Independence has multiple meanings

[Ed55]

I am so glad to be quit and feeling good about it.

BUT I cannot forget to stay dilligent, even though my confidence level is high, the statistics say that I am not out of the woods yet. 

I have been reading clinical studies this evening (dry reading) and was a bit confused by the numbers, but it appears that about 22% of smokers eventually quit. I was also amazed to see that a diagnosis of copd only slightly increased that percentage. 

Is this correct? 

[YoungAtHeart]

Anecdotally - I'm afraid it is probably correct.  We are addicts and have been brainwashed into believing it's TOO HARD by the prevailing wisdom. Sad, isn't it?   What message do you think it sends to tell people they need TWO NRTs to be successful, or that it takes people 30 tries to succeed -Thomas' blog yesterday (I think)?

It's why I stay here to try and talk some sense so that people understand they CAN do it --- it isn't easy sometimes - but anyone can quit smoking with the right education and support.

(getting down off her soapbox)

Nancy

[elvan]

Nancy is right, anyone can do it.  We have to be willing to go through some uncomfortable moments...to say the least.   It is not easy but no crave ever killed anyone.  I knew I had COPD for a very long time, even before it was officially diagnosed.  It did not stop me from smoking.  What did?  A near death experience that removed any doubt that if I kept smoking and trying to live in denial, that horrified look I saw on the faces of my family members would be the last thing I would see in this life. 

Education and support are essential.

[Barbara145]

I quit within one week of being diagnosed with COPD.  I smoked for 52 years.  Congrats on quitting smoking.  It truly just gets better and better. (After the rough patches.)  Keep being curious.  That help sustain me in the early days of my quit. 

[JonesCarpeDiem]

flies have big eyes! 22% of the time.

[Giulia]

Studies only reflect the study and what they want you to perceive.  There are so many factors in studies - the number of participants the way they want to skew it.  Studies say eggs are bad for us.  Then they say they're good for us.  Studies are just that - studies - either trying to prove a theory or disprove one.  They are based on samplings. And they are STUDIES.  Not proven facts.  

So keep studying, say I.  Until you prove your own facts through your own experience.

There are people on here who not only have had COPD, but emphysema and lung cancer and still can't quit.  So it is is not surprising to me that having some negative smoking-related diagnosis would only increase "those who eventually quit" study numbers SLIGHTLY   From my experience on here since the site's inception in 2008, reading blogs, that's the truth of the matter.  

Stay true to your commitment. 

[djmurray]

I personally went into complete denial for the first year and a half after my diagnosis.  My insurance company called for COPD support and I actually said "I don't have COPD."  What caused me to quit?  Looking at an X-ray of my lungs when I had yet another bout with bronchitis.  I looked at my lungs and was overcome by a sadness that I had treated them so badly for so long (53 years).  I didn't quit right away; that was in November and I quit on New Years Eve.  So no, the diagnosis didn't do it for me, but something finally did, and now I'm about 545 days into my quit!  And boy, am I a happy quitter!!