If you're lurking here, looking around wondering what Freedom is all about, maybe this will help.
I've been off cigarettes for nearly three months. Or, more accurately I've been off nicotine. I have received a lot of education here that has made
me realize that I am a nicotine addict and, as such, I need to act like one. I was one hard-core smoker, up to two or three packs a day at times, as
dedicated "I can't quit" smoker as you will ever find (or be).
Quitting has not been easy but it has not been impossible, either. As a relative newcomer here, (some of the members have been here for years) I can tell
you that all that is going on here is support and advice for people who really want to quit using nicotine and who don't know how. This site is for the
intelligent quitter who needs to see the logic in what he is doing.
The thinking here is not that smokers are stupid. None of us see ourselves as stupid and it wasn't that long ago that we smoked. Smokers are human and
humans make mistakes. Most smokers want to quit but are afraid of failure. We're afraid it's going to be too hard to quit and that we can't do
it. I'm here to tell you that it is possible to quit, it's not too hard, and that quitting is not going to forever be like the first three days.
The teaching here is that in three days nicotine will be out of your system and physical withdrawal will begin to pass. For the next few weeks, many
psychological triggers will be met and faced down and a person's quit will begin to get a lot easier. This support group is here to help a new quitter
through the first two weeks and provide the education to help maintain a quit forever.
You will be taught that the choice to smoke is always there. Nicotine is legal, it's easy to get and you can always go back to smoking or dipping or
whatever your delivery system of choice is.
There are some guidelines here for the teaching principles that have been proven to work and some volunteer managers to make sure those principles are
followed, but mostly this is a group of experienced quitters who volunteer their time. They donate their time to help people like me get off cigarettes.
And I thank them.
This is what Freedom means to me. This is one member's opinion. There's nothing going on here except people helping people. Come join us when
you're ready, but in the meantime we still respectfully empathize with you.
Dave (an addict just like you)
I have chosen not to smoke for 2 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days 11 Hours 28 Seconds. Cigarettes not smoked: 2956. Money saved: $406.46.
we were all once in denial that we were NOT addicts Once you LET yourself believe that you are an ADDICT you will let yourself open up to education and realization that you can control
this addiction as long as you NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF or any other
means of nicotine 
THIS IS DOABLE
after 40+ years I am now 1 1/2 years FREE 
Cathy ~ GOLD CLUB
I have been quit for 8 Months, 2 Weeks, 3
Days, 9 hours, 49 minutes and 29 seconds (260 days). I have saved $1,822.86 by not smoking 10,416 cigarettes. I have saved 1 Month, 5 Days and 4 hours of my
life.
