My Smoking Saga

I was a smoker for 26 years – and I quit - once and for all.  Believe me when I tell you - if I can do it, anyone can do it

There has been so much written on smoking cessation, why would I write yet another?  I believe that different approaches work with different people; sometimes certain phrases or stories click better with some people.  If anyone can take away one good thing from my experience, then it was well worth the time it took for me to share it.   

 

The Beginnings

I was not a victim to peer pressure, nor was I trying to show off.  In fact, I was quite outspoken against smoking up to the age of 14, constantly harping at my parents to quit.  I hid their cigarettes, flushed them and complained regularly of the stench.  My parents separated when I was 14 and as the oldest in the household I took on most of the daily chores such as laundry, meals, cleaning etc… Eventually, rolling cigarettes for my father became one of my daily tasks.  One evening, curiosity got the best of me and I lit one up.  I needed to understand what the big deal was.  Aside from a spinning head and an awful taste in my mouth, I really did not learn why so many people were caught up in this disgusting habit.  As time went on I remembered one thing about that night – a somewhat relaxing sensation.  With the pressures of being new to high school and helping raise my younger brother and sister, I began having trouble falling asleep at night.  I simply put two and two together and lit up a smoke before going to bed.  It worked like a charm but before long, became a necessity.  The nightly ritual quickly became a morning ritual later complimented with cigarettes after meals which escalated up to a pack a day by the time I was 16.

 

Over the Years

During my 26 year smoking career, I made one or two feeble attempts at quitting smoking.  Once I purchased a device called “LifeSign” which recorded how many smokes I had and at what intervals.  After four days of this, the machine would tell ME when to smoke and then reduced the number of cigarettes smoked each day.  I got down to about 2 per day but never actually quit as I was just not ready.  As we moved into the 90’s more and more people around me stopped smoking.  I found there were fewer and fewer places to smoke and it was gradually becoming less socially acceptable.  Over time, I also found that my lung capacity was reduced, colds lingered longer and let’s face it – I stunk of cigarette smoke.  After moving to Ottawa, I began taking the bus to work and noticed how other folks would have a smoke just before getting on.  The fresh smell of smoke was quite strong and offensive and then I realized – this is what I smell like to non smokers – yuk!

Aside from the health and social issues, the cost of smoking is really what got to me.  I started smoking when a pack cost $2.90 and quit as they broke the $10 mark.  I will be honest – my main motivation for quitting was the money, however I am grateful of all those side benefits such as living longer!

 

The Decision

I had heard it many times before – one must want to quit smoking to be successful.  NOT necessarily true.  Although a will to quit is a powerful thing, I am living proof that it is not always necessary.  I was tiring of the cost of smoking.  I was tiring of the smell.  I was tiring of being looked upon as an “outcast” when lighting up in public.  Most of all, I was tiring of IT having control over ME.  So I decided not to quit, but to try – try to quit.  I looked around at a few options to help me out as I knew I lacked will power and would not be able to pull it off on my own.  My choice was “Champix” (Chantix in the USA).  It was covered under my drug plan at work and I knew a few people that were successful with it so I decided that this is the path I would take. 

 

The Plan

Using Champix is quite simple.  You pop a pill in the morning and one at night.  The key is to finish the program in its entirety.  My first attempt failed because I stopped taking the pills after 30 days versus the 90 days that the program calls for.  I started taking the pills in early December 2009 and without any effort, my smoking decreased dramatically.  They say you should pick a date to stop (you continue smoking while you are taking the medication).  I knew that January 1^st would be the worst date to try and stop.  I also knew from my previous experience that I had more trouble with smoking at work than at home.  I then planned to take 1 week of holidays from work and quit smoking then.

 

The Execution

It was January 9^th, a Friday afternoon at about 16:00, and I was on my way home from work when I smoked my last cigarette.  I knew that I had 60 days left to go on my program and that if I had another cigarette that it would not necessarily spell failure.  It was the beginning of my holiday and I was determined to see how long I could go without having a cigarette.  One day passed, then another.  Once into my third day of no smoking, I realized I was into new territory as I had never gone that long without a cigarette before.  The last thing I wanted to do was ruin my “new record”.  During this time, I did not suffer any withdrawal symptoms; I suspect that the Champix was taking care of that.  All I had to do was make sure I didn’t light up out of habit.  My diet did not change and my sleeping patterns were unaffected.  One side effect to the medication was vivid dreaming and I have to admit, I quite enjoyed it!  Dreams of playing volleyball outside in pitch darkness to skateboarding down the freeway to tell my family I had quit smoking were quite entertaining to name just a couple.  I made sure I drank lots of water to help cleanse my system and also to help curb any desire to snack.  By the time I returned to work, I had over 1 week of momentum behind me to carry me through my work days.  The only real challenge was at the end of my day – this was the only time I really craved a cigarette however the urges lasted less than 5 minutes.

 

The Aftermath

I suspect it was the use of Champix that greatly limited my withdrawal symptoms.  I really did not have any until about 3 months in.  I suffered from constipation for a short spell and was quite surprised that this was a withdrawal symptom!  My doctor explained that smoking changes the body in many ways and quitting smoking slowly reverses all of these changes.   The other unavoidable side affect was the weight gain.  As explained by my doctor, gaining weight after quitting smoking is inevitable.  Whether it is a minimal 15 pounds or more is up to the individual’s habits.  If the diet does not change at all, an average person will gain about 15 lbs.   The weight can be lost, but don’t even try until your weight has stabilized.  For me this took about 8 months.

On the positive side, I noticed I was breathing easier, slept better and had much more spending money.  One other positive thing that I did not anticipate was my found time.  Smoking 25 cigarettes per day at about 10 minutes each is 250 minutes or just over 4 hours!!!  I was losing 4 hours each day to smoking that I could be doing something more productive!  What a discovery that was.  I quickly noticed that the dishes were now caught up all the time and I wasn’t doing laundry at midnight any more – and that was just the beginning.

 

Final Thoughts

Quitting smoking was a major success for me; it was most likely the single biggest accomplishment I have made in my life.  I am proud of it and wanted to share my story in hope that it may inspire others.   Although Champix worked for me, it may not be the answer for everyone.  Cold turkey, hypnosis or gum – whatever you chose, work it in to a bigger plan.  It is important to have a plan, a fall back and also to know that if you don’t succeed the first time, there is nothing from stopping you to try a second or third…I also believe it is important to understand why you started in the first place, and what is driving you to quit.  If you can identify your motivation to quit, then use that as your leverage.