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Nothing much to report really. I think I've stopped grinding my teeth so much. Can't believe that I made it this far to be quite honest. I have never EVER been this long without a ciggie before... not since I started smoking way back in the dark ages. My friends still don't seem to accept it and some of them are treating me differently. Still, that doesn't really bother me as they are good friends and I know things will get back to normal soon. I've noticed that I stopped thinking of ciggies so much as well. I still notice it when they smoke on telly and that sometimes makes me want to have one. Take that chef, Anthony Bourdain for example. I love his show, "A Cook's Tour" but does he have to smoke so much??!! Grrrr... am still trying to curb the appetite though and have a decent bowel movement *sigh*. At least the rashes have somewhat stopped appearing on my chest although the ones of my face are still there. Spent most of the day at the mechanics. I used to spend heaps of time at various mechanics, just hanging around and learning about cars etc. I used to be "one of the gang / boys". Today, even though it was a mechanic I didn't know... I didn't feel all that comfortable which is unusual for me. It used to be us pouring into car engines, ciggie dangling from our lips etc. Now, because I don't smoke and I am a girl, I felt slightly unwelcomed. Hmmmm perhaps it is just me. One good thing happened today though... I had to go for a meeting and it lasted for more than 3 hours. Usually, I start getting testy, irritated and restless if a meeting goes for longer than 2 hours... I suppose that that's when the nicotine withdrawal kicks in. I survived this meeting without longing for a ciggie. Hehehehe... this is good!! I am more productive now that I quit!
Day 9 :: Wednesday, 8 October 2003
Oh crikes!!
1) I had THOUGHT that I stopped grinding my teeth as much. This is NOT the case. The BF spent the night last night and told me that he woke up three times to stop me from grinding me teeth so much. It appears that I am still grinding my teeth a lot more than I used to.
2) Reached for a ciggie this morning when I had my coffee. Didn't think about it... just did it. I have to ask him to stop leaving his ciggies on my table, within easy reach of me. Didn't inhale that much though... just had 1 - 2 puffs. Went to the gym for the first time today since I quit smoking and that was an experience and a half!! It used to be that I would smoke 1 - 2 ciggies on the way to the gym. I used to have set landmarks for me lighting up i.e. at this traffic light, I would light up a ciggie. Then, before I reach that turning, I should have a mint in my mouth so as to not have ciggie breath etc. Then, upon reaching the gym, I would wash my hands so as to not stink of ciggies. This didn't happen yesterday... I didn't smell of ciggies and not having to wash my hands was very liberating
!! Nearly died in pump class though... huffing and puffing all the way through 
. Still, I haven't worked out in a while.
We, the BF and myself haven't really talked about my quitting. I just sort of did it without consulting him. Talked to him about it last night, during dinner. He said that he is glad that I quit as it is good for me and that he WANTS to quit but he isn't ready yet. Am I going to force him to quit... don't think so as smoking is an individual's decision. Then we talked about social situations. I asked him where we were going to sit if we went out to a nice restaurant. He promptly said the "non smoking" section. How sweet is that? But then, I think that it is unfair. So we decided to take turns, alternate between smoking and non smoking sections. Oh, life would be so much easier if we were in Australia where smoking is NOT permitted in ALL restaurants.
Realised today that I don't like the smell of ciggies anymore. The BF had one before he left and he leaned over to kiss me. Last week, I used to savour the smell from this breath... now, I find it a little repulsive. Hmmmmm I now know what my non smoking boyfriends went through. Not pleasant. Am going to be laying out mints for him for after he smokes.
Day 10 :: Thursday, 9 October 2003
Finally uploaded new material into my website today and I sent out the relevant email to my mailing list and the stupid service doesn't seem to be working. ARRRGGGHHH!!! I want a cigarette!! Grrrr.
Day 11 :: Friday, 10 October 2003
You know, I'd been putting of my quitting for a while now. Why? Well, cost was an issue. I mean, nicotine replacement aids are a lot more expensive here than in other countries. In my recent trip to Sydney, I bought a few boxes back and have been on them since. As I didn't know whether I could go through the entire process or not, I bought myself four boxes, two 15mg ones and two 10mg ones. Well, I am running out of the 15mg ones and I got myself another box yesterday. I had to pay RM72 for a box of 7 patches. That makes each patch worth RM10.28 ... this is expensive considering that an average box of cigarettes (20 sticks) cost RM5.40. Now, in Australia, the same box of patches cost me AUS$24, which works out to approximately RM60.72. However, in Australia, a pack of 20 cigarettes cost about AUS$9.50 (or RM24.03)!! Naturally, it is way, WAY most cost effective for Australians to quit smoking than Malaysians!! IF the Malaysian government were serious about us quitting smoking, they would make the price of ciggies more expensive and patches would be subsidised no?? When I asked the local chemist as to why the patches are so expensive, they just shrug and say that it is because it is imported and the associated tax. Sure, the Malaysian currency doesn't have that much value but come on... perhaps the Government should subsidise the patches or at the very least, make it tax exempt. I, however have a different theory
.
Sure there has been campaign after campaign
launched in our media to encourage people
to stop smoking. These campaigns I've
noticed don't last for very long. There
are new rulings eg. tobacco companies
can't advertise in certain places etc.
However, I think that the Malaysian
government can't afford to have a country
that is primarily made up of non smokers.
Why? Well, Malaysia is a huge tobacco
manufacturer. We make heaps and heaps
of cigarettes. If this industry were
to collapse, the Malaysian economy would
follow... I think that that is one of
the main reasons why nicotine substitutes
are so expensive in Malaysia. And don't
even think of looking for brochures
/ pamphlets / information for tips on
quitting. They don't exist. Sad huh??
We are breeding a nation of smokers.
This isn't the case in many developed
countries however. Take New York for
example:
Day 12 :: Saturday, 11 October 2003
Nothing much to write about today. Talked to a good friend of mine for the very first time since I quit and he was amazed... He started asking some questions about me quitting... I think the notion of him quitting is starting to seep into his pores. Who knows, maybe I've started a trend or something
Found some interesting facts today though... didn't realise that the statistics were so drastic:
Day 13 :: Sunday, 12 October 2003
This is what is supposed to happen once you quit smoking:
Day 14 :: Monday, 13 October 2003
I decided to try a little experiment today... I wanted to see how long I could last without nicotine i.e. without slapping on my patch. When I first started out, I couldn't last 15 minutes. Today, hehehe... I lasted 1 hour and 26 minutes. Not bad huh?? But then, I felt sick when I slapped on the patch. The BF reckons that the patch I am using is too strong for me... he could be right. However, I shelled out RM72 for this box of nicotine patches, so no way am I going to waste them. According to the good people at nicorette, one should be on a 15 mg patch for 1 - 12 weeks, the 10 mg one for 2 weeks and then the 5 mg one for another 2 weeks. This is their 3 step program... 4 months in all. I don't know if I need the four months. Will have to do some research on to this as I don't want to "fall off the wagon" so to speak.. but then again, it could be a marketing ploy. So, on day 14:
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