When I began the process of quittubg smoking in September of last year, I never thought I would make it 30 days let alone a year! It was a
rough start with lots of slippage and then I moved from the Nicotine Ptch to
Chantix as my primary method of getting off cigarettes once and for all! Between lots of on-line support, (Thanks fellow bloggers!) a quit smoking program with a great facillitator, taking the drug Chantix and utilizing the on-line suggestions, I will have made it a year off Nicotine tomorrow! Talk about a miracle! I was as strung out and stung can be on Nicotine and STILL think about lighting up from time to time. Talk about an powerful drug!! When I start craving a smoke I use the suggestions I learned early on: I just delay the act of smoking, do something else or drink a glass of water and wait the feelings do pass....they do eventually! I have saved thousands of dollars and my health is a lot better! Yeah, I still miss the instant gratification of stuffing my feelings with a cigarette but I know that I made the best decision of my life when I got willing to do what it took to stay off Nicotine. I know that I am a "puff away from a pack a day" so I know if I pick up I might as well start lighting my money on fire and throwing it out the window! Not to mention that my body does not handle second-hand smoke well at all these days! I am the one who used to think that the idea of non-smokers were suffering from my second-hand smoke was government propaganda not to be believed! I was a smoker who wanted my right to smoke whereever and whenever I so choose to do it! Boy have my opinions changed! Don't get me wrong, I do not think smokers should be treated as social lepers but I do think that going outside to smoke is much better for all concerned!
Recently, I went out with some smokers to the protest to overturn Proposition 8 and there were a ton of people smoking...the second-hand smoke got me kind of sick! (Yep, tobacco companies LOVE to target minority communites...hence the high level of gay people who smoke...right up there with Asians! ) I later went and saw a band lay at a club in Hollywood and I watched the the guitar player as he was smoking onstage and playing at the same time and was wondering how cool did he think he was? It was a small club and the air quality was already bad! I am glad I am over thinking that cigarettes are cool! Some people still buy into the "cool" image but how cool is he going to look hooked up to an oxygen tank? Go figure!
To celebrate, I took the day off today since I have tomorrow off and am going to go to the casino to gamble a little bit! I have not been in at least three months! Maybe I will get lucky! Wish me luck! Gotta run and get ready! I think I will go play the slots in the non-smoking section....what a novel concept huh? Thanks for all of the support everyone and if you are thinking about quitting, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made!
Peace,
Diva
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