How I Quit for Good

After a few years of smoking, I realized I was hooked. I had tried to kick the habit several times but it was not until I had a great reason to quit that I actually put down the smokes.

When I met my husband, he smoked too, but we soon decided that we cared enough about each other to quit together. It was great having this extra motivation. I was not just quitting for myself anymore, I was quitting for him and for our future life together.

With that emotional backdrop, I was able to rethink every smoke. I began by cutting back from menthol 100’s to menthol regulars. I spent about a week smoking regulars and I went to menthol lights, then to regular lights. After about a month smoking lights, I switched to ultra lights. Finally I put down the ultra lights and started smoking those tiny Capri ultra light cigarettes.

During this time I also changed where I smoked. I often smoked in the car, at breaks with the gang at work and after a meal. Since I had just purchased a new car, I chose to quit smoking in it first. It was difficult at first dealing with a familiar smoking situation and not having a cigarette in hand. Soon, after about two weeks, I tried cutting the smoke after dinner. My future husband and I would intentionally sit in the non-smoking section at the beginning of the meal. Sometimes we’d go outside and smoke anyway, but our intentions were good. The hardest place to stop was with the smoke breakers at work, which took a while. I also replaced my nightly stop at the convenience store for a pack, to a nightly stop for a pint. Not of alcohol, but of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

It was about this time that I started to consider myself a non-smoker. This was the biggest help. I was at this point on a very low “dose” of nicotine, and my main addiction was to the habit, not the drug. Taking this step was pivotal in my journey. Even though I smoked on occasion, I was still a non-smoker. I was able to forgive myself for slipping up, and get right back on track.

Mine and my husband’s last cigarette was at his 30th birthday party. We are now proud parents of four wonderful children and I am so glad we are not modeling the behavior our parents modeled to us. How did our parents quit? That’s another story.