Hamilton Seventh-Day Adventist Church
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Stop Smoking

The above two series are two methods for you to try and stop smoking.

The method I used was what is commonly called ""Cold Turkey"  along with Prayer, Persistence, a Substitute, as well as a Monitor.   So let me explain how and what happened to me in my effort to give away the habit for good. . .

The Addiction to Something in Cigarettes.

For many many years I tried to quit the tobacco habit.  I really hated it.  It smelled bad and so did I, left a mess wherever I went and got so bad at times I would walk the streets in town and collect other people's leftovers, strip, roll and smoke them.  That was a really dangerous idea but I was desperate and needed my fix.  I tried all sorts of things but nothing worked.

Back in 1987 I just stopped for the very first time.  No withdrawals, no cravings, nothing.  It was gone and I survived for two years without touching any cigarettes at all.  That was until the day I came home and my ex-wife was smoking again and stupid me, decided I would stop when she did and so once again I was addicted to the coffin nails and well back to square one.

I hated smoking now so much that I was going to rid myself of the habit once and for all.

So here's what worked for me and God willing, you too! . . .

Point 1 - Prayer!

Believe it or not there IS a Higher Power out there called Jesus Christ also known as God!  The first thing I did before I took any steps was to talk to an Elder of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and we prayed.

I asked God to give me the strength and the WON'T POWER, because I have plenty of will power, we all do.  You know like I will light up, I will have that smoke, I will do this, I will eat that, but what we really need is the WON'T power!  I WON'T have that smoke, I WON'T light up and so on. 

So prayer became an important part of giving away the smokes for good.   I set my day to stop smoking (October 27th 2011) and prepared myself for what I expected and knew to be a huge battle of wills, I mean won'ts.

Point 2 - You pickup where you would be and not where you left off!

Well I also found out that when you start up again, it's not where you left off!  What a shock that was.  When I first quit I was smoking around 20 cigarettes per day (give or take a few) and to my surprise I was now on 30 - 35 per day.   So keep in mind once you stop smoking you will pick it up where you would be at the point of restarting, not where you left off.  It may look as though you have but it rapidly increases as the days pass and bam you're right where you should be as if you had never stopped. 

Remember, don't be fooled, once you're addicted, you're always addicted.  Sounds harsh but it's the truth.

Point 3 - You need the support of someone you can trust.

One mistake I made over and over again was telling everyone that I was giving away the smokes for ever.  I was so proud of myself having a go knowing "I could do it" I just had to share the great news BUT the down side is that your "friends" tend to temp you and take you places where the smoke is so thick, you could almost cut it with a knife and BAM! you back on the nails again.  Best thing to do is to confide in ONE person you can trust to encourage you and be answerable to if you falter.   Don't despair if you do falter, just pick yourself up and keep right on going, you can do this!

I trusted the Elder of my church and he became my personal support.  I felt answerable to a nurse that was conducting a quit coarse as well.  Each week I had to go see her (over a six week period) and take a carbon monoxide test to see if I was still on the nicotine.  This testing and my support made me more determined to succeed in getting off the addiction for ever.

Point 4 - You have to tackle the addiction on the home front.

Humans are creatures of habit and no matter how much we change, eventually we end up back in the same routines and habits as before, so it's always best to tackle the habit on the home front.

Many courses tell you to change everything around you in order to successfully stop smoking.  They tell us to treat ourselves to something special each week as well.  O how wrong this is.  The extra funds that you save from not smoking could be better used to catch up on those bills that were put off or banked to get ahead financially.

Through my own experience I found it necessary to tackle the habit on the home front, and fighting on the common ground that the habit daily rides.  eg: Everywhere I went I had my trusty smokes in my pocket.  If I walked, drove, ate, drank, my smokes would be there as a "treat" for the after effect.  It didn't matter what I did or where I went, the only place I didn't smoke was in the shower and believe me I tried on few occasions, but found it easier to wait it out.

Then finally came the hospital stay.  1 week all expenses paid trip to surgery and a comfortable stay with the nursing staff.  Finally I could get off these killers once and for all and for that whole week I did just that.  On a couple of occasions though I lit up, but trashed it after one or two puffs.  

