Its Ok To Be A Quitter.

I've made a lot of goals for myself this year, some of them are a lot more attainable than others, some I've already reached and one in particular I'm still struggling with but I've made some really good strides toward.
I'm talking of course about my goal to quit smoking, you may recall the review I wrote on Voxiva's Text2Quit program, which is a very helpful program; unfortunately, I - much like anyone else who has been smoking for a long time - needed more than just one quit aid.

My second step in my goal to quit was reading Allen Carr's "The Easy Way To Quit", now, I'm not a fan of self-help books for a number of reasons, and though this book did at times reinforce a lot of the reasons I dislike the genre it was/is an invaluble tool for those who want to quit smoking. The book goes into at depth the brainwashing and social conditioning we experience as smokers, the reasons we smoke, and the way to begin to change your thinking in regards to smoking and quitting.

My third step was joining the "Ex Community", this site was by far the most welcoming and supportive of the sites that I came across, its kind of like a Facebook or Myspace for ex-smokers and those who are becoming exes. At the "Ex Community" you can make friends, earn badges, comment to others, post your own blog entries, and post things on your wall or on the walls of your friends. Its a fun and positive environment, full of very supportive folks.

My fourth and final step has been the NicoDerm patch. This has been the most effective for me, at least when I remember to put it on, I truly don't want a cigarette if I'm wearing the patch. There were few drawbacks with the patch, the only ones I experienced were slight levels of twitching (like I've had too much caffeine), itchiness were the patch is, and weird dreams if I happened to leave the patch on overnight (only did that once). I have had the patch catch on clothing and it does not stand up to the temps I like to shower at, other than that I've had no issues aside from remembering to put them on.

I've had a fair amount of success with a combination of these sites and products, I had even managed to completely quit for nearly 3 weeks. Sadly I've suffered a recent slip, and am smoking again. Thankfully its not a full slip, I haven't had more than 3 cigarettes in any one day, and as of today, I'm back to 0 and wearing the patch again.

Its not a quick process, to quit, and I know this, but I'm taking it seriously, its something I desire, and something I will do. I know that each time I slip and give in to smoking, I learn more about my personal reasons for smoking, besides just the addiction to nicotine. It becomes easier to not have a cig when I can rationalize why I want one.

My suggestion for those trying to quit would be to first join the Ex Community and then get yourself a copy of Allen Carr's "The Easy Way To Quit". NTRs are helpful, but not necessary. For me, between the book and the community, a lot of the fear and reluctance that many smokers experience when contemplating quitting, literally disappeared in a puff of smoke, the patch just soothes the cravings which really aren't as bad as they are often implied to be.

I've been wanting to post a ticker like this for a LONG time

Soon I'll be updating on and reviewing the methods I'm using to quit. I never thought it could be so easy.

Up In Smoke

I was 16  when I had my first cigarette, I didn't think much of it even though my smoker friends told me that I was stupid to start and I'd get addicted, I didn't think I'd be like that, I was only smoking socially, and only one or two cigarettes at a time, I never expected it to become a daily habit but eventually it did.

By my early 20s I was smoking heavily and at 22 I tried to quit for the first time, it didn't work.
In the 10 years since I've tried  a number of times to quit, usually at the request of a partner or family member, I've tried cold turkey, the gum, substitution, all manner of "quitting methods" I've had varying levels of success with each method, but inevitably I always go back to the cigs.

Now I'm nearing my 33rd birthday, I have a child, and I'm still smoking, when I go outside for a cig my daughter asks me what I'm doing and why, and I feel bad when I have to explain not only that I'm addicted but also what that word means.

Mostly though I've begun to worry that she'll see both her father and I smoking and start the habit too,  maybe a lot younger than either one of us.

It really is time to quit.

This time I decided to go another way, I did a search for Smoking Cessation and started browsing.

I found, among all the information and scare tactics a very promising looking website.

Text2Quit is a web, email and SMS based program created by Voxiva, and developed with The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.

After registering with the site, smokers are given access to a 5 step program to help prepare for and aid in quitting, the site offers a survey to determine the best cessation medication for you, once you've set up your smoker profile, the site tailors information specifically to your needs, you also get sticker stats on the site, that update on how much money you've saved, and how your health has improved since your last cigarette.
Once you've registered with the site and provided a contact number you will begin to receive helpful texts containing tips and tricks to keep you motivated to quit, you can send them a text any time requesting more tips or pep talks, and when strong cravings hit, there is even a trivia game to distract you.

You can also select a "Text Buddy" to receive motivational texts from, I picked the "buddy" who's smoker story was closest to my own.

Text2Quit is fun and surprisingly helpful and motivational, I would highly recommend it to anyone who is trying to or plans on quitting.

I'm still working on quitting, but I've cut back drastically and the Text2Quit program is definitely helping, and I'm looking forward to soon being able to say "No, I don't  smoke".