I have smoked for over thirty years,

[Ghost]

But last friday on my way home from work something was different as i was smoking, it just did not feel right. I have tried to quit before, with no success. But for some reason when i stopped for gas, i threw the smokes, lighter and ash tray in the trash. Its been five days now and i can say i don't want or need them anymore. I hope that all of you that stopped has as much luck with this as i did. Good luck .

[Gear Jammer]

Congratulations on your accomplishment !

[ArmyValker]

Kinda the same for me... When I got on the plane in Iraq to come home I tossed my smokes to one of the guys stayin back and never touched them again. Some of us get lucky I guess..

[John33 (France VRCC)]

I gave up smoking 8 years ago ...after a heart problem!
was easy because it was necessary.
From time to time I would smoke one but I kmow I can't.
Don't smoke the first one

[FLAVALK]

GOOD FOR YOU!!!

My dad did the exact same thing over 30 years ago. He was a 2+ pack a day Lucky Strike (no filter) smoker. Hit would light one first thing in the morning and it was the last thing he did at night. After he tossed them, he never smoked another one. I never smoked (except Rabbit Tobacco as a kid  ), and can't imagine that kind of will power.

To all of you who have pledged to quit, I wish you the best of luck!

[Normandog]

I could get my wife to quit. 

[Free Bird]

I've smoked for 30 plus years on friday evening March 6 my wife and I both flipped one in the bushes as we walked into the hospital in Knoxville , Tennessee. That was the last time either of us has had one . I'm goin' Cold Turkey and she's on the drugs to stop. Damn shame it took this for me to see they was killin' me very slowly     I know if I stick one in my mouth its over and its my plan to never have another one touch my lips. I was on the " Lung Ward " for 7 days and to hear the moans and cry's 24/7 from people who are dieing from lung problems is all I need to know...I DO NOT want to die slow because I was too stupid to stop smoking.
Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005 

[Mike in AR]

Had my last smoke on Jan. 14th of last year. My wife quit the previous November, so it was easier for me to quit. We both used Chantix. Good luck to everyone who is trying to kick the habit, and may you all have great success.

[sandy]

Joe: After all the years of your old handle, I think SmokelessJoe would be a good one for awhile. Besides, wouldn't it be a crime in Dixie to use the Southern National Anthem title as a handle in a scooter forum??

[Hobo]

I watched my Dad die a ugly painful death from lung cancer, he was only 59.  That was more than enough for me, been smoke free for 23 years, after smoking for 0ver 20 yrs.

[Free Bird]

Joe: After all the years of your old handle, I think SmokelessJoe would be a good one for awhile. Besides, wouldn't it be a crime in Dixie to use the Southern National Anthem title as a handle in a scooter forum??

I think not...I've earned it ...Please rise for our Southern National Anthem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkTQUtx818w

[..]

Don't smoke the first one

That is the truth. I don't care if you're the Incredible Hulk, Superman, Count Dracula or Cheech and Chong.

The first WILL GET YOU. It might not the first time BUT the  THE FIRST ONE will suck you right back onto the road to addiction.

12 years of not smelling like an ashtray that's never been washed.

[SteveL]

April 24th, 94 for me. It'll be 15 years of smoke free in a month! One of the best things I ever did for myself.

[ChromeDome]

October 1, 1986. It ain't easy but well worth the effort. 

[Misfit]

Smoke free for ten years. You folks won't regret quiting. Good luck to all that are giving it a go.

[fudgie]

Good luck to everyone! And heal up Joe. Kit was smoke free for 3 months till she started back up. Pi$$ed me off but what can I do. 

[BigAlOfMD]

and stopped in October 1987 when I boarded the plane to come back to the USA for military retirment.
I guess that's 21+ years smoke free.

[R J]

I put the last cigarette, Lucky Strike Unfiltered in my pie hole on Feb 23rd, 1982 as I was walked into the hospital for a supposedly heart attack.

By the time the SOB's finally let me out, I was off the hook.

I was on oxygen 24/7 for those 13 days and it was not recommended that anyone smoke around me.

Now, about this handle change...........

