Smokeless Man

Well, I've been cutting down and tomorrow I'm back on the nicotine lozenges.

In the meantime, there's an interesting article on the Esquire site by a 46-year-old who decided to smoke for a month to see what it was like - and then quit again. It makes for an interesting read, and highlights some of the reasons why people find it hards to quit. And let's all be honest here, it's hard to quit. Saying that doesn't make it any less worthwhile, and allows us to feel better for every day, week, month and year we manage.

Meanwhile the Washington Post flags up the fact Barack Obama smoked until his presidential campaign, when his wife made him promise to quit. And a release from his doctor revealed he was currently using Nicorette gum with success (Good PR for Nicorette).

But the columnist Michael Kinsley, finishes with one important question. Quitting will definitely improve Obama's life expectancy, but having someone capable of initiating the end of the world suffering with cigarette cravings might not be in all our best interests!

The effects of smoking within the American nursing profession have been revealed by a study by UCLA, according to Medical News Today:
'The rate of smoking among women in the Nurses' Health Study declined from 33.2 percent in 1976 to 8.4 percent in 2003. The number of cigarettes smoked per day also dropped. However, the daily number among current smokers still averaged more than 15 cigarettes, or over half a pack.'

Meanwhile in the UK, the Conservative party has questioned whether banning display adverts in shops, and stopping the sale of packs of 10 cigarettes will have any effect on smoking rates. That and the banning of vending machines could lead to a rise in buying illegally imported foreign cigarettes - not only masking the true numbers of smokers, but also meaning the Government misses out on a lot of profitable tax money.

Back in the U.S. in Atlantic City, 11 casinos will now allow people to smoke indoors, after profits were hit by a month-long ban. It's now been repealed for a year, and casinos can offer a ventilated smoking lounge.

And my personal total for the day is 10 cigarettes, with the nicotine lozenges being used again from tomorrow!

An estimated 19.8 percent of U.S. adults (43.4 million people), were current smokers in 2007, down from 20.8 percent in 2006, according to a study in Center for Disease Control's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, released in advance of the Great American Smokeout.

And Reuters has reported another good reason to quit, with women between 27 to 44 years old doubling the chance of premenstrual syndrome, especially hormonally-related symptoms like backaches, bloating, breast tenderness, and acne. So while a cigarette might seem like it's making things better at that time of the month, you might be better off quitting instead!

Meanwhile I'm cutting down again. Down to 10 a day, and planning tomorrow as the last day of indulging my relapse before hitting the nicotine replacement again!

Unfortunately I've had a bit of a relapse, inspired by my fear of flying and getting a bad cold. From experience, quitting during a cold guarantees a chest infection, so I'm trying to limit myself, but I'm back up to at least 10 a day.

Time to get back on track this weekend!

Wahey!

After two or three weeks of cutting down, with accidental mistakes and sometimes a loss of willpower taking me back up a pack a day, I've finally made it through a whole 24 hours without smoking!

I'm definitely getting there. Recently when I've faltered and had a cigarette, it's been nowhere near as enjoyable as it used to be - it's started to taste really bad!

I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel!

Giving up smoking is incredibly tough. People compare it to giving up hard drugs like heroin, and there's certainly a huge psychological aspect to being successful.

But one easy way to help yourself is to remove temptation as much as possible. Make sure you're thrown away any cigarettes, and any lighters. If you have to keep a lighter or matches in case of a power outage, then put them away out of sight (but obviously somewhere you could find in an emergency).

It might be worth giving social gatherings a miss for a week or two if you know there will be smokers around - and definitely don't hang around the smoking area/room at work!

If you share a house with a smoker, or someone else who is also trying to give up, and they're still smoking, get them to hide their cigarettes, and persuade them to try not to mention cigarettes, and to just say they're going for a walk, for example.

And watch out for films. Although most cigarette advertising has now been banned, most films still feature a lot of people lighting up...


One recommended tool to help you is: Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking: Be a Happy Non-smoker for the Rest of Your Life (Allen Carrs Easy Way), which several people have recommended to me!

So I got back down to two a day.

Then I went on a business trip, and thought 'To Hell With It'. And majorly screwed up. I'm talking a full pack of Marlboro Reds each day, for two days.

*sigh*

It's times like this when I question my motivation for giving up the evil weed. In all honesty, it's not for me. It's for my family - their health, and their financial situation. I'm slightly motivated by the possibility of improving my health, and I'm more aware of the reality of an increased risk of death, but it really is for them.

Which makes it a lot harder when I'm apart from them - as soon as I got back, I managed to get back on the lozenges and back down to 2 a day again.

It also means, I'm making sure I keep a picture of my family on my phone, and in my wallet in a more prominent place - so when I go to pay for ciggies, for example, I can see them and remember why I'm doing this...