My Quit Story

Darn. I should have started this six days ago!! Oh well!

Here's my story:

My name is Matt. I'm 32 years old and have smoked off and on since I was 18.

I was always the "good boy" in high school. Never smoked. Never drank. I was an athlete. In fact.....I was a pretty good distance runner in track.

I had my very first cigarette during my freshman year of college. My friends and I had snuck away to drink some booze....and one of them offered me a smoke. I accepted. I remember them laughing because I wasn't actually "inhaling" it correctly. Well.....I was a quick study.....and 14 years later I still find myself trying to quit what I should have never started.

I quit "cold turkey" once for a year and a half. Pretty good eh? Yep.....until I was out at a bar one night...and thought it couldn't hurt to have "just one" after such a long quit time. BIG MISTAKE!! One turned into two....which turned into three....which turned into buying a pack. In no time at all I was just as hooked as I had ever been. It was as if that entire year and a half had never happened. I really thought I was stronger than that.

I was hynotized once. Quit for a full year that time. Nice thing about that was that there were no withdrawal symptoms. I just didn't crave a ciggy. Flash foward a year almost to the day...and I was in the process of a role change at work which had me completely stressed out. I turned to a cigarette for comfort. Yep.....one cigarette after an entire year.....and I was done. Dumb huh? You'd think I'd have learned my lesson. Nope.

Quit for 6 months a couple of times........and I've had a myriad of shorter attempts. Ugh. I'm ready for it to stick this time. I'm tired of having no energy.....smelling like a nasty ash tray.....worrying about health effects......ruining my skin. NO MORE!!!

My cigarette of choice has been Marlboro Ultra Lights. Don't let the "Ultra Light" part fool ya. They are NO less deadly than any other cigarette I could have smoked.

For most of my "smoking career"...I've smoked about 1/2 a pack a day. The last 6 months or so I've somehow increased to about a pack a day!!!!!! Gawd!!! WTF am I doing to my body? I used to be a champion track runner.........and now I'm poisoning my lungs...my heart....my brain.

I've tried most everything. The Patch....Gum.....Cold Turkey.....Hypnosis. Fortunately, my many failed attempts have provided valuable lessons as to what does and does not work. I now know that I can never have "just one cigarette" and expect to stay quit. I know that in coordination with my quit date (6 days ago) I also need to take a break from going to the clubs and having a few drinks. And....I now know that the most powerful tool that I have is my very own will power and determination to stay quit. Quit smoking aides are alright....but no match to my own inner strength!!!!

Many of my friends have given up on me.....or even laugh when I tell them I'm going to quit smoking. This time I want to prove them wrong. I want to show myself and everyone around me that I can REALLY do this!!!!

If you are reading this....and contemplating a "quit date" I want to provide you with all of the encouragement in the world!!!!! If you have already quit and are in the process of recovering from this nasty addiction, you have my sincere respect and admiration. It isn't easy...but it's possible!!!!!!

My quit date was 9/24/06 (my birthday). I hope that by tracking my progress on this blog I can somehow provide encouragement to those who seek it!

Unfortunately, I've missed logging the first 5 days of not smoking. I'll recap them briefly in my first log....which will begin as "Day 6".

Keep readin........