I Say Smoke the Whole Pack

[Barb102]

Really!  Who are/were any of us trying to kid ourselves when we bought (or thought of buying) a pack of cigarettes, just to have one?  I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling that you are a lot like me. Come on, did you ever eat just one Lays potatoes chip?  Be honest. Just think. We aren’t addicted to chips. We’re addicted to nicotine. That’s why we shouldn’t try to lie to ourselfs, by saying I’ll only smoke just one. It’s never just one. Buying that pack ruins all the hard work of our quits. It takes us back to day one. No one wants to start over. This is part of the reason why if someone slips they have a hard time stopping again. It’s why I had a hard time quitting again. I didn’t want to start over.

So here’s the best advice I was given on this site. It really works. It works for me. It’s called Not One Puff Ever. NOPE. I’ve learned that even one puff is one too many. 

So be strong.  Keep your precious quit, no matter what comes your way. Use all the tools we have available to us. Ask each other for help when we need it. Take the pledge and believe in yourself.You can do anything you set mind and heart out to do.  “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it”.

But, if you want to buy a pack, to just have one, please stop and think. You know deep in your heart of hearts that you can’t have just one. I know I can’t .  So let’s do this together and never have one puff ever.  Let’s keep this pledge whether it's day 1 or 3,001. 

[pgroce]

I think it is helpful to have a pack or two of cigarettes around. In past attempts to quit, having no cigarettes on hand in the beginning added stress to my quitting and once I went and bought the pack to have "just one"; well I smoked a whole pack. So, by having cigarettes available, but not smoking them, eases a bit the fear of not having "any" cigarettes. I still have three opened packs of cigarettes in my home and have not had one cigarette since March of 2018. I find it comforting to know they are here. 

[YoungAtHeart]

The Law of Addiction: Quitting's Only Rule

The Law of Addiction states, "Administration of a drug to an addict will cause re-establishment of chemical dependence upon the addictive substance."

(whyquit.com)

One puff will inevitably lead to another, then another - until you are back to being a full-time smoker.  It just WILL!  Don't doubt it - accept it!

[SoosannahK]

When I want to buy that pack to have "just one", and it will never be just one, the thought I always put first in my mind is "Will you ever get your quit back if you do this?" I am terrified of losing my quit. It took me at least 5 years to try again since my last quit. My mind and heart is all in this quit and I don't want to derail it.  I make myself wait and waiting works. The thought goes away and I go on my merry smoke-free way. 

[YoungAtHeart]

Whatever works for you!

That being said, I wonder what will happen if you get heartbreaking news?  A bad health diagnosis for a loved one?  The death of someone close to you?  Other terrible, unexpected news?

I really don't like having cigarettes so available to you (jmho).

But, again - whatever works for you.

Congrats on your 6 months!

Nancy

[MarilynH]

Thank you you are soooooo very right ....

[Mandolinrain]

Be careful playing with fire, you may get burnt. Its like dangling a bone in front of a dog. Eventually they may get it  or, maybe not...but why on earth would you want to experiment with that?

It just sounds like an excuse to me. I wouldn't recommend it.

[elvan]

Barb102‌

NOPE was my saving grace...it was so simple, it IS so simple, so easy to remember.  I had countless just one quits...I do not think I would have a quit that was over 4 1/2 years without NOPE.  My daughter quit three years ago, she did not come to the site but she DID adopt the word NOPE and she said she could not believe how helpful it was to her.   Smoking the whole pack makes me want to vomit...then again, so does smoking, just one because I know better, thanks to EX.

XOXO,

Ellen

[DavesTime]

I remember a quit I blew over 20 years ago.  I'd only been quit for a few days, but my thoughts went something like this (in this order):

1) "I'll just buy a pack, but I won't smoke any."

2)  "I just want to have one in my hand, but I won't light it."

3)  "Okay, I lit it, but I won't inhale"

4) (after inhaling) "Ahhh...." (followed by a second drag, and a third......)

5)  "Oh dammit!  I guess I'm a smoker again."

6) (the next day) "I need to stop for another pack on the way home"

I guess I'm a slow learner, because I repeated that mistake more than once.

[YoungAtHeart]

SO good that you now understand all the decisions you had to make and steps you had to take to ruin a perfectly good quit.  NOW you know you could have stopped at any time, right?

I KNOW you will this time!!!

[Bellegonia]

Amen Sister!

[desiree465]

Everyone knows that person that can have just one or just smokes for a couple hours and then go another year without. You know the annoying person who doesn't bring cigarettes to the party but bums them off you all night lol. How do they do it! I have an aunt and a friend who can both do this and it baffles me. I know I would never be able to do that without going back to full blown smoking. 

[JonesCarpeDiem]

Around an 'round and 'round and 'round 

I decided and put them down.

[elvan]

desiree465‌ I think it has to do with our drug of choice if we are addiction prone.  I can have a drink or two and then not drink again for months and months...I can take pain medication for PAIN and I get absolutely no "high" from it.  Smoking, on the other hand, was clearly my drug of choice and I had to learn how to live my life without cigarettes.  JonesCarpeDiem‌'s little rhyme is very apt.

Ellen

[Giulia]

Yup, there's no such thing as "just one."  THE EX ONE PUFF FILES‌

[desiree465]

That's a perfect explanation for it. 

[pgroce]

The part that is hard to wrap one's head around is the first step in returning to smoking is buying that new pack. After you buy it; it makes sense to smoke it. When you quit for the first or tenth time do not toss away the remaining cigarettes. Just set them a side; basically out of sight. you will feel less stress knowing you have some. Your desire to smoke will not be enhanced by having them available. In reality, they are always available. 

[JonesCarpeDiem]

I respectfully disagree with keeping them around.

[elvan]

pgroce  I have done that...kept some around.  Believe me, it was a lot easier for me to stay quit when I knew I had to get dressed, go to the store, and buy cigarettes before lighting up.  I got rid of everything and came here and I still so.  I have not smoked in over 4 1/2 years after countless failed attempts.  I had to commit ALL THE WAY.  

Ellen