OK people, that's all I can think of right now - please add your own, there must be tons more
Written by
itsanewdaywohoo
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I can so identify with your list of benefits. I was a fellow roll-up smoker. I so don't miss the fine film of tobacco everywhere (didn't seem to matter how often I swept up) and the stained fingers.
Nearly Day 100 already!! Well done mate and hope the back isn't too painful today.
Hello friends, a couple more benefits that I thought of that I'm particularly happy with;
- my resting heart rate has dropped by 12 to 15 beats per minute
- my blood pressure has dropped approx 10mm Hg for each systolic and diastolic.
- I have extended my life significantly and am gaining an extra month of life for every year I don't smoke
- I am saving $12,000 NZ dollars per year (approx 6000 GBP, or $10,000 USD) this means I can retire 3 years earlier than if I were still smoking or buy a mortgage-free holiday home by the beach when I retire, or a nice yacht perhaps....
- giving back by helping new quitters with my story and advice makes me feel good
Discussing spam and kicking spam around can be quite satisfying
yeah I should probably have just left your reply hanging there looking daft and making the thread disjointed :rolleyes:
Can someone explain to me why we can't talk about what we can't talk about please
I deleted some spam which Max had replied to, I then had to remove his relpy so that the thread didn't go off at a tangent, then your reply and his and now it has one off at a tangent :rolleyes:
I went to the hospital yesterday to see the specialist about my hand and as always when going through your details/history they always ask "do you smoke?"
To which I replied, "well I used to until 3 months ago" ..felt good to say that
The doctor then said "well done you'll be a non smoker then!".
I went to the hospital yesterday to see the specialist about my hand and as always when going through your details/history they always ask "do you smoke?"
To which I replied, "well I used to until 3 months ago" ..felt good to say that
The doctor then said "well done you'll be a non smoker then!".
Yes, that's a particularly smug moment isn't it? I was well chuffed when I last visited my dentist that there's no longer an 'alert' on my computerised record (as there used to be when I was a smoker).
turn my back for a moments and seems I missed out on some quality spam, damned mods :p
quick to act on that, not so quick to make this post a sticky - which I still think it deserves !
anyhow...
on the point of a doc calling you a non-smoker, a friend of mine was recently highly pissed off when his health insurance company refused to register him as a non smoker after 18 months smoke free - they said their limit was 2 years!
BTW - that's a new benefit - cheaper health insurance after 2 years of no smoking!
NEVER have to go into one of those nasty stinking smokers rooms at an airport EVER again, with yellow walls and sticky seats full of pale, sickly smokers coughing their lungs out - yuk!!
can't believe I used to be happy to see one of those after a long flight.....
NEVER have to go into one of those nasty stinking smokers rooms at an airport EVER again, with yellow walls and sticky seats full of pale, sickly smokers coughing their lungs out - yuk!!
Reading this reminds me of the last one I was in and it sounds spot on, although at the time I didn't bat an eyelid thinking back now and looking at it from another way it's depressive, it really is, pale stinky wall matching the smokers faces drilling the life out of a chain smoked fag knowing their flights calling, just a all round murky depressive situation.
(I'm pulling a face thinking about it as I type) :mad::mad::mad:
YAAAY- Itsy- I thought we'd lost you mate! Welcome back! Nearly home now- you'll be sailing through those Penthouse gates exactly 24 hours before me. SO glad you're still going strong.
Bump - I just love the list at the beginning of this thread and even though its been well over a year - it still gives me great joy....
My ticker today; Itsanewday - Free and Healing for One Year, Two Months, Three Days and 4 Minutes, while extending my life expectancy 35 Days and 20 Hours, by avoiding the use of 10320 nicotine delivery devices that would have cost me $10,504.61.
Best wishes to all those struggling ! (BTW that is over 5000 British pounds!)
Hiya Karri and Donna, welcome back to the quit Karri - let this be your last one, don't attempt to quit, just quit ! And all the money I am saving is going towards my trip - I want to take two years off, rent out my house and ride my adventure motorbike around the world. Was aiming to leave this July but I am still battling the recovery from my spinal fusion and it's not looking like July is going to happen. I might try leaving around November and changing my route to starting in Argentina instead of Australia (reversing the loop to suit the season's).
Here's a wee pick of me before the back operation doing a practise run around NZ.....
Hi Sami, thanks for the feedback, glad you liked the list of benefits - feel free to add to the list! I am happy to say that I am still enjoying the benefits of living a smoke free life, I blogged my whole quit in one post if you're interested (it's a bit of a read);
I'm at well over one and a half years and ciggies rarely cross my mine, I was successful first time trying but had all the tools I could find lined up and timed perfectly to get it done first go, so glad I did, apart from all the health benefits I have saved almost $15,000 (NZ), that's around 7000 English pounds!
Best wishes to you for your quit and to all those that are struggling - hang in there!
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I'm going to try writing down all the reasons too, as above I can't think of one reason to smoke?
50 / 52 weeks of no smoking
My boyfriend is trying to give up smoking
