He Was Built Like A Brick House, But He Smoked Like A Chimney

After 40 years of smoking, I quit 3 years ago. It was the first time I tried. And I was successful. I did use Commit lozenges for 9 days (yes, days)but that was not the real secret. The real secret was that it "clicked" into my brain that I needed to quit and I wanted to quit. Saying it is not enough. It's truly believing it that works. Somethings has to go "click" in the brain.
Unfortunately, I gained some poundage that I am trying to lose now and it's tougher than not smoking.
But I'll get there!!!

Hey Tom I read your article on the smoking guy and I see lots of health fanatics smoking outside my gym, I also was one of them. Ialso am a recovered drug addict and alcoholic, and I assure you that quitting smoking was much more difficult than the cocaine&speed I was using. and I drank like a fish but the drugs and alcohol were a sinch compared to the smokes. I am totally smoke free and you are correct, that the mind plays heavily on the smoker. I just had to make up mine and do it one day at a time and it's been so long now I don't even remeber. Thanks for all the good articles and reminders too.

Hi Tom,

Great article, by the way. I smoked from the time I was 16 until I was 31 years of age. That was thirty years ago and just when they began placing warnings on the cigarette packs.

One day I said to myself, I don't think I want to do this anymore if it is that dangerous. Besides, that is when it started to get expensive to smoke (I was smoking nearly 3 packs a day).

I quit cold turkey, the first three days were excruciatingly painful. After that it sort of mellowed out. I didn't smoke for nearly a year. Then I started up again. My mistake was that I started taking a drag of a friend's cigarette when out in a crowd and around smokers. Next thing you knew I was smoking again.

After a few months, I thought, what have I done. So once again I proceeded to quit smoking cold turkey with another three or four days of pure misery. This time I approached it with the attitude that I was an addict. Just like an cured alcholic cannot take another drink, I convinced myself that if I was to be successful I could never take another puff of a cigarette.

I also refused to be around smokers and did not allow anyone to smoke in my home. I have been a non-smoker to this day (thirty years later). From my personal experience I would have to say that mind set is the most important factor.

Of course, after some time you not only do not miss it, but it makes me sick now to be around smoking. To add an interesting tidbit, for years in my dreams in certain circumstances I would be smoking, but I never went back after the second attempt.

Tom - I read your article about the body builder who also smokes. I am a former 3 pack-a-day smoker. I have remained smoke free for over 10 years. I had tried and had quit smoking maybe 50 times prior to finally succeeding. I had tried every method known to quit. The only method that worked for me was a Tony Robbins technique that incorporates writing down affirmations. So, one night before bedtime, I wrote a list of pro's and con's regarding my smoking. I spent some time in deep thought about what I had written and went to bed. The next morning my urges were nearly gone. It was not easy, but I believe the affirmations did the trick!

I enjoy reading your articles and find they keep my motivation consistent, so thank you.

I'd like to respond to your article about smoking. I agree with all that is said; it IS easy to stop with NLP. About 7 years ago I read Allan Carr's "Easy Way to Stop Smoking" which seems to be based on similar principles. After 30 years, I stopped not only without difficulty but with pleasure! I now see people smoking and think "I'm so glad I don't have to do that any more". There is not just only a physical improvement but a great release from mental imprisonment.

This approach works.

Nutrition can be an important factor too, I understnad. A friend of mine who lived in Mexico for years told me that patients at the drug rehab center there used noni fruit to help break their addictions. When my daughter wanted to quit smoking, she tried putting some Tahitian Noni Juice under her tongue every hour and she said it really did help! Cut her cravings to nothing. And it's healthy!

I smoked for 10 years, was 425lbs and was probably heading for an early grave. One day I while I was doing something I really loved, I ran out of smokes and was having a nicotine fit so bad, I had to quit doing what I wanted to do to go get a pack of smokes 20 minutes away. That's when I realized the ciggarettes owned me. The next week I quit cold turkey.

I was so mad that something had that big of a grip on me, I just turned my anger on the ciggarettes. Someone told me that a nicotine fit only lasts 3 minutes and if you can make it 3 minutes you can make it to the next craving. Well, it was a lot of 3 minute sufferings but I made it. Today, I can't even stand the smell of cigarette smoke, it makes me gag.

