Trying to quit smoking…take 3
September 17th, 2007 by Ana
OK, the package from the VA pharmacy arrived today, and I have embarked on my journey to stop smoking…again. This is the third time this year that I will be doing this, and third time will be a charm!
Some of y’all may recall I tried this back in July, using some nicotine patches my coworker gave me after he ripped a patch off his arm and went to the convenience store next door to buy a pack of cigarettes. My plan was to start off with the hand-me-down patches and get the rest from the VA outpatient clinic. Well…the patches never showed up from VA and eventually they scheduled me an appointment for this month on the 6th. Yes, sometimes it really does take 7 weeks to get an appointment with the VA clinic, especially for non-emergency things.
So, the patches are finally here: 4 weeks of “step one” with 21mg of nicotine seeping into my bloodstream over a 24 hour period, 2 weeks of “step two” with only 14 mg of nicotine, then 2 weeks of “step three” with only 7 mg of nicotine. I just put my first patch of step one on about one hour ago.
I still have one cigarette left, and it is sitting on my computer desk. My organic chem professor suggested I shred up my last two cigarettes, instead of smoking them, and my son thinks I should hold onto this last one a keepsake, sort of “This is my last cigarette that I just didn’t smoke.” After 80 minutes since my last cigarette…right now I am leaning towards lighting that puppy up and smoking it! But I know I will never get anywhere that way…because then it will be “just one more” and so on ad infinitum. So as of now, it is still sitting on the top shelf of my computer desk.
Maybe I should go clean all the ashtrays in the house…I haven’t done that since spring, when I tried to quit the first time. It really is pretty yucky to see all that crud on the bottom of the ashtrays. Oh, for those of y’all who are already (or still) non-smokers, here’s a fun series over at Dough Roller, the newest member of the M-Network about personal finance and the game of chess.
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September 17th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
A pack a day = over $1,000/yr.
That’s a very nice incentive.
And that’s just the money, not counting the health affects, etc. Good luck!
September 17th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
I like your son’s idea about saving your last cigarette as a keepsake. He should hide it, and when you no longer crave it, you should have it put in a mold and have clear polymer poured over it (some trophy shops will do this). put it on a felt base, and display it on your desk. That way you can see it and preserve it for posterity, but you would not be tempted to smoke it.
Perhaps you can console yourself by putting up a small sign by your computer that tabs the expense: One cig = $, one pack = $, one month of cigs = $, one year of cigs = $ If saving money is a primary motivator for you, then post this sign as a visible reminder of how much you will save. Print it out and put it by the desk, on the fridge, on the bathroom mirror, on the dashboard. Every time you are tempted to light up, look at the list.
Also print out photos of your family as well. If money isn’t enough of a motivator, think of the longer and better life you will have with them if you aren’t slowly poisoning yourself to death.
September 17th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Good luck on this difficult, but rewarding journey. I wrote about saving money by smoking less, there are some statistics about smoking in the post that may scare you along. I hope you will find it helpful.
September 17th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
For the record, I smoked my last cigarette. Now there are NO cigarettes in the house to tempt me LOL
Pinyo, I read that post you linked to…interesting and good stuff, especially that video you have embedded at the bottom!
I’m in Tennessee, land of still relatively cheap cigarettes, so I only pay $2.18 per pack, tax included. Before July 1st I only paid $1.65 per pack. But considering I smoke a little over a pack a day that does add up similar to the “latte factor.” Oh, these are really cheapo off-brand cigs LOL not top shelf premium brands. The premiums are up to $4 a pack now with the new cigarette tax that took effect in July.
September 18th, 2007 at 11:16 am
Just imagine, your lungs probably look a lot like the bottom of the ash tray
Maybe that would be a good incentive.
Seriously, there’s way more at stake here than saving money.
1 Corinthians 6:19 - “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit…”
You can do this, don’t let some stick of tobacco beat you!
September 18th, 2007 at 11:55 am
glbl…yeah I just didn’t want to say that one myself. And if it was easy, there wouldn’t be such a huge market for all the stop-smoking aids and classes and CDs and websites and…and.. y’all get the picture. This ain’t easy!
September 18th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Sorry, Ana didn’t mean to imply it was easy. Have had a few relatives quit smoking and saw how difficult it was for them.
Just trying to encourage you, certainly wasn’t saying it was easy. But you can do it!
September 18th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
No offense taken glbl. I’m just really whining right now as I approach the 24 hour mark.