nasty

ImmaZombie

I've heard Chantix works wonders.

RunDoozer

www.quitnet.com

This site helped a lot when I quit 6 years ago and I smoked 2 packs a day

mzjessicaxo

I smoked for 4 years, started when I lost someone very close to me.
I tried to quit multiple times but at the end of the day I really didn't want to. I liked smoking, I had no problem doing it, I knew the consequences and health risks but I wasn't afraid to take them. I quit last August cold turkey. I did it for me, because I wanted to do it, I was done smoking and it really wasn't that enjoyable anymore. It felt more weird than anything. You have to have the mindset that you think it's gross and you really don't want to do it. I think that's the best way. When you honestly want to focus on your health and do it for yourself its easy. It's when you're doing it for someone else or a different reason it doesn't work.

That's how it went for me at least! Good Luck!

lizzybethclaire

I quit at 24, when I was already up to 3 packs a day (starting when I was 13, like you). Forget the patches. WIth the patch or the nicotine gum, you stayed hooked on nicotine. Throw away all your cigs and lighters and wash out your ashtrays and quit. Start enjoying the taste of food again and the smells of flowers and babies' heads and whatever smells good to you. Revel in taking deep breaths of clean air. Look at smokers and think bad thought about them. Whatever you do, DON'T tell yourself you'd do anythign for a cig, etc. Don't play the poor me game. Just stop smoking and know that in 3 days the nicotine is out of your system and then you only have the habits, not the addicition, to overcome. Chew regular gum. Learn how to knit to keep your hands busy. Drink lots of water. You can do it, I promise, and will feel much better and very proud of yourself!

I've never smoked, but I used to drink a 12 pack of Pepsi every day. I tried cutting back and it didn't work. Quitting cold turkey like this person states was the only thing that worked. It sucked and I hated life for a few days. I know it isn't exactly the same. Good luck!

I was a soda addict too. I hadn't drank it for months, but on black friday I probably drank about 24 cans between Thanksgiving and Monday. When I stopped I was sick to my stomach and had a horrible headache that lasted for days. Not worth it. I will just drink some coffee next time during my "shopping extravaganza." I rarely drink it, so it's easy to stop after a few days.

boyd224

www.whyquit.com


check it out, lots of good info

hotjacki85

Bump! I smoke a pack a day and have used all medicinal remedies... I get sooo sick everytime.... need help as well

rob1976

not a smoker but honestly if you know something will eventually kill you Isn't that enough motivation to stop..i would rather die from something unpreventable than something you definitely can prevent. however iam speaking from the outside in and know nothing about any addictions, so my advice is good luck hope u can overcome this..

It's not that simple. Quitting cigarettes is seriously more difficult than quitting heroin. The addiction to nicotine is heavily psychological because many people use cigarettes as coping mechanism and "cure-all" for their ails.

Happy? "Let's smoke to celebrate!"
Sad? "I need a cigarette to deal with this."
Upset? "A smoke will calm me down."
Just ate? "Nothing like a smoke after a meal."
Just finished sex? "Pass the lighter, babe."
Just finished running? "Why do cigarettes taste better right after exercise?"

Not to mention that a lot of people are more addicted to the act of going outside and smoking than they are to the actual nicotine.

orangelobster

I didn't read all the posts so maybe this has been covered already. Here's what I did.

Buy 4mg nicotine gum, chew the daylights out of it. In a week or so, switch to the 2 mg gum.

The patch didn't do much for me, nor did ecig or whatever it is. The gum worked totally. I chewed it for about 3 months, gradually less and less often until finally I quit that too.

Good luck, quitting is the best decision you will ever make!

bluelena

I smoked a pack a day for over 10 years. I tried everything from acupuncture to Nicorette, etc. Nothing "worked". I'd quit for a few days and then I'd be back again. I never smoked in my house, but I did smoke in the car.

September 2007 - I was able to try Chantix via our smoking cessation program at work. I didn't make it through a whole round, but did use it for a bout 3 weeks. What I noticed the most, is that I DID smoke less, but I wasn't aware of it. There would be times when I'd think, "I'm supposed to be doing SOMETHING". That SOMETHING was smoking. It was very odd. I never quit completely using Chantix, but I cut WAY down. I stopped taking it because it started to upset my stomach. (I have weird, vivid dreams all the time, so that side effect wasn't an issue for me)

October 2007 - Decided to try the Nicotrol Inhaler to help me to cut back. I did smoke a little more after the Chantix, but the numbers of cigs per day were creeping up and I didn't want to lose momentum.

