At what point do you go from being an ex-smoker to a non-smoker?

[Liberal Veteran]

Is there some official designation?

[Speck Tater]

1. I became a non-smoker the day I quit.

And I never looked back. The point is, it is important to BE a non-smoker instead of "trying to be" a non-smoker. Thinking of yourself as a "smoker trying to quit" or even as an "ex-smoker" is a half-way measure that leaves you psychologically connected to your smoking past.

Cut all the connections to your smoking past and start fresh as a non-smoker. BE a non-smoker from day one and never look back.

It worked for me, and I tried to quit twice a year for 40 years without success until the last time.

[wysimdnwyg]

2. Four years later...

And it depends on the topic. If I'm complaining about someone else smoking, I'm an ex-smoker. Otherwise I'm a non-smoker.

[arwalden]

3. Technically... The Day I Quit

But... on the day that I realized I had forgotten to put on my nicotine patch... I realized I could quit the patch-program too. That's the day I was free of cigarettes AND of the nicotine crutch provided by the patch.

I quit using the patches 2 weeks early... after just 6 weeks.

-- Allen

[eyesroll]

4. For the sake of health or life insurance, it's 12 months

and then you get the "non-tobacco-users" rate. You can still smoke the equivalent of 12 cigars per year (one per month) and be considered a non-user.

MJ and other smokeables stick with you for seven years, at least with State Farm.

[Blue-Jay]

5. I'd say that you're a non-smoker

when you don't crave an occasional cig anymore. Ex-smokers still want one, but have the willpower to fight the craving.