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Date

Our Statement of Fact, Our Message of Hope

Free for 2 years, 9 months and counting!

I'm not ashamed to admit that I needed help to quit but like most people I thought that help came in the form of a patch or a pill. Then I found this site. Because of the knowledge provided by John and Joel I was able to break free and most importantly stay free. No gimmicks, no tricks, no hidden agendas. WhyQuit is staffed and frequented by people who genuinely care about saving your life.

If you're still smoking and thinking about quitting or you want to quit but are afraid to fail then picture this: in your mind imagine total comfort, your life free of cigarettes, free of craving, maybe you can imagine your life before you started smoking. If you could achieve that image wouldn't you make the effort? I did, and I'm living my smokefree life every day and loving it.

Jill

Hello, my name is Tommy and I quit 1 year ago today (12 July 04). Many thanks to God and WhyQuit.com. I had tried every possible quitting method during the last few years, but never tried the educated cold turkey method as described here at WhyQuit.

The beginning was difficult and my eyes were glued to this site for the first few weeks - continually educating myself and reaffirming my promise to keep my quit. The real life tragedies, photographs and suffering that I saw posted on this site was a real wake up call for me. I read from people that really opened their hearts and emotions about how this dreadful addiction had affected their lives and their families. Then I read about the success stories, ordinary people beating this addiction and gaining control of their lives again, and I believed that I could be one of this team also! And it worked!

This site should be on the school education curriculum for teenagers to help them quit/not begin and prevent them having a life of guilt and worry as most of us (former smokers) have had.

Since I quit I now have 3000% more energy. I now enjoy my sports again. I met a beautiful lady and married her. I lived in a European city and my country banned smoking last year in all bars, restaurants, etc, so quitting was relatively easy because the "triggers" were greatly reduced!

This year my employer relocated me to Moscow, Russia - a very interesting and historical city. Everybody smokes here - it is frightening to see how addicted to cigarettes most of the population is. There is cigarette bill-board advertising, magazines etc. This has been outlawed in Europe for many years, so it is a big culture shock. Museums, outdoor events etc list major tobacco companies as their main sponsors...wow! The prices of cigarettes are very cheap and as a result everyone smokes, in restaurants, bars, work etc. These are the new markets for the big tobacco companies. Europe and America has copped on to their drug so they peddle their lethal wares in less developed countries, Russia,China and Asia.

The amazing thing about all of this is that since I quit and everyone that I work with now in Moscow is smoking all around me.... I have no cravings. I do not want to smoke and I pity these people and their terrible addiction. I actually find it funny because most of the time I cannot remember smoking and cannot imagine myself smoking (and I smoked for over 20+ years!!!)

Indelibly etched in my mind is NTAP...never take another puff. This promise/oath is so important to me and my health. Quitting smoking has been the greatest achievement of my life and I am proud of this. I hope that this short letter will give some encouragement to anyone out there that is worried about quitting or is thinking about resuming their smoking career. Please quit one day at a time... I did ... and it gets really easy later!

Many thanks to Joel, Kim and Whyquit.com ... you saved my life.

Tommy

Hi, my screen name is BillW, and I chose that because...its my first name and last name initial. Didn't realize another BillW made significant contributions to addiction recovery back then... and I can't claim that now for me. But nicotine is an addiction, and you can recover.

I've been free for 3 1/3 years, and helped out some on the Freedom website. I often hear people refer to the first weeks or so as a rollercoaster ride. It sort of is... but no one ever died from nicotine withdrawal.

And like a rollercoaster, there are certain rules that apply:

1. Keep your mind firmly tucked into the car at all times. Remember why you are doing this. Read, Read, Read!
2. While the ride might be rough at the beginning, it tapers down, just like a roller coaster. It Will Get Better!
3. Don't try to leave the rollercoaster in the middle of the ride. The "comfort" you will feel as the ride ends makes up for any bumps!
4. Having survived the rollercoaster ride, feel free to buy the tee shirt and photo. But if you never want to ride it again, then Never Take Another Puff!