From there: I would use the Inhaler at work. I just basically quit going outside for smoke breaks and would take a hit off the inhaler instead. The thing I liked about the inhaler was that it gave you that instant "first drag buzz" but if you went at it too aggressively it would burn your throat. So, it made it hard to over-do the inhaler.

I also started cutting out ONE cigarette per day, based on the time/instance I'd smoke. The first one I gave up was the one in the car on the way to work. After a week, I was over it. The following week, I gave up the one that I smoked in the car on the way home from work. And so on and so forth. The "first thing in the morning" cig was the last to go.

So, I baby-stepped it. By December 2007, I wasn't even buying cigarettes anymore. When I'd go out with friends, I'd bum one here and there or just use my inhaler.

January 20, 2008 - Some friends took me out to lunch for being their designated driver the night before. After lunch, my friend passed me a cigarette. I smoked it, put it out, and told them not to hold me to it, but I thought that might be my last one. I just KNEW. And it WAS my last one.

I'm a competitive person by nature, so that's when I started counting the days of being smoke-free. With it being the first of the year, others were quitting as well. After a few weeks, I really didn't want to have to start back at day 0 again.

Yes, I wanted them from time to time at first. I just didn't have them. I still kept the inhaler around and baby stepped myself from it as well. At the very end I was only using it when I was drinking. For some people coffee+smoke is bliss. For me, it was beer+cigarette. I remember the time I decided to get rid of the inhaler. We were at the pub and a friend asked if I still used it. I couldn't remember the last time I had, but I still kept it in my purse "just in case". I popped in a capsule, took a big drag, and WHOA. I about toppled over from the buzzy, headachey sensation of reintroducing nicotine to my system. So, that was the end of that.

I really think that Chantix was that little push that I needed. I think everyone is different with respect to what will work for them. Cold turkey never lasted 24 hours for me because that's all I thought about. Doing it a little bit at a time without a "quit date" was less stressy for me and when I was done, I was done.

hotjacki85

not a smoker but honestly if you know something will eventually kill you Isn't that enough motivation to stop..i would rather die from something unpreventable than something you definitely can prevent. however iam speaking from the outside in and know nothing about any addictions, so my advice is good luck hope u can overcome this..

It's not that simple. Quitting cigarettes is seriously more difficult than quitting heroin. The addiction to nicotine is heavily psychological because many people use cigarettes as coping mechanism and "cure-all" for their ails.

Happy? "Let's smoke to celebrate!"
Sad? "I need a cigarette to deal with this."
Upset? "A smoke will calm me down."
Just ate? "Nothing like a smoke after a meal."
Just finished sex? "Pass the lighter, babe."
Just finished running? "Why do cigarettes taste better right after exercise?"

Not to mention that a lot of people are more addicted to the act of going outside and smoking than they are to the actual nicotine.

Agreed.... Even as a family my father, mother and all of us smoking adults always end a meal with a nice chit chat in the backyard accompanied by a cigarette... its a lifestyle change just like eating healthy, excercising etc. it is possible... but very, very, very hard. I went to the hospital last time I quit for 5 days... my body was detoxing so bad they PRESCRIBED a nicotine patch to lessen the detox effects. the patch gave me extremely scary vivid murderous dreams i was afraid to sleep and eventually took the patch off and started smoking again. Its hard.... I wish i NEVER started

hereisgone125

My husband and I both use E-cig brand e-go we bought them from vapedojo.com

That's where I get mine too, they have a great little starter kit for about $13.

whitneyps7

not a smoker but honestly if you know something will eventually kill you Isn't that enough motivation to stop..i would rather die from something unpreventable than something you definitely can prevent. however iam speaking from the outside in and know nothing about any addictions, so my advice is good luck hope u can overcome this..

It's not that simple. Quitting cigarettes is seriously more difficult than quitting heroin. The addiction to nicotine is heavily psychological because many people use cigarettes as coping mechanism and "cure-all" for their ails.

Happy? "Let's smoke to celebrate!"
Sad? "I need a cigarette to deal with this."
Upset? "A smoke will calm me down."
Just ate? "Nothing like a smoke after a meal."
Just finished sex? "Pass the lighter, babe."
Just finished running? "Why do cigarettes taste better right after exercise?"

Not to mention that a lot of people are more addicted to the act of going outside and smoking than they are to the actual nicotine.

^this mainly my problem is the habit to go and smoke. and the inhaling the ecigg did help the most cause i got sort of the sam effect

christy3565

You have to really want to do it for you, not for anyone else. I couldn't quit until I was 100% committed and 100% confident that I would do it.

