Quote from Turhovach:
I have been trying unsuccessfully to rid myself of this ugly habit for a long time.
I also smoked for twenty years. I quit 7 years ago.
Two things for you.
1. You won't quit until you've reached the end of your rope. You have to be absolutely at rock bottom with regard to your smoking habit. For me, it came one morning when I felt a pain in my mouth and opened wide, only to see a blackish-red spot at the back of my throat on the upper throat wall. I have never been so angry in my life, literally. I had been trying to quit for about 6 years at that point. That was it for me, the final straw. I quit that day and haven't had a cigarette since.
The bizarre part is - some people will get to the point where they're breathing through a trach tube, and they'll still be out in the parking lot smoking one through their throat. There is no hope for them.
2. If you're over 35 and still smoking, you fall into one of two groups. You're either trying to quit or you're not. As long as you're trying to quit, you're doing the right thing.
If you're over 35 and still smoking, you are in serious trouble, and quitting is the #1 most important thing in your life, more important than job, children, wife, husband, parents, money or anything else.
The people on this board who say that smoking is okay, or using tobacco products is 'a part of their culture' are either lying or so stupid that it's essentially natural selection for them to die from it. The cigarettes that 95% of smokers are smoking are the same chemical-laden 'nicotine delivery systems' that the industry was famously outed for selling. Nothing has changed.
By the way, it's been seven years and I still think about it at least a few times a week, mainly when I see someone else having a smoke.
