"24 Hours After Quitting

If you are a heavy smoker, your body will immediately realize when the chain-smoking cycle is broken. This is because tobacco smoke causes the reactive constriction of blood vessels in the body.

When the smoke is removed, the constriction will start to cease, resulting in lower blood pressure, reduced pulse rate, and a body temperature that's returning to normal.4

This year I will celebrate my 10th year as a nonsmoker.  I quit on July 23, 2012 and have not smoked since.  Smoking has become a distant memory, just something that I used to do and no longer is a part of my life, as much as any other thing that isn’t part of my life anymore.  Sometimes this is hard to believe because when I was a smoker I could not imagine what it could be like to be an adult nonsmoker.  I didn’t have that experience since I started smoking at 17.  And now the thought of lighting up hasn’t occurred to me in many many years.

The first year of my quit is the most memorable. I had just come across this site and was getting familiar with the different groups and all the resources it had to offer.  I decided on my game plan after reading Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking, about which I learned on this site.  My plan was to use the patch and participate in my group, the August Avenges.  My original intent was to follow the patch instructions faithfully.  I was concerned though that the first phase would be hard since I was used to smoking a pack of Marlboro 100s Red daily, hardcore stuff.  I decided to go with the full force 21 mg patch as long as necessary to break the habit.  I’d worry about the nicotine addiction later.  As it turned out, after four weeks of the patch, I forgot to put it on one morning. Since I was on my way to work turning back was not an option.  Well, I survived that day and all subsequent days without the patch.  Nicotine became a thing of the past in four weeks.  I then needed to learn to live without cigarettes which was a longer process.

During my first year this site become my second home.  My group became my virtual family, everyone supporting everyone else.  We were all on the same trip, having similar experiences therefore understanding exactly what everyone was going through.  You can’t beat this kind of support.

The health benefits are immeasurable.  Last August, 16 days after my 7th anniversary as a nonsmoker I was on the operating table at the Cleveland Clinic donating a kidney to my brother, without which he would, in a matter of weeks, go on dialysis.   To qualify as a donor I went through an extensive battery of tests and exams, all of which I passed with flying colors.  Had I not quit 7 years earlier it is unlikely I would qualify.

Quitting is possible.  Smoking over a pack of Marlboro 100s Reds daily for over 35 years is not for the faint of heart.  I quit thanks to this site, the patch and Allen Carr.  I will never regret quitting tobacco, and would forever regret relapsing.  You can do this too, you deserve it.

I salute the courage of all those who have embarked on this journey.  It is not easy, but definitely possible.  2022 can be the year where you can finally say, with quiet self-confidence, "I used to smoke, but don't anymore". 

Douglas

2012 August Avengers

Well done Douglas, 10 years is an amazing achievement.  I know because I was was there once before.  I am working on 2 years at the moment

happy new year

caz

"Answer these questions in advance and carry them with you to review when needed.

• Thinking back to the day you quit, how were you feeling about smoking?
• How many years did you smoke? How long did you want to stop?
• If you go back to smoking will you want to quit again? Will you wish you hadn't lit up?
• When will you quit again? Will it be weeks, months, years, or when illness strikes?
• What benefits will smoking offer you?
• Is smoking now worth giving up all of the work you've invested in cessation?
• Will quitting be any easier the next time around?" Terry

Good on you Douglas, I can only imagine the sense of achievement and 10 years is well out of the woods !! Me too . Marly lights at least a pack a day...gave up a few times before...last time for 3 years...and now again into it 7 months now....unlikely i will smoke again in this lifetime...Happy !!

Hi Ally,

It's a tough fight, but so well worth it.  I can't see myself smoking again, but I don't take things for granted, so many people relapse because they had "just one".   Many former smokers say they loathe the smell of cigarette smoke. Not me, I'm mostly indifferent to it, doesn't affect me one way or the other.  I guess this indifference may be a good sign that I'm past it, 

Congrats on your quit, stick with it.  You've done it before, you certainly can do it again.

Best regards

Anthony

Congratulations on 1 week (I am a day late I believe)!  Hope you are doing something to celebrate?

Struggling with my quit, achieved 28 days, then busted