The First Six Months

Between nicotine withdrawal and recovering from the many associations we have with smoking, the first six smoke-free months are challenging for most people. The ups and downs of smoking cessation are poignantly reflected in the following personal accounts that detail the challenges at various points during the first six months smoke-free.

Settle in and do some reading -- there is no shortage of inspiration and motivation to succeed to be found on these pages!

KerriFrom Kerri
"My name is Kerri. I'm 31 years old, and I have been a nicotine addict for more than half of my life. I was 13 when I smoked my first cigarette. My friends turned green; I got good at it. By 15, I was using my lunch money to buy cigarettes."zSB(3,3)MaryFrom Mary:
"I started on a slippery road
with fear and trembling in my sack,
but once around the corner
I knew there was no turning back."DarleneFrom Darlene:
"Please rejoice with me, because I am one of the lucky ones. I quit smoking and have been given a second chance. I am three months smoke-free as of today, September 9, 2008, and have found a peace and freedom that I've never before felt. I believe it is because I quit smoking and have completely changed my life. I abused my body big time in many ways for most of my life, but no more."StockxpertFrom Kay:
"One thing I have learned here is that all it takes is a single puff to break a quit. By reaching for a smoking buddy's pack after not smoking for a few days or weeks, I actually lost all my previous quits well before the three-month anniversary."StockxpertFrom Marah:
"I hope to encourage new quitters by listing some of the benefits I’ve derived from not smoking these past 3 months. I smoked for 27 years, 20 of those years a pack a day or more. For the last 3 or 4 years, I’d been chewing 5-6 pieces of nicotine gum a day on top of 20 cigarettes, so I had ungodly amounts of nicotine coursing through my bloodstream."LarryFrom Larry:
"Here it is Christmas Eve day 2006, and tomorrow morning around 9 am PST it will be 4 months since I put out that ONE cigarette I had been in search of for the better part of 50 years (the last ONE). How in the world could ONE stinking cigarette be so elusive, so hard to find?"AngelaFrom Angela:
"When I think of a cigarette, I think of the four thousand chemicals that would rush into my mouth and burn their way into my once healthy lungs. I think about that nasty taste, that nasty ring of polluted air I would create in the space around my body."DeeFrom Dee:
"This does not have to be a 24/7 battle. Fact: there is a price to pay(urges, cravings, etc)for freedom. Relax, accept that fact. Keep it simple, take it one day at a time, and move the heck on and enjoy your life being smoke free"zSB(1,2)JaneFrom Jane:
"Long before August 5, 2006, I had been thinking how much I hated smoking, not quitting smoking, just hating it. After all, I had smoked for 37 years. Cigarettes were a part of who I was, how I functioned, and ingrained into my fiber."LeslyFrom Lesly:
'Six months, half a year, and two seasons since I smoked.'(EB) "This is so hard for me to believe! I'd like to take a minute and give my thoughts to people coming up behind me, or people who might be struggling. To get free of this addiction, it is my belief that you have to educate yourself to the "lie" of the cigarette."Readers Respond: Our Reasons to Quit Smokingif(zSbL

View the original article here