Zoids

[Mark]

I stopped smoking yesterday.
Damn I'm gonna miss them 'zoids.

[Bill]

Dude! I am really proud of you. Harder to kick then heroin.

Need anything, let me know.

[Ralph]

Good luck, Mark. I've never been addicted to any substance. So, I have no personal experience. But, I've been around many "quitting" smokers. And, it's clear that it is not an easy thing.

Keep up da good work!!

[Charlotte]

Congratulations. You have taken a huge first step. Some advice/tips (I know you didn't ask but trying to help you out) that my husband got when kicking the habit. Do not do anything that you used to do while smoking as part of your normal routine. For example, if you smoke with your morning coffee - try skipping the coffee for a while (this was my husband's hardest thing to do but he did not have coffee for about 3 weeks until he got over the urge for a cigarette with it). When you get up from a meal - brush your teeth - this delays the smoking immediately after a meal and stimulates the mouth with a fresh taste that hopefully you will not want to lose. Hubby had a pocket full of mints, life savers, hard candy, etc. that he would pop in when the urge hit to smoke. If you normally smoke when you drink, give up drinking for a while until the automatic response is no longer automatic. If you are at home, when the urge hits, try to get up and do something with your hands - have a fixit/todo list - you will be amazed at what gets done around the house. Maybe others can give you some helpful tips of what worked for them in quitting. You have everyone's support here I am sure.

[tony]

Congrats from here also. Them things are terrible in the way they grab on and never want to let go. It is not a weakness on your part if you get strong urges to light up.

I quit 30 years ago, and to this day I still get the occasional urge to smoke a cig, especially when doing things that I used to associate heavily with smoking. While the urges are not as strong and don't last as long, I still think about lighting up.

One of the best strategies for me was not thinking about quitting forever. Take one day at a time, one urge at a time. Just focus on getting through not smoking the next cigarette. It's the same way as accomplishing any other big goal. You eat an elephant or climb a mountain one bite or one step at a time. You stop smoking one cigarette at a time.

Best wishes and stay strong, it is worth it.