any length

[Bipolar Singularity]

About 10 years ago I was in the psych unit craving a cigarette. I had some
Bugler but no lighter. I peeled the wood off of a pencil, exposing the
lead. Then I took off a curtain hook, broke it in half and stuck each piece
in the wall outlet. Then I used the pencil to shunt the pieces of curtain
hook, which created a healthy spark. The lights went dim a little, but it
worked. Then I smoked my Bugler cigarette.

Eventually I was busted for the smoke odor in my room. I revealed my whole
system to the staff.

[Charlie M. 1958]

Post by Bipolar Singularity
About 10 years ago I was in the psych unit craving a cigarette. I had
some Bugler but no lighter. I peeled the wood off of a pencil, exposing
the lead. Then I took off a curtain hook, broke it in half and stuck
each piece in the wall outlet. Then I used the pencil to shunt the
pieces of curtain hook, which created a healthy spark. The lights went
dim a little, but it worked. Then I smoked my Bugler cigarette.
Eventually I was busted for the smoke odor in my room. I revealed my
whole system to the staff.

It's pretty amazing what lengths even nicotine addiction will lead us
to. I was a closet smoker for years. My wife had coerced me into
quitting when we got married, but it didn't stick. So I would smoke at
work, and when she wasn't around. She would smell it on me sometimes,
but she knew I worked and hung out with smokers, so I would blame it on
them.

When we would go on vacation and be constantly together, I would get so
desperate for a smoke that I would make up some excuse to go to the
hotel lobby or public restroom where I would scour the ash trays for
butts that still had good life left in them. I kept a matchbook tucked
away in my wallet for just such occasions. It seems incredibly sick
looking back on it.

[Skeezix LaRocca]

Post by Charlie M. 1958
It's pretty amazing what lengths even nicotine addiction will lead us
to. I was a closet smoker for years. My wife had coerced me into
quitting when we got married, but it didn't stick. So I would smoke at
work, and when she wasn't around. She would smell it on me sometimes,
but she knew I worked and hung out with smokers, so I would blame it on
them.
When we would go on vacation and be constantly together, I would get so
desperate for a smoke that I would make up some excuse to go to the
hotel lobby or public restroom where I would scour the ash trays for
butts that still had good life left in them. I kept a matchbook tucked
away in my wallet for just such occasions. It seems incredibly sick
looking back on it.

That's right, Pal...Getting off of nicotine, was the toughest thing I
have ever been faced with.

One time, 6 years after quitting, I was leaving the house and gave
myself the pat down to make sure I had wallet and keys, then I patted my
shirt pocket, as to check to make sure I had my smokes...6 years
nicotine free and still giving myself the pat down.

When I hear new AA members boo hoo how bad it is getting off of booze, I
just tell them that evidently they've never quit smoking.

[Mike T.]

Post by Skeezix LaRocca

Post by Charlie M. 1958
It's pretty amazing what lengths even nicotine addiction will lead
us to. I was a closet smoker for years. My wife had coerced me into
quitting when we got married, but it didn't stick. So I would smoke
at work, and when she wasn't around. She would smell it on me
sometimes, but she knew I worked and hung out with smokers, so I
would blame it on them.
When we would go on vacation and be constantly together, I would
get so desperate for a smoke that I would make up some excuse to go
to the hotel lobby or public restroom where I would scour the ash
trays for butts that still had good life left in them. I kept a
matchbook tucked away in my wallet for just such occasions. It
seems incredibly sick looking back on it.

That's right, Pal...Getting off of nicotine, was the toughest thing I
have ever been faced with.
One time, 6 years after quitting, I was leaving the house and gave
myself the pat down to make sure I had wallet and keys, then I patted
my shirt pocket, as to check to make sure I had my smokes...6 years
nicotine free and still giving myself the pat down.
When I hear new AA members boo hoo how bad it is getting off of
booze, I just tell them that evidently they've never quit smoking.

In 1994 when I lived in Utica NY my wife got pregnant and informed me
she had to stop smoking and asked if I would do so too. I was smoking
two packs a day then and she was smoking a bit less than that. All AA
meetings were smoking in those days and it would get so thick in the
rooms that you couldn't see the other side of the room sometimes, but
yet we keep lighting them up! Considering I had been trying to stop
for years I agreed to try again. This time I had to try something
different though.

What I did to stop was three things: a) I chewed a lot of sugarless
gum, especially when the craving would hit. b) I rewarded myself with
a new music CD each week with the money I saved instead of feeling
sorry for myself. c) I worked the first seven Steps on my smoking
addiction.

The urge to smoke and the usual habits of lighting one up when I got in
the car or sat on the toilet or spoke on the phone, etc. started to
fade away. Sitting in smoking meetings gave me all the nicotine I
needed presumably. Even when my wife started back up a few years later
and was smoking my old brand, I still wasn't overly tempted back over.

I have had a few cigars the past twenty years on occassion, mostly on
the golf course. However even those haven't made me want to go back.
The smell of a burning cigarette is still attractive to me and it
doesn't bother me when others smoke in my presence. I guess you could
say the problem has been removed.

People say quitting smoking is harder than quitting drinking, but that
wasn't my experience. By the time I became willing to quit smoking, I
had already learned how to use the tools of AA to help me get over my
other problems. Self-pity and anger were no longer ruling my emotions.
They were being replaced by a willingness to better my life and level
headed decision making.