New Year’s Resolutions Blog

Talk About an Incentive!

If health issues weren’t enough for people here in Maine to quit smoking, along comes yet another incentive. Our Governor, John Baldacci, in an effort to revise health care in Maine, is looking to raise the cigarette tax to $3.00 a pack.

A Good Day!

I had a really good day yesterday. I kept my total cigarettes for the day down to six!

Okay, so a lot of it had to do with me having my granddaughter in the afternoon, ha ha. So, what I did smoke was before she arrived here, since I don’t smoke when she is here. She did go home around 5 o’clock though, so the rest of the day was all me! I did make a giant step though.  I was able to restrain myself from having that oh-so-enjoyable after dinner cigarette. I don’t think I had any cigarettes at all at night that I can recall.

 

I’m trying to take a lighthearted approach to this, but believe me, it is by no means easy for me.  And, I’m still afraid I will fail at this, but I have a whole lot more resolve now that I’ve joined this blog. Writing it all down has helped a lot.  Plus, knowing I will have to come in here and write down how I did, ha ha, that is a pretty big incentive!

 

I hope everybody is still trying hard to stay with their resolution.

My Progress Report

This post continues my story at Show Me Yours….

I’m still doing pretty well with the cutback method. I may be reaching my goal before the deadline I’ve set for total cessation by April 4. In fact, if I have another coughing fit like I had this morning, it may come a lot sooner!

I thought of another reason to quit. I have high blood pressure and every time I go back to the doctor, she wants to know if I quit yet. It’s getting embarrassing.

Hints for Helping You Through Withdrawal

According to The American Cancer Society, nicotine is highly addictive and is on a par with heroin or cocaine. It has a psychological addiction also. A regular smoker will have nicotine and its byproducts in your system for 3 or 4 days after quitting. It is at this point that the withdrawl symptoms will become evident.

Show Me Yours and I’ll Show You Mine!

Day One

I had fear and trepidation about posting my resolution because I know how hard it’s going to be to keep it. That’s right, I’m afraid of failure! My resolution was to stop smoking on New Year’s Day, but since I automatically lit up in the morning, I broke it already. So, I decided maybe I needed to put a little less pressure on myself. If I am going to take this seriously, I should have a better plan and be more realistic about it.