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How I Quit Smoking Cigarettes by: Frances M. McCrory-Meservy
I had been smoking for 40 years. The last 20 years I smoked 2 packs a day. I had tried to quit smoking more times than I could count.
In 2002 I thought out a plan that turned out to be the one that has kept me tobacco/nicotine free for almost 7 years now.
Every morning before I got out of bed I prayed for God to help me quit smoking. One of the really big things I noticed right away was that if I talked about quitting smoking, I wanted a cigarette. Then I noticed that if I was around people who talked about cigarettes and/or quitting smoking, I wanted a cigarette. It was like talking about it kept the habit in front of me to see and not behind me so I could forget. I informed everyone that they could no longer talk about cigarettes or quitting around me. My husband helped me by making sure no one talked about it in my presence. Whatever we talk about (even if it's quitting) is what we end up doing. That's why the Bible says, "Think on the good things."
1. I set my quit date as September 4, 2002.
2. I switched to Winston "no additives" so I could get past the addiction to arsenic and Lord only knows what else for 60 days before I quit.
3. I smoked outside the last 30 days before I quit. This caused me to smoke less.
4. Beginning Sept. 4 I put a patch on when I got up each AM and chewed a piece of 2 mg Nicorette gum. That got me through the time lapse between putting the patch on and actually getting the nicorette from the patch. I had to take it off at bedtime because it gave me nightmares.
5. I cleaned the walls, ceiling, nick-knacks, and everything in our home. I shampooed the carpets and furniture. I even rewashed all our clothes and had our coats dry-cleaned to make sure the odor was out.
6. If I was sitting watching TV or chatting with someone, I did puzzles, embroidered or crochet to keep my hands busy.
7. After I finished the Nicoderm patches, I chewed 1/2 piece of nicotine gum when I was stressed and just after I ate for a year.
8. Since I was chewing the peppermint Nicorette, I switched to 1/2 piece of sugar free peppermint gum in November 2003.
When I am around someone who smokes (even if they are smoking), it does not make be want a cigarette. It makes me glad I quit because the smell is noxious.
A wonderful side effect of quitting is that I only need to dust about every 2 weeks instead of every other day. When tobacco smoke settles in our homes, it looks like dust. Since I hate cleaning, that made me glad I quit.
My husband (who has COPD) quit wheezing when I quit. It was the odor that made his breathing worse. Taking it outside was good and he wheezed less but the odor was a big problem also. He had quit smoking in 1990.
I did not quit smoking because it was a sin or because God told me to. I quit because I was tired of the mess, the smell, the escalating cost and my husband's health.
I love our Pastor, Ray Emery's saying: "You won't go to hell for smoking, you'll just smell like you've been there."
Phil 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Psa 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psa 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
Psa 22:19 But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me!