By the way, today I am an all natural 280 and 18% bodyfat, hopefully in 12 weeks I will be 255 and somewhere around 10-11%.

Interesting that all of the comments so far are from ex-smokers.

Well, I guess I'm one of the dinosaurs. I eat healthy, get plenty of exercise, and actually could stand to gain weight.
And I still love smoking, except for the cost. I have to admit, its getting socially more degrading to be a smoker - and it's a pain in the neck when it's cold and you have to be banished outside - but - the pain of quitting stops me from even attempting it anymore.

So, the program was mildly interesting, until I got to the price.
The standard Internet price for almost everything these days. I even have a couple of people in a course of mine who would like to quit smoking - but they couldn't cough up (sorry) that kind of money in one fell swoop. If you're really interested in getting people to quit smoking, it has to be affordable to the masses. And a cheaper price might even get a die hard like me to say- oh what the heck, I'll try it. But not at that price.

Maybe some day I'll want to quit bad enough to lay out that kind of money - but not today.

Just my 2 cents.

Carole

i totally agree!! I am constantly amazed by the amount of people who exercise regularly but keep smoking. I share an office with a lady who pays to attend a personal trainer but will not give up smoking because last time she did she put on 2kg!!! Hardly worth giving up your life for!

Great article Tom , I'm also a licensed NLP practitioner and find it wonderful but what I'm now finding more and more it that if you use it in combination with EFT , which is a gentle tapping procedure on acupuncture points things happen even quicker as you clear unresolved emotional blockages which get in the way of us all achieving what we are truly capable of . This also works with any goal setting or personal peak performance targets .

Great article. I also know a lot of people who smoke at my gym. I know because I can smell them. One thing that could be mentioned is the amount of people who chew tobacco. It's more common than you think and not any less dangerous. I chewed for 20 years. After a few dental procedures and the urging of my wife and kids, I quit col turkey. It has been three and a half years and I still think about having a chew every day. Quitting is one of the hardest things I have ever done and it's one of the things I am most proud of.

Tom,

How appropriate that I would receive this topic in your newsletter today of all days! We ARE all connected! It has been exactly one year ago today that I myself quit smoking. The method that I used was also hypnosis with NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming). After one session, I no longer had the desire/craving to smoke. It has been wonderful and I would certainly suggest this to anyone who WANTS to quit (that is a prerequisite). I am living walking proof that this is indeed the preferred method and so much less of a struggle than any of the others.

I really enjoyed the article on quitting smoking through hypnosis. I smoke from the age of 18 to 28. I have been smoke free for 10 months from a one group hypnosis session. It is the best decision and money I have ever spent. I started working out after I quit and purchased the burn the fat book to learn about nutrition and bodybuilding. I have never been over weight and haven't gained an ounce since I quit and have more muscle than I ever dremaed of having. Please try hypnosis it really works with no cravings, weight gain or other systems as with the cold turkey approch and no expensive 12 week programs.

Hey Tom. While there are lots of programs out there that I am sure will help someone quit smoking, it all comes down to the same thing as any other addiction: you will quit when you are ready and not a moment before. Like so many others I “played” at quitting smoking. I cut back, switched to low tar cigarettes, etc. Nothing ever really worked until I just decided to stop. When I found out my wife was pregnant, after 10 years of smoking I was finally ready. After making the decision to quit I found out it really wasn’t that hard. Oh yeah, I wanted to smoke really bad for long time. But every time I wanted one I just didn’t have it. Hard, but simple. I firmly believe that making the decision to quit is the first step and anyone who hasn’t made that decision is just fooling themselves. Any program that helps to control the urge to smoke after that is icing on the cake!

Tom,

Is this a legitimate method? I see so many "offers" on the Internet and do not know what is real and what is a gimic. I smoke and yes, I work out every day at the YMCA. I'm also the head wrestling coach at our local highschool. Very bad example for my wrestlers...and would like to quit. Does this method work? The money's not important.