I never connected it to you Smokin a cigarette or a cigar or a pipe.

I had always read how you rin the Dragon and was a scratchoin your pegs, and assumed that is where it came from........

SO, I vote that you retain it and if anyone asks, NO, it did not refer to me a draggin in on cigarettes...........    Just my humble $.02 brother...............   I was introduced to you as Smokin Joe and I'll be cursed if I'll claim to know you by another handle.....

You gettin the picture her lad?  You is SmokinJoe and that is all there is to it.

KEEP the handle, that way we know who ya is.......   LOL...

 

Ride on SmokinJoe, we love ya Brother.....WooooooHoooooo as Strider would say.

[solo1]

I'm with RJ,  Joe.  I associated your name with the way you ride.   Whatever you pick for your name, you are "Smokin' Joe" to me as far as riding .

At any rate, it seems like you influenced a number of VRCCR's to also quit and that's great!

I quit in November 1963.  My wife didn't.  She passed on at the age of 68 of COPD.

I've lost two friends of lung cancer in the last 2 years.

Don't need to lose any more.

Good things came of this, Joe.

Get back riding soon.

wayne

[Tundra]

Good for you Joe! You can do it if you WANT to! I smoked for 25 years, bent over to tie my shoe on a 93 degree day with high humidity and never got back up. That was the last day I smoked, my wife followed shortly after, with the help of drugs for her too. GOOD LUCK

[YardBoy]

Nov 1986, had to have a 1987 turbo Regal.  Could not afford both.

[Popeye]

My wife quit 18 years ago. We had just found she was pregnant with our youngest son and we went
to dinner to celebrate with our other 2 sons.  As she lit up a smoke at the table, the boys, I think they
were 3 and 5, told her that smoking was bad for the baby in her tummy.  BOOM, that was it.  All my
years of asking her to stop hadn't worked.

She hasn't had one since.   It was a great day.

Popeye

[hubcapsc]

 * .I DO NOT want to die slow because I was too stupid to stop smoking.

how about because you have a moving signature 
Great to see you posting "not from the hospital", Joe...

And REALLY great to see everyone talking about quitting smoking...

-Mike

[lee]

I don't consider myself  a tight wad but one day I just got tired of the price increase of Cigarettes.
So I figured up what this habit was costing me per year.  Then I ask myself what was I getting for
my money.  The only answer I could get out of SELF was (YOUR A DUMB A$$).  I don't remember the
year but it was when they went from 60 to 75 cents a pack in the machines.  Thats when I Quit.

[Kamikaze VRCCDS#0119]

Last week my son who works at Caseys sent me a text msg that my smokes were going up $10 a carton in the morning so I hustled my rear in there and bought the last 2 cartons of my brand (which happen to be the cheapest ones you can get!) that they had. I'm on that second carton right now and when they are gone I'm going to try to quit cold turkey! I hope the weather is decent so I can ride to keep my attitude in check, although, back before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and put on a CPAP I would smoke while riding to keep from "doing the nod" and got in the habit of smoking while riding so that is one place where I will really miss not having a smoke!

[Dag]

When I`m 50 I will try to quit the Marlboro..  much more fun to smoke a Harley 

[Stitch_in_La]

Being a nurse working in surgery on the heart team I say congratulations to all that have managed to quit!  I too associate SmokinJoe with the way that he rides  but if he wants to change his handle to reflect his change in life he shall be Free Bird and free as a bird.  As for the Southern Anthem.  From one Southern boy to another, I stand and salute.

Stitch

[Steve K (IA)]

I never thought to remember the exact day, but I smoked my last cigarette in the first week of Jan. last year.  Smoked for 30+ years.  Quit because of heart and lung problems.  Would not have been able to do it with out Chantix.  It is hard to believe that I smoked that long.  I hope those who choose to quit are successful.   

[Mongoose]

But last friday on my way home from work something was different as i was smoking, it just did not feel right. I have tried to quit before, with no success. But for some reason when i stopped for gas, i threw the smokes, lighter and ash tray in the trash. Its been five days now and i can say i don't want or need them anymore. I hope that all of you that stopped has as much luck with this as i did. Good luck .

