Re: its now the right time to quit smoking?

In article <2467199f-c9f3-49a0-83bd-46b0af5d16ed@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Eldon <EldonB123@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Maybe there isn't a right or wrong time for you at this point, since
you have experience. But for some people who haven't tried it before,
the right time to quit is in the future, after some deliberation and
preparation.

Example: Person X wants to quit, Decides to check out medications.
Makes doctor appointment. Gets prescription for Zyban/Chantix. Starts
taking it. Buys some patches just in case. Gets rid of smoking
paraphernalia. Takes medication for the allotted 8-10 days while
continuing to smoke.

Right there, at least two weeks have passed. Person X is going to have
a far easier time of it than Ian, who made a sudden decision a few
days ago, and lasted about two days before starting to smoke again.

BTW, nice to see you working on a quit again.

Eldon please note I wasn't trying to indicate that one just should
quit without preparation. what I meant to say was that it does not
matter at which stage of life I try to quit it will never be the right
time. I played the mind game of why I couldn't quit. I found tons of
excuses why I should keep smoking: my moods, busy with school, lots of
stress at home, losing my job.... always telling myeself now it's not
the time to quit, things will get better and than I quit. But they
never did and so I kept on smoking.

I don't know who Ian is and how he quit and how long he was quit. My
post was not referring by any means to him or anyone else. I so hope
that he finds his way back to the group and will be able to quit again
and find the freedom to a smoke free life.

HappyPolarBear

Oh, I think Ian will find his way back, and I wasn't trying to put you
down. In fact, I see that Bruce W. went on to say NOW is the time to
quit, which shouldn't be taken literally by any means. Someone who
quits on a momentary whim will probably last four hours or maybe one
day.

There was a recent study that says quitting on impulse is effective.
I had a hard time believing that.

You're right, quitting requires preparation. Some smokers
mistakenly believe that when the time comes when they want to
quit, you just quit.

Addiction doesn't work that way.

Smokers who try that look down at the burning cigarette is their
hand and ask what's up with that?

There's a lot to learn--most of it by experience, i.e., failure.

A failed quit attempt can be a good thing because it blows away the
false notion quitting is just not smoking the next one.

Actually, it is. But the devil is in the details.

How do you not smoke the next one?

Same way you get to Carnegie Hall.

Practice, practice, practice.

My point is that quitting is a decision people need to build up to.
There is scientific evidence for this. You need to make a decision and
reinforce it day by day while preparing to quit. The withdrawal
symptoms are no less excruciating than torture; at least they weren't
for me.

It's spelled out in so many websites: Set a quitting date, get rid
of all smoking materials, drink lots of liquids, eat a balanced
diet, don't out drinking with friends, avoid smokers, confront
triggers, etc.

You learned to smoke. You have to learn to quit.
.

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