Quitting Smoking

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  • MABfit01
    MABfit01 Posts: 25
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    TEN reasons. I'll have to think about it. But, that should really provide motivation. Getting lots of good info from this site. I'll check in more often. Start my own tracking system for cig's.
  • Mandymom3
    Mandymom3 Posts: 1
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    Sooo hard!! Don't know what to do..using ecig,chewing lots of gum and drinking water.
  • Maurice1966
    Maurice1966 Posts: 438 Member
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    I'm into my second week. I use nicotine gum and I'm not yet getting withdrawal other than being a little snappy which I manage to keep under check because I'm cognisant that I might be. Whenever I feel like lashing out, I take a deep breath and think about what I will say before it comes out as a rant :o).

    This about the 4th time for me in the last 15 years and I know it will be the last because of all the things I've learned along the way. You must stay strong and just like in any endeavour, you have to really want it to be successful e.g. health and weight loss. Same principles apply.

    Good luck.
  • j_wilson2012
    j_wilson2012 Posts: 293
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    Keep in mind, though. As I said: it doesn't matter if you have ten, or one. If one reason is NOT for yourself, you will not succeed. Sure, quit for your kid, your dead grandma, your profession. That will only last for so long. You have to tell yourself that you want to live longer, that you want to breathe better, that you dont want to stink all the time. That you want a hotter wife/husband. bottom line. You have to quit for yourself. I have quit for my girlfriends, for how others will think of me, and because I was broke. All times, you put me in a bar with a NASCAR race, and guess who's back smokin again? yup.

    This time, I am not broke. I have a liquor store a block and a half from me, that I can EASILY decide I need that cigarette. I could, but I dont. I don't have a girlfriend, this time around. I dont want one, nor need one. The only one to keep me from smoking is ME.

    Quitting is not for everyone. It will take THE MOST WILL POWER YOU WILL EVER NEED IN YOUR LIFE, probably with exception to hardcore drugs, like heroin or something. If you dont have it between the ears, you will continue to have it between the lips.

    An easy excuse to smoke would be: my great grandma smoked since high school, and she lived to be 93. I make the choice to not smoke based on me.
  • j_wilson2012
    j_wilson2012 Posts: 293
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    Sooo hard!! Don't know what to do..using ecig,chewing lots of gum and drinking water.

    Find a pool, jump in, spend a couple hours.
    You cant smoke around splashing water, and your lungs cant handle it when you are swimming laps! :tongue:
  • dkkassal
    dkkassal Posts: 2
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    I quit smoking 5 months ago after smoking for 40 years!!! It is very hard but well worth it. Now I have to try to loose weight. I used the patches and they seemed to work. I have good days and bad. Lately though the good out number the bad. I have been avoiding circumstances that trigger the urge.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
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    I started quitting about 1 1/2 months ago, something I told myself I would do before I even thought about starting exercising and eating right. The Nicoderm CQ patches really really help, especially when you force yourself past the first 3 days. Although when I first quit I wasn't doing any form of exercise, I do exercise now and that seems to help.

    Good luck, and support helps as well.
  • mowree
    mowree Posts: 74 Member
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    I smoked for 35 years. Been quit 2 and 1/2 years. Don't regret quitting. Feel better & can do things I couldn't do before.
    The KEY for my success was not allowing any negative thoughts about quitting to come to mind. As soon as that would try to start happening, I'd banish the thought before giving myself time to dwell on it at all. I KNEW that if I dwelled on a negative thought...it was only a matter of time before a weakness would appear.
    Hope this helps someone!
  • EvaStrange
    EvaStrange Posts: 59 Member
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    I quit three years and three days ago (happy anniversary to me!) and it was tough the first four or five days. For about two months after that, habit made me reach for my (nonexistent) cigarettes and lighter when I sat down at my desk, when I got off the train, when a class had ended, … But it was just habit and not a real drive or a mad craving. Those first three days were the hardest and the next two weeks were uncomfortable. I got through them by eating tons of fruit (we picked the right time of the year!) and chewy candy and by exercising A LOT, simply to keep busy. Whenenever I was at home and felt a craving announce itself, I got on my (outdoor) bicycle and pedaled my heart out. I think I hardly sat still for five minutes during those first few weeks, except when at work, and that made up for all the extra sweets I ate. There was thus no harm in eating as a substitute for smoking.

    If your leg is twitching, why don't you give it something to do? Drive yourself to the point of exhaustion by exercising or doing housework, so that it will keep quiet even when you're not moving. It's only for a few more days at most, after all. As a reward, treat yourself to something harmless afterwards. And then some more. You will have burnt off all the extra calories beforehand, anyway!

    And focus on the positive effects. For me, it was a matter of days, if not hours, until my nose and my taste buds got more sensitive. Does food already have a more intense taste? Do you smell that candle at the other end of the room? How does an ash tray full of cold ash smell to you now? Noticing and appreciating these effects made it easier for me to hang in. Why would you want to give this up again??
  • brittfj
    brittfj Posts: 50 Member
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    I quit three years and three days ago (happy anniversary to me!) and it was tough the first four or five days. For about two months after that, habit made me reach for my (nonexistent) cigarettes and lighter when I sat down at my desk, when I got off the train, when a class had ended, … But it was just habit and not a real drive or a mad craving. Those first three days were the hardest and the next two weeks were uncomfortable. I got through them by eating tons of fruit (we picked the right time of the year!) and chewy candy and by exercising A LOT, simply to keep busy. Whenenever I was at home and felt a craving announce itself, I got on my (outdoor) bicycle and pedaled my heart out. I think I hardly sat still for five minutes during those first few weeks, except when at work, and that made up for all the extra sweets I ate. There was thus no harm in eating as a substitute for smoking.

