Today I celebrate 5 years as an ex-smoker!!!!

[StevieM]

I smoked for 18 years. Giving it up was the best thing I ever did!!

[etherealtruth]

1. Congratulations!!!!!!!!!

[Historic NY]

2. Yup, yup and yup...

10 + yrs now

[StevieM]

5. Good for you!! That's terrific!! I started when I was 17....big mistake on my part.

How old were you when you started smoking?

[Historic NY]

27. 14....

[Turbineguy]

3. You've saved a fortune by now as well.

I was getting gas and the store there was advertizing cartons of cigarettes for $57.99 each.

[StevieM]

4. Yeah, I really have no idea how much cigarettes cost anymore. I know that the price has gone up.

But I no longer check to see what the cost is. Mainly I try to ignore cigarettes and forget that they were ever such a big part of my life. I was so dumb to have started smoking when I was 17. And back then it was easier to buy them when you were underage.

You are right about saving money, of course....but the most important thing I have saved is my own life.

[Iggo]

6. Yes!!!

[B2G]

7. Congrats! Such a hard thing to do... nt

[StevieM]

8. Thank you!! And yes...it was the hardest thing I ever did in my life. (eom)

[kwassa]

9. Congratulations.

I smoked for 14 years, 2.5 packs of Marlboros a day. Started when I was 18.

I've now quit for 31 years.

[StevieM]

10. Wow!! I was never a two pack a day smoker. At my height it was a pack a day.

Usually it was about 3/4 of a pack.

It's great that you stopped or you might not be here posting with us right now.

[kwassa]

11. My grandfather died of emphysema.

He was an invalid for many years. That didn't prevent me from smoking. There is nothing rational about smoking.

[RebelOne]

13. My father died of emphysema.

He was 71. And my mother died of lung cancer and she was 78. They were both smokers. Do you think I have learned anything from their deaths? No. I am 76 and have been smoking since I was 16. Maybe I should celebrate still being alive after 60 years of smoking with no major health problems. And when I die, I will die happy with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. My two vices.

[kwassa]

16. Best of luck to you.

You made your choices, and I hope they work out for you.

You know how nasty emphysema is.

[ailsagirl]

12. Congratulations on your accomplishment!!!

Do you still get the urge? Or does the thought of tobacco make you

Regardless, great job!!

[StevieM]

14. I no longer crave the feeling of smoke filling my lungs. I used to love it.

It was a source of great pleasure for me. But now I don't want that stuff in my body anymore.

That said...it took quite a while until I truly felt that way. Smoking is an extraordinarily difficult habit to break.

[Stellar]

28. I quit four years ago this past March, 2011.

I still get an urge but I can't stand the way they smell now. I used to not mind the way the odor. In March 2011 I remember telling my mother that I had stopped smoking for an entire month. She was so very proud of me, she had been begging me to quit for many years. Mom passed in August of 2011, so when the urge hit me I couldn't start back because I told moms that I had quit. That, I believe is what kept me on the straight and narrow.

[StevieM]

30. It's nice that your mom lived long enough to see you quit smoking. That must have brought a lot of

joy to her.

One of my main motivators in quitting--and remaining an ex-smoker--was that I didn't want to force my family to watch me die.

[snagglepuss]

15. Not easy to do. Kudos for keeping with it.

[davidpdx]

17. Congrats

And best wishes for your 10 year anniversary.

[closeupready]

18. Former 3-pack/day smoker here - I started

when I was in high school, smoked only a few cigarettes/day initially, but got up to a pack or so every day - went off to college which was an incredibly stressful time and so the smoking continued. Then I moved to the city for work, started working, and at that time, there were ZERO laws against smoking indoors, office buildings, etc., and I smoked at work too.

It started to get expensive at one point, and my best friend also smoked and hated it, so we got a bet going - we'll both quit, and whoever fails owes the other $100. lol At that point, I was up to 3 packs per day, and I don't recall how much a pack was then - maybe $2.75? This was in Chicago.

