Hi Anne and thank you :)... cold turkey is never easy but it was the only way for me. I just felt if I vaped or had patches it was exchanging one addiction for another so I did it without either of them.  i had smoked for over 40 years , the last 10 in secret, but after two health scares it gave me the incentive I needed to quit

I wish you all the luck in the world for your quit... sounds like you are doing really well.  One thing i will say is that you never forget that you once smoked - also the smoking dreams and the urges to have "just one" don't stop for a long time... there are days when I could so easily just "have one" but I know it wouldn't just be one.  the dreams can be very vivid - I have woken thinking I really did have one... so don't despair if these things happen to you :)... I dont think I will ever call myself a non-smoker but will probably use the term ex-smoker :)

Good luck Anne :)

Jan 

thanks again Asad :)

Stay safe my friend

Jan 

Hi Jan,

Well done on 16 months smoke free!  I will join you for your celebration as no one should party by themselves!  WOO HOO!  Turn up the music and dance!

yayay yes indeed... thank you Susan :)  --- here's to another 16 (years  )

Jan 

Hi there Asad :)

Another milestone for you - 16 months quit for you :)... well done my friend

It is a very strange world we live in at the moment so I think we have done exceptionally well to still be non-smokers!!!  Congratulations once again :D

Jan 

Hi Cheryl

Sorry I missed your date, but many congratulations for reaching 16 months on 17th July 2020 :)

We have all done extremely well  - well done!!

Jan

Hi Jan..good morning to you! How very thoughtful of you to congratulate me! Thank you so much! A standing ovation for you as well! We are well on our way to our year 2 anniversaries :) Sometimes it seems much longer than a year since my quit date and other days, it is like yesterday and that wicked nicodeamon sneaks in when I am super stressed and tempts me. It only lasts a few seconds and rarely happens,  but it does still happen.  Thank God we quit in March 2019 and not in 2020. That would have been right when COVID was going off the charts.  I can't even think how impossible it would have been to try to stay newly-smober these last 4 months.  I hope you and yours are staying safe during this crisis.   What country do you live in,  Jan? I am in the U.S. in the state of Indiana and we stayed on lockdown longer than most states here  and reopened very slowly.  We are doing ok COVID-wise here. Numbers are up a little, but nothing like the hot spots of the states  of Florida and Arizona.  Mandatory masks and safe distancing are being respected  here and it makes a difference.  I am proud of you for staying smober for this long and I pray it will be a life long accomplishment for both of us ! Before you know it you will have that 2nd beautiful key!! Take care and stay safe :)    Cheryl 

Hi Cheryl, you are very welcome :)... i never thought I would say this, but I hardly think about it now.  I still have the odd dream where I wake up and think I have smoked one and there are the occasional stressful times when it would be easy to reach for one  but i then remind myself that it would ruin 16 months of being smokeless and for some reason, it stops me in my tracks.  I am also so glad I have done this with the threat of Covid now everywhere we go.. it was extremely hard after smoking for over 40 years, but I can only think I must have been given strength from somewhere to achieve what I used to think was the unthinkable.

I live in the Uk Cheryl ... lockdown is easing slightly for the majority of people but my husband is classed as clinically vulnerable so we are both on day 119 of lockdown in this house.  I couldn't risk going out and bringing the virus home as this could be fatal for him.  He has a heart transplant at the end of 2017 so his immune system is compromised but, having said that, Boris Johnson has now given the 1st August as a date when we can start emerging from the last 4 months of living in our bubble.  Parts of the Uk are back on lockdown but these are only a few hotspots where cases are still quite high.  From Friday we have to wear face coverings when in shops or confined spaces but, to be honest, I am quite ok with that... it will protect others and, I believe, also me... I have heard today that three countries may have a workable vaccine by the end of the year.. we can only hope :)

I hope you and yours are staying safe... I have never known anything like this in my lifetime and hope I never will have to again....

huggsss 

Jan 

Hi Jan,

Thanks for remembering me and yes I think it is a big achievement for all of us.

2 days ago I was with my friend when he took cig out of his pocket and played with it before lighting it up. I will not say craving but I get small urge of having few puffs which at that time I though will not ruin my quit. But urge was short lived and I was out of it as soon as I left the place.

This remind me that how easy it is to get back to same old addiction and how vulnerable we are at all the times despite of being 16 months into the quit. 

I hope you are doing good with all this COVID situation and we all will survive out of it.

Regards,

Asad

Hello Cheryl,

Congratulations on your 16 months and sorry for missing your date as I am not very active on this forum. Situation in US (COVID wise) is very scary (at least on media). Glad to hear that you are not in hot zones. Please respect the mandatory masks and distancing requirements as new studies clearly reflects mask as a good way to safeguard yourself from this disease.

Regards,

Asad