Stop Smoking

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  • RFC2549
    RFC2549 Posts: 14 Member
    edited August 2019
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    lgfrie wrote: »

    Don't know if you're up on the news this week, but the CDC is investigating over a hundred cases of mysterious lung diseases that have suddenly popped up all over the country from teenage vapers.




    Those kids in the news lately all were using cartridges purchased off the street. These happened in clusters, aka similar geographic areas. They were buying narcotics - not typical electronic cigarette liquid or store-bought nicotine pods.

    https://cei.org/blog/if-you-vape-illicit-street-drugs-it-may-kill-you-duh

  • RFC2549
    RFC2549 Posts: 14 Member
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    lgfrie wrote: »

    Please do not promote nicotine use here. It's irresponsible. Adults can do whatever they want with their bodies, but there has got to be something better to talk about on a diet and health forum than encouragement for people to suck nicotine vapors into their lungs.

    Please do not promote fear-mongering that may dissuade a smoker who is unable/unwilling to quit cold turkey from using an alternative product, whether nicotine gum or e-cigs, that could potentially help them eliminate cigarettes and greatly improve their health and longevity (as well as the air of those around them).

    If you're unwilling to read through the links I posted and give the information any consideration, then you're simply confirming that your real issue with these products has very little to do with health.

  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    edited August 2019
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    RFC2549 wrote: »
    lgfrie wrote: »

    Please do not promote nicotine use here. It's irresponsible. Adults can do whatever they want with their bodies, but there has got to be something better to talk about on a diet and health forum than encouragement for people to suck nicotine vapors into their lungs.

    Please do not promote fear-mongering that may dissuade a smoker who is unable/unwilling to quit cold turkey from using an alternative product, whether nicotine gum or e-cigs, that could potentially help them eliminate cigarettes and greatly improve their health and longevity (as well as the air of those around them).

    If you're unwilling to read through the links I posted and give the information any consideration, then you're simply confirming that your real issue with these products has very little to do with health.

    I did not fear-monger. I said that nicotine replacement products can prove useful for people attempting to quit smoking as a short-term therapy, but that they are dangerous and ill-advised for long term use and/or recreationally. Also, I have pushed back in this thread on the absurd and anti-science argument that everything that's harmful about smoking is in the other ingredients and that nicotine is somehow excluded from the harm that cigarettes do. That is ridiculous.

    I spent a long time trying to wean myself off nicotine replacement products, and it was a harder-won battle than quitting cigarettes, because they are just as addictive but also more discrete, socially acceptable, and you do get sucked into the "healthier than smoking" thing as an excuse to keep going with them. Meanwhile, you have not made even a tiny dent in the real problem - your physical addiction to nicotine, which causes immediate vasoconstriction and, longer term, potentially very serious cardiovascular problems.

    I have said my piece on this. We disagree, both about nicotine and about the appropriateness of promoting its use on a health forum. We will have to simply disagree, because the chasm between our views on this is enormous. Sometimes politely disagreeing is the best that can be done. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
  • Lynzee79
    Lynzee79 Posts: 5 Member
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    I was a smoker and i struggled for years trying to quit. I mean off and on multiple times. It wasn't until I joined a boot camp and really struggled breathing when running that I realized I needed to quit for good. Also I was completely embarrassed to be a smoker being around all of those fit and healthy people. 3 weeks into my boot camp I quit cold turkey. Totally mind over matter!! I also like to have a few drinks which triggers my cigarette cravings. I avoided alcohol for at least a month and focused on exercising. Dentyne Ice chewing gum was my best friend LOL (still is).
    Starting my exercise program helped me avoid any extra weight gain.

    Good Luck to you: )
  • Hollis100
    Hollis100 Posts: 1,408 Member
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    Marisela170 wrote: »
    Any tips to stop smoking? I’ve been smoking on and off for years now but this time I’m finding it a bit more difficult to stop. When I try to stop, I start eating way more than I usually would. I want to quit but I also don’t want to gain a lot more weight in the process as I’m still working on getting to my goal weight. I’ve lost about 35 pounds this year and I still have about 25 more to go.

    I quit smoking many years ago. I got mad at myself for depending on cigarettes like a drug addict, not being able to do anything without smoking. I quit cold turkey and told myself too bad about the physical suffering. I also paid for a 6-week stop smoking course, even though I'd stopped on my own, because I knew I would start again.

