How to quit cigarettes
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I am totally in awe of all of the support and advice I have received on this post. Congratulations to all of you with success stories, you're truly an inspiration to me. I'm done talking about quitting and I'm ready to take the plunge and actually DO the damn thang. Please please please feel free to add me as a friend on here! I look forward to quitting and it doesn't seem so daunting after hearing all of your success. Stay tuned for my updates on my progress! Again, I really appreciate all of the advice. This website is an absolute god send. Good luck to all of you!!!5
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Another vote for Allen Carr's Easyway to Quit...I could Never have imagined how easy it was!
Oh yeah, it'll be 5 years for me next month!1 -
A thousand ways to quit. All share determination, hard work, failure, and never giving up.2
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I quit 20 years ago. I was at the doctors office and picked up a Readers Digest and read a story about nicotine. I had already been trying to quit for about a year. I was only 25 years old and it was already taking a toll on my health. So this article drew my attention. It described what nicotine did to your brain as like a river that just gets deeper and wider, as soon as the water recedes slightly, as the time between cigarettes, the urge to fill it up kicks in and you have to smoke, which overflows and creates a deeper, wider, raging river.
So....I decided I would try the patch again. I used that imagery for the 3 months I weened myself with the patch. I envisioned that river receding and that mud on the banks drying up. And every day it would do it again. After a month I imagined that dried up river bank growing grass. As that river got thinner, and more shallow, I imagined that new land growing grass and wild flowers as that river turned into a creek, then a stream, until finally it was just a beautiful meadow.
After the 3 months on the patch, I still had to continue with my new habits. Instead of smoking, I chewed gum, drank more water, brushed my teeth more. I chewed gum every day for a good 10 years. I haven't needed the gum for a long time now.
So creating new habits is key, but so is changing your thinking.
You can do it!1 -
I smoked for 8 years, what it took was just really wanting it badly enough. Patches, gum and most other things I tried failed.. you have to be ready to quit and REALLY want it and then it'll be easy. When I quit I also didn't diet at all, eating whatever you want in the first few days helps lol but also staying really active. I also didn't drink alcohol for the first few months because for me it was a huge trigger.. now I rarely drink and I'm actually super jazzed about that. I hope you succeed, it's a tough journey but it's worth it.
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Quitting smoking is not easy! I smoked heavily for many years and attempted to quit many times. Tried the patches, gum, hypnosis and group therapy (gum and the patches several times each.)
What finally worked for me was Chantix, I've been smoke free for over four years now. It does require a doctor's prescription and it's not inexpensive, but it works for many people.
Whatever method you use to quit, please give it your best shot. Cigarettes will kill you!1 -
Smoker for 20 yrs here. Have given up and relapsed about 4 times. For me, it came down to actually, really and truly, WANTING to give up. Because YOU want to. Not triggers or other people telling you to, advertisements or affordability. I had to WANT to give up. I didn't the other times. I was doing it for everyone else. Good luck. Do it for YOU!3
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I MADE the decision to quit and quit. Never went back. I had dreams for about 2 months of smoking, but after that I was fine.
You have to REALLY want to quit to actually quit. If you have ANY reservation, you won't.
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I smoked 20 + a day for pretty much ten years, and then quit because I realised that I just really did not want to do it anymore. I think you need to look at them for what they really are, ie, little cancer sticks that systematically poison you and make you smell, out of breath and have glassy eyes, and not fun social props. I'd tried quitting multiple times in the past without actually wanting to quit, and that never worked. You have to just decide if you want to smoke, or if you don't. If you want to, just keep smoking. If you don't, just don't put them in your mouth. It's a midset thing, but totally doable! Plus I lost a lot of weight after I quit because I had so much more energy. Helps if you stop drinking for a few months too, as that's usually a trigger for smokers. Good luck 1
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My aunt was a smoker for 35 years. More than a pack a day... nonstop smoking. About 5 years ago she decided to "transition" to vaping. She didn't call it quitting. She just decided to vape instead.
