My Journey As A Non Smoker

This hub is all about smoking. Its all about quitting and showing you that I am living proof that anyone can quit.

I want everyone to know that no matter who you are or what you do you can give up the filthy habit of smoking. There is no time like the present and I hope I can be the person to hold your hand.

If after I finish this hub and I promote it it like crazy I am hoping I can do two things. The first thing I would like to accomplish is helping people quit and the second is to try and make sure people dont start.

So this hub will be an entire journey of the day I decided to quit, everything in between and all the way up to today. Please sit back and enjoy the read and if you are a smoker please think of quitting. If you are a non smoker feeling the pressure to start please dont.

On a very, very rare occasion someone can say they are quitting smoking and they make it happen that day. Im sorry to burst any bubbles out there but thats generally not how this happens.

If you want to become a non smoker there are a few things that are needed to help make the best decision in the world come true.

The first thing you will need is you will have to want to quit. I dont care what you have to help you quit smoking. If you arent ready to become a non smoker you just wont.

You may need some help like nicotine gum, the patch or even an electric cigarette. It really is okay to use some help as long as this is a short term thing and you arent getting rid of one addiction to start another one.

You will need will power. There will be a million reasons for you to have a smoke and not become a non smoker. You will have stress, you will be driving, will want one in the morning and so forth and so forth.

Lastly you will need a support system. Yo are going to have to hang out with people who will encourage you. For a while at least you need to keep all negative people out of your life. There will be people who doubt you can become a non smoker. These are the people you just want to stay away from for a while.

February 6, 2010 is probably one of the most important days of my life. That is the day I made the decision to quit smoking. Please dont get this mixed up. Its not the day I quit but rather the day I decided to quit. In my quit smoking journey this was a very important step to becoming successful.

A few things you need to understand are, I was a 30 year smoker, I was smoking 2 packs a day and I couldnt walk to the end of the block or up a set of stairs without having to stop and take a break to catch my breath. I was entirely sick of smoking and I knew it.

So February 6th, 2010 was the day I announced to friends, family, strangers and to the world that I would be quitting smoking on my birthday that year which was May 6th. I announced it to everyone because this way I was holding myself accountable for when the big day came.

One other thing I did was at least half a dozen times a day I would remind myself that I was going to quit smoking on May 6th, 2010. Let me tell you by the beginning of May I was wishing it was May 6th. I really was sick of smoking already. However I decided to stick to the original plan and smoke until May 6th.

Well May 6th came around just like any other day. It was my birthday and it was the day I was going to quit smoking. I woke up and lit my first smoke of the day. You see part of the promise was I would finish smoking what ever I had left on that day. It just so happens I had about half a pack left.

I really thought anxiety would be kicking in as I dwindled down my supply of smokes. Nothing really seemed to be hitting me yet.

Around noon my wife was taking me out for dinner for my birthday. On the way to where we were going to eat I smoked my last cigarette. I would be lying if I said I didnt feel anything. However I think it was more scared then anything else.

One of my favorite cigarettes was always first thing after a meal. Well today there would be no cigarette after my meal. In fact there would never be another cigarette after a meal.

All I was using at this point was a little bit of nicotine gum. The end of day one came along and all was well as a non smoker so far.

It turned out that day three was my worst day as a non smoker. The nicotine gum just wasnt doing its thing, I was getting a little grumpy and I just wanted a cigarette. I told myself it wasnt going to happen but things were very tough.

My wife recognized I was having a rough day. She wanted to help but didnt know how. Then she found out a friend was selling their e-cigarette. We didnt know if this would be the answer but we figured for fifty dollars it was worth a try. She went and picked it up and it turned out that the e-cigarette was the trick.

I made it through day three and to the end of the week and everything was gone. Thats right, on day seven I threw away the gum, inhaler and the e-cigarette. For me I figured a week of help was enough. It was now time to step out on my own. Please, if you are quitting use the help as long as you need it. For me a week was what worked.

So I was officially a non smoker for a week. I wasnt cranky any more and I was feeling much better already. Life was turning out really good.

Well I quit smoking on May 6th, 2010. I have not had a cigarette since that day.

The cravings never go away. Every single day when I sit in my truck I feel myself wanting a cigarette. I also get cravings at some of the weirdest times.

I do know that I will never give into these cravings. I could not believe the difference in two things. First of all where I live in Canada smokes are an average of 10 dollars a pack. The math is really simple. 2 packs a day equals 20 bucks a day. 20 bucks a day equals 140 dollars a week. 30 days a month on average equals 600 bucks a month so that equals 7200 dollars a year. Im sorry but that is an incredible amount of money.

Yea I have bought myself a couple nice things as rewards and you really should.

The second big thing but really probably the most important is my health. I feel so good and I have so much energy. Within days I could start feeling the difference. Since I quit I am way more active. I can do a bit of jogging and I even climbed a small mountain without losing my breath once. Back then I would have even tried because it would have been a disaster.

The really big surprise was this: I have asthma. I know what so many of you are thinking. He smokes and he has asthma. Ya I did and really I heard all the lectures. Anyways I was using about 6 inhalers a month most months and sometimes even more. This is going to shock all of you. Since May 6th, 2010 I have only used three inhalers. That is the difference quitting smoking makes.

When I decided I was going to quit smoking I had a huge support system. There was the odd person who told me the stress wasnt worth it but those were usually people who had tried to quit smoking and failed.

My closest supporter was my wife. My wife is a smoker and I highly doubt she will ever quit. Thats not what were here to talk about though. She stood by me every second of the way. She took action by trying not to smoke around me and so forth. She put up with me when I got grumpy. However that wasnt very often.

My wife or no one else smokes in our house now. To be truly honest with you my wifes smoking doesnt bother me though. It doesnt really stink, she takes care of herself and so forth. I really was not only determined to quit smoking but I was also determined to not become one of those smokers.

I do bug my wife a little but she know I am only joking. She may make the decision one day but that has to be her decision and no one elses.

I just want To enlighten the readers on a few things that I discovered as I became a non smoker.

1. I do smell much better so people who smoke a lot does not smell very good, especially when they come in from cold to warm.

2. In my case the only thing that tasted different for a while was Pepsi. Other then that no foods tasted any different and still dont.

3. You have to want to quit. So dont try and force people.

4. Of course you save money.

5. Of course it is a huge benefit to your health.

6. Smoking is an addiction, probably one of the worst addictions known to man kind.

7. If you need help to quit smoking then get help.

There are a lot more things I could talk about but for now I should bring this hub to an end. If you are thinking of quitting smoking, have quit smoking or are just curious feel free to ask me questions and I will do my best to answer them with an answer that is satisfactory.