Rhonda, this is EXACTLY what I say about quitting, too! You have to let go, you can't dwell on the craving because that only makes it worse.

I quit six years ago. What made it successful this time around, mostly, is that I seldom find myself in an environment with other smokers. I no longer have friends who smoke, and the few relatives who smoked freely in their home have moved several hours away. I allowed myself to do nothing but focusing on quitting smoking, however long that took. I didn't find it that difficult to quit (I'd been an off-and-on smoker for 15 years), but I did gain about 40 pounds.

My doctor said that quitting smoking was more beneficial to health than weight loss, at least for me, and I was a good 100 pounds overweight.

Good one, Gary! Your original post in this thread was the sweetest, most poignant "lecture" I've ever read. I'm glad you quit. I'm so sorry to hear about your mother.

I used to like small cigars before they were "acceptable." Tiparillos, Swisher Sweets... :p I wouldn't go within fifty feet of a cigar now. :barf:

Jay

Hehe Jay, I like Swisher Sweets, too... but Black & Mild are my absolute favorite.

And while little cigars may be "acceptable" I still occasionally get funny looks for being a white female smoking a Black & Mild - everything seems to revolve around race and gender in this town! (Which, BTW, I no longer hate Florida :lol: - just Gainesville - I'm planning to move to Sarasota this summer :D)

So, Jay, what made you start hating cigars?

baffled
I don't think they are saying one thing won't happen without the other lol.

There are triggers that set off wanting a cig. As soon as I sit down at the computer I want a cig. Now I don't smoke while at the computer. Has help me cut down a great deal. I go out on the patio. Thank heavens I have a door to it from the den lol.

Hey Shane,

Move to Tampa Bay! Better here! But more citified than Sarasota, so it all depends on what you want. I lived south of Sarasota for six years, and I wanted more going on.

But back to the topic of smoking--once you quit smoking, you really really don't like being around it in any form. And cigars are just disgusting! I won't put up with it.

Shy Moment, I think baffled was being ironic... ;)

Jay

Jay
You know, it must depend on the person. My mom quit and it never bothered her to be around smokers. The ex quit and he said as long as they weren't in a closed vehicle with him it was fine. I have known many people that quit that just couldn't stand to be around cig smoke. And yes they probably were lol.

Interesting. Because I've never known any ex-smoker who felt neutral about it. I've known some who wouldn't say anything because they had friends or family who smoked, and they didn't want to make them feel bad. But hey, no one smokes in my house, and I won't stay in a house where people are smoking. Yuck. Like living in an ashtray.

When I smoked, I had no idea it was like this for nonsmokers.

Jay

I figure all the stuff we take in our lungs from cars and factories and such is killing us too.

Jay - I've been to Sarasota and I think it's just... gorgeous, and for me it has more going on than Gainesville. And it's near the beach. I really want to be near the beach. If I don't move to Sarasota, then I'm planning on Space Coast (the girlfriend and I have already been hunting down places and viewing our options). Her brother lives in Cocoa Beach and I love that area just as much. I've fallen in love with certain parts of Florida... so basically I just can't wait to get the **** out of this town full of frat rats! :)

I had no idea that nonsmokers thought living with a smoker was like living in an ashtray. As I mentioned, I don't smoke cigarettes. However, most of my exes did, and I didn't mind making out with them OR their smoker's breath; I just had no desire to smoke those nasty cigarettes myself. Perhaps your immense disgust towards smoking just stems from the fact that you quit and therefore no longer want to be associated with it? Out of curiousity, which are MORE disgusting - cigarettes or cigars?

Oh - ironically, non smokers usually don't mind me smoking my Black & Milds around them because the smoke smells soooo GOOD! I was outside with some of my co-workers on break time, and one of them - a non smoker :lol: - actually wanted me to blow smoke in his face because he said it was so sweet.

Hey! I don't want us to get too off topic here... but about smoking. Both of my parents smoked when I was little (a preschooler). I had to ride in the middle, between them, on the front seat. I don't even want to tell you how long ago this was, except that there were no seat belts then. :eek: Anyway, I used to cry and cry because they were smoking and I hated it so much.

As an adult, I lived with a nonsmoker for 10 years. She had grown up with smoke all around her, so it seemed normal to her.

I think once you quit, and your sense of smell and taste buds come back, it is just more unbearable, I guess. On the rare occasions when I go somewhere that smoking is still allowed, I have to come home and take a shower and wash my hair and leave the clothes I wore out in the shed!

Cigars are more disgusting than cigarettes.

Pipe tobacco, which I think some of those small cigars use, smells mostly good to me, though. But not if I'm in a closed space for long with one.

Jay

Pipe tobacco is the only kind I smoke ;)

Smoking is only allowed outdoors and in bars down here, no? It was actually quite strange, because in DC and VA, you can still smoke in public places - or at least you could when I lived there. You just had to say whether you wanted to sit in the smoking vs. non smoking section. Now, why anyone woulD WANT to smoke AND EAT at the same time is beyond me... EUGH!!! :barf:

I hate to admit it, but the smell of a freshly lit cigarette still smells really good to me. But, stale cigarette smoke that lingers in a room, or on someone, really stinks.....just like an ashtray!

Well silly, you don't necessarily do it at the same time. But I definitely want a cigarette while I'm waiting for my food and enjoying a drink, and I want a cigarette in between courses and after I've eaten and I especially want a cigarette with my coffee. I wish there would be special restaurants for smokers, so that we can enjoy our meals like civilized people. :devil: I dislike having to get up to go outside to smoke--probably not as much as non-smokers dislike smoking people in the vicinity while they're eating, but still. :)

Jay, one of my co-workers is a former smoker who LOVES the smell of cigarettes. Sometimes he comes outside with us and inhales deeply while the smokers are smoking. It's funny.

LOL baffled! He must not have really quit in his heart...

Jay

baffled
They do, it is called your own kitchen. Great meals prepared just the way you want them. Less chance of getting sick because of what you eat, have someone spit in your food or prepared it without washing their hands first, no roaches and best of all. You get to smoke lol.