Hasn't had a cigarette in 5 years.2 -
I would strongly recommend keeping in close touch with your mental health professional because you may need additional tools, medications or change of dosage. Some people may have an idea of how hard it is to quit at first, but not many can understand how destructive a hard change could be for someone with mental health issues, especially giving up an addiction that messes with brain chemistry. I never talk about it, but mental health was the reason I started smoking again after quitting for 3 months. The quitting itself was doable, hard at first but very doable, and I was fine without cigarettes after about a month, but the mental health repercussions were affecting my quality of life to a much greater extent than smoking. I picked up the habit again although I had no desire whatsoever to smoke, in fact I was dreading it. I did it as a last resort to resolve what had become of me and it worked. It was a huge mistake to believe that I could do it independently since I had been doing so well without medications or the help a psychiatrist for years. The appointment was too far and my situation was too urgent to not do something about it. It's okay to ask for advice on how to quit and to seek encouragement and motivation, but most of your focus should be on how to handle it mentally.2
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I have up in 1992 after 10 years smoking
I just went cold turkey was miserable and cross but I never gave in and never had another cigarette
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I tried seven times to quit! 7!! The only way for me was cold turkey. I had only been smoking for two years. I cried, because I missed smoking, I had the sweats at night, felt lethargic, & even had nightmares that I had started again. Those instances passed after a couple of weeks. I went on my honeymoon, brought no cigarettes with me and that was it. 28 years smoke free in December! You can do this!
What helped me was calculating the amount of money I was wasting on cigarettes. Staggering over let's say 40 years plus if I continued down that path. Also I had read some literature for The Great American Smoke out. I thought how I would handle a dr telling me "you have terminal lung cancer" . That scared me to quit. During cravings I would suck on skinny pretzel sticks and "smoke" them. I avoided smoky bars too (back then people were smoking in restaurants and bars) I looked up on line the benefits and positive changes that were happening to my body even within 24 hours of quitting and that was helpful too. I gained a lot of weight when I quit but I almost felt entitled "if I can't smoke then I'm going to eat whatever I want, as much as I want". I was in my 20's back then. I've learned a lot along the way!
Good Luck to you!1 -
Hmmm. After 10 years of smoking I quit when I left uni and got a new job. New people, new environment and I started doing the Couch to 5K shortly after to remind myself why I'm doing it. I also used nicotine mints for about a month and after I ran out I didn't buy any more. I quit with my DH, the buddy system works well for accountability. But I should mention that after 18 months he picked it up 'socially' again, so willpower is required for a long while after, but it gets easier as time goes by.2
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Good luck to you. Millions of people have quit and you can too.
I tried stopping on my own several times but always started again. I finally realized I needed outside help and signed up for a 6 week program. That was over 20 years ago.
In the United States many hospitals have free stop-smoking programs. They give you support and teach you to see yourself as a non-smoker.
If your local hospital doesn't have a program, call the American Cancer Society and ask if they know about programs in your area. This is the American Cancer Society website. Their phone is at the bottom of the first screen: https://www.cancer.org
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If it helps, me and a friend both quit smoking by buying a vape machine. It sort of tricked us and neither used juice with nicotine and were both off the vape after 6 months and couldnt be happier.
Dont confuse e-cigs with vape totally different and e-cigs have a tendancy to not.work for people. Try a vape machine that has a battery and tank with already made changeable coils as making the coils can be frustrating3 -
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Another helpful device I use for my own anxiety and depression is a Fidget Cube. It is about the size of a small dice, and it has different little activities you can do with your fingers and thumbs. Mine has a switch on one side, a disk that you can rotate on another, and a funny little toggle on top. It's got some other little things on it, but those are my favorite It's pretty discreet, so you can mess with it whenever you feel stressed. Good luck to you!
I am so getting one of these!!
As to smoking, I went cold turkey but again, was only really smoking 4 or 5 a day tops. But when it got to the point I could smoke 2 in a row without feeling a little sick, I knew I didn't want to get to more a day.
I also used it as something to do to help with/avoid anxiety or depression. I started walking a bit more instead and my mates started being more honest with how horrible my clothes smelt after I had been out for a cig. Cost was also a factor in why I stopped.
Some really helpful hints in this thread so thank you OP for starting it.