^^THIS
I quit 4 months ago with the help of Chantix. Best thing I've ever done but you have to WANT it. Not for your job or coworkers. The addiction to the nicotine goes away pretty fast, the habit doesn't. I still find myself reaching for a cigarette at times out of pure habit. I don't want a cigarette at all, but the habit is still there.

Deipneus

I too started smoking at about 13. I too quit in my 20's. I'm 60 now. Keep at it. I failed so many times I began to wonder if I would ever succeed. I did. I quit and then got overconfident and tried to have "just a couple". I got hooked again. I quit again, for good.

So never give up, and once you quit, don't think you can smoke just a little. Those of us who are predisposed to getting hooked on tobacco will always be susceptible.

An encouraging word: When I smoked, the idea of going without for the rest of my life was depressing. It was an illusion. It took a year or more, but I finally reached a point where I couldn't believe I used to smoke. I still can't believe it.

Lesliecs

can anyone recommend a good e-cig that doesn't have nicotine in it? I've tried cold turkey, I can't take Chantix due to side effects and I'd prefer not to use the patch or gum that has nicotine.

Thanks!

Ramberta

It's not that simple. Quitting cigarettes is seriously more difficult than quitting heroin. The addiction to nicotine is heavily psychological because many people use cigarettes as coping mechanism and "cure-all" for their ails.

I don't mean to burst your bubble, but have you actually done heroin, or known an addict closely? I'm pretty sure that heroin withdrawals blow tobacco's out of the water. You're right in saying that the addiction is heavily psychological, as it is with any drug, even "non-addictive" ones like marijuana. However, you can't ignore physical withdrawal symptoms, and they are particularly nasty with harder drugs.

Deipneus

not a smoker but honestly if you know something will eventually kill you Isn't that enough motivation to stop..

If it were that easy to give up deadly habits, there wouldn't be an MFP. We'd all just eat right and live happily ever after.

Deipneus

I don't mean to burst your bubble, but have you actually done heroin, or known an addict closely? I'm pretty sure that heroin withdrawals blow tobacco's out of the water.

"Research suggests that nicotine is as addictive as heroin, cocaine, or alcohol."

So says the U.S. Center for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit/you_can_quit/nicotine/

moustache_flavored_lube

I was a 10 year pack a day smoker. I quit 7 years ago and haven't had one puff since. I lived with my GF who did not quit.

Quiting isn't easy, but it is very simple. Just stop smoking, and refuse to take another drag no mater what. It does't take very long until it is simply a non issue.

At the time it seemed like a massive deal to quit. In hind sight it was really pretty easy, and SOOOOO Worth it.

Ramberta

I don't mean to burst your bubble, but have you actually done heroin, or known an addict closely? I'm pretty sure that heroin withdrawals blow tobacco's out of the water.

"Research suggests that nicotine is as addictive as heroin, cocaine, or alcohol." Source: U.S. Center For Disease Control

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit/you_can_quit/nicotine/

Suggests is a rather vague word, no offense. And still, that's not really the point I was making. Tobacco and heroin are both highly addictive substances. The poster I was replying to said that it was more difficult to quit cigs than shooting up. I disagreed only on the basis that due to the very severe withdrawal symptoms of heroin.

http://addictions.about.com/od/dailylifewithaddiction/a/What-To-Expect-From-Heroin-Withdrawal.htm

Versus the nicotine withdrawal symptoms listed here: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000953.htm

darcyinmo

I'm 43 I quit at 39 after starting at 13 like you .. I was almost 2 packs per day and over 20 years. I had to WANT to quit and by want I mean really want it. For me I was trying to lose weight at the time and in order for me to increase my cardio I needed to be able to breathe. No brainer right? Well that's what it took ... I told myself either I was going to keep smoking and be fat or I would quit smoking so I could breathe well enough to work out and lose weight... I lost the weight got divorced and regained it all back now that I'm remarried and happy (I got complacant and lazy about the gym to nurtue the new love I found but that's a whole other story)... the point is until you really want to quit for you and not for who you work with or what others think it won't happen... or at least that was my experience.. I tried to quit several times for someone else who told me I should but couldn't really do it until it was for me. Good luck to you though!

I'm in the same boat!! But still smoke. Just curious, how long after you started eating healthy and working out did you decide "now was the time" to quit? Was it easier with a better diet? I really would like to quit want to be able to be healthy and breathe when I do! I know it takes motivation and desire, and maybe I'm just not there yet. Any tips?