Peter's Quit Story

Who would have thought it? ME? Not One Puff Ever for three months.

There are 4 reasons for this:

1.My wife Lisa, who also has 3 under her belt and is my quit buddy, my everything. Well done dear!

2. My children. The twins, Conal and Roisin, and of course the older two boys, Christian and Jaron.

3. To stay alive!

4. This forum.

I have stayed close to this forum because, to succeed I needed to occupy myself and keep my fingers busy in order to take away the craves. I didn't expect that I would literally get addicted to this place or find wonderful kind individuals who I call special friends now.

For those of you who know me, you know that I use humor whenever possible; its better to laugh than not, right? And I can certainly say you have helped keep my spirits up when I didn't have a lot left in the tank to go on.

For the real newbies who read this, I'm living proof that quitting cigarettes is possible. For 24 yrs I smoked a packet + a day. I didn't have a reason to quit, not really, until my children came onto the scene. That was when, as with a lot of people on this forum, the pendulum shifted. It was no longer about "what I wanted", it was what was important for the kids.

I did the math... I'm 41 years old. My twins, being the youngest of 4 kids, just turned 3. Ten years was a long way off, they would just be 13, still in middle school, but me? I'd be 51... Would I even be walking this earth by then? Was I willing to play Russian roulette with a packet of smokes every day? NO.

On Sunday, July 23, 2006 at 11:59, I put out my last cigarette. I knew eventually the day would arrive and when it did, I embraced it with all my heart and soul. I had enough of the guilt, the smell, the cravings. I was sick of being a prisoner to cigarettes. It was time to let it go, after all. It was time to move on.

This forum gave me the foundation to succeed. It is here to offer advice and support and friendship, but ultimately, quitting has got to be something you want and you're prepared to fight for.

Life is never perfect; arguments will always develop, stress will always raise its ugly head, and life will throw some real curveballs. However, I've managed for three months now, and I am feeling so much healthier, especially in the mornings. I have not used my inhaler since stopping.

I see the small changes in my kids each day, and hope God gives me the grace to share many more days with them. I hope He grants me the gift of watching them grow up and become wonderful individuals, and of course pick me a really nice old peoples home some day too( beside a golf course ).

All I can say to nicodemon is, bring it on baby, BRING IT ON!