Well I won the bet, because he restarted, and I didn't. I didn't get paid, and he's gone now, sadly. I have on occasion throughout the years snuck one or two, but at this point, I have absolutely zero desire to have one. None. So it's been about 30 years. No desire even for the vape things.

Congratulations to you!

[StevieM]

20. I am impressed that you could quit after smoking 3 packs a day. At my height I was a pack a day

smoker. Usually it was more like 3/4 of a pack.

I don't really understand what the vape things are. I used Nicorette gum to quit, like President Obama did.

Congratulations on 30 smoke-free years. Had you not quit you might not be here with us right now.

[closeupready]

25. When I focus on a goal, I get it done. :-)

I think vapes give you the nicotine and it's hit, without anything else, like smoke and combustion byproducts, which are carcinogenic and contain arsenic and other toxins. So the same principle as Nicorette.

[WillowTree]

19. Good on you!

I celebrated my 5 years smoke free a couple of months ago. Feels great, doesn't it?

Congrats!

[StevieM]

22. Yes, it is an amazing feeling. I used to struggle to imagine that I would ever be able to do quit.

But I did.

If you don't mind my asking, how old were you when you started and how long did you smoke for? I started at 17 and smoked for 18 years.

[WillowTree]

24. I started when I was a senior in high school.......

.......so I would have been 17 or 18. And I pretty much chain smoked until a few months after my.......wait for it.......60th birthday. Trust me, no one was more surprised that I actually managed to quit than I was.

[kpete]

21. 2 years

peace,
kp

[Greybnk48]

23. Good for you! I know it's not easy.

I hit 8 years on March 31st after smoking 45 years (starting at about 10 1/2 years old). I wish I could have quit like you after 18 or 20 years, but everyone smoked in the 50's, 60's on into the 90's and it was easy to smoke anywhere. I even smoked in my hospital room when I had my babies! How awful!

Anyway. Congratulations StevieM on your grit! Don't ever look back.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

26. Congrats, definitely something to be proud of. Keep it up!

[Liberal_in_LA]

29. congrats

[redstateblues]

31. That is a big deal!!!

[Joe Turner]

32. Way to go!!!

It's tough to quit smoking. The first 2-3 months are the worse then the habit slowly releases its grip. At five years you will never go back and you will always feel better then when you smoked. Hi Five.

[restorefreedom]

33. congrats and good health to you! n/t

[CajunBlazer]

34. Congradulations!

That's a really tough thing to do. I have know people with great will power who have not managed to kick the habit.

[Mira]

35. So happy - pleased - proud - and yes

it WAS the best thing you ever did.

I smoked for over 30 years. 2 packs on a good day. One day I sat down and made a list for what I needed to tackle in my life and put quitting smoking at the top.
Then, I put quitting smoking down as the second item and stopped the list, knowing that if I did not quit, nothing much else mattered.

I have been smoke free since 5/5/1998.
I watch those around me that did not quit die. 2 brothers, ex-husband, folks less close to me, and now a really good friend.
All very prematurely.

Congratulations.
Don't ever ever even take one puff - but then - you know that already.

[dixiegrrrrl]

36. From one ex to another...

Congrats...tis no small thing to successfully quit tobacco.

[airplaneman]

37. I was a 3 pack a day and quit smoking September 1997 started in 1972.

It was the hardest thing I ever did. Two year slowly tapering off on nicotine gum before I was nicotine free. Gained 70 pounds that are still with me today. Quite literally I had quit so many times I never wanted to quit again and I swore I would quit no matter what it would take. Even after 3 years movies like Waterworld made me angry because they showed people smoking. I still had cravings five year after quitting and I know the statistics 50% restart within 2 years and 80% restart within 5 years. If you make it to five years (congradultions by the way) then you have a good statistical possibility of really not starting again.
-Airplane

[StevieM]

38. Congratulations on 18 smoke-free years. I can't imagine that I will ever start again.

And yes, the nicotine addiction through gum held on quite a bit longer.