Article by Marie Herik
Sounds incongruous, right? Well, having been a smoker for over 45 years, it’s true. I finally found a way to keep smoking without smoking tobacco cigarettes. I finally managed to quit cigarettes for good, six months cigarette free now but I did it still smoking water mist mixed with a little nicotine. Yep, after years of worrying about the damage I was doing to my health, I found a way to rid myself of my cigarette addiction. I quit cigarettes without giving up smoking! And I did it with electronic cigarettes and my own method.
After smoking since I was only 14, I ultimately realized that my lungs must be in fairly bad shape and seriously started thinking about my cigarette habit. I was a very hardened smoker, missed cigarette smoking terribly the times I did manage to quit and always went back to smoking. I genuinely started to believe that I’d just have to accept the fact that I’d never be able to quit…….that I didn’t have the strength or willpower that other friends who’d quit had. That made me feel very badly about myself. I just might have to accept the fact that I simply couldn’t quit. Given that grim possibility, I knew that I could at least cut down on my cigarette smoking if not quit altogether.
I finally decided to start paying myself for the cigarettes I didn’t buy. Instead of counting the number of cigarettes I smoked everyday, I started counting all the cigarettes I didn’t smoke! This was the first breakthrough I had about my habit. At $ 6-7 a pack, my money was adding up quickly. I started thinking about what I’d buy myself with it all. Using this method, I immediately cut my smoking in half and continued doing that for about six months, always excited about the little “stash” of cash I’d hidden from not buying cigarettes. And excited about the numbers of cigarettes I hadn’t smoked.
At the same time, I really started to think about why I was different from friends of mine that had quit. What was different about me? Why wouldn’t I just let smoking go? My mother once commented to me that I made cigarettes too important and she was right. But why?
I also finally realized that for me personally, after 45 years of hand to mouth cigarette smoking, I was more addicted to the habit than I was to the nicotine. Big insight.
Armed with this new knowledge, I started trying every fake cigarette I could find, most of which didn’t work for me until I discovered electronic cigarettes. These imports from China arrived a few years ago and I bought two different types. Both emitted a water and nicotine vapor when I took a drag although they worked sporadically which was very, very frustrating. I’d managed to give up tobacco cigarettes but had relied on the electronic ones to get me thru tough relapses. It didn’t work mainly because I’d go all day without a smoke, look forward to the electronic cigarette and then have it fail on me time and time again.
I started smoking cigarettes again but still maintained the system of paying myself for the paks I didn’t buy. So while I still hadn’t successfully quit smoking tobacco cigarettes, I had to give myself some kudos for at least managing to cut my smoking in half and keeping it there.
This just wasn’t good enough though. I really was worried about my health and truly didn’t want to be addicted to cigarettes anymore. So I kept looking for a permanent solution. That’s when I discovered an electronic cigarette, made in the US, that actually simulated the smoking experience, was reliable and finally helped me give up smoking for good.
Haven’t you smoked enough cigarettes already? Don’t let smoking steal years of your life. I am a strong supporter of electronic cigarettes because I believe that they’re one of the easiest ways to quit smoking without suffering the withdrawal symptoms.
Marie Herik is a health researcher and writer. She is also a supporter of electronic cigarettes and a representative for Greensmoke brand electronic cigarettes. For details about Greensmoke electronic cigarettes click here.
How to quit smoking cigarettes by dissolving cravings and withdrawal. A self help method to stop smoking that really makes quitting possible.
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