    You asked for tips. Here are mine:

    (1) Take a stop-smoking class. Many hospitals offer free ones. I paid for mine, which was worth every penny. They give support and train you to think like a nonsmoker.
    (2) Realize the suffering is temporary. If you can live through the flu, you can live through cigarette withdrawal. It doesn't last forever. Eventually, I promise, you will feel like a normal person and go through your day without thinking about cigarettes.
    (3) I didn't tell anybody I was quitting. I didn't want people judging me and adding pressure.
    (4) I took quitting seriously. I made it the most important thing in my life. I stayed away from people and places where I might smell smoke for about 4 months.
    (5) I planned treats for myself -- bought things that smelled nice, went to interesting places.
    (6) If you gain back a small amount of weight, well, so what. You can lose it. Exercise more. Buy yourself some great new exercise clothes or shoes. Quitting smoking is more important.

    Good luck. You can do this, too.
  • geraldaltman
    geraldaltman Posts: 1,739 Member
    edited September 2019
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    It will 10 years come January that I quit and despite all the cessation aids, courses, and products out there, many of which I have tried with ZERO degree of success, it came down down to the simplest of things; wanting to quit, finding the motivation that is truly mine to drive me, which was just the purest of self-directed rage! Anger that my next to last attempt to quit failed so quickly and miserably despite all will and planning. That rage and my desire to never, ever again have to listen to anyone talk to me about smoking fueled me and once I started facing all the so-called obstacles and found they were ALL complete nonsense each hour, each day, week and month became easier and easier!!! I have not looked and not one single cessation product was ever used!! And every single thing I used to do with cigarettes, I still do today without them; AND THEY ARE SO MUCH BETTER!! E-cigs was kind of new when I quit. I had no interest in them as I was convinced they'd do nothing but drive me right back to tobacco. No, Thank you! Smokers!! Quitting is totally doable!! Just quit over-thinking it!! Find that reason, find that drive, that fuel latch on to it and make it yours and yours alone!!! You will be amazed how far it will take you!!
    This message brought to you by a man who never, ever thought he could or would quit. Be inspired by him!!
  • healingnurtrer
    healingnurtrer Posts: 217 Member
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    From what I've read on the topic it seems the most effective way to quit involves some type of counseling, support system, accountability system - accountable to a doctor seen regularly, coaching, etc. Some human connection.

    I've heard of these "natural" things to try- found a website the includes them all: http://www.altmedicinezone.com/how-tos/quit-smoking-naturally/

    Items Needed
    Unsweetened grapefruit juice
    500 mg vitamin C tablets
    Cinnamon mouthwash
    Cinnamon toothpaste

    Maybe it could help. Good luck.
  • geraldaltman
    geraldaltman Posts: 1,739 Member
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    I wrote the following in another thread today and decided to share it here:

    "Congratulations to all who have 'pulled the trigger' on quitting 🙂
    I quit 'cold turkey'. Please trust me when I say if your drive and fuel is sufficient and your's, it really isn't that cold!!! My strong motivation was the inward rage created when my last planned and prepared attempt failed...in hours! I didn't use any aids or apps or e-cigs. I had no further interest in nicotine or any of the other addictive aspects of smoking as I believed all that would do was propel me back to cigarettes. I wasn't going back!
    Let me share some guarantees:
    You will see it get easier by the day, by the hour because you will see that all the obstacles to remaining smoke free are bogus and mental! You will bust right on through them!
    With the current prices of packs and cartons (at least where I live) you will see your spendable money increase a bit depending on how much you used to buy.
    You will find that everything you once did while smoking, you can still do without them...and they will be more enjoyable! Example: How many of you have been in a smoke free place having dinner/drinks with people and left them to out into weather because you needed that 'after dinner smoke'?
    The food and drink you enjoy will taste better!
    You will soon begin asking yourself incredulously "I did that!!?? I smelled like that!!??" You did! I did!! Your perfume/cologne should smell better. I don't know that as I don't use it.
    Months and years later you will be able tell when a smoker is approaching or where a lot smoking has been done or smokers gathered, as that stench which we never noticed when we smoked will be in the ground and their clothes. It will be strong and it will be very noxious to you!! It will be the best reminder you have to never let yourself go back there!!
    This is not a guarantee but a plea; once you get to that point where you will never 'go back', please, please do not be afraid to speak to others and let them know just how doable and easy quitting is!! Please be straightforward about it but also be kind and respectful especially when directed at any family members who may still smoke. Be an example but don't risk driving them away from you. Once again, congratulations. Keep it going, one day at a time!"
  • Kotuliak
    Kotuliak Posts: 259 Member
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    lgfrie wrote: »

    Avoid nicotine replacement products. They are just as addicting as cigarettes, some of them more so. You are not addicted to cigarettes, you are addicted to nicotine, so any product with nicotine in it is just replacing one delivery system with another. You just have to tough it out, and I won't lie, it is hard. But don't fall back on any crutches like patches or nicotine gum. Just get it over with. It takes 72 hours to break the initial hard-core nicotine craving, and then around 3-4 more weeks to come to terms with things. After about a month, if you've made it that far, you should be solid.

