Decided it was time. Tomorrow will be a week since I've had either a cigarette or a drink. Sort of odd, or mayhaps not, but I've experienced zero discomfort or cravings.

The reason for the 'mayhaps not' is that my local Veteran's Administration is mainly a rehab and psych center. They have an addiction risk rating and mine is zero risk. This means that it is next to impossible for me to become addicted. I attribute that largely to the fact that for MANY years I've held the belief that my mind controls my body, not the other way around.

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I guess I'm a little confused. I think you are saying that you are 'on the wagon' and have been so for a week, with no ill effects. If so, that's great and I am happy for you.

And are you saying that you attribute this to your local VA, as well as your strong mindset?

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BB
http://barrypatch.net

No, the VA has nothing to do with it. I just brought them up due their addiction risk rating in my case.

And yes, 'on the wagon'.

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Now I understand....way to go.

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BB
http://barrypatch.net

I couldn't agree with that sentiment more!

I started smoking when i was 14 and it wasn't until i was about 54 that i finally got my head into a mindset that finally allowed me to not only stop smoking tobacco products but also one that allowed me to actually throw away several packets of cigarettes and not look back.

To try and put that into some form of context, i too am a firm believer that my mind controls my body but i simply couldn't stop smoking cigarettes no matter how hard i tried... then i had what i can only describe as 'a moment, an epiphany i guess' where i started to 'train' my mind that i wasn't born with a cigarette in my mouth so why do i continue to insert one in my mouth now?... it took a few years for that to fully sink in but when it did it was a moment i'll never forget... i woke up one day and said to myself, "No, no more!" and haven't looked back since... i can't lie and say i never thought about lighting up again but i simply say to myself "i don't need you, i wasn't born with you in my mouth" and the cravng is gone as quickly as it came.

I'm now 59 and it was almost certainly the wisest decision i ever made because 2 years after i stopped smoking the pandemic hit and, without rehashing what happened to me, i'm convinced if i hadn't stopped smoking when i did i almost certainly wouldn't be here today.

The only caveat i would add is that it's not really nicotine that's addictive (it is but the body flushes that out within days, along with any nicotine craving), it's all the other chemicals that the tobacco industry put into their tobacco products that are highly addictive and those cravings come later... if ever there was a dirty industry the modern tobacco industry is by far the worst.

I wish you the best of luck and i'd be intersted to know how you get on.

Good for you, Jay!
I haven't touched a cigarette since June 11, 2015. I do still vape, but I use a lower concentration of nicotine. I can't remember the last alcoholic beverage I had, but I suspect it was a beer with dinner at a restaurant pre-pandemic.

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

One thing I've already noticed is that I'm sleeping better. I mean my drink of choice is rum and coke. I was going to bed in the middle of a sugar rush.

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Vaping, when used as intended is a game changer if you're a smoker, add that you can wean yourself off the nicotine content is even better.

It makes my blood boil when i read reports that vaping is dangerous because:

a. The reporter believes nonsense posted on social media
b. Has never smoked a cigarette product
c. Reports fiction as fact without checking the source
d. Ignores that the vape is being used for illegitimate purposes

And potentially the worst of all...
e. Comes from a source with a vested interest to debunk a healthier product than they currently sell

Smoking a cigarette or vaping a controlled liquid from a reliable source, i know which one i'd choose and it wouldn't be the former.

Once a Marine, always a Marine

But I was Navy...

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I've always had it my mind you were a Marine which in the UK is a branch of the Navy, i stand corrected, not for the first time

In the U.S. the Marines started as a branch of the Navy but are now their own branch of the military.

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