You will find it easier to quit smoking if you go without the coffee as well. I did.
 Farinata X | 12:24 PM

I would, however, be left to bargain with God about which small, quotidian pleasures are left for me.
 Spencer Ackerman | 12:27 PM

I quit last New Year's, so this was the one year anniversary (after 13 years hovering around a pack a day). God how I loved to smoke, and in the early days it was simply too much to think I would never enjoy one again, so I told myself I would, at my friend's wedding in the Caribbean in July (the six month marker). That mental escape hatch was enough to get me through the rough early days, and by the time the wedding came I didn't even bother. Good luck!
 John | 1:59 PM

I have no idea how you are going about quitting, but my roommate is well along on his third attempt and he swears by the patch. His previous attempts went nowhere, but with the patch, he is cheerfully kicking smoking without looking back.
 Andy | 2:32 PM

Nobody likes a quitter, Spencer.

In somewhat more seriousness, I'd... try to join you, but it's just not happening for me this year. But go to the gym as often as you want to---for some reason, endorphins get you past the cravings pretty well.
 Unknown | 2:54 PM

this is the idea. back to the gym as soon as my lungs finish disgorging the detritus contained within them. it's been three months since i set foot in the gym, and filled that time with a ton of cigarettes.
 Spencer Ackerman | 4:23 PM

zyban is the way. two weeks of smoking on the pills, then quit. it kills the desire almost completely.

but go to the gym right now. no waiting for the phlegm to disgorge itself. go every day and work out hard.

i am two weeks into my quitting.

but, then again, I once quit for a decade and then started again when I was writing my dissertation.

good luck.
 dewar macleod | 9:31 AM

this is the idea. back to the gym as soon as my lungs finish disgorging the detritus contained within them. it's been three months since i set foot in the gym, and filled that time with a ton of cigarettes.

Just walking on the treadmill for 20 or so minutes until then - don't be a hero. (My mistake in years past as always been hitting it too hard, too early, too often. Much better is starting slower and ramping up. Keeps you from both burning out and messing up your joints/feet.)
 Pooh | 12:07 PM

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
 riffle | 9:30 PM

dewar macleod said...

"zyban is the way. two weeks of smoking on the pills, then quit. it kills the desire almost completely."

Agreed. It works amazingly well. After smoking as normal for about two weeks on zyban/ Wellbutrin/ Bupropion, cigarettes just don't taste good (i compared the taste to smoking a nasty generic cig on a very muggy hot day), the urge dries up, and you just don't want to smoke anymore.

Coupling it with nicotine replacement a la gum or lozenges may help too.

Three things about bupropion, though:

1) you have to plan a couple weeks in advance to start the ramping up of serum levels.

2) It worked like a charm for me and for Dewar and many others, but not universally. Some may need to resort to other means.

3) For me, it worked brilliantly...the first time. Then, stupidly, I started smoking again. It didn't work nearly so well the second time. So make sure it sticks when you use it once.

Also, keep a wide variety of snacky things on hand (rice cakes, licorice, fruit, even fatty foods and candy for a brief time -- try a myriad of things) and fluids (seltzer water for me).

Good luck to you!
 riffle | 9:31 PM