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I quit many, many years ago, but I did it cold turkey. It was hell, but I did it because cigarettes turn your body into toxic waste. You can quit, too--honest. Some people find the patches help them. Some things that helped me: I made a cross-stitch quilt, so I was using my hands to embroider all the time. I've heard knitting works, too. Keep your hands busy. For the first few months, I also avoided any friends who smoked (I explained, some understood, some didn't, but I just couldn't be around smokers). I also had to give up coffee (OMG, what hell that was!) and alcohol/bars. Those go so well with cigs that I had to give up all of them to give up cigs. I also found that cravings came in threes: three hours, three days, three weeks, three months. Other smokers who quit told me the same. So if you find that's true for you, too, prepare for those "threes" with gum, hard candies, and lots of other distractions. Good luck! You can do it.0
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I found just going cold turkey worked. I quite 30 years ago. I did have a few slip ups and when I did the cigarette tasted really gross, if I had more than one or had one for a few days I started to like it again. So eventually I bought a pack smoked one and threw them away. Food tastes a whole lot better after a while, you won't be able to stand the smell on a person who smokes, and you will save a lot of money. Good luck my daughter also has some of the same problems you deal with and she too is finding it difficult to quite. Hmm this just occurred to me, I think she needs to have something in her hands all the time. Maybe a small stress ball could help.0
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hippiequeenxo wrote: »I've been smoking anywhere from half a pack to a whole pack a day for about three years now and have been wanting to quit so badly. As someone with anxiety and bipolar depression quitting is extra difficult since my body treats it as an anti depressants and anti anxiety. Looking for tips and advice on how to quit? What worked for you or someone you know?
I'm trying to get healthy in all aspects of my life. Thanks in advance for all of the help! It's much appreciated.
I'm have bipolar disorder type 1. I understand the the psych component.
I quit cigarettes 15 years ago by blowing bubbles with a bubble wand. Sounds dumb, but it gave me the breathing/mouth/hand association and added bonus, instead of breathing out toxic smoke I was blowing out bubbles filled with positivity.
I was manic at the time but whatever, it worked.
15 years this November and I'm still not smoking.
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Everyone I know who began E-Cigs accidentally quit because the desire had faded so greatly.0
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I quit so many years ago, it's hard to remember just how hard it was.
I was a 2 pack a day smoker and I started when I was 13.
I know it was really important to want to quit. I used that rubber band method and developed a sugarless gum habit that persists to this day.
I quit almost 30 years ago.0 -
Husband smoked before we got married. He decided to quit one day after getting pneumonia again, and then just simply did it. Never smoked again. And never got pneumonia or bronchitis again, either. The first month or so he kept a supply of lollipops at work. It was a good substitute for having something in your mouth. But after awhile he didn't need them anymore. He would just chew gum whenever he got a craving. That was 15 years ago. He still keeps gum with him and chews it whenever he gets stressed out. When he pops a piece of gum in his mouth I imagine that it's the kind of moment where he would have pulled out a cigarette in the past.
Good luck OP.
If you are using cigarettes as medication for a chemical imbalance, make sure you let your doctor know what's going on and make sure you're getting properly medicated so you can be successful at quitting! 0 -
I'm not sure if I've ever posted before, but I wanted to comment. If I'm repeating others advice, I apologize.
I smoked for 20 plus years and finally quit on August 4, 2014. I took Chantix. I still can't believe that I quit. Not only did I quit (and have stayed quit), but my husband still smokes.
It was still very hard. You have to relearn how to do every activity, event, and how to go through every feeling and emotion without nicotine. It was quite a roller coaster for me. I also have depression and anxiety. Sometimes more, sometimes less, and of course, nicotine masks a lot of feelings. But, the Chantix got me over that hurdle. It made me able to, well, I guess just get through the day to day emotions without nicotine.
I will say, I really wanted to quit smoking and that's probably the most important thing.
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I had tried to give up many times and over years. On returning, smoked more.
Then one day I finally accepted that if I didn't carry through this time my health and budget were absolutely stuffed. The consequences of failing were dire.
At the start it was minutes at a time, then hours, then one day a miracle - I hadn't thought about smoking for some hours! That became days and years.
That is the way it goes: stay away from anything associated with smoking, keep busy (self hypnosis may help) and deal with it here and now in the moment by not having THIS smoke. Don't even think of hours into the future. Not THIS smoke. Not this one, and do something else.
You will know when it is your time to stop. Be assured that the worst is at the start and it gets easier all of the time, gradually at first. Know that just one careless smoke throws you right back to the most painful part of stopping.
