Smoking?

tross0924

I've never been a smoker, but I got my mom to quit once when I was a kid. I got her to agree to pay me $1 for every cigarette she smoked, and any cigs I found I got to destroy. The first cartoon cost her about $100 and she was done.

My dad quit when his body was so ravaged by cancer that he couldn't hold the cigarette to his lips anymore. Took him another week to die. He was 56 and that was 4 years ago.

warriorprincessdi

I was a smoker. WAS. I smoked for years, and was a chain smoker. I'd easily inhale a pack to a pack and a half of cigs per day... One day though, (Sept. 11th, 2010.. It's been just over a year!!!) I decided the time had come. I smoked every single cigarette I had, just before bed one night... to make sure I had none in the house... and then the next day came, and I just didn't buy any more. NONE.
I won't lie, and say it was easy. But I did it, and that makes me happy. Every time I had a strong craving, I'd have a glass of water. I started exercising heavily a by about a month after I quit. It helped with the stress. I also marked an 'X' on the calendar every day for just over a month, to emphasize my progress to myself. I even posted photos on my calendar to my Facebook on days I felt especially weak.... I'd send the photo "labelled XX Days Non smoking!!" ..and then the positive reinforcement I'd receive was helpful.... You can do it, no matter how you choose to go about it. It's funny, once I finished my first 5k on Sunday, after crossing the finish line.. my first words were "Take THAT, cigarettes!!!". It was such a proud moment. If you want support, feel free to add me as a friend. Once you've quit, you really WILL wonder why you hadn't sooner.

becca_21

I smoked for about 3 to 4 years. I was also eating poorly and binge drinking around the time. It was hard to quit at first, but it's literally the best thing I've ever done for myself. I agree with an earlier poster, though. You have to really WANT to quit. It's as simple as just not buying anymore cigarettes. Don't pick one up and you won't smoke it. I also changed my circle of friends. I got away from people who weren't supportive and who gave me a hard time about quitting. People who love you will understand why you don't want to smoke like a freight train or drink until your face is numb. They will support you if they love you. I had to find that out the hard way. I also believe that you have to work on changing things about your life. You need to figure out what triggers your addiction. Are you stressed, trying to substitute cigarettes for dieting, etc?? I got out of the crazy partying, eliminated some stressors, and started focusing on how to make my body as healthy as possible. I'm in the best shape that I've ever been and wouldn't even consider turning back. Good luck!! I know you can do it.

Hellbent_Heidi

Nicotine patches worked for me....my husband and I quit together for 9 months in 2009, but started again after a couple of major traumatic things happened to us, and we've kicking ourselves for starting again ever since.

I am definitely panning to quit again, but want to get a little below my goal weight first..which should happen by the end of this year. Its probably lame to use the weight excuse, but we both did gain, and I didn't want to quit again while I was in the overweight range...

amandalou2005

I smoked for around 6 years. I started working out using Insanity and noticed after the first workout that my chest burned the rest of the day. That week my boyfriend and i quit cold turkey. What helped me was sticking with a more intense workout, clearing all of the ashtrays, cigarettes,and lighters. I opened up my windows, aired out my house, washed the bedding and any other fabrics that i could. Anything that i couldn't wash i used an odor eliminator on. above all else i reminded myself every day that the first three days are the worst part. anything past that is just habit. try shaking up your routine a little bit, if you're not doing an as predictable routine your brain won't connect every little thing with having a smoke afterwards. If you have a setback, remember that freaking out about it is only going to increase your chances of doing it again. take a step back, breathe and go it one day at a time.

reese66

On my doctors orders I used chantix as well as the patches after 7 days I stopped using the patches and no longer smoking. Best choice I ever made . For the mental aspect I "smoked" a straw that was about the same size in length width, enemy flicked the make believe ashes.

