Quit by Choice

Blog

  • How’s That New Year’s Resolution Working Out?

    Are you still quit? If so, congratulations! Most quitters would probably agree that the first 3 days are the hardest to get through. And the last time I went through them I would have agreed: I remember going through some serious withdrawal symptoms in those first 3 days.

    Whether you had it hard or easy, though, if you’re still free on January 3rd, you’re doing great! Every day should get a little easier from here on; every day, you should feel a little more “normal” as a non-smoker, a little more comfortable in your new role.

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  • The Myth of the Irresistible Urge

    On the first day of my quit, November 19th, 2001, there were moments when I wondered if I could make it through the next 10 minutes without a cigarette. I’m sure it never occurred to me that there would come a day when I could say I’d made it through 10 days without one, let alone 10 years.

    And yet, here I am, more than 10 years later, still smoke-free.

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  • The Sum of Our Fears

    When you think about quitting smoking, what are you afraid of? What scares you the most?

    Here are some of the most common fears people I’ve worked with over the years have told me they’ve had going into a quit, and my answers to them:

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  • How Not to Quit Smoking

    You’ve tried it all — the pills, the patches, the potions — and none of it has worked for you. You’ve begun to think that maybe you’re doomed to be a smoker until it kills you; after all, you’ve followed your family’s urging, your friends’ suggestions, and your doctor’s advice, and you’re still puffing away, even though — when you stop to think about it — you hate every single minute of it.

    You wonder,

    “What’s wrong with me?”

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  • The Realities of Addiction

    In 1988, the Surgeon General of the United States, C. Everett Koop, released a report entitled, “The Health Consequences of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction”. This report concluded that nicotine is just as addictive as heroin or cocaine.

    Naturally, Big Tobacco denied that nicotine was addictive at all – even going so far as to have their top executives testify to that effect during Congressional hearings in 1994 – yet their own internal documents (which they were forced to release as part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1998) show that they clearly recognized the addictive nature of their product.

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