Just One Cigarette..................

[Newfound_Joy]

I was standing in line at the post office yesterday, and EWWWWW!!  Someone in line smelled like yucky stale tobacco smoke.  (Didn’t used to be able to smell that-ha!) Couldn’t tell which person it was coming from.  You only have to wait a couple of minutes, though, to hear that RATTLING, RASPY, smoker’s HACKERS cough!!  Oh!! It’s you, I thought! 

Stinky YOU!  I’m so glad it’s STINKY YOU and not stinky me.

Having said that, I must also be honest and get this off my chest….. It’s been pretty smooth sailing for me with hardly an urge or craving at all.  Until yesterday……the past 24 hours I have been thinking about

“Just one cigarette”

Go ahead………..bring it on…………..give me that “tough love” you all are so good at.

I mean that sincerely because without all of you, I would still be smoking and for that I am forever grateful!

N.O.P.E.

[KatherineF]

There is no such thing as just one for an addict and you are an addict.  N.E.F.

[SarahP]

You already know how to beat this. There is no such thing as one. "One" isn't really one, it's one an hour and all the baggage that comes with it. You know. Don't fall for it. You are an addict and will be for the rest of your life. Your brain chemistry simply doesn't allow you the option of smoking socially. So let it go. Have the thought, and let it go. You know how to do this! 

How was that?  🙂

[BobbyMaynard]

Katherine and Sarah already told you the truth. It's not just one, it's one now, two later, a pack tomorrow and then you are smoking more than you were before you quit. You feel ashamed and embarrassed and you smell and feel like crap. Then when you pull yourself together you have to start all over again. It's not worth it. Have a wonderful smokless day Joy.

Bobby

[Newfound_Joy]

I do KNOW all these things....sometimes I think I am MENTALLY CHALLENGED because my addiction tries to make me forget.  If I talk about it and hear from you WINNERS it releases the power in my brain!

Thanks so much!!  (Besides the fact I would NEVER want to go thru the grief of having to reset my Countdown Clock again!! LOL)

[lisa11209]

http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_04_18_fixating.html

This is from whyquit, the one about fixating on a cig that Nancy posts sometimes.  This has gotten me past many a thought of "just one".  It is none or all.  Choose none.

[Thomas3.20.2010]

I'm a puff away from a pack a day! How would you like to set your quit counter back to ZERO?????

[Lonita]

You know your not alone. We will always be tempted and our demon will always lie to us. Let N.O.P.E be your guardian angel. Stand firm. Smile and think how far you have come and you don't really want to go there again. One is never enough and one is to many. Stay strong.

[Ex_Nancy]

WE all know it WON'T WORK and will bring you right back to square one...on sqare one you wanted to be where you are right now....It goes like this for alcoholics..".Okay, I decorated the xmas tree...now I will have just one drink."......OH WOE....bless your quit !!!

[jim117]

I am not for giving one tough love.  We all have been there and know what you are going through.  Just today I had two knew people in the group and they both offered me a cigarette and I so wanted to say ok but I stuck to my guns and said no thank you I am no longer smoking those nasty things

Do what you know is right and make yourself proud.  It can be done, and I know you can do it.

Jim

[Alice23]

You will never regret the one you do not light!

[AutumnWoman]

"one is too many and a thousand never enough"

" It's easier to stay stopped than to get stopped"

" No cigarette tastes as good as quitting feels"

Just a few from this nicotine addict's mantra collection...

[melissa131]

That is gross, it's weird everytime I smell someone or hear that cough it just re-affirms for me that cigarettes are GROSS! 

That's all I got, I'm sure the others covered the finer points. 

[family-first]

Just know what a pain it is to reset the clock...that will stop ya...lol

[Tukkadogg1345]

No not one……..really good stuff. I don’t think I can add anything, but this helped me, I was thinking just THAT……now I’ll say nope!!

[Rprice]

Thanks for that, I will now start saying just none for me everyday until I quit 

[ncruzcolon2gma]

I have 21 days and of course the nicotine is screaming loud just buy one vape take a few puffs than throw it out that never worked before it will not work now im not giving in to the lie of the addiction it had me captive to many years I'm playing the tape back and the pain is greater than the desire. Nothing Good comes out if vaping so In Jesus name I say no🙏

[Jeb623]

I've been a smoker for 40 years, and I've quit many times in those decades. But, I can never make it stick past six months. The slide always starts with the idea of "just one". I've also had a problem with alcohol in my past that required me to quit 3 times; I've been in control since the last quit when I was 27. I know AA and all those programs say that you have to get away from the people that you drank with, away from places where alcohol was, etc. That makes some sense, but, to me, it also felt like hiding. If I had to hide from alcohol, then, to me, I hadn't won; I hadn't defeated alcohol or the addiction, I was only hiding from it. Hiding didn't feel right either, that's why it took me three tries to manage myself and my addiction. Once I could take one drink and not crave another, I felt like I was the boss, not the alcohol or the addiction, I was the winner. I feel that way about cigarettes, too, and that's why I haven't remained a quitter when it comes to them. The thought of "just one" comes out of the blue, when I'm not aware of any craving or any stress that requires a cigarette, and it confounds me. I think nicotine may be one of the most addictive substances on earth, working in ways we still don't fully understand or there wouldn't be so many of us who understand that "just one" level of failure. And, for me, there's obviously some kind of control issue that doesn't let me surrender to the idea that I am not the boss of me when it comes to some things. 

[biscuit9]

@Jeb623 The only way I have been able to "control" or "have power over" nicotine, is by not using it.  I ditto what you said about nicotine being one of the most addictive substances on earth.  My history with nicotine is definitely proof of the power it has over me.  At 1 yr 5 mos quit, I know I cannot take one puff, because one puff will never be enough for me.  I am a nic addict, who got sick and tired of being a nic addict and watching what it was doing my health.