I WAS a twenty year @ 25+cigarette a day smoker.I QUIT three weeks ago and have not had one since.I feel great and am very happy.I have had no cravings,anxiety,etc... EXCEPT for when i want to finish my car! It seems MENTALLY i cannot work on the car for any decent length of time and have to walk away from it.I seem to think i am doing everything a$$ backwards without having a smoke. The car is ready to go on the road,i just need to finish a few tiny things,off to paint and reassemble.I am SO close to completion and it boggles me as i have ABSOLUTELY no desire to get her done (that just blows my mind!)! Short of starting back up to get it done and then quit again (which i will not do) i think i'm screwed! Any thoughts?

David

get a piece of wooden dowel the size of a cigarette, have it in your mouth...friend of mine did , helped him concentrate on other things...

Don't do it Dave, don't start smoking again...

I finally quit when my first daughter was born, I prayed, prayed and prayed. Tried to quit seriously 2 previous times and talked myself into doing it again... "I'll just have one", "It's saturday night, I'm at a bar", "I won't buy any".. the easiest person to lie to is yourself.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Try the wooden towel or go to your local health store/organic grocer they have natural licorice. Same concept as the wooden dowel but the licorice will have some flavor. Give it a try and let us know.

Good Luck,
Pete

I've never been a smoker David so I don't know exactly what you're going through but I do know I have a better patience span if I try to do things like mechanical work after some exercise... gets rid of the tension that may be hanging around from the work day or whatever... or maybe try one of these as a soother as well Unfortunately you may have to take a trip to the dentist after a pack of them



Good luck man - stick with it!

Congratulations on quitting and don't let anything spoil the good feelings you are having now.

I was the same way when I wanted to use the torch or weld I had to have a smoke. In the 'transition period' I 'smoked' an unlit cigarette. Hey, it's a little extra filtering! Only problem with it was when someone saw me they would say, "Back smoking again"? I got tired of pointing out that it wasn't lit and eventually got over it. I still have a very strong urge to light up when I strike a torch.

Did you use ANYTHING or just throw them down? I tried it once with a pill thing and while I did ok for the week end, by the time monday rolled around I was desparate(ly lieing to myself). I really would like to be in your shoes.

I threw em down! The hardest part is that my wife kept smoking. Then she quit 3 years later. It was really hard not picking up her smokes! One thing that might be encouraging is a study that was done and reported by doctors is that if you can quit for two weeks you can quit. The people who need a lot of extra help are the ones that just can't quit at all. My wife heard this and it gave her the push to make it. She had quit sporadically for a couple weeks at a time and then started again. Sometimes all it takes is a little positive info.

I quit for the third and last time twenty years ago. The first three days are the hardest physically then after that it's all mental. DO NOT have that "only one" at this point. You've already got it licked, so put something else in your mouth. I used plastic straws. They're all over the place and no chance for splinters. Lollipops work, especially if you need a slight sugar jolt to work on the bird. Congratulations and good luck keeping smoke free.

I quit in 1975!
not picked one up since...my wife quit 20 yrs ago,and still wants one!

Congrats David. Don' t give up. Try some sunflower seeds (in the shell).

One of my buddys used this. I myself have not gotten to the point of quiting yet.
http://www.ezquit.net/images/ezquitpack.jpg

I know EXACTLY what you're going through. I was a pack-a-day smoker until 3 years ago. I went cold turkey. It was hard to work on my car afterwards because smoking was such an integral part of the process -- work on the car, stop and have a smoke, back on the car for a while.

My strong advice: it's better NOT to work on your car for a while if that's what it takes. Find something else to do for a while if necessary.

-John

You mean that I'm supposed to stop working and have a smoke? Ah, the pitfalls of being a working smoker.

Thanks all.Sitting now at a month smoke free.Starting to get the bug to work on the car.I was like you Merv and smoke and work.Will post some pics when she is done.I've waited this long to finish the car and this is the best reason all of these years not to get it done.I'll keep you posted!

David

great job David (quitting) ,keep it up! You can do it! but we also want to see that car finished.... at least it`s got nice visors! lol

i smoked 3 to 4 packs a day for 30 plus years david and i quit a year ago.if i can do it;anybody can

I quit Nov. 6 1989 after about 17 yrs of smoking and I know how you feel. I needed to go in the garage and work on the car but would stand at the door and think how can I ever work on a car again because I always needed to stand back and have the smoke while I looked at the project and thought about what I need to do or how to do it. Finally I dove in and started and never let myself dwell on the smoking. Every time it comes to mind find something else to think about and before you know it your mind is off the cigarette and you are not smoking. The down fall is to dwell on it. Good luck