I had my last cigarette 365 days ago. I quit cold turkey after smoking for 14 years. To be honest, it was a very challenging year. But after hitting the one year mark today, I now know that I can do anything my heart desires. I tested my limits and I stopped doing the very bad thing that defined me for 14 year.
This realisation empowered me.
I had my last cigarette when I was stuck in traffic, on a Friday morning, 365 days ago. I forgot that I had another box of cigarette in the glove compartment. I was too occupied with trying to get to the office in time. So for 2 hours, I thought I had no cigarette. I said to myself, “Hey, let’s try not smoking for another 2 hours and after that, 2 more hours.”
So I made a silent emotional decision, in my car, on Jalan Tun Razak, "I will try not to light up until the end of that day and so on and so forth."
When I reached the office, I gave the box of cigarette that was in the glove compartment to my colleague and declared, “I want to quit smoking.” I avoided the designated smoking areas at my office for the next two weeks. I read online articles on the benefits of quitting and what I could do to minimize the nicotine withdrawal. I prepared myself for the change of habit and the difficulties that came along with it. I drank a lot of water and allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted to distract myself from the urge to have a cigarette. By the end of day 1, I noticed that my nose was as clean as a whistle and that I could breathe properly.
For the first time, in a very long time, I slept soundly that night.
The next 120 days were quite challenging as I had withdrawal symptoms which included fever, flu and dryness in my mouth. I went to see a few doctors who explained to me the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
One way to expel nicotine, which I discovered during my trip to Siem Reap, was to have a sauna bath and to sweat it out. I spent the remaining 245 days enjoying my life without being a slave to my tobacco craving. I did not have to look for smoking tables in restaurants or take smoking breaks. The best thing is that my car and clothes smell so much better these days.
I started smoking when I was 18. Some of my friends were enjoying their freedom away from their parents and took up smoking. I joined them and smoked for fun, initially. I never bought my own pack until a few months later when I foolishly decided to ‘start smoking seriously’. I told my friends that I could quit whenever I wanted to and that I make the decision. I was naïve.
I was a heavy smoker. I used smoking to feel good about myself. I thought I was cool. I didn’t realize that my breath smelled and my teeth stained. Smoking was everything to me. I was a proud smoker. I ignored and made fun of the gory photos on cigarette boxes detailing the effects of smoking.
The other reason why I quit was that cigarette was getting more and more expensive. When I started smoking in 2001, the price for a box of 20 cigarettes was RM4.50, when I quit, it was around RM 13.50. I was spending RM405.00 per month on cigarette.
That’s RM4860 a year!
The night before I had my last cigarette, I had a morbid thought. What if I get cancer and are unable to work and support my family? I thought about oral cancer and God forbid, death, and how it would affect the people around me.
I will not be preachy. I just want to share my experience with readers who want to live longer and watch their kids grow older, save up for that vacation or lead a healthy life. Whatever your reasons are, do it to please yourself, and not the people around you. Prove to yourself that you are a strong person. Seek the help you need to get through this. It will not be easy, the best things in life never are. Give yourself a realistic target; postpone lighting up for another hour, another day.
A year later, you too can proudly tell people that you are a quitter.
Rizal Zulkapli
Sun Mar 13 2016
The other reason why I quit was that cigarette was getting more and more expensive.
Kertas kabinet wujud sektor sukan dibentang dalam tempoh sebulan - Hannah
Hannah berkata dengan data yang lebih menyeluruh melibatkan sektor industri sukan nanti, pihaknya akan mampu merangsang pertumbuhan sukan di negara ini dengan lebih baik.
Tiga Syarikat Semikonduktor umum melabur di Pulau Pinang - Kon Yeow
Tiga syarikat semikonduktor dari China menyatakan komitmen untuk membuat pelaburan baharu di Pulau Pinang.
Pindaan garis panduan lawatan: Sekolah diharap susun semula program - Fadhlina
Semua sekolah diharap dapat menyusun semula program lawatan masing-masing berikutan pindaan Garis Panduan Lawatan Murid Sekolah pada tahun lepas bagi mengukuhkan pembelajaran di luar kelas, kata Menteri Pendidikan, Fadhlina Sidek.
Kebajikan pendidikan anak-anak dijaga sehingga tamat sekolah - KPM
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia akan memastikan kebajikan pendidikan anak-anak 10 pegawai dan anggota Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia yang terkorban dalam nahas helikopter di Lumut, Perak, terus dijaga sehingga mereka tamat persekolahan.
Chegubard ditahan polis berkaitan hantaran mengenai kasino di Forest City
Chegubard ditahan di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) Dang Wangi di sini berkaitan hantaran mengenai pengoperasian kasino di Forest City pada Sabtu.
Zahid minta pihak dalam BN buka "buku baharu"
Ahmad Zahid menegaskan senario politik tanah air sudah berubah dan terdapat banyak video lama dari parti lawan yang meminta pengundi menyokong DAP.
Malaysia kongsi pengalaman dalam usaha berterusan mempertahan Palestin
Delegasi negara akan berkongsikan peranan Malaysia dalam usaha berterusan mempertahankan nasib Palestin dalam Persidangan Liga Parlimen Al-Quds kelima yang berlangsung di Istanbul, Turki pada Sabtu.
Universiti Malaya mohon maaf kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia
Jabatan Pengajian Antarabangsa dan Strategik, Universiti Malaya memohon maaf kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia berhubung kenytaaan tidak bertanggungjawab Profesor Dr Bruce Gilley pada 24 April lalu.
Genting Malaysia nafi terbabit perbincangan
Selepas Berjaya Corporation Bhd dan Kerajaan Negeri Johor, kini Genting Malaysia Bhd pula menafikan sebarang penglibatan dalam perbincangan mengenai pengoperasian kasino di Forest City, Johor.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Sabtu, 27 April 2024.