    I agree with everything lgfrie said except this paragraph. I have attempted to quit many times. Finally I used both the gum and the patches, to soften the cravings. The gum tastes so bad I couldn't wait to stop using it. I gradually decreased the patches down to zero, over a 4-week period. Without them, I think I would have failed again. The goal is not to continue using nicotine, but to break down the habit which has many different components. In my experience, gum and patches have been useful and effective tools that helped me quit smoking.
  • Marisela170
    Marisela170 Posts: 48 Member
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    Marisela170 wrote: »
    Any tips to stop smoking? I’ve been smoking on and off for years now but this time I’m finding it a bit more difficult to stop. When I try to stop, I start eating way more than I usually would. I want to quit but I also don’t want to gain a lot more weight in the process as I’m still working on getting to my goal weight. I’ve lost about 35 pounds this year and I still have about 25 more to go.

    I don't know if anyone still reads this but here's a little update. I had surgery last month and during the surgery I had a tube down my throat and my diaphragm was inflated so for a few weeks after the surgery I was having a really hard time breathing. I tried smoking when I was walking home and I really couldn't breathe. I got lightheaded and almost passed out. I put out my cigarette and since then I think I've only smoked once. I'm trying to find something to occupy myself anytime I even think about smoking, so I'm hoping that within the next couple of months I'll be completely nicotine free.
  • geraldaltman
    geraldaltman Posts: 1,739 Member
    edited October 2019
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    Make that experience with your diaphram and how you felt when lit up afterward your driving force, your fuel to stop. It will be your's and your's only. You will be amazed how far it can take you if you let it! And then it just won't matter what other people advise you. When I finally quit nearly ten years ago, my driving force was quite simply rage, inward rage! I got so angry at myself because in my next to last attempt I planned, I prepared for a week and on my quit day...I was smoking within hours! The other fuel you can use is when you quit and nail it down, you will then never, ever again have to hear or listen to anyone ever again talk to you about smoking! Set some kind of future modest reward goal. For me, it was a baseball jersey of my favorite team. After about three months, I saw that because of the money NOT spent on smokes, I could afford that shirt and bought it.
    If you are using MFP I can assume then you are altering food choices to meet calorie goals and exercising. So, maybe using food (wisely chosen of course) might not be so bad an idea for urges. Ten years ago, MFB either didn't exist or I wasn't aware of it so I didn't have that benefit.
    Finally, know these things: Anything you ate, drank or did while you smoked is COMPLETELY doable as an ex-smoker. I still drink coffee, I still enjoy cocktails, I still go to pubs once in while (I don't have to go outside or leave group if I don't want to so I can smoke) and it's all BETTER
    The so-called obstacles to quitting are MIRAGES! Don't let them fool you.
    Trust me, when you find yourself a month, three months, a year out from smoking you will become quizzically amazed, "I did that!? I smelled like that!?" Yes. Yes, we did!
    Good luck. Go for it!!
  • Italiana_xx79
    Italiana_xx79 Posts: 588 Member
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    For me personally, I used the nicotine patches. I smoked for a long time and tried many times to quit. I only used the patches for a max of a month. It really helped with the cravings so that I could break the habit. Smoking while driving and coffee was the hardest but the patch made it easy (at least for me). Then I slowly stepped down from the patch. It's been about seven years for me now. Best decision I ever made!
  • geraldaltman
    geraldaltman Posts: 1,739 Member
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    So intense was the driving forces for me that I described above that I wound not using any aids and frankly not needing them nor missing them. In time (really rather short) ignoring all the so called 'cues' to smoke became second nature. At that point there was no looking back and in January it'll ten years without even a peek; and it was all so much easier than anybody ever told me it was. Newbie quitters just have to get over the mental, emotional parts of it or just transform them to your advantage and not excuses to start smoking again.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,605 Member
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    I quit cold turkey in 1993 after smoking 2 packs a day for maybe 10 years. Actually physical addiction to nicotine (which is water soluble) is out of your of your body in 3 days, so the difficulty comes from psychological addiction. I got so sick from bronchitis that I didn't feel like smoking for 10 days so I framed it as "Why start again?". Psychological addictions are not to be discounted, though. Ask any gambler.

    My quitting strategy involved bribing myself. My smoking habit cost at the time EUR 20 a week, about the price of a new CD so at the beginning of the week I would treat myself to a new CD. The contract with myself was not to smoke until the end of the week when the little gift to myself would be paid for. This helped because most reasons for quitting only have negative reinforcement (not wanting to get lung cancer, not wanting your clothes to stink) and the bribes gave me positive reinforcement.

    After a couple of months I could increase the stakes and time period, ie new designer shoes in exchange for 3 months of not smoking. It took about a year and a half to stop thinking about cigarettes, which is when I stopped the bribes.

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