Bill

I smoked my last cigarette on December 7, 2003. I had tried several times to quit, but was never able to do it. This website is God-sent. Thank you for all the time and effort and obvious love for your fellow man you put into this site. IT WORKED!!!! I am smoke-free and I'll never take another puff.

God bless,

Pam Huston
Madison, Mississippi, USA

Want some motivation to quit smoking? If you want to live, then quit.

If you want to continue your life as the dog of Philip Morris, R.J Reynolds or the Marlboro Man, go ahead. Be as stupid as you want. Whatever you think that cigarettes are doing for you is far outweighed by what they are doing TO you. You are killing yourself. Don't try and rationalize it, YOU ARE KILLING YOURSELF! If you like a slow suicide verses one that's short and sweet, keep smoking.

I know what you're thinking. I smoked 2-3+ packs a day for 35 years. I always thought that I would quit "someday." My mom died of lung cancer, and I thought about quitting... "someday." I hacked up lumps of brown crap every morning, and I thought about quitting... "someday." I coughed like I had bronchitis most of the time, and I thought about quitting... "someday." I panicked whenever I was out of cigarettes, and I thought about quitting... "someday." I missed airline connections because I ran out of the airport to grab a smoke, and I thought about quitting... "someday." I had a CAT scan and was told that I had a suspicious spot on one of my lungs, and "someday" was here!

If you don't have any of the issues that I had, you can't rationalize that away either, because YOU WILL have some or all of them. Quit now while you are still alive. Don't let cigarettes decide when you are going to quit for you. Their decision will be that you will quit when you are dead. Imagine having to tell your loved ones that you are dying because you were too stupid to quit smoking. Imagine not even having the chance to tell them how much you loved them because you died of a heart attack.

I have been smoke-free since May, 2002. Hopefully I dodged THE bullet.

G. Taylor

I would like to thank you for the valuable information at WhyQuit. I quit April 12, 2004 "Cold Turkey" and I have now been nicotine free thirteen months and twenty days!! I had tried the patch before and hypnosis. I truly feel that I will never smoke again. Just remember "never take another puff!"

Charles Suarez
Purchase, New York, USA

Six years ago today - the evening of May 15, 1999 - I said "no more!" Tempered by a dozen prior serious failed attempts and frightened by the prospect of withdrawal, what I most feared was success. Smoking had so infected every aspect of my being that I simply couldn't imagine life without it being worth living. Ohhhhhh, how wonderfully wrong I was.

One thing was different this time. In April 1999, I at last surrendered to the fact that I was a true drug addict, every bit as chemically dependent as any alcoholic. After thirty years of games in attempting to control the uncontrollable, of treating an addiction like a habit, I now, for the first time, willingly admitted that I would never ever be stronger than nicotine. The games were over. But if not stronger, then what?

On May 13, 1999, I discovered the beauty of "can-do" encouragement flowing from online support, on June 16th I read Bryan’s story and felt the positive influence of horrible truths, and on January 20, 2000, I was introduced to Joel's Library and almost immediately recognized a vast void in my dependency understanding.

Remember the end of the movie Ghost, where Patrick tells Demi that "the love in your heart, you get to take it with you?" Well recovery is the same. Although it may feel like it during the first two weeks, we leave absolutely nothing behind. Every neurochemical that nicotine released -- more than 200 -- already belonged to you. Recovery is a matter of giving our brain time to re-sensitize itself, and us time to again appreciate engaging every aspect of life without nicotine.

If you have not yet done so, I'd strongly encourage a one time cover to cover read of Joel’s Library. Also, I'd find a quality source of ongoing support - a calm and comfortable ex-smoker, a non-smoking loved one or a serious and highly focused online support forum. Just one guiding principle determining the outcome for all, a principle that will always remain our common bond ... no nicotine just one day at a time, Never Take Another Puff, Dip or Chew. As with all who've posted here, if you need help, or have a question, e-mail us. We're each here and we're with you in spirit. The next few minutes are all that matter and each is do-able.

