Question for smokers...

[Flatline]

1) When did you start smoking?
2) How long have you been smoking?
3) How many times have you tried to quit smoking?
4) Did you quit smoking?

And finally how did you do it and be able to stay smoke free and get through the withdraw scene?

[blue cat]

1. smoking 20 yrs

started in college. quit many times.

[johnnie]

2. .

1) At the age of 12. I would sneak them from my parents and go to the woods. I started because I was hyper and thought that they calm you down. Hell, what did I know?

2) 31 years

3) Never tried to quit

4) Nope

[dropkickpa]

3. Answers

1. 12 years old
2. 19 years
3. None, I ain't no quitter
4. See #3

[porphyrian]

4. I'll go...

I started when I was 18 or 19, right about at the same time I started drinking and doing other drugs.

I smoked around two packs a day (sometimes more) for about ten years.

I played around with the idea of quitting a couple of times, but the only serious attempt was the last one.

Yep. I went cold turkey and haven't backslid at all in almost another decade. The way it worked for me was that I gave myself an entire year of mental preparation, during which I gave myself permission to smoke as much as I wanted as long as I quit a year later. Then, instead of calling it quitting, I made it more of a game to see how long I could go without smoking another cigarette.

The first week was the most difficult, and I was more of an ass to everyone than usual. The second week was also difficult, but not as bad. After that, a friend of mine convinced me to with him to a bar, and that was where I decided I could do this, even while drinking (which was when I usually smoked the most). After that, my only problems were figuring out to do with all the time I used to be lighting up and the lingering desire to flick ashes (and I often volunteer to be the cigarette holder for my smoking friend just to flick the ash).