Also keep a lot of things to munch on, carrots, radishes veggies are best low calorie snacks.

fteale

I imagine googling pictures of smokers lungs would encourage you to quit!

gavini

i quit yesterday at 430pm. i am 37 and have smoked for most of the last 23-25 years. i quit for 6 weeks over the summer, then i let some excuses convince me to start again so i am back to square one. a change in routine really helped me last time, i was going camping for a few days and cigarettes would have been very few and far between so i didnt bring any and used that postivie momentum to keep up the streak when i got back.

add me as a friend if you want to share stories and support. there are 3 mfp'ers who quit this week that i am friends with and we have been sharing ideas, stories etc

bottom line, it is all mental. spend some time really thinking about it, do you want to quit or not? can you envision not smoking the next time... something awful happens, you drink too much, you have a really good meal, you need some time to yoursefl, you finished a good workout... or whatever are your biggest triggers or most enjoyable smokes of the day? think about that and if you say yes then set a time and date to toss your pack and just do it.

smoking feels great and many people even look sexy/stylish when they are smoking, your body thinks it needs it, many aspects are very enjoyable, be honest with yourself about why and how you enjoy it then decide that you can and will live without it

and i dont think you shoudl say good luck since there is no luck involved and thinking there is removes you of culpability for your own actions.

If you really want to, you can.

lawkat

I quit 8 months ago. I used Wellbutrin which I found helped a lot. It eliminated a lot of my cravings. What keeps me keep is my running and also remembering what those first few weeks were like. It wasn't pretty.

If you need an online site to help quitnet.com is a great site to chat about things.

Quitting is easy. Staying quit takes work.

warriorprincessdi

I smoked for about 3 to 4 years. I was also eating poorly and binge drinking around the time. It was hard to quit at first, but it's literally the best thing I've ever done for myself. I agree with an earlier poster, though. You have to really WANT to quit. It's as simple as just not buying anymore cigarettes. Don't pick one up and you won't smoke it. I also changed my circle of friends. I got away from people who weren't supportive and who gave me a hard time about quitting. People who love you will understand why you don't want to smoke like a freight train or drink until your face is numb. They will support you if they love you. I had to find that out the hard way. I also believe that you have to work on changing things about your life. You need to figure out what triggers your addiction. Are you stressed, trying to substitute cigarettes for dieting, etc?? I got out of the crazy partying, eliminated some stressors, and started focusing on how to make my body as healthy as possible. I'm in the best shape that I've ever been and wouldn't even consider turning back. Good luck!! I know you can do it.

This just deserved repeating

darklord48

For me it was avoiding activities that usually gave me cravings. Unfortunately one was drinking. I didn't drink for almost 6 months while I was quitting.

Colures

I was a smoker for about 10 years and quit about 2 years ago.

The honest reason I quit was because it stopped being relaxing. It was shortly after they introduced the fire safety paper into my favorite brand and the thicker paper created 'heavier' ashes that flew back and burned my fingers and my cigarettes kept putting themselves out! After a few weeks it irked me so much that I decided enough was enough.

People will probably argue me to death, but the only way to really quit smoking is sheer willpower. You can use pills/patches/gum/etc to curve the cravings, but it's not going to stop them completely and at some point you will be having an internal argument with yourself as to how bad it would be if you just smoked one more cig. If you don't have the willpower to keep up your commitment, you'll be in for a near impossible journey.

What really helped me along the way was to not punish myself for quitting. Almost all of my friends were smokers and I was used to going out with a big group at work for our cigarette breaks. So instead of staying indoors while my friends went outside to smoke I still went with them... I just didn't light up. Sure it was hard for the first few days, but at least I didn't feel like I was being left out of the group just because I didn't want to smoke anymore.

Now two years later I'm never going back. I can't even articulate how much better I can breath now @_@. I can't imagine trying to do the exercises I've been doing if I were still a smoker. I'd have keeled over from lack of oxygen months ago.

