Panic! (smoking topic)

you just have to realize that its bad for you in every way.when you want to smoke just think about the 8 extra minutes you add to your life by not smoking one cigarette, those 4 extra hours that you smoked away from your life every day! I quit about 2 months ago. Thats what made me realize that i need to get healthy and now i'm 2 months clean and 20 lbs lighter. I'm so happy, first of all, because i just think it is disgusting. I don't even rembember how it was to smoke every freaking 5 minutes when i went out and worry that i don't have the money for todays pack and those damn moments when i prefered a pack of cigs instead of a good meal. And all those moments when i had to take a break, go in some nasty places just to smoke for 5 minutes...
just quit. those 5 cigs you have left? break them in half and throw them away, get rid of all tabacco you have and just don't buy new ones. Go, smoke your last cig and quit. you shouldnt have to panic because its your last, you should panic if it isnt!

and with the money saved, give it to your sons, they have girls to take out, you know..

Best of luck to you!!

I gave up when I found out I was pregnant in January 2007 so I had a very good reason to just quit cold turkey! Thank goodness!!

My advice, though, would be to think of it as more of a mental struggle than a physical need. I read somewhere (although don't quote me as it was a long time ago and might not be completely correct) that the physical craving for nicotine is gone pretty quickly after quitting (48hours I believe) .... after that its habit and mind games that make you "need" that cigarette again! This helped me - being stubborn as I am I knew I could beat my own mind in a willpower challenge!! )

I've just quit myself. I was planning this big day when I woke up and jsut didnt smoke, so effectively the last one was on Sunday night. (the quitting was supposed to start Monday just gone).

However, last Wednesday, I went to the dentist and he adivsed my tooth need to come out, so take it out he did. Im sitting there after and he says so casually "no smoking for 3 days" I was just thinking, "3 days?!?! How am I gonna do that" (I usualy smoke around 20 a day)

So I had to do it cos I had this big gaping hole in my mouth adn coudlnt risk the infection. The cravings were bad, I cant deny that! Saturday came and I picked up my packet, cos I was thinking, well I said it was Monday so I can smoke today and tomorrow. Then I rememebered how bad the last 3 days had been, and thought if I smoke today and tomorrow, its gonna be even worse come Monday. So that was it. I said no more!!

My moral of this very long post lol, is that effectively I didnt have that "last cigarette" cos when I went to the dentist I wasn't expecting to be told I couldnt smoke. Try not to think of that cigarette as the "last one" and you might find it easier to stop! I dont know ifd you have and iPhone, but theres an app that tells you how much you save and how long its been, plus has little motivating messages :-)

I hope my post has been helpful, and I know how hard it is for you! But with willpower you can do it!!! As my friend keeps reminding me....I dont want *kitten* lips in years to come from the "dragging" of a cig!!! x

Mircius - Did you say 20lbs lighter??? I've put 6lbs since quitting a week ago, I hope this means in time it will be easier to come off?!!?!? haha x

Ahh right, ive given myself 3 weeks (the initial 21 days ti takes nicotine to leave your body) to eat what I want when I want to combat the cravings! I plan to start gently exercising next week then really watching what I eat on day 22 :-) Hoping it will make it easier for me to exercise now I wont have smoke filled lungs haha x

it's okay, do whatever it takes, better quit smoking and gain a few pounds than not quitting at all. i didnt start the diet right away. a few days ago i bought a ktichen scale and oh boy...big difference between what i thought i was eating back then. and i still lost 18 lbs before i bought it, so now its been even easier. and i don't exercise that much but i do walk at least 5 miles everyday. i dont even remember last time i took the bus

It has been eight months for me, I smoked for almost forty years. I still have the odd day where I will have a craving for a cigarette, Early on in my quit I would have little things to keep me busy and I would tell myself, "if you still want it really bad after your done, you can have it" I found doing something help pass the craving and when I was done my little chore, I didn't want it anymore. So I have kept that reasoning even now. If I get a craving I find something around the house that needs to be done and do it. Helps get through the bad time and makes for a squeaky clean house.

I have been smoke free for over 2 years now and know how hard it is. I was smoking 2 packs of full flavor/menthol a day. Trust me, it wasn't easy to quit but it is sooo worth it. Here are a few tips that helped me:

Okay, first thing: Don't panic.
The word panic says that you are sooo apprehensive about quitting which make me think you keep siking yourself out about it. Stop putting so much pressure on yourself Hun. Maybe when you find yourself obsessing about it, distract yourself by a calming activity such as a walk, a bath, a drink of water...even an ice cube in the hand works.(I know it sounds weird but it does)

Second: Some people need bite the bullet. I'm not saying it works for everyone, but dragging it out by 1 cigarette at a time didn't work for me. IMO it leads to suffering, guilt, apprehension and dragging yourself through the mud. Make a choice and stick with it. Get rid of the cigarettes. It is much easier to go through the physical withdrawals for 2 days then it is to do it for weeks. It will be hard but just knowing "I have made my choice" and "I have come this far, I don't want to give up now" will help

Third: Mindset: What really helped me is the saying to myself when a problem arose "I don't need a cigarette to fix how I am feeling because it is not going to change or resolve this problem". "The problem will still be there when I am done smoking". So many people get caught up in the idea that a cigarette helps them calm down enough to rationally fix a problem they are having. If anything, it makes it worse. It is a crutch and doesn't allow them to self sooth and if they spend the same amount of time that they would smoking thinking about how to fix it (after they get over the addiction mood swings )they will find that they came up with the same solution, if not a better one because they didn't have that "up and down" from the nicotine.

