I used a book from (I think) the American Cancer Society, something like "Quit Smoking in 21 Days." I shouldn't have needed anything, after all. I was very good at quitting, having done it hundreds of times before.
Some of the things I remember:
The third day smoke free can be the worst because you feel the lack of nicotine fully then.
Chewing stick cinnamon works for some people (like me) better than hard candy.
Drink LOTS of water. It helps flush the toxins out, it helps you feel full, and it's a good habit to start anyway.
This wasn't in the book, I don't think, but I didn't tell anyone when I was quitting because I didn't want well-meaning friends to ask how I was doing.
I quit 18 years ago. I did it prior to asking XW out for the first time, just in case she didn't like smoke. I had a few incidents in the early years when I smoked while at the bar with friends, maybe a dozen times in the first five years. But the last several times I've been out, I haven't smoked, and at a party last summer I actually left early because the smoke was bothering me.
This whole "XW chapter" of my life seems to have been about prompting change in myself, and later understanding that I can keep good changes for myself. Good thing, because I can't afford smokes today.
Thanks,
Joe
My sitch More importantly, Light A Million Candles
