Cutting Down on Smoking, Not Quitting.

Screw it! My quitting smoking strategy has changed. I can't sit around for 3 hours being totally unproductive while I suck on a straw and obsess about how badly I need and want a cigarette.

And I find that with a pack of cigarette in my bag, I'm able to function much better throughout the day and crave for cigarettes less. Sometimes I fell like having a cigarette but I don't, because I tell myself I can have one later since it's in my bag anyway. And by doing this, I'm down to 3 - 5 cigarettes a day. My usual is 7 - 10.

It's when there are no cigarettes around, that's when my mind stops functioning and can only think about smoking. It's madness! Trying to quit has taken over my life and i can't of nothing else but how badly I need a cigarette when clearly, I don't.

It's 6.30pm and I've only had 2 sticks today. Once after lunch. And once at tea time. Not too bad if I can say so myself.

It's in a bar (which I hardly go to anymore, yay!) or when having coffee with friends, that's the hardest to smoke just one.

Seriously ... coffee and cigarettes ... they go hand in hand.

Okay I know that cigarettes is bad for the body. But I figures I still really enjoy smoking. And if I stop cold turkey like I did for 2 days, it can lead to anxiety, stress, insomnia, and depression?! That's madness. Quite smoking for health but get a host of other illnesses?

So I figured that I'll still smoke (because it feels sooo good!) but only when I really want one and really am able to enjoy one. I shall no longer smoke because I'm bored or because everyone else around me is smoking.

I can now sit at a table of smokers and not smoke myself.

Yay!

And the battle continues.

To everyone out there who's trying to quit, good luck!

Trying to Quit Smoking Since 1 Jan 2009

As of today, I've not smoked for 1 3/4 days. Almost 2 days! I decided that 1 Jan 2009 would be the date that I quit. I pressured Paul into doing it too because there's just so many reasons to do it with the first and foremost being wanting to be parents at some point in the near future. So its not for our health (smokers don't ever consider this a factor) but it's to give the kid the best start possible, from conception onwards. I'm also reading What To Expect When You're Expecting and will be interviewing OBGYNs soon.

So after our New Year Eve party which ended at 4am, I went to bed and woke up at 3pm. Paul and I cleaned up the house, went out for dinner, walked around for a bit and came back. Paul promised he'll quit after he finished his last pack. I said okay. Fair enough.

The first smoke free day went without a hitch. No cravings. No nothing! I thought it was pretty easy. If only.

Came into work this morning and greeted Michelle Who Stays on the Seashore. She quit on 1 Jan too along with her partner.

We went to make coffee in the morning as usual but didn't detour to the stairwell for our morning smokes. The morning went by pretty quickly.

Then we went for lunch. We had our usual cravings for a cigarette after lunch. But that's to be expected. Then we saw a couple of people light up. We tried to ignore them. I sucked on a straw. Pretending it's a cigarette. It worked. For a while.

It's really not so much the nicotine but the hand-to-mouth action and having something to do with your hands and mouth. It helps so much when you're in a ackward situation. Or meeting a new group of people who smokes.

Since coming back from lunch, about 3 hours ago, I've thought about smoking about 30 times. It's all consuming. I can't work. I can only sit here, suck on my straw and imagine holding a stick between my fingers, the bright spark followed by the fire, then the deep inhalation and my lungs being filled with cool menthol air. And when I exhale, the smoke coming out like a dragon, the smoke enveloping me like a beautiful grey cloud, lifting me senses......

I can't help it (furtively and desperately sucking on my straw)!

Since writing this post, i thought about smoking another 15 times.

Wow this is tough.

I know I've not posted much on the wedding or the honeymoon but seriously, I need to share with you my trying to quit smoking experience.

I think this is when the anger and irritation sets in.

I know this isn't forever. I really love and enjoy smoking but recently have been doing it out of boredom, to relieve stress or just cos of habit. I wanna trash all of that and smoke when I really feel like having a cigarette. That means a few sticks a week which I think is fine. But I really do need to quit for at least a few months before i pick up social smoking just cos I can. Or after the baby. Or something. I can't think anymore!

I feel light headed. I dunno if it's the withdrawal symptoms. Or me taking really deep breaths through my plastic straw. Or winding my legs too tightly against my body.

I need a cigarette! Now............................

Not a Smoking Bun

The price of cigarettes is gonna go up again next year! Recently, it went up from RM7.40 to RM8.20. 80sen per pack is a huge difference and friends have been dealing with it in different ways.

Some have been cutting down and some have been trading down to value brands. Lotsa Marlboro smokers are now smoking L&M.

I’m guessing the cigarette boys are really feeling the pinch and are seeing sales of their value brands sky rocket.

Shell Shell says that she’ll quit when prices per pack reaches RM10. Well, now that she’s traded down, she’ll have quite a number of years more than if she was basing them on premium brands.

As for me, I’ve traded down too but within the same brand ie. from Dunhill Fine Cut Menthol to Dunhill Menthol Lights. There’s about a RM1 difference between the two.

I’ve also told myself that I’ll quit 6 months before getting pregnant. I still can’t see myself with a bun in the over but I definitely don’t want to be in a situation where I suddenly discover that ‘I’VE A BUN IN THE OVEN!!!” and start scrambling. Planning is essential to ensure a nice bun and the oven is ready and is in good working order. Other essentials include nice trays and moulds and enough icing sugar to be sprinkled on top when the bun is ready. Also, nice paper and a box so that the bun is as presentable as can be as we live in a superficial world.