Posted: Oct 13, 07 8:28pm
COUNTING MY CIGARETTES
Right after I swallowed the first Chantix pill, I signed onto the support site that Pfizer provides to those using the medication. I was "allowed" to smoke for the first week. They actually encourage it to a certain degree. The site provides you with "homework" each day. I had several homework assignments when I first signed up. The first one was logging my cigarettes onto a piece of paper. They provided a form you could print. I had to wrap the paper around the cigarettes and write down every time I had one. I also was strongly encouraged to "check-in" to the site each day. Although cynical, I was going to give this an honest shot at working, so I followed all the advice the site suggested.
Logging the cigarettes created interesting dynamics, on a couple levels. I knew this assignment was a form of behavior modification. Step 1- Make the smoker realize how often, how much, and when they smoke. However, I still find it amazing how the act of doing this activity really drives home how addicted you are to cigarettes or anything ...really. So I faithfully (no cheating..i swear) wrote down every cigarette I smoked for the next 6 days. I found out after the first 48 hours I averaged one and one half packs of cigarettes per day. The sad part about this is when I told my husband (smoke free for four years) this, he responded by saying "I thought you smoked much more then that" My smoking then became a frequent topic of conversation. I found out a lot people thought the same thing. I remember someone saying at my son's soccer game "Oh, I thought you smoked like.. 3 packs a day", I think it was my mother-in-law. I suspect there is a "pool" running right now named "How long will Coleen last as a non-smoker", out of pure defiance I am never picking another cigarette again. I am almost certain my husband and mother-in-law will lose the pool if I stick to my plan. Heh...heh. Which brings me to the next subject I'll talk about....Being Grouchy.