Breathe deep, hug hard, live long!

John R. Polito (a/k/a Zep)(Gold x6)
Charleston, South Carolina, USA

I have been nicotine free for 3 years, 11 months, 1 day, 1 hour, and 5 minutes. While I never posted at Freedom, I owe my quit largely to WhyQuit.com. Reading others' stories, seeing what can happen if you don't quit... it doesn't take long to realize that you need to quit NOW, not tomorrow. I learned the most important four words here, the words that are the ONLY way to quit smoking: NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF.

I admit it. I am a nicotine addict. I honestly believe that even one puff would place me right back into having to go through the pain of withdrawal all over again. It's just not worth it.

If you are trying to get through those first 72 hours, cleaning the nicotine out of your system right now, congratulations! Trust me; it won't seem like very long 4 years (or more) from now. Do you know how often I think of smoking now? Almost never! You may not believe it right now, since I understand how much you want the withdrawal to stop. Just one more! NO NO NO! Why start all over again? Hang in there; before you know it, it will be 3 days, and it will be easier. Two weeks, and you'll be getting used to not lighting up. Six months, and you'll wonder why it was such a big deal. Three years, and those first 72 hours will just be a vague memory, but your body will have undone 95% of the reparable damage (and that's the reason to quit now - no irreparable damage). The only thing you'll remember is that you don't want to go through them again!

Can I write about relapse? I sure can! In 1990, I had a nice quit of over a year going. Then I found a cigarette! Unfortunately, I hadn't learned the MOST IMPORTANT WORDS yet. I took it outside and smoked it. That one smoke led me to nearly 11 YEARS of relapse. Is one smoke worth that?

Why am I writing this now? I don't know. I had a passing thought to stop in to say thanks and to give my testimony on quitting. Maybe this is the day I need to put my message on top of the pile to give you that extra bit of encouragement you need to make your quit last a lifetime, or for you to decide to make it through 72 hours just in time to avoid that cancer that was about to start, or keep that heart attack from happening. With the knowledge that I must NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF, and God's help to keep that promise for myself and my family, I know I can stay nicotine free the rest of my now much longer life. So can you.

So thank you, WhyQuit.com! I hope you help millions more people to quit and stay quit! God knows we poor nicotine addicts need the lessons here.

Tim

I gave up nicotine Cold Turkey on March 10th 2004.

I had quit that way once before – successfully, for about a year – but I didn't know the real meaning of my addiction. I thought it would be OK to take a puff of a friend’s cigarette. That was in 1992. Smoking 15-20 a day, I do not want to calculate how many I need not have smoked had I understood what I know now - that I can never take another puff.

I am 55 years old and, apart from that one year, have smoked since I was 20. My mother had heart disease and a leg amputated because of poor circulation almost certainly caused by her lifelong addiction. She died before seeing her grandchildren grow up. My granddaughter was born on March 15th last year. I want to be there for her while she grows up. She has never known me to smell of smoke. I am so proud of myself for doing this that I am making other changes in my life too. I have started to run and have entered the June 05 ‘Race for Life’ collecting sponsorship for cancer charities. I could never run before, even when I was young.

Cold Turkey is only hard if you think it is going to be. Anyone can do an hour without nicotine. And then the next, and the next……and it becomes a day, then two and then sooner than you think, you forget what it felt like to really want a cigarette.

I wish nicotine had never been a part of my life, but at least I can say for certain that it never will be again.