Shweedog

Cold turkey was the only thing that worked for me. I smoked for 7 years. I tried the patch, the gum, the fake smoker thingy that gives off nicotine, etc. What it came down to was what I wanted more: that cigarette, or to live? I made the obvious decision. I have been smoke free for 8 years.

Abbey_22

I smoked for about 5 years, what helped me once I decided to quit was to keep track of how many cigarettes I had that day, and every 2 weeks or so I dropped that by 1. As soon as I got down to only allowing myself 3 a day, I finished the pack and refused to buy another one.
I've had a few cigarettes since then (I quit in March), but it never really did anything for me since I quit. It's now been about 1 1/2 months since I took a drag or had a craving.

jenscot25

Still smoking. I've tried to quit in the past but failed. I know it can be done but I also know I'm not ready to quit. I have used Chantix in the past and it did work. I would slip up when I drank or was driving or after I ate or when I was mad etc.... Good luck to you. It's an awful habit. Most non-smokers do not understand at all. They say stuff like just don't do it, how can you do it, it's so gross. If it was that easy. I'm a nurse and have obviously seen people die from it and I Still can't quit--yet. My dad smoked heavily for years and quit cold turkey, my sister smoked for 30 years and used the gum. Different things work for different people.

scapez

i quit yesterday at 430pm.

I was supposed to give it a go today - but a very sore trapezius that is keeping me away from most exercise kept me on the cigs today. :sad:

kjannan

A book called 'The Easy Way to Stop Smoking' by Allen Carr. It puts it into perspective. Smoking isn't so much an addiction to nicotine, it's an addiction to a habit. These things helped me:

*I set a quit date
*From that day on I didn't see myself as a smoker giving up, I saw myself as a non smoker
*I HATED cigarettes
*I got rid of everything smoking related in the house
*I distracted myself when I felt like one
*I drank a LOT of water

Giving up smoking is one of the best things I ever did, I love waking up in the morning without a wheeze, cough or tight lungs.

You have to really want to give up & be motivated.

Good luck! You can do it!!!!

sjohnny

I quit Saturday, May 22, 2010. I have had exactly 2 drags on cigarettes since then and found it absolutely revolting. I had smoked for over 20 years and had tried everything to quit before. Patches, gum, mind games. I had quit for up to a year once before and for a few months here and there but anytime there was some stressful event I'd go buy a pack and be back to square one. The Thursday prior to the day I quit I was driving around all day for work and smoking one after the other and realized I wasn't enjoying it. I was doing it because I had to, not because I wanted to. I wasn't going to tolerate that so I bought one more pack and decided it would be my last. I smoked the last one on that Saturday evening and haven't had one since. The first week was a *****. The following two were less of a *****. The fourth week got significantly easier and I really haven't even wanted one since the second month or so. One of the nice things is I don't have to go "check the mail" 5 times a day when I'm home with my kids (6 and 7). I always hid my smoking from them because I didn't want them to see me. I still go out with my smoking buddy at work while he takes smoke breaks just to get outside and BS but I have no desire to smoke a cigarette.

All it takes is really wanting to do it and deciding that the voice in your head that says "it wouldn't hurt anything if you just have one" is a freakin liar.

ahendrix12

I would have edited my first post, but I have no idea how to do that.

I have one cigarette left in my pack. I'm smoking one now. I plan to put this one out, smoke the other one and then never buy a pack again. Everyone's stories have been so helpful and touching, I believe I can do it. Please add me if you want I would love to have the support of others that have quit.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You've all given me the will to think and KNOW that I can quit. Today will be my last day to smoke.

lockef

You've only been smoking for 4 years? It should be easy to quit. There are people who have gone practically their entire lives as a smoker and been able to quit. Stop making excuses.

If you need help with the cravings, get the patch/lozenges. Stay away from people who smoke, or places you'd usually smoke (coffee shops/bars). Stay away from alcohol.

Sorry if this sounds harsh... but c'mon! If you're going to smoke, smoke, but don't just TALK about quitting.