Tim

I can personally vouch for the power of NLP for creating personal change of any kind, and especially NLP combined with hypnosis, becuase I am certified in both...

I did not get certified in hypnosis to be a hypnotherapist, but rather to help with my own understanding of the human mind to improve the results in my own life, and so I could "coach" my clients in fat loss and fitness more effectively regarding emotional and mental blocks that are holding them back and causing self sabotage.

The EFT techniques used in this program I am not so familiar with and they looked a little weird to me to be honest with you, but I do know EFT is a form of acupressure and at the very least, the anecdotal and testimonal evidence says it works. I noticed that Dr. Mercola talks about EFT very favorably and quite often.

Its interesting that someone posted a comment in this thread about NLP + EFT, saying that this combination in particular was what she used to quit.

I would also have to say that the comment someone made about being "ready" to quit certainly has validity. The way I see it, that means that someone has strong reasons why they must quit and why they must quit now.

suppose you are ready, you want to quit and you have reasons why you must quit now, then you are as likely to quit -- FAST - with these methods as you are with any. I have seen people get results with NLP/hypnosis in a single session, time and time again.

I dont personally know Rick Saruna, creator of the program, but i listened to every minute of audio in his program. I would never recommend something I hadn't examined closely. It was obvious to me from the first audio, he is a talented practitioner.

I do know Rick Benetau, Rick Sarunas business partner, who helped get this program on the web, and he is a stand up guy!

Try it. If you're not thrilled with the program and the results, ask for your money back...

But dont plan on that! Plan on quitting once and for all! Quickly and easily.

Let me know how you do!

To your better health,

Tom V.

I quit smoking 13 years ago after I met my partner, who has asthma -- but I had wanted to quit for a long time, it was just very hard to do. Or so I thought. What helped me quit was the licorice root that she got for me at a health food store. Whenever I had a nic fit, I'd just stick a piece of licorice root in my mouth & suck on it... eventually the bark would soften & could actually be chewed & swallowed.

Licorice root has stimulant properties without being addictive, so it took care of the nic fit. It also satisifed the oral fixation. And plus it's a medicinal for the lungs. So it was a great, & very easy, way to quit. I wish I had known about it long before.

But any method that works is worth it. When I remember the way I used to feel when I was smoking [shaking head]....

I don't miss it at all, seldom even think about it. Yet it used to rule my life. Thank goodness it does no longer.

I love reading your articles and loved your book. I just want to say I am a non-smoker and HATE smoking, but, I must say, just because someone is a health nut it does not make them immune from bad habbits and the pain and difficulty of breaking them.

I am a very very large woman--as big as they come, honest, and I know the struggles I face moment by moment to try to take off my excess weight. We are not talking about taking off 5, 10 or even 50 lbs, but I have nearly 200lbs to take off. When I say it it a moment by moment battle, it really is. I know how bad the extra weight is, I know how to do it, I know it can be done, but it is a battle every single moment.

I would have to think that even smokers have this problem. Some of us were just created weaker than others and need to work harder at success. For most of us we lose, but the strong will keep trying. Think about it, if we were strong would we have ever started smoking or ever gotten fat?

Not to say that it cant be done, but unless you walked in our shoes, you truly do not know, and if you have been successful , you haven't walked in our shoes because we have not met success yet.--so do not say " I have done it so it can be done" becaue for us it is impossible, hence we give up and fail again and again. At least they are working out, more than many other people are doing!!

It's easy to quit smoking- I've done it thousands of times."-Mark Twain.

Actually, I have quit smoking a few times myself- the longest I've gone was over 15 years. However- stress, exposure to tobacco products (I worked at a place that sold cigars and the next thing I knew the cravings were back) or just hanging out with smokers will bring back the craving. But even when I relapse, I always know that I can and will quit again- and I do.

Most recently I was in a theater company full of smokers, and when the show was done- I was done smoking. Once you get through the first 3 days- it gets easier. Relapse is common in the first three weeks. But after that the cravings are basically gone.

Some smokers try to "test" themselves by having a smoke once in a while, but that's a good way to relapse. My last bit of advice is- do what works for you- some people can go cold turkey- others have to taper off- and others need the help of gum or hypnosis. We're none of us perfect. so don't beat yourself up if you fail- you just have to try again.