                   Great , good luck I gave it up about thrithy years ago Wow I love  not having  to buy them any more .  Mongoose

[Skeeter (Va)]

Two of the best things I have done is put an Interstate tank on my Standard and quit a two pack a day habit in 1974 after watching my Father, then my Mother wither away from smokes....ya'll keep up the good work and kick the Grim Reaper where it hurts   

[SteveL]

How you guys doing? Any quitters out here? How many days?

Remember the only failed quitter is 6 feet under, if you picked up, just learn from it and start again.

It helps to talk about it, and it helps to share your stuff with others. Realize it's an addiction and bigger than you are. Doing it yourself is almost impossible. That's why AA works, one drunk talking to another is the magic elixer in AA. Same thing here, one quit smoker talking to another is what get's you over the hard stuff.

Stick on the patch and throw those cancer sticks out the F'ing window! One day at a time.

[f6john]

I have never smoked a cigarette in my life, thanks to my mother. I don't know how she did it but she instilled in me that it was something that I didn't want to do at an early age and I was never really tempted to start. My dad smoked from a very early age and it caught up with him about 15 years ago. He quit and at 83 years of age he doesn't have the best lung capacity but he's still with us. It's never too late to quit.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

How you guys doing? Any quitters out here? How many days?

Remember the only failed quitter is 6 feet under, if you picked up, just learn from it and start again.

It helps to talk about it, and it helps to share your stuff with others. Realize it's an addiction and bigger than you are. Doing it yourself is almost impossible. That's why AA works, one drunk talking to another is the magic elixer in AA. Same thing here, one quit smoker talking to another is what get's you over the hard stuff.

Stick on the patch and throw those cancer sticks out the F'ing window! One day at a time.

I'm 14 days clean now after 30 plus years of smokin' its very hard at times but I've won . I do not want to die that slow painful death and I'm hoping that never smoking another one will do that for me.I saw and heard  first hand in the hospital the slow death that smoking brings and I would like to think I'm not  stupid enough to ever fire another one up.

[R J]

How you guys doing? Any quitters out here? How many days?

Remember the only failed quitter is 6 feet under, if you picked up, just learn from it and start again.

It helps to talk about it, and it helps to share your stuff with others. Realize it's an addiction and bigger than you are. Doing it yourself is almost impossible. That's why AA works, one drunk talking to another is the magic elixer in AA. Same thing here, one quit smoker talking to another is what get's you over the hard stuff.

Stick on the patch and throw those cancer sticks out the F'ing window! One day at a time.

I'm 14 days clean now after 30 plus years of smokin' its very hard at times but I've won . I do not want to die that slow painful death and I'm hoping that never smoking another one will do that for me.I saw and heard  first hand in the hospital the slow death that smoking brings and I would like to think I'm not  stupid enough to ever fire another one up.

I'm routing for ya also Joe, you was the one to say stupid enough.

I wouldn't have said that, but I'm clean now going on 27 years after smoking for about 38 years.  Also I never had a filtered cig in my mouth.   They were all Lucky Strike Green to start and then the WHITE pack.

How many of ya knew that Luckies were ever in a GREEN and RED pack?   Lucky Strike Green went to war in about 1942 or 43.  My 1st cigarette was stuck in my mouth about the age of 8 or 9.   My dad smoked and I wanted to be like my dad.  He blistered my arse. but when he went to war I started again, and I said I'd stop before he got home, well, he never came home. I wanted to be like him, and when I got out of high school, I enlisted to become a Marine, like he did, only difference he was drafted.   Thankfully, I got wounded, and I survived.  I have both of our Purple Hearts, I also have a PH bar with 4  Gold Stars to signify 5 hearts that I received in Korea on my 2nd tour.....  I got the 5 hearts from March to August 1952. 

[Skinhead]

With all the lost tax revenue from all these quitters, how will Obama be able to fund his new policies and take away our rights?  And lets not forget about all those illegals and welfare recipients, who's gonna pay for their health insurance and college if you all quit smoking?  They'll have to raise the gas tax again, and that will cut into my Valkin.  SO I say Light em Up!  Smoke em if ya gottem!  if ya don't, bum one.


