On November 16th, I will be celebrating six months smoke free!
That puts me at a new record. My longest quit prior to this one was 6 months in 2002-2003. So, I'm a little bit nervous passing the point where I caved before. But I figure my next major milestone is 1 year, and I plan to make it that far. I'd like to make it further, but I don't want to be overwhelmed by the prospect of quitting smoking for life.
I wonder if my mom ever worries about whether or not she will remain smoke-free for the rest of her life. She quit smoking once and for all in 1984, so she is now 21 years removed from her last drag.
She did tell me once, several years ago during one of my quit attempts, that as a smoker, you are never 100% free of cravings. Every once in a while they creep up on you and you get blindsided. The trick is to have the wherewithall to laugh them off. "Starting smoking again? Yeah, THAT would really help me get over my friend's death/my stressful job/my breakup", etc.
My boyfriend is still smoking, but kicking himself for it, and he plans to quit again... soon... In the meantime, I can't let that bother me.
We went to a barbecue last night chez some of his friends from work. They're a rowdy, fun, tight-knit group, and almost all of them are smokers. I was drinking wine with the best of 'em, but didn't find myself tempted to smoke. So that was nice. It's not to say that I couldn't find myself highly tempted in the same situation, but it's worth noticing and appreciating when things are easier than expected.
I hope that on some level, I am setting a good example for them. I don't talk about my quit, and people outside my immediate family generally don't ask.
As far as my immediate family is concerned, they ask me and I tell them how long it has been. I also try to remind my brothers that it would be great if the whole family would kick the habit.
My younger brother quits fairly often, once a month or more, and then goes back. But at least he's making efforts to quit--it'll take at some point.
My two older brothers take longer to quit. One seems fairly successful with it. He'll quit for a month or two and not smoke at all, then he'll let him self bum cigarettes from friends when he's out drinking, and then sooner or later he buys a pack and finds himself back where he started. A few months later he'll quit again.
The other gets very anxious about quitting, and plans and sets quit dates, but often pushes them back when stressful events come up. When he quits, he'll usually quit for 10 days or so, then go out and buy a pack--I don't see him gradually transition back to smoking.
My dad is the only one of us that routinely uses smoking cessation aids, like the patch, hypnotism, herbal remedy programs, or Wellbutrin. He's the only one for whom those methods aren't prohibitively expensive, so that probably has something to do with his choice vs. ours. When he quits, he quits for a long time--sometimes a year or more. When he caves, it's almost always while he's visiting one of his brothers.
My dad and brothers all have different quitting styles and obstacles to overcome. I believe that they can and will quit at some point, and that the quit will "take". My part in that is to set a good example, along with my mom.
In the microcosm of my family, as in the macrocosm of society, I believe that as more of us quit, it will subtly encourage the others to quit. Going outside to smoke with a group of people is fun and social; going outside to smoke by yourself is usually pretty sad.
So, in celebration of my 6 months of smoke free living, I have calculated the following:
Money saved: Approximately $700 (in cigarettes, lighters and extra trips to the gas station)
Other benefits:
I am...
Healthier - no cough/cold so far this year
Cleaner, in terms of personal hygiene, car and apartment
Less cluttered
On better terms with coworkers (who don't smoke and don't appreciate smoke breaks)
Happier (out with guilt, in with a sense of accomplishment)
More marketable (in the job market, smokers get lower-paying jobs and aren't hired as often as non-smokers)
More energetic
More productive
A good example for my family and society, when it comes to smoking
Rock on!
