Stopsmoking

From July 1997 to March 2009, I worked in the Middle East as a Field Service Engineer for communications and radar equipment. One of the radar stations I used to maintain was situated on an island (more like a rock) some 12 miles from the mainland. Access was mainly by boat and of course I dreaded this because once on the jetty, it was a climb of about 80 very steep, uneven steps up to the bottom of the rock.

The freedom from Smoking has changed my life. I could sit here and tell you about being able to hustle up stairs, or that my clothes don’t stink or how good food tastes, but in reality the biggest thing about being smoke-free, aside from physical health, is purely psychological ‘ I am free from an addiction. My life no longe revolves around Smoking. That speaks louder than anything else. I plum forgot about my one-year anniversary because I simply don’t think about Smoking much anymore. Occasionally the topic will cross my mind, usually when talking to another smoker who also wants to quit. I tell them what they’ve heard is true ‘ you have to want to quit. You have to want it more than anything else. Most people who smoke like Smoking, even if they really can’t see why anymore. The satisfaction factor for their cravings has earned the title of ‘something I like to do’. I no longer think about when my next break is, or if I can sneak out between breaks to catch a smoke. I don’t have to remember to suck one down before a movie, or a dinner out. No more standing in bad weather, or cracking the car window. Its not that the cessation of these activities is a big deal in and of themselves, its that I don’t even think about doing them. It’s natural to not do them. A few days ago, I walked out of a diner where a couple of men were standing outside, and one remarked that he was going to ask me for a light but I didn’t look like someone who smoked. Wow., I thought in my head. Something else I hadn’t considered ‘ people who smoke generally look like people who smoke. That comment made my whole day ‘ I was telling friends ‘hey, I don’t look like I smoke’ (of course, there’s always the wise cracker who says ‘yeah, but you’re still ugly’). So, unless I have a relapse ‘ and I don’t see it happening ‘ you likely wont hear from me again. Since I don’t smoke, and I don’t think about Smoking, I’ve simply run out of things I can say about it. And that’s great ‘ not having a thing to say about Smoking, because it’s so not part of who I am and what I do. I am an ex-smoker. I hope all of you reach your one-year anniversary and become true ex-smokers, too.

Then another 200 meters up a 30 degree path to the radar station itself at the top. What with the heat as well, I was struggling for breath at the top of the steps and sat it out for a few minutes wishing I knew how to give up smoking. Then came the climb up the path to the top, this was just as bad as the steps. I thought a great deal during these excursions and was still giving it some thought on one of my leave periods back to England. I really wanted to give up smoking but knowing my history it still only remained a desire. While on leave back in January of 2003, as with other leaves I paid visits to various arms of my family dotted around different parts of the country. One person I visited was a cousin and she greeted me with, ‘We all love you and want to see a lot more of you. Will you give up smoking.’ Well, with everything else that had been going around in my head I do believe this was the one thing more that I needed to to put my mind in the right frame. That was 29 January 2003 and after leaving my cousin’s house, on my way home I dropped into the local chemist and bought a full course of patches (10 weeks worth) and it cost me a fortune. That was added incentive to Stop smoking. Since that day, I have never looked back and it’s my belief that will power was the main driving force. The patches ‘ well, I think they probably controlled mood swings I had suffered in the past when trying to Stop. Looking back, what did it for me was everything fell into place at the right time. My desire to Stop was very strong and had been for some time, I saw some very sickly Stop smoking advertisements on the TV and the final gel was that short request my cousin made. I will forever be in her debt. Within a few months (or even weeks) I was reaping the benefits from it. A trip out to the rock in the middle of the sea saw me walking from the jetty to the radar station at the top without a Stop. I seem to have lost a persistent cough I used to have. I always blamed it onto the last cold I had, just a hangover from that. If I was asked to advise anyone, I think I tell them to really look for all the reasons you want to Stop for and of course, the family theme is a very strong one too. You may like to visit my blog for more information. Read more on Stopsmoking

I’m trying to help a friend quit. Every time I see him put a cigarette in his mouth and light it, I grab it from his lips and throw it on the ground. He’s not allowed to hit me anymore if I do this, cause he asked for my help.

Dunno if that’s any easier than the way in the book. But’ GOOD LUCK, TIGER. Read more on Stopsmoking

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