Maybe it’s just this time of year, when we’re all making resolutions to straighten up and clean out that part of our lives we want to change. I’ve noticed a huge increase in “quit smoking” advertisements online, on tv and on radio.
Well…I’ve said it before, but this is really “My Time to Quit”.
I’ve been a dipper for about 15 years. I started, like a lot of people, when one of the tobacco companies gave me some freebies. It grew to a big problem for me.
Nearly every day it was the last thing I did before bed and one of the first things I did after waking up. Going through a can every day, which adds up to more than $1,000 a year.
I set January 1st for my first day. I made it to the afternoon of January 1st. I threw out the rest of that can and started over. I made it til around 3 o’clock of January 2nd. I asked my Sunday School class to pray for me because I knew I couldn’t quit on my own.
This week, I did a lot better, going Tuesday and Wednesday without anything. I stumbled today but will throw away the rest of the stupid can I bought today when I go to bed. That will be the last time. Won’t it?
I didn’t realize how hard this was going to be. Websites say one can of dip is equivalent in nicotine to 60 cigarettes, so I’ve been running with 3 pack a day folks for nearly 3 decades.
Thing is, I don’t enjoy it anymore. I made it the last couple of days without so much as a craving. I’m using nicotine gum and mints and lots and lots of coffee to replace the stimulant my body craves.
So say a prayer for me tonight. Send along some good thoughts my way in the early afternoon. If I’m going to stop at a tobacco store, that’s when it’ll be. I can do it. You can help.
Well, since no one has asked… I will … are you still “tobacky” free… or did the temptation get ya?
Don’t be too hard on your self… the goal is a good one, keep trying until you achieve it, we’ll all be proud… hang in there.
Todd
I did pretty well my first week. For the first time in 15+ years I went more than 8 hours without.
In fact, I made it through last Tuesday and Wednesday with no dip.
Then, for some reason I pulled into a tobacco store for a can. I dipped that afternoon and night and then dumped the rest in the sink.
I’ve stumbled a few more times but am still on track to quit for good.
Funny thing is: the day I walked into a tobacco store I wasn’t really feeling much of an urge. I was on the phone with a friend and the next thing I knew I was pulling a can off the rack.
It’ll happen. But I’m also a realist. I’m not going to quit quitting until it’s for good.
Hang in there. I was a smoker for thirty years until I quit the first time in 2004. I was smokefree for eighteen months and then fell off the wagon again. I no longer think about not smoking for the rest of my life. I now just say that I won’t smoke today. And at the end of each day, I know I’ve got two more than I would have had, otherwise.
Jamey,
Give that habit over to God and I promise, he will deliver. That’s the only way you will be able to stop. God can do it.