My fourth and final: Most states have programs that supply you with nicotine patches, gum or other products for free. I had to use the gum and the patches for the first 2 weeks and then patches for 2 months after that. Don't be afraid to get help. It really levels out your cravings.

Again, quitting smoking was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life and I empathize greatly with your struggle. It is sooo worth giving them up though. I breath better, my clothes and house smells better, I have more energy, and I had 3 grandparents who died from lung/throat cancer. You can do this. It gets so much easier after the first few days. I am at a place where I cant even be around it anymore, not because of temptation but because I cant stand the smell. You can get there too! I am going to friend you and help you through this.

I stopped for 6 years with no help. i just decided to. Then I got divoreced and started again. I stopped a year later and stayed stopped for another 5 years, then I had personal problems and started again!! Ive now given up for the third time. I always stop easily but as soon as I have a trauma I start again

My point is that I never see myself as a non-smoker, just a smoker in remission. This is not to make you feel its hopeless more to recognise the triggers that cause you to start again.

My Mum always said that the occasional trauma will keep you slim and its true especially if you smoke as well. Good luck, stay happy and you'll stay stopped.

Try to focus on why you want to quit more than just quitting. For example, I quit this past December after 16 years smoking and I keep thinking of the reasons why EVERY TIME I want one, which is every day, like my uncle has lung cancer and I visit or talk to him once a week so I think about him being a smoker for 30 days and only 52 years old and what he is going through because of it. I think of living a long, healthy life for my kids and someday, grand-children and how my uncle won't be able to have more time with his family (he's in stage 3 now).
The first month was the hardest for me, I gained about a pound a week but once I got on a weight loss program and starting exercising regularly, I feel great and I love it.
Just focus on WHY you want to quit and stick to it. Whenever you are stressed out, exercise for those 10 minutes instead of smoke and you will feel much better. If you start to put food in your mouth to cover the fixtation then choose healthy snacks (fruit helped me) instead.
Good luck!

I'm giving up next week with help from the doctor that way im accountable to someone each week

You've got to find that motivation. Find what drives you forward. I quit smoking when I found out I was pregnant in April of 2008. I had a focus (my child) so It felt a lot easier than I thought it would. I ended up having twins, btw. After their birth, I struggled with depression due to their diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis. I fell back into smoking alongside my husband. I wouldn't smoke often, or regularly, but when I drank, or out at social events etc. I wokeup one day and knocked myself upside the head. My kids have a fatal lung disease, and I smoke? NO WAY was that going to happen. I quit cold turkey (didn't even smoke while drinking or at social events) and I've completely gone without. I don't have the desire anymore AT ALL. Infact, I HATE the smell. My motivation is my children, most definitely. I would NEVER put them in harms way & smoking? That's putting them in harms way. Find something that is more important to you or in your life than smoking is. Realize what smoking does to affect that person or that thing. Is it your children? Maybe they don't have a lung disease like my own, however, your life will be shortened by smoking, your children need you here, etc. Find something that really matters to you, realize what smoking takes away from that, and let that fuel you.

Hey everyone...you have all been so great and I so appreciate it! Thank you thank you thank you....all the support means the world to me...I haven't really told anyone in my personal life that I am trying to quit, cause I feel like anytime I do, I sabotage myself.
I'm down to like 3 smokes a day, from a pack and a half....

here's my problem..

I haven't bought a pack of smokes since last weekend. I have 5 left in my pack...I KNOW I don't need to smoke, hell if I can go 6-8 hours without one, I can go more, right? Every time I think about having that last and final cigarette, I feel myself starting to panic. I'm feeling it right now as I type this....Any suggestions? I will not buy another pack, I refuse to....how do I fight this panic feeling?

I quit pretty cold turkey. Just said enough was enough.

However, what did the trick was that I was drinking, thought Id have 'just one' for the first time since I had stopped several months earlier. Well, 1 turned into 2, which turned into 3, which turns into an entire pack of menthol cigarettes in like...two hours. Oh yes, menthol. I didnt get sick from the alcohol, I made myself sick from the menthol cigarettes. I have not touched one sense and cant even think of it without gagging.

Wow, I'm glad someone asked this question - I was just thinking about it.. I've tried to stop numerous times - never really been successful, always seems to be the same - get bored, buy smokes and just carry on.. I read the Allen Carr book and almost finished it, then realised I'd be stopping - kinda defeated the whole point..

All I can say is you will only really be an ex-smoker if you chose to be.. Don't see it as quitting or stopping, just becoming something new.. A philosophy I am currently using in my lifestyle change journey - first analyse food, make changes, then focus on other aspects such as becoming an ex-smoker and a fitter healthier person..

This is certainly one area which has annoyed me for years. I never wanted to be a smoker, but 20years later, I realise it has been the bain of my life.. I believe you can do this and judging by your comments, your mind is almost there in terms of wanting this, good luck - don't see it as quitting (quitting insinuates failure), see it as beginning a new life as an ex-smoker..