Quitting Smoking

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Author:
frank vanderlugt

Long ago I had a friend and she was a girl.(not an official Girlfriend). Her mom smoked and worked during the day so daughter used to pinch her smokes and shared them with me. Both my parents smoked as well.

So off and on I got used to smoking; my smoking got a real boost when I became a sailor at the age of 17, because you could buy cigarettes tax-free when you were outside territorial waters.

Over time I started smoking more and more cigarettes and had to get up a couple of times a night to have another nicotine fix. Life without cigarettes was just not imaginable. Going on an airline trip was sheer torture because I could not smoke for a couple of hours.

We flew to Singapore once and I had a couple of smokes in the washroom in spite of the fact that airplanes were already putting people in jail for smoking. Over the years half of my mom's family died of lung cancer.

My dad's only sibling died of lung cancer. My mom died of a brain tumor-she used to be a heavy smoker. My dad got lung cancer. After he got lung cancer he visited me; he was a pathetic skin over bones man now, wearing a corduroy suit, BUT STILL SMOKING IN MY GARAGE.

My brother's wife has breast cancer; my brother still smokes cigars. I started having coughing spells at night and the vision in my left eye was deteriorating.

Me quitting smoking? Impossible- I have no willpower. Because I knew I could not quit I never even bothered to try. So after a whole lifetime of smoking I was going to die of lung cancer too.

However, I managed to quit by using self-hypnosis.

On September 13, 2002 at 3 PM I took my last drag and exhaled it through a Kleenex. That was my last cigarette. I have never even thought about smoking. People can smoke around me and I don't give it a thought.

I no longer cough at night and the vision in my left eye is fine now.

About the author:

How to quit smoking by Frank Vanderlugt

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Smoking... How to Conquer The Smoking Habit Most smokers sincerely want to quit. They know cigarettes threaten their health, set a bad example for their children, annoy their acquaintances and cost an inordinate amount of money. Nobody can force a smoker to quit. It's something each person has to decide for himself, and will require a personal commitment by the smoker. What kind of smoker are you? What do you get out of smoking? What does it do for you? It is important to identify what you use smoking for and what kind of satisfaction you feel that you are getting from smoking. Many smokers use the cigarette as a kind of crutch in moments of stress or discomfort, and on occasion it may work; the cigarette is sometimes used as a tranquilizer. But the heavy smoker, the person who tries to handle severe personal problems by smoking heavily all day long, is apt to discover that cigarettes do not help him deal with his problems effectively. When it comes to quitting, this kind of smoker may find it easy to stop when everything is going well, but may be tempted to start again in a time of crisis. Physical exertion, eating, drinking, or social activity in moderation may serve as useful substitutes for cigarettes, even in times of tension. The choice of a substitute depends on what will achieve the same effects without having any appreciable risk. Once a smoker understands his own smoking behavior, he will be able to cope more successfully and select the best quitting approaches for himself and the type of life-style he leads. Because smoking is a form of addiction, 80 percent of smoker who quit usually experience some withdrawal symptoms. These may include headache, light-headedness, nausea, diarrhea, and chest pains. Psychological symptoms, such as anxiety, short-term depression, and inability to...