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I haven't written about my quest to quit smoking in awhile. Unfortunately, the reason for that is because I fell off the wagon. In other words, I'm smoking again.

If you've never smoked before, it may be easy to say to "just quit". If you are a current or former smoker, you know how hard it is. I've read in several credible sources that tobacco is "more addictive than heroin". I've never done heroin but I can imagine it would be pretty hard to kick that habit too.

I can make excuses for why I started smoking again but I don't need to. I am human and I make mistakes. I've beat myself up about it many, many times. I'm very disappointed in myself. I felt even worse when my Mom found out I was smoking again. The look of disappointment on her face was worse than anything else. I could have been punched in the face by Mike Tyson and it wouldn't have hurt as much as her look of disappointment.

I'm not done with my quest to quit smoking. I still want to kick the habit. Not only because it sucks paying almost $5 a pack but I need to quit for my health.

If you're a smoker and you are trying to quit, I feel your pain. We will kick this habit.

Have you quit smoking and been successful? How many times did you quit?
Any words of advice?

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Whew! I definitely decided to quit smoking at just the right time. At the beginning of this month, the federal government decided to make the largest federal tax increase ever on cigarettes. The massive hike of 61.6 cents per pack now brings the total tax on a pack of cigarettes to just over $1 per pack.

Why more taxes?
The tobacco tax increase, signed into law by President Obama in February, will be used to finance an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The SCHIP covers those children of parents who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private health insurance. Expanding the SCHIP will cost the federal government $35 million dollars over five years and will secure federally funded healthcare for an additional 4 million children. With the added funds, the program will be able to cover over 11 million children.

Feeling Abused Several people interviewed CNN felt they were being unfairly targeted and the government is picking on smokers. One 83 year old woman states she has smoked for over 65 years says she has no intentions to quit and is upset at the government for raising the taxes. Another gentleman feels that the government is "picking on the poor people, the one's that smoke". He has smoked for over 50 years and has no intentions to quit.

My Thoughts As a former smoker, I think the tax increase is great. A price increase may be the driving factor for some people to quit. Even if I were a current smoker, I wouldn't complain about the increase. After all, you are doing something that is known and proven to cause health problems. I wouldn't want to my health insurance costs to increase to pay for the medical care of someone that knew the risks of smoking and chose to do so anyway.

What are your thoughts?

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Success! I've made it one month without smoking. Unfortunately, I can't say that I've been completely smoke free. Over the past month, I've had a total of 2 cigarettes. Both times, I was out having some drinks with my friends. Once I had that one cigarette I was done and the cravings went away. I know I need to get better at avoid triggers that cause me to smoke and drinking is certainly a major trigger. Usually, a night of hanging out and drinking would result in me smoking at least half a pack.

Considering that I used to smoke at least 10 cigarettes a day, I must say that my quest to quit smoking is still on the right track. I was a little disappointed in myself after I slipped up the last time but thanks to some great inspirational comments on that post, I felt a lot better.

I can already tell the positive changes in my body since I quit smoking. My sense of smell is a lot better now. One of my coworkers that sits next to me smokes and every time he comes back in from smoking, the smell is overwhelming. When I get in the elevator, I can tell if someone has been smoking. I wasn't able to smell this before and I must admit, the smell is really bad. I wish some of my coworkers had told me had bad I smelled every time I came back from smoking.

Not only can I smell better, I can also breathe better. I am not longer winded after going up a couple of flights of stairs. I can take a deep breath without my chest hurting. I can hold my breath for longer periods of time.

Even though I've slipped up a couple of times, I am still saving the $14.70 I determined I would be saving each week by not smoking. Right now, my NSSA (no smoking savings account) balance stands at $59.80. Technically, I'm still in the red because I am buying nicotine patches instead of cigarettes.

Using nicotine patches to quit smoking is a 3 step process. Each step consists of 14 patches per box. Each day, you put on one patch and wear it for 24 hours. After 24 hours, you apply a new patch in a different area of the upper body after 24 hours. Each box of patches cost around $28. I'm currently wrapping up step 2 and will moving on to the step 3 which is the final step. After that, I should be completely smoke free and there will no longer be any nicotine entering my body.

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Okay guys; I must come clean. I went out tonight with some friends and had a great time. After numerous pitchers of beer and a couple of shots, I finally had my first cigarette since i quit a few weeks ago.

I can't explain the craving that came over me. It was unbelievable. I was wearing my nicotine patch but I still had the urge to smoke.

I had 1 cigarette. Usually, while out drinking, I will go through at least a half pack (10 cigarettes). I had my one cigarette and I was done. Even after consuming a large amount of alcohol, I only had one cigarette.