Marion UK

My name is Juanita. I'm coming up on my 15th month of not smoking. I quit cold turkey with the help of WhyQuit.com and the ALA's FFS program. Without the help of these two programs, I seriously doubt I'd be here. It's immensely joyous to be smoke free and able to be more active and smell better and all the other benefits to being a non-smoker. I learned that the success to ANY life change will be the direct result of how much education you give yourself on the subject. I'm pretty sure I would not be here if I was an uneducated quitter. I scoured every corner of WhyQuit and used FFS to its fullest. Thanks to my self-awareness of my addiction, I was able to quit and never look back!!

Juanita
QD 2/15/04

My name is Mary and I have been smoke free for 1 year 3 months. I smoked for 22 years and never once tried to quit. I actually found WhyQuit before my quit day. The articles and stories really helped to reinforce my reasons for wanting to quit. Once I did quit I found the discussion boards to be extremely helpful. Though I never participated in them, just reading what others were experiencing and the encouragement from those that had been there was enough to get me through some hard times.

Quitting was easier than I thought it would be as far as cravings go, but I was surprised by the tremendous emotional ups and downs I went thru. When I decided to quit smoking I didn't realize how important having a support system was. Just knowing that there were others out there that were riding the same emotional roller coaster as myself was comforting.

Any time I hear someone say they are going to quit smoking there are 3 things that I tell them; cold turkey is the only sure way to quit, visit the web site WhyQuit.com and make sure you have some type of support system, you can call me if you need one. I would like to say thank you to WhyQuit and the many people who have shared stories of their loved ones lost, they were incredibly inspirational. Also, a big thanks to the people who give advise to those of us struggling on the discussion boards. Though you may not even know we are there your advice is always encouraging.

THANK YOU & HAVE A GREAT DAY!

Mary Eland

I started smoking when I was fourteen years old. It was the night they rushed my father to the hospital because he was having a heart attack. His heart stopped three times that night and he was forced to quit smoking. He told me that he wanted to suck the nicotine off the fingers of the nurses who smelled of smoke after their breaks. Somehow I came to reason with God that I would start smoking if he let my father live. How the mind of a fourteen year old works!

My mother died a couple of years after I graduated from college. Diagnosed with liver cancer, she had to have a lung removed earlier due to lung cancer. She quit smoking in her early forties but was now in her late forties. It was during my senior year in high school. I walked into her hospital room just as the doctor told her she probably only had two months to live. We cried with each other for about fifteen minutes. Just before she died I brought home a girl whom I just started dating. She told me later that she did not want to jinx it but that she thought that she just met my future wife and her deepest regret was that she would be there for my children.

I quit once before about four years ago for a year but had to add my name to the one puff files. My father had dementia and his brother who was a priest living in nearby city got cancer. Both died relatively close to each other. After one of the wakes I walked outside and smoked a cigarette with my brother, then believing it would help me through the situation. Back to another 30 plus Merit Longs a day.

I promised my kids that I would try again. I did try a few times but could not see myself without smoking. I wanted to quit but after several failed attempts I did not think I could. I thought I was destined to continue my 35 years of smoking until death. I made promises to my kids that I would try after tax season ( I am a CPA). On April 16, 2004, after tax season my boys asked me, “now that tax season is over when are you going to quit?” I quit on April 19th and that quit only lasted two days, maybe two and a half, before I broke down and purchased a pack. I made that pack last three days. My wife smokes and the boys are harder on her then me. They said to her, “at least dad tries to quit,” after my last failed attempt. She always said we could not quit together because we would kill each other.

Ashamed that I failed in my last quit attempt, angry that I ever started to smoke, embarrassed to have to leave my son's basketball game at halftime to smoke, disgusted that I coached basketball while smoking, mad that I allowed myself, my government, and the tobacco companies to make me a slave, scared from when I went to the heart doctor for a stress test that he said to me that “chances are that if both you and your wife continue to smoke that something bad is likely to happen to one of you during the next five years.” My daughter was only entering the eighth grade and my sons were entering their senior year of high school and the other a sophomore year in college. On April 26, 2004 I smoked my last cigarette. I did so hopefully my kids would not have watch me suffer or worry during their own development.

