Time to Quit!

I recently learned that my red and white blood cell counts are high. The hematologist is thinking that the primary cause of this is my smoking. Since I was made aware of this, I've been trying to cut back on smoking. It's not an easy thing to do because I've done it for 22 years. I have noticed, however, that it's more out of habit than out of craving.


I bought a vapor cigarette after the doctor recommended it and I've been using it. It still has nicotine in it but there's no crap in the smoke like there is with cigarettes. I also just picked up my prescription for Chantix! I'm supposed to take one pill a day for 3 months to quit smoking. During the first 2 weeks, I'm still supposed to smoke. We'll see how it works.

Here's what I have noticed over the past 2 weeks:

1. Smoking is more mental craving than physical. Yes, there are physical cravings for a cigarette but nothing like the mental craving. I've noticed my mind telling me how long it's been since I've had a cigarette, telling me it's time to smoke a cigarette, and so on. 
2. I have a ton of habits to break in order to break free of smoking permanently. For instance, my routine in the morning is to get up, grab a glass of water, light up, and check my phone. I have to find a new routine to trick myself into not thinking about smoking.
3. The mornings are the hardest with cravings. All I want is a cigarette in the morning. The vapor doesn't cut it, no matter how high I set the level.
4. I've developed a cough, which I attribute to the nasty shit in my lungs being expelled. 
5. Food tastes different! Sometimes it's a great difference and other times it's just different.
6. The vapor leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It almost tastes like eating french fries that were cooked in very old oil. 
7. I'm eating more....ugh! So much for the 20 pounds I've lost. But, I figure it's best to eat more now, quit smoking, and work it off again than to continue smoking because I'm afraid of gaining weight.
8. I have more energy! I don't feel bogged down and listless like I did a few weeks ago. When I get up in the morning, I'm not as tired and I can breathe so much better!
9. I can actually smell my plugins and wax melts!
10. I've saved money!

I'm working hard to replace these bad habits with good ones. I would love nothing more than to replace my mental and physical cravings with something healthy, such as exercising. I'm still sorting it all out so that I don't set myself up for failure. I desperately want to quit smoking and here's my opportunity! I'm not going to squander it.