Today marks my second year anniversary of quitting smoking. It was on September 29th, 2010 at 9:25AM that I finally crushed out my last cigarette, ending an addiction that I had been struggling with for more than 40 years.

Not everyone is on the same quitting schedule – some are ready to quit long before others. I actually knew it was my time to quit for several years. I just didn’t know how to do it, nor did I have the right tools to go about it. Check out the clues below telling you that it’s time for you to quit, then get in touch with your local VA Medical Center to find out what they can do to help. Mind you, any one of these clues alone is reason enough to quit:

you need to stop and catch your breath sooner and more frequently than you did just a year or two ago.
you find yourself clearing your throat and/or coughing more often than the non-smokers you come into contact with.
someone mentions that the inside of your car (or your clothes or your house) smells of smoke.
you find yourself staying away from those places where you feel uneasy because smoking is forbidden, such as movie theaters, restaurants, night clubs, etc.
you start using credit cards to buy cigarettes because you never have enough cash to keep up with the ever-increasing number of cigarettes you smoke each day.
you notice that children you come into contact with begin to mimic your smoking, either by pretending with props or by using real cigarettes.
you make excuses for not going on vacation because it’s too difficult to find affordable, decent hotels that have smoking rooms available.
you avoid visiting relatives and other loved ones because they don’t allow smoking in their homes.
your mustache and/or beard shows unsightly orange stains from constantly exhaling smoke and nicotine.
you keep burning holes in some of your favorite clothing, furniture, and/or car upholstery.
you visit Internet dating sites knowing that you must restrict yourself only to contacting the small number of members who are smokers, or who claim to be sympathetic toward smokers, because none of the non-smokers are willing to meet up with smokers.
more and more you find yourself limiting the places you visit, the people you socialize with, and the activities you participate in due to new restrictions that continue to be placed on where and when people can legally smoke.

Can you think of more clues that it might be time for you to quit? If so, leave a reply and I’ll add it to the list!

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