I thought I would start posting inspirational videos for those of us quitting smoking.  One potential theme song is Chunk of Coal by Billy Joe Shaver.  There is also a successful cover version by John Anderson available on iTunes. 

"I'm Just an Old Chunk of Coal, but I'm Gonna Be a Diamond Someday"

The Billy Joe Shaver original:


The John Anderson version:

On the About.com smoking cessation forum, a couple of people highly recommended a 2 CD Paul McKenna program.  All I could find online was a relatively expensive 4 CD program.   Despite wasting lots of money on cigarettes, I didn't want to spend quite that much on hypnosis CDs so I bought a cheaper hypnosis program which I will be reviewing in the very near future.

When shopping for hypnosis CDs, I noticed the Stop Smoking Kit got favorable reviews on Amazon.com.  It comes with a book, hypnosis CD, and a cigarette substitute. 

Ultimately I ordered different hypnosis CDs because I liked the idea of having a CD to listen to before you quit smoking, one to listen to when you quit, and one for reinforcement afterwards.  I'll wait until after my quit date to reveal what I bought and post a review.

Has anyone tried this kit?

I've tried to make these podcasts a little more listenable by writing out what I'm going to say in advance.  I also added background music with a Hackensaw Boys called Gypsy song playing in the background.

Any comments or suggestions?

I went on vacation to Germany where they have a pretty liberal smoking policy.  It is similar to Virginia where you can smoke indoors at many restaurants and bars.

One interesting thing was that they have a warning on cigarettes about how smoking can damage sperm.  I am not fluent in German so I don't know exactly what the warning said.  I know several guys who fathered healthy children as smokers, but I suppose sperm damage is just another reason among many to quit smoking.

It is a week away from my quit date and I'm feeling pretty enthusiastic about quitting.  I kind of can't wait to quit.  I hope I'm still feeling this eager next week.

I read Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking book and haven't quit yet.  I noticed that hypnosis CDs are also available.

When shopping for hypnosis CDs, I did not buy these because of the binaural beats.  I believe you have to wear headphones to hear the binaural beats and I thought it would be easier to listen to the CDs in bed without hooking up earphones.

Has anyone tried these?  

The hypnosis CDs I bought contain an instruction to switch brands prior to quitting.  The hypnotherapist said switching brands is very important.  Although studies show low nicotine cigarettes are just as dangerous as regular cigarettes, I am considering low nicotine cigarettes for my last week of smoking.

Do you recommend any brands?  I am currently smoking Marlboro Ultralights. 

Web Only:  This website contains nicotine information for cigarettes.

Monarch and Viceroy were chosen as cigarette brand names.  They are also names of butterflies.

If interested, more vocabulary is available at http://www.30secondwords.com

Have you ever seen a smoker flick a cigarette butt out a car window?

Littering is bad, but the butts probably biodegrade after a year or so.  Far worse, is that discarded cigarettes can start wildfires.

Once I quit, I will no longer have to worry about disposing cigarettes, emptying ashtrays, etc.  That sounds good to me.

I read an interesting article about a study with General Electric employees.  Those that were paid to quit smoking had a higher success rate than those who were not paid.

Unfortunately, no one has offered to pay me to quit thus far.

For those listening to the podcast without visiting the site, I have linked to the aforementioned article here at http://timetoquit.libsyn.com.  I also have posted a couple of entertaining anti-smoking videos recently.

My home state of Virginia is in the news for moving forward on a smoking ban that will affect most restaurants.  My home state is also the home state of major tobacco companies.

When I went on vacation to other states, I would always peer into restaurants and bars looking for ashtrays.  It would be nice to quit so I am no longer concerned with this sort of thing.

Michael Phelps has been in the news recently for a picture that surfaced of him smoking from a bong.  It's interesting why top athletes would choose to inhale smoke into their lungs.

When I was young, I was a pretty good runner.  Yet I decided to try cigarettes.  At first, I didn't think I was addicted.  Over time, it became clear that I was.

My advice for young people:  Don't try smoking.

It seems like every method involves setting a quit date...  probably few people are successful quitting on a whim.

I got my hypnosis CDs in the mail and on the first CD, the hypnotist said to write down a quit date.  It seems like the key is to set a date that is far enough away not to make you freak out.

I suppose there are two schools of thought. 

1.)  Quit on a work day so you're busy to take your mind off not smoking.
2.)  Quit on a weekend so it is less stressful.

I'm going to set mine for February 28th, a Saturday.  Being at home will let me have more flexibility to take a walk, take a bath, go back to bed, etc.

The hypnosis CDs arrived in the mail.  One thing they said that was very important was for me to set a quit date.  The second CD has a place for me to write my quit date.  I need to decide on a quit date.

I will listen to the second CD on the night before my quit date.

Stay tuned to find out my quit date.

Brad Pitt said having kids was the one thing that helped him quit smoking.  That makes sense, but of course people shouldn't have kids just to quit smoking.

Some people use Chantix as a magic bullet to quit smoking.

When I went to my doctor last December, he said he did not feel comfortable prescribing it.  Some studies show Chantix causes depression.