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metalmeow1 wrote: »Everyone I know who began E-Cigs accidentally quit because the desire had faded so greatly.
That's kind of what happened with me. I still use an RDA, but man, smoking a cig just tastes foul as hell after vaping. I'm honestly glad that I ignored all of the early scaremongering about it, as I already knew that nicotine wasn't what would kill you, from the smoking, and in fact has several interesting health benefits. Much like caffeine (and anything else), the dose makes the poison; it's just that all of the crap from burning a single cig (or anything) is enough to poison most. Inhaling combusted materials rarely produces anything good, compared to the negatives.0 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »metalmeow1 wrote: »Everyone I know who began E-Cigs accidentally quit because the desire had faded so greatly.
That's kind of what happened with me. I still use an RDA, but man, smoking a cig just tastes foul as hell after vaping. I'm honestly glad that I ignored all of the early scaremongering about it, as I already knew that nicotine wasn't what would kill you, from the smoking, and in fact has several interesting health benefits. Much like caffeine (and anything else), the dose makes the poison; it's just that all of the crap from burning a single cig (or anything) is enough to poison most. Inhaling combusted materials rarely produces anything good, compared to the negatives.
Some formal information about e cigs:
http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/e-cigarettes-and-lung-health.html
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Gallowmere1984 wrote: »metalmeow1 wrote: »Everyone I know who began E-Cigs accidentally quit because the desire had faded so greatly.
That's kind of what happened with me. I still use an RDA, but man, smoking a cig just tastes foul as hell after vaping. I'm honestly glad that I ignored all of the early scaremongering about it, as I already knew that nicotine wasn't what would kill you, from the smoking, and in fact has several interesting health benefits. Much like caffeine (and anything else), the dose makes the poison; it's just that all of the crap from burning a single cig (or anything) is enough to poison most. Inhaling combusted materials rarely produces anything good, compared to the negatives.
Some formal information about e cigs:
http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/e-cigarettes-and-lung-health.html
I'll do you one better: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4110871/#!po=20.5224
Basically, all of the formal stuff was based on the early scaremongering, and follow up research using slightly more realistic methods, updated devices and liquids, etc. has all but been ignored. It's the equivalent of avoiding an iPhone 7, because the early Samsungs overheated and caught on fire.2 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »metalmeow1 wrote: »Everyone I know who began E-Cigs accidentally quit because the desire had faded so greatly.
That's kind of what happened with me. I still use an RDA, but man, smoking a cig just tastes foul as hell after vaping. I'm honestly glad that I ignored all of the early scaremongering about it, as I already knew that nicotine wasn't what would kill you, from the smoking, and in fact has several interesting health benefits. Much like caffeine (and anything else), the dose makes the poison; it's just that all of the crap from burning a single cig (or anything) is enough to poison most. Inhaling combusted materials rarely produces anything good, compared to the negatives.
Some formal information about e cigs:
http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/e-cigarettes-and-lung-health.html
I'll do you one better: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4110871/#!po=20.5224
Basically, all of the formal stuff was based on the early scaremongering, and follow up research using slightly more realistic methods, updated devices and liquids, etc. has all but been ignored. It's the equivalent of avoiding an iPhone 7, because the early Samsungs overheated and caught on fire.
Ok.
'Conflict of interest statement: Riccardo Polosa is a Professor of Medicine and is supported by the University of Catania, Italy. He has received lecture fees and research funding from GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, manufacturers of stop smoking medications. He has also served as a consultant for Pfizer and Arbi Group Srl (Milano, Italy), the distributor of Categoria™ e-Cigarettes. His research on electronic cigarettes is currently supported by LIAF (Lega Italiana AntiFumo).
Konstantinos Farsalinos is a researcher at Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center. He has never been funded by the pharmaceutical or the tobacco industry. For some of his studies, the institution has received financial compensation from electronic cigarette companies for the studies’ cost. His salary is currently being paid by a scholarship grant from the Hellenic Society of Cardiology'
...............
One researcher has been given research funding from and served as a consultant to an e-cig distribution company, the other has been 'financially compensated' for some of his studies.
I'm skeptical that this is an unbiased systematic review, but you can elvaluate evidence however you like.
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