This is an old post, but since I was an ex-smoker, I feel compelled to respond.
A little background on my smoking history: I've smoked for about 10 years before officially quitting this January. Before quitting, I smoked anywhere from one to two packs a day depending on the level of my stress. I took frequent smoke breaks throughout the day and if I had a choice, I would not go for more than an hour or two without a cigarette. If I didn't have a cigarette after two hours I would get agitated, tempermental, and I can't think of anything but smoking. Because of my addiction, I would try to avoid doing any activities that prevented me from smoking for more than two hours. In other words, I would rather not watch a movie, or *gasp* fly for a vacation if I had a choice. My wife tried to make me quit numerous times by showing me photos of "smoker's lungs" or by telling me stories of people dying from smoking. However, her scare tactics were counterproductive. Whenever I saw these photos or heard of these stories, it raised my stress level and the first thing that came to my mind was ... I need a smoke. It was a vicious guilt cycle.
How I quit: I tried quitting smoking a few times last year. I've tried patch, gum, Chantix, electronic cigarettes, but nothing worked for me. I thought that I would never be able to break free from my terrible addiction and I just have to accept that I would die at an earlier age than I would like. However, towards the end of last year, I stumbled upon a book called
"The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" by Allen Carr. (
https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Way-Stop-Smo ... 933&sr=8-1). The book had raving reviews and I figured, it's only $8 for the book, which is less than a pack of cigarettes, so I gave it a shot. It took me about a week to read the book and by the time I finished, I had no desire to smoke anymore. No doubt, the first day was the hardest for me as my mind was consumed by the thought of smoking. However, after day one, it progressively got easier. Day 3 was when I truly felt liberated.
So, if you had thought of quitting smoking ... give this book a shot. You have nothing to lose. If you learn better by seminars or videos, you could see if they have one near by:
https://www.theeasywaytostopsmoking.com/. I haven't been in one, but read great reviews of them.
I just signed up for the Veritas course starting next weekend, and the course runs from 10am - 5pm. Honestly, if I hadn't quit smoking, I don't think I could even handle the thought of being in class for so long. Also, just the thought of taking the GMAT exam is a lot of stress for me ... I have to figure out how much time I need to go to the bathroom, drink some water, eat something light and nutrious, relax, and have a smoke all within the 8-minute break. I guess that's why I hadn't thought about going to MBA until now.
Sorry for my long post. As you can see, I am very glad that I quit smoking. This thread would be a great success if I could motivate and/or possibly get one person who read this thread to quit smoking.
