Quiting with smoking

Monkey: I just found 2 old e-cigs in my drawer( Earlier attempt, idea I think) they didn't work anymore :laugh:

McCindy, that would be lovely if you got some information for me. I am afraid for those pills tho. I don't know if they are the same as we have in Sweden, those were packed full with side effects, almost worse then quitting cold turkey.

As far as the effects of smoking on your body: Most people worry about lung cancer when they think of smoking. The primary disease caused by smoking is COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Because this disease is progressive, it starts with minor damage and then gets worse over time. The lungs stop working correctly, and when it gets worse, people often say they feel as though they are trying to breathe through a pillow, all the time, or like someone is sitting on their chest. Nothing really eases this feeling when they get worse, unless they wear a breathing machine with a mask to help them breathe. Almost everyone who gets COPD has to wear oxygen, and the majority of them die in their 50s, after months or years of an agonizing struggle to breathe. While the main killers like heart disease and stroke are actually on the decline, COPD continues to rise and is now the 3rd largest killer in the U.S. Once the damage has been done to the lungs, it is irreversible. The good news is, that when you stop smoking, the damage doesn't get any worse, so you can stop yourself from getting sick. It's likely there is some small airway damage already (I smoked for eight years, pack a day, and I have some small airway damage), but my lung tests show normal function. The sooner you quit, the better.

As far as quittting, the best thing to do is to find a quit smoking program with coaches and support groups, because success rates are higher with help like that. Using a nicotine replacement like gum or patches helps too, as it can stop cravings.
The rule of three applies: the first three days are the hardest, as you fight through the iniitial physical cravings. Then after three weeks, people tend to fail, and again at three months. Once you make it past those three months, you should be able to stay off of them, as long as you find other ways to manage stress (exercise is a great thing for that) and don't turn to food to replace the cigarettes.
Chantix does have side effects, as any drug will. The main ones are nausea and very strange dreams, usually those effects last for the first couple of weeks. Some people do have suicidal thoughts or mood swings, as many drugs in this class can cause those. Chantix works by blocking the nicotine receptors in your brain so that when you smoke, you don't get any nicotine satisfaction, so you stop wanting the cigarettes.
Wellbutrin is another medication that can sometimes work to help people quit smoking and can assist with the mood swings.

Vaping is intended for current adult smokers , that wish to continue enjoying their nicotine habit at a reduced risk.

In other words staying addicted I don't see the point of that actually...

I would tend to agree. Just looking at the lesser of evils. IMO it is similar to using gum or patches instead of smoking.

I have an e- cigarette also, The liquid I use has no nicotine in it but taste like tobacco.

I quit 3 1/2 months ago, cold turkey, after I got a bad case of pneumonia that put me in the hospital. The first week I quit was hell. Being sick, taking steroids, and going through withdrawals put me in a really bad place, but I stuck to it. Once I recovered fully from the pneumonia, I started exercising. I will say that I was craving carbs and sugar all of the time. I have only lost weight, though.

As a side note, I actually found that I have LESS stress, now that I've quit. Stress has always been my #1 reason to stay smoking, so I think it's funny that I'm much more calm and patient now. It's not easy to quit, and I don't think there's any ONE right way to do it. Good luck to you!

I quit smoking 7 years ago. I used a patch the first day and then nothing. Please go to whyquit.com and read through what happens to your body when you quit. Much of what your are describing is in your head and can certainly be avoided when you understand completely what happens when you quit tobacco. another site to go is quitnet.com you don't have to pay, I never have. You can connect with people who are quitting at the same time as you and going through the same same thing.

I was more of a social smoker at first then started smoking out of stress. I could go all day without a cigarette and then would chain smoke out of stress. Which in return would make me feel like crap the next day. I would run out of breath easy, cough, and just felt icky. Plus, I hated the smell and would scrub my hands, spray myself with perfume and all sorts of silly things to try to cover up my habit. I was just over it. I already didn't smoke in my house, and had previously stopped smoking in my car. I stopped buying cigarettes and just occasionally bummed them, and then got to a point where they tasted and smelled so bad that I had no desire anymore. I did have cravings, but I just tried to do something to get my mind off of it. I actually lost several pounds because I was staying busy, and that's what started my weight loss journey with MFP. You can do it if you want to. It takes 21 days to start/stop a habit. Quitting will suck, but you never have to quit again if you never light up again. :-)

Don't mean to play the devils advocate but I quit smoking in aug...I start my weight loss journey in OCT...I stupidly bought a pack last month. i only smoked 5 before I ripped up the rest and through them out...but during that week I easily dropped 2 pounds....IDK how or why...i think the smoke motivated me to work out cuz i would tell myself 'okay, once u do this or that for 45 mins you can have a smoke" or maybe something from smoking caused me to drop faster idk...but ever since i stopped smoking again....weight hasnt been coming off that fast....just an observation....

I quit cold turkey after 20 years a few years ago (can't remember when, seems like another life). Allen Carr's Easy Way book did it for me, it just completely deprogrammed me.

I'm in better physical shape now than ever, I don't identify myself with smoking at all. I am more motivated and physically active which helps keep the blubber at bay ...

Message me if you want a copy of the book.

I don't get all these replacement things, just stop then don't light one up again, instant non-smoker. It has NO benefits at all so bite the bullet and if you really want to quit you will. It's not like withdrawal is physical torture, it's more psychological.

Anyway, I can recommend the book to drill into you everything you already really know.

But how about those patches and chewing gums? Do they work?

No amount of patches/gums will work if you really don't want to quit. I went cold turkey over 4 years ago. It was hell. But I did it.