Quit Cigarette Smoking~Stop Smoking Tips when Drinking
I am an ex-smoker who is 100% sure I will never smoke another cigarette again, even when drinking. Back when I was smoking I used to love sitting back with a drink in one hand and cigarette in the other. I felt the two complimented each other so well and it just didnt feel right if I was drinking without a cigarette.
So when I finally decided to quit I found that I was at my weakest when I was drinking. The alcohol would take over and a little devil would sit on my shoulder and whisper “Go on, you know you want one, just a couple of puffs, it won’t do you any harm”.
Well that little devil would always win. Once I had that first cigarette it would always lead to more, lots more. I would wake up the next morning with that awful taste in my mouth, feeling gutted that I had been so weak. I hated having to start the whole quitting process over again. Even worse was the fact that my hangover would be 100 times worse than normal because I hadnt smoked for a while. My body couldnt handle being dehydrated by both alcohol and cigarettes and it would let me know with the mother of all headaches.
The silly thing was I sometimes went weeks without smoking but as soon as alcohol was in my system that all went out the window. I knew that I couldn’t just say “Well, I will just smoke when Im drinking then”, because to me that wasn’t quitting. I knew that this would eventually led to me smoking full time again. I had to come up with ideas to solve this problem.
At first I decided to totally avoid my smoking friends. I soon realised that this wasn’t going to work, because I missed hanging out with them. So I decided to avoid them only when they were smoking. Some of my friends never smoke so I would talk and hang with them in the mean time. When at clubs and bars the smoking areas became off limits to me to avoid being surrounded by temptation. One thing I was constantly doing was reminding myself of my goals and as to why I wanted to quit. By doing this it kept me focused and gave me encouragement. This time I had a little angel on my shoulder whispering in my ear instead of a little devil.
There were times when either I was stressed or just in a wrong frame of mind and I knew that I if I drank I would also smoke. To combat this I would make up an excuse not to drink. I hated lying to my friends but it was for the greater good. I used the classics like I had work the next morning or I had some family function to go to. Sometimes I offered to be the sober driver for the night, there wasn’t many complaints from friends about that one. I eventually go sick of making excuses and just told my friends the truth as to why I didnt want to drink.
The majority were very understanding, but of course some of my smoker friends would give me a bit of stick. I knew they just really wanted to be where I was, as deep down, every smoker wishes they could quit.
I now go out and drink without having the slightest itch to have a cigarette, and boy, does that feel good. I sometimes wonder whatever happened to that little devil that used to sit on my shoulder. He is probably sitting on my friends who still smoke shoulders whispering “Go on, have another one, you know you want to”. Well, they can keep him.
True story
Quit Cigarette Smoking~Stop Smoking Tips when Drinking
I am an ex-smoker who is 100% sure I will never smoke another cigarette again, even when drinking. Back when I was smoking I used to love sitting back with a drink in one hand and cigarette in the other. I felt the two complimented each other so well and it just didnt feel right if I was drinking without a cigarette.
So when I finally decided to quit I found that I was at my weakest when I was drinking. The alcohol would take over and a little devil would sit on my shoulder and whisper “Go on, you know you want one, just a couple of puffs, it won’t do you any harm”.
Well that little devil would always win. Once I had that first cigarette it would always lead to more, lots more. I would wake up the next morning with that awful taste in my mouth, feeling gutted that I had been so weak. I hated having to start the whole quitting process over again. Even worse was the fact that my hangover would be 100 times worse than normal because I hadnt smoked for a while. My body couldnt handle being dehydrated by both alcohol and cigarettes and it would let me know with the mother of all headaches.
The silly thing was I sometimes went weeks without smoking but as soon as alcohol was in my system that all went out the window. I knew that I couldn’t just say “Well, I will just smoke when Im drinking then”, because to me that wasn’t quitting. I knew that this would eventually led to me smoking full time again. I had to come up with ideas to solve this problem.
At first I decided to totally avoid my smoking friends. I soon realised that this wasn’t going to work, because I missed hanging out with them. So I decided to avoid them only when they were smoking. Some of my friends never smoke so I would talk and hang with them in the mean time. When at clubs and bars the smoking areas became off limits to me to avoid being surrounded by temptation. One thing I was constantly doing was reminding myself of my goals and as to why I wanted to quit. By doing this it kept me focused and gave me encouragement. This time I had a little angel on my shoulder whispering in my ear instead of a little devil.
There were times when either I was stressed or just in a wrong frame of mind and I knew that I if I drank I would also smoke. To combat this I would make up an excuse not to drink. I hated lying to my friends but it was for the greater good. I used the classics like I had work the next morning or I had some family function to go to. Sometimes I offered to be the sober driver for the night, there wasn’t many complaints from friends about that one. I eventually go sick of making excuses and just told my friends the truth as to why I didnt want to drink.
The majority were very understanding, but of course some of my smoker friends would give me a bit of stick. I knew they just really wanted to be where I was, as deep down, every smoker wishes they could quit.
I now go out and drink without having the slightest itch to have a cigarette, and boy, does that feel good. I sometimes wonder whatever happened to that little devil that used to sit on my shoulder. He is probably sitting on my friends who still smoke shoulders whispering “Go on, have another one, you know you want to”. Well, they can keep him.
True story
Quit Cigarette Smoking~Stop Smoking Tips when Drinking
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