I am disappointed in myself on one hand. On the other hand, I am still proud of myself for only smoking just one. I could have purchased an entire pack but just having one was enough to curb the nagging desire to have a smoke.

Am I a failure? Please, let me know what you think. Did I totally screw up?

2/1/2009: Thanks everyone for the comments and words of encouragement. It's probably not a good idea to blog after you've had a few drinks. :-)

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I can't believe it's been a week since I quit my 13+ year habit of smoking cigarettes. Around this time last week, I smoked my last cigarette. Smoking my last cigarette made me feel really good about my decision to quit. The reason I say that is that when I took the last cigarette from my pack, it was broken in half. Maybe it was some kind of sign....

I tried to stop smoking about 4 years ago but only made it 5 days. One of the reasons I think that I wasn't successful that first time was because I wasn't really motivated or ready to quit. This time, I am motivated and ready to quit. Not only and I motivated and ready to quit, I have a great support network.

I appreciated all of the positive comments and well wishes you guys left on my initial post regarding my decision to quit smoking. Not only do I have you guys to support me, I have all of my friends and co-workers helping me to continue to be a quitter. Most of them check with me daily to make sure I haven't smoked.

I also signed up with a website called Quitnet. Quitnet is a great website if you are trying to quit smoking. All you need to do is complete a short sign up form and they will send you daily tips to make the process easier. Each day, I get an email advising me of how long I have been smoke free, how many cigarettes I have not smoked, how much money I've saved and how long I've increased my lifespan.

As I mentioned in my last post, each week that I am smoke free, I will transfer $14.70 into a separate savings account to be used for whatever I want. I made my first $14.70 transfer into my ING savings account today.

The first few days without smoking were very hard. I will write a separate post on that in the next few days.

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It's something I've been planning to do for the past few months and I finally decided to be a quitter. I'm tired of being dependent on cigarettes and I'm tired of throwing away money on cigarettes. I've smoked them since I was about 18 years old. I only started smoking because at the time I was heading off to college and it was the "cool" thing to do. It was supposed to be a temporary thing but unfortunately, 13 years later, I'm still smoking.

If you've never smoked, you can't begin to imagine what kind of an addiction it is. I was reading the American Cancer Society website and learned that nicotine is as addictive as heroin or cocaine. As someone who is trying to quit, I believe it. I had my last cigarette around 7am yesterday morning and then put on a nicotine patch. By 10am, I had a major headache and I was a little nauseated. Usually, by that time, I would have been having my third cigarette of the day.

I know all about the health risks and that was the main reason I wanted to quit. That was a major incentive but to give me even more incentive to quit, I had to add a money related component. Not only will I be improving my health; I would also be saving money.

I've started a separate No Smoking Plan savings account at ING Direct.

Here's how it will work:

• I usually smoke about 10-15 cigarettes a day. There are 20 cigarettes in a pack.
  
• A pack of cigarettes costs roughly $3.40/pack. To make it easier, I am rounding up to $3.50.
  
• 12 cigarettes/day * 7 days/week = 84 cigarettes/20 cigarettes a pack = 4.2 packs a week.
• 4.2 packs/week * $3.50/pack = $14.70 week
• 50 weeks remaining this year * $14.70 a week = $735 potential savings at end of 2009.
  

Each week that I am smoke-free, I will transfer $14.70 per week to my No Smoking Plan savings account. At the end of the year, whatever the amount is in my No Smoking Plan savings account, I will use it to buy myself something. It can be either be an electronic gadget or just an all out splurge. This money will not be used to pay bills or added to my regular savings. This money will strictly be used to reward me for quitting this disgusting habit.

Have you recently quit smoking? How did you do it?

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If you live in Georgia, you may be paying up to an additional $1 for a pack of cigarettes. Currently, state lawmakers are looking at raising the tax on cigarettes by as much as $1 to provide additional revenue for the State. The additional revenue from the tax increase would go to fund healthcare programs in Georgia.

Georgia ranks 43rd in the nation with a sales tax of 37 cents on tobacco. The last increase in the tax on tobacco was back in 2003.

I, for one, hope they do increase the tax. Unfortunately, I have a nicotine habit that I have not been able to break. Increasing the price of cigarettes will certainly give me the additional encouragement I need to quit. I know about the negative health effects and that has not been enough to stop me yet. Hit me hard in the wallet; that will make me change my ways. For people who have never smoked, it is easy to say “just quit” but anyone who is or has been a smoker knows how hard quitting can be.

Were you a smoker? How did you quit? Are you a smoker now? Would an increase in the price of cigarettes encourage you to quit smoking?

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