    If your leg is twitching, why don't you give it something to do? Drive yourself to the point of exhaustion by exercising or doing housework, so that it will keep quiet even when you're not moving. It's only for a few more days at most, after all. As a reward, treat yourself to something harmless afterwards. And then some more. You will have burnt off all the extra calories beforehand, anyway!

    And focus on the positive effects. For me, it was a matter of days, if not hours, until my nose and my taste buds got more sensitive. Does food already have a more intense taste? Do you smell that candle at the other end of the room? How does an ash tray full of cold ash smell to you now? Noticing and appreciating these effects made it easier for me to hang in. Why would you want to give this up again??


    your comment is inspiring. thank you! :]
  • WTBSE
    WTBSE Posts: 72 Member
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    In 2 days, i celebrate being 2 years smoke free. And it was easy to quit. I know, i know, you wont believe me!!
    I used 'Allen Carrs Easyway to Stop Smoking' book and have never looked back.

    I wasnt even sure i wanted to quit, but i was in the bookshop, looking at it, and a man came up to me and explained that if i wanted to quit, THIS was the book to help me, that he'd been quit for 6months, found it easy, and it was all down to that book.

    So of course, i bought it! I got half way through the book, and just didnt want to smoke anymore. And i havent! Honestly, i would try it, if you havent already :)
  • super_monty
    super_monty Posts: 419 Member
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    Smoked 20 to 80 a day for 17 years, stopped for good 6/7 years ago.

    Tablets, patches etc, just prolong the agony and you have a better chance of starting smoking again according to a number of studies I read 6/7 years ago. Something like 75% of people using supplements returned to smoking at a later date compared to a much lower figure when going cold turkey.

    Cold Turkey is the way to go after 2 weeks the difference is amazing STAY AWAY FROM ALL ALCOHOL for sometime durning and after.

    Patched are not great you are still getting nicotine!
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member
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    I quit smoking just over 2 years ago, using Champix. Was hard work and I still get cravings when stressed, but being smoke-free is worth the effort.

    The only way you will stop, is if you really want to. Good luck and here's wishing you every success
  • Keiko385
    Keiko385 Posts: 514 Member
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    I am 2 months in without a cigarette, I still use the patch but I am on my last week for those. I still get that urge to pick one up on occasion, I just want something to hold onto with my morning coffee, the rest of time I go for a walk or pace it may make my co workers a little nuts but I'm not barking at them
  • Mary10091982
    Mary10091982 Posts: 5 Member
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    I used Allen Carrs easy way. That was in Feb. I am now 5.5 months smoke free and I dont crave smoking at all. I tried to quit many times before without much success I would def recommend this to all smokers who think they will never be able to quit.
  • super_monty
    super_monty Posts: 419 Member
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    I am 2 months in without a cigarette, I still use the patch but I am on my last week for those. I still get that urge to pick one up on occasion, I just want something to hold onto with my morning coffee, the rest of time I go for a walk or pace it may make my co workers a little nuts but I'm not barking at them

    see what i mean about the patches, sounds like you are still addicted.
  • Keiko385
    Keiko385 Posts: 514 Member
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    I am 2 months in without a cigarette, I still use the patch but I am on my last week for those. I still get that urge to pick one up on occasion, I just want something to hold onto with my morning coffee, the rest of time I go for a walk or pace it may make my co workers a little nuts but I'm not barking at them

    see what i mean about the patches, sounds like you are still addicted.

    Since being on the last step of them I have forgotten to put them on sometimes. Am I still addicted doubtful as I know it will kill me, I was not given the option to wake up one morning and decide to quit a heart attack did that for me
  • surabhit
    surabhit Posts: 94 Member
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    No cravings. No substitutes. Cold turkey. I tried Allan Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking. The first time I stopped with that, I started again in 2 months. Smoked for another 6-8 months almost but was at about half my usual smoking levels. This is the second time I've stopped and it's worked. June 14th I quit, and since then I've been to Amsterdam and I haven't started smoking again!! You'll feel it from within when you want to stop. Nothing anyone says will help, but try to read allan Carr - it made me change the way I felt when I smoked. So that eventually it was my own decision. Might work for you too.

    Best of luck, and keep at it! You won't regret - that's a promise.
  • surabhit
    surabhit Posts: 94 Member
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    I used Allen Carrs easy way. That was in Feb. I am now 5.5 months smoke free and I dont crave smoking at all. I tried to quit many times before without much success I would def recommend this to all smokers who think they will never be able to quit.

    Bump!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    once a smoker, always a smoker. i haven't had a cigarette since christmas, with a few cheats here and there. sometimes i bum a smoke just out of habit, and wanting to be sociable. halfway through the cigarette i feel horrible, and i ask myself "why am i doing this??"

    the best thing i have found is to say out loud that i've quit, when i'm around smokers.

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