Disclaimer for Democrats and liberals:  It' a joke!

I quit a couple years back, SO glad I did.  My question is how can the government still allow cigerettes and tobacco to be sold legally yet throw thousands in prison, and ruin so many lives by keeping marijuana illegal?  I quit smoking that even longer ago, but I always thought it was better for you than cigerettes. 

Also compare how many people are killed/injured by drunk drivers vs. stoned drivers.  The only thing I can figure is if they legalize it the government will get the tax money from it instead of the politicians gettin their kick backs from the drug lords.

[SteveL]

How you guys doing? Any quitters out here? How many days?

Remember the only failed quitter is 6 feet under, if you picked up, just learn from it and start again.

It helps to talk about it, and it helps to share your stuff with others. Realize it's an addiction and bigger than you are. Doing it yourself is almost impossible. That's why AA works, one drunk talking to another is the magic elixer in AA. Same thing here, one quit smoker talking to another is what get's you over the hard stuff.

Stick on the patch and throw those cancer sticks out the F'ing window! One day at a time.

I'm 14 days clean now after 30 plus years of smokin' its very hard at times but I've won . I do not want to die that slow painful death and I'm hoping that never smoking another one will do that for me.I saw and heard  first hand in the hospital the slow death that smoking brings and I would like to think I'm not  stupid enough to ever fire another one up.

That is music to my ears. Five years from now your lungs will be pretty pink, the color of ...well, you know.. LOL! 

In the mean time learn to enjoy food again, you'll actually taste it this time. The only disappointment for me was I never full regained my ability to smell as well as I think I should...but maybe that's just my imagination. It sure is good not to feel like I smell like a old ashtray. ...and the extra money in the pocket doesn't feel bad either.

[Ghost]

Well so far so good, I can't beleive i beat this thing. So many times i wanted to quit, but i never could. Why all of a sudden can i do this, I was always a rebel about smoking, always said i would never quit. It was all that i had left. Quit everything else. Well all i can say is goodbye to those cigs. That money will buy more crome and gas, and i will live longer to ride longer. Good luck to all those who have made it, and to the ones that didn't. You will.

[Wingman]

Ghostrider,
My wife and I celebrated 10 years of not smoking this year. I couldn't have done it without her. She quit 3 weeks before me and was patient with me while I smoked like a factory. I've never regretted putting them down although, during the first year, I wanted to return to my old ways. I still had to get bypass surgery a few years later, but I have full lung function and that was a big help in my coronary bypass recovery.

Be patient with yourself, I'm hoping that you are correct and have reached that place where smoking is just unacceptable, but keep trying no matter what!

Joe,

I'm glad to hear that you are doing better. Good luck to you and your Mrs as well!

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Ghostrider,
My wife and I celebrated 10 years of not smoking this year. I couldn't have done it without her. She quit 3 weeks before me and was patient with me while I smoked like a factory. I've never regretted putting them down although, during the first year, I wanted to return to my old ways. I still had to get bypass surgery a few years later, but I have full lung function and that was a big help in my coronary bypass recovery.

Be patient with yourself, I'm hoping that you are correct and have reached that place where smoking is just unacceptable, but keep trying no matter what!

Joe,

I'm glad to hear that you are doing better. Good luck to you and your Mrs as well!

I'm going Cold Turkey and its very hard not to break...If I can just keep that first one away then I'll beat this monkey on my back.It takes will power and nothing else but at times I feel I'd smoke one rolled in dog s***  and thats sad    I'm going to beat'em     .

[Madmike]

I've heard that after 3 days teh physical addiction is gone.  That being said I know that the psychological need goes on for a long time. 

I quit in 93 and used the patch for 6 weeks.  I had tried before that and failed by having "just one".  You are right Joe, you gotta keep away from that one.

Good luck to all you folks, you will appreciate the change in a while when you get all the sh!! out of your lungs - that took a good 3 years for me.  Now I just gotta lose the weight.