Once the week was finally over, my time to go home had arrived.  I was now a non-smoker, so I thought.  The problem started again the moment I walked through my front door.  It was as if I had never left and guess what happened!  I lit up a smoke, and the shock was that even after a week of not smoking in hospital, it was as though I had never stopped.  No coughing, no buzz, no light-headedness, nothing.  Just another normal day on the cigs.

Now what was I going to do?  Nothing I tried was working at all, so I resigned to quit quitting or give up giving up!  The problem with that theory was that I really wanted to stop smoking so in reality "giving up" was off the table and my determination would'nt let me rest until the dragon was finally slain.

Point 5 - Substitute cigarettes for a non-addictive substance like breath mints.

Finally I resorted to complete reliance on God, my friend, nurse Lisa and my new friends, "Eclipse Breath Mints. ^TM" (the strongest ones.)  Yup mints!  Why mints?  Well originally I was using the Nicabate Micro Tabs, but over time they became a replacement to get me by from pay to pay when I would finally get the "big hit" and the truth was it felt the norm and never really bothered me until the third visit to the clinic.

Once I arrived, I was about to put a mini-tab in my mouth, when a voice said "don't".  Just the one word, "don't."  I sat in the car for a moment silent thinking about it.  All of a sudden a string of thought passed through my mind.

"Every time you put one of those things into your mouth, you're only postponing the quitting and not giving them away at all because you're still putting the nicotine into your system."

I went in for the appointment with my thoughts still focussed on trying to figure out what to do.  Well during the session with Lisa, she happened to mention the NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) and how it would benefit my attempts to stop smoking.  Surprising, I looked at her and simply said no thankyou!  You could have heard a pin drop right there, but she looked puzzled at me and ask why I didn't want to use them.

I looked her straight in the eye and said "God said no!"  Suddenly her tone changed and she demanded politely to know who was "quitting smoking" me or God?  I told her I was, but emphasized my previous answer that, God said no!"  She sighed and told me that it was up to me, but the offer to use the NRT was there in case it was needed.  Again I said "thanks but no thanks."  She smiled and reminded me that it was there if needed.

I left the clinic that day on a high, believing that I could do this, not on my own, but it could be done! Shortly after leaving the clinic I drove to the nearest supermarket and bought the strongest mints I could get and they tasted disgusting, but it was better than the smokes I was craving. 

Every time I wanted a smoke, I popped a mint and they went everywhere I went, even to church where a few people comment about the walking rattling tin, so eventually I changed the container to quiet it down.  Paying $2.50 for a tin of mints was better than $20 for smokes that's for sure.

**NOTE: Eclipse Mints ^TM are made with sorbitol so if you are unsure whether or not you can have them, PLEASE CHECK with your local GP (Doctor).  Also NOTE that you can consume too many mints which may cause diarrhoea.  Please read the directions and warnings on the tin before use.

Point 6 - You will gain some weight but with exercise it's only temporary.

Over the next months I gained a few extra kilos but it does stabilize and you can exercise it off by a brisk daily walk to get you back on the road to a healthier life.  Make sure you have a large breakfast, medium lunch and small dinner every day,  oh and drink plenty of water.  This will help get you back on the right track.  That was something I didn't do and regret it now. 

I remained sedentary for the most part and kept gaining weight.  Now I have to break a new habit and (squint) exercise daily.  Doctors orders!  Anyway after 3 or 4 months, the need for the breath mints faded and I found myself not bothering with them any more. 

Occasionally I would buy a tin or two and they would last or the grandchildren would eat them all on me, but I didn't really care.  the main thing was that I wasn't smoking anymore and it wasn't as bad as I thought!  I do occasionally have a thought about having a smoke from time to time but I just ignore it and it goes away.

Point 7 - SUCCESS!!

I did it, with the help of God, my friend, nurse Lisa and my mints and YOU CAN TOO!.   Using the mints did make me gain weight and I rattled as I walked, but knowing in myself that I was smoke free, was the best feeling of my life and I've never looked back. 

It's been 4½ years, as of writing this page, since I stopped smoking, and there are many, many more to come being smoke free.  Praise the Lord!

I know and believe that if you truly want to stop smoking, with determination and prayer, you can do it too.  God created every one of us and loves us more than we will ever realize, so don't be afraid to ask Him for help, He won't bite! :) Trust in His healing power and before you know it, you'll be free of the stinking deadly habit for good AND your body will love you in the morning for it.

God bless and may His mercy shine upon you...