I am so proud of my quit. I'm thankful to WhyQuit.com, and the managers and members of Freedom from Tobacco (where I lurked as a non-member) for helping me save my life. Thank you! Thank you! My wife and several people I know have quit or are in the process of quitting because of WhyQuit. When they ask me how I quit I respond with a question do you have a computer. I explain about WhyQuit and will actually go to the web page on their computer to give them a tour. Before I sign off their computer I add WhyQuit.com to their Favorites and encourage them to return and explore the site when they have some free time.

Today I'm forty-nine years old, have a wonderful beautiful non-smoking wife and three children ages 13, 18. and 20. It has been one year and one day since I ingested nicotine into my body. I've saved $3,167.14 while not smoking 10,997 cigarettes. For you new quitters, please believe me when I say peace and comfort will come. Breathe deep, live long, love strong, hug long, and be FREE by Never, Never, Taking Another Puff.

You will find peace and freedom just give it chance by NTAP. Repeat after me, I do believe, I do believe, I do believe! You will be there before you even realize that you are there!

Walter F. Cain
Webster, Massachusetts, USA

I discovered WhyQuit.com a few weeks into my quit. I had been searching on the web for support groups and stumbled upon WhyQuit the same way many people find things on the web - just follow the links...

It didn't take long to figure that I'd found the right place. The information available was overwhelming. The time I spent reading alone was enough to get me through those early craves.

I continued to read day after day, night after night (my wife can attest to that). I'm convinced that WhyQuit.com was the key reason, after my own desire to quit, that I have surpassed one year of not smoking (April 21).

Thanks to all.

Nick Ruggeri

I quit smoking a little over 15 months ago, thinking that I was simply going to put them down and away for awhile. I was wrong. Oddly enough, I quit cold turkey.

My fiancé had just bought us bicycles for Christmas and I was determined to ride as long and as far as I possibly could. I was 30 pounds over-weight, a 20-year smoker, and stressed from everyday life as a single mother of two teenagers. I quit smoking just as cold turkey as they come. I threw away everything that closely resembled smoking and gave my body and soul to God for healing. I prayed my way through the cravings and, when I thought I couldn't take it any further, I climbed up on the purple beast; my Schwinn, and rode as hard as I could through the neighborhood, local parks, to and from work. I spent the first 4-6 months coughing and spitting the last 20 years of crud from my lungs. I've since gave up sleepless nights, heavy medical cost, and started enjoying the healing power of oxygen. I often think I've successfully quit because I've just smoked enough in my life. I've really enjoyed breathing, instead!

Thanks for asking and may God bless you all.

Dana K. Collins

I heard someone say once, "It's easy to quit smoking, I've done it a hundred times!!".

That was the story of my life. Not anymore. I have NOT smoked for almost 3 years, and this is because WhyQuit enabled me to have an 'intellectual quit'. This meant that I understood exactly the damage I was doing to myself, the addiction that gripped me, the reason for the withdrawal symptoms, what they meant and how long they would last.

In a scientific manner, I could grit my teeth through the worst of the withdrawal, knowing that relief would come in the form of freedom, and that the pain is temporary. True comfort is the gift that you get.

Once a 40 per day smoker, now running half marathons easily.

Sue Rovelli

It is easier than you think to not smoke. I smoked for 42 years gradually working up to more and more cigarettes. It was easy enough to quit, so much so that I cannot understand why I didn't quit years ago. Why was I not motivated before I found WhyQuit.com? I hope others get motivated younger than I. My quitting cold turkey has amazed some friends to the point that they quit, too.

I have been quit for 1 Year, 3 Months, 21 hours, 29 minutes and 7 seconds (456 days). I have saved $2,969.81 by not smoking 18,275 cigarettes. I have saved 2 Months, 3 Days, 10 hours and 55 minutes of my life.

Helen McDonald, R.N.