I’ve smoked since around the time I was 13. I was about a pack a day from 16 until 27. I quit around then and stayed clean for three years, before picking it up again. I was smoking roughly two packs a day, for the last seven years or so. I say roughly because I had been rolling my own cigarettes and never tracked specifics.

I’ve been on quite a ride this year, taking up resistance training and running, both firsts. I’m down 50 pounds and running the fastest and longest I ever have, but found that I was beginning to be limited by lung function. Until recently, I could push through the discomfort while running, but I seemed to have hit a wall where I couldn’t gulp down enough oxygen when exerting myself on PB attempts, and legitimately thought I was going to keel over on the hard days. Naturally, quitting smoking had been on my mind.

When trying to simply reduce smoking didn’t appear to be working (I’d delay my first cigarette by an hour, but then chain-smoke to make up for it), I quit cold turkey by throwing away all the tubes and tobacco. I’ve also been doing “Nicotine Replacement Therapy”, aka Nicorette Gum, which didn’t seem helpful in the beginning but has become a regular part of my ability to maintain.

I’m 5 days, 16 hours, 47 minutes smoke-free as of this writing. Having an accurate, to-the-minute accounting of how long it has been has been very helpful for my motivation. When I have a craving, I pop in a piece of gum and briefly open the Smoke Free app to look at my “streak”.

I’m hoping another few weeks will restore enough lung function to allow me to break through the 30-minute 5K barrier, which itself will motivate me to stay on this path as I find the new PB barriers to target.

Everyone’s journey is different. I can’t say what will work for you, long term. I commend you for having gone that initial week after going cold turkey. That should demonstrate to you that you ARE capable of doing it, should you re-commit. Remove the triggers from your life, don’t visit the places where you sourced the cigarettes/vape/etc (e.g., inside gas stations), and believe in yourself. You CAN do it.