I enjoyed reading your article but don't fully agree with you. My step father had smoked for over 30 yrs. He has recently passed on, bless his heart but when he left us he had went on due to cancer.

His cancer wasn't from smoking nor were any of his other problems. as matter fact his dr's told him that to stop smoking now would probably do more harm to him then if he stopped.These were statements made by professionals and people licensed and providing care to SEVERAL cancer patients daily.

Seems to me that there is some misguided hype about smoking and not everyone dies as results of smoking. I also know someone who smoked for many many years and as soon as they stoped smoking had a stroke.

so guess the issue of smoking can be looked at in several ways and not always is smoking such a bad thing other then the smell and if a person is respectful about their smoking even then the smell is unnoticable. I know this as I am a smoker and for 4 yrs. my best friend never knew I smoked as she couldn't smell it nor had she seen me until on day on a long trip we took.

She knew what the smell of smoker was like as her mother is a heavy smoker and you can smell it on her mom and on her children when they come home from their grandma's. I have also recently visited a friend whom I told that I smoked and not once was he aware that while I was there I was smoking as he never smelt it nor saw it and I used NOTHING to cover up the smell.

I have a partial issue with the new laws that are being passed as people who don't smoke seem to have to make such a big deal about smokers yet their habit can be more dangerous not to just them but others around them.

Guess if we want to make this a none smoking society then instead of charging outrageous price for the things that might work or putting things out there that are nonsense, then the methods for stopping smoking should be administered by a LICENSED PHYSICIAN and paid for by MEDICAL INSURANCE that WE ALL PAY FOR. It should be part of our everyday health plans if there is ever to be hope.

You talked about all the consequences of smoking for the people that smoke, but what about all of us who don't smoke. We like healthy fresh air and can't seem to get enough of it. Smoking doesn't just kill people that do the smoking it hurts everyone around them and probably people they don't even know. My mom died in January of this year from Lung Cancer. She was 62 years young AND NEVER SMOKED a day in her life. People that loved her smoked and gave excuses why they coulnd't or wouldn't quit smoking and it killed her. Leaving 3 daughters and 8 grandchildren without a very loving woman who wasn't ready to die so young.

All people need to realize that for every action there is a reaction. What we do there are consenquences for those actions. We ourselves or people we love can suffer for at some time. Smoking is an action where nobody gains anything. eveyone loses.

I, too, took smoking breaks between exercise sessions. After 26 years of smoking I quit an nth and last time after reading Alan Carr's "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking". It WAS easy, and I know I will not go back to it. We ARE manipulated & need to get the right mindset: need clear thinking. It made me wonder why I had to wait so long to do what I had long wanted to do. Incredibly easy. I am happy today to have rediscovered the non smoker I was born to be and I feel free.

Your article was really informative and I concur with your ideas and views on the subject. I am not a smoker but since i work on a ship as Cheif Engineer I am exposed to passive smoking through my colleagues who are chain smokers. I think smoking starts as a habit due to peer pressure and at a later date it becomes difficult to give it up. Many people whom I know smoke to relieve stress due to their jobs or profession. I think even the body builder in your article must be habituated due to professional tension and stress associated with his job. I think there are many better ways to handle stress than smoking. I discourage smoking because it passively hurts a number of other people.

Siddhartha

Hi Tom,

I´ve actually got to thank you for quitting smoking. I lost 22 pounds and saw my BF drop from 22% to 14,5%. During the course of changing my lifestyle according your book you mentioned the triglycerids which stick to your arteries due to the nicotine. So i decided to quit along the process. I hardly got any cravings and I think that is the result of eating 6 times a day (especially protein). Always have a working stomach gives you less additional hunger cravings. So i gained 2 lbs.

When I smoked, I was afraid to do cardio since my endurance was bad and people would say that i am pathetic (which was, but like every smoker i was in state of denial).

Yesterday I did HIIT for the first time and i easily completed the exercise. I LOVE cardio now, and I will get the body i always wanted.

You made me a different person, thanks!!!