Ex-smokers! I need some advice to help me quit

I have never smoked. Sorry but I do not understand why people smoke???? it says right on the carton "may lead to lung cancer" Lung cancer kills more than an other cancer, heart attacks, and car accidents COMBINED every year!!

Why do people stuff their face knowing obesity cause so many health problems? Why do people drink alcohol when they know it has detrimental effects to your body?

Here is from a blog i posted. I have been smoke free for 3 years this March:

I thought i wold post about how I quit smoking in case anyone is entertaining the idea. I decided to quit in March 2009, before my 50th birthday. I had never been a "heavy smoker", about 1 pack or less a day, and had started smoking when I was 21. I really didn't think it would be that hard for me to quit. That March I tried to quit cold turkey the first time. Man was that ever bad.... I was literally in a lot of pain, and i made sure that everyone around me was too . So i decided to start again after 2 1/2 days. Everyone, but me, was happy. I then began to read up on it and see why it was so difficult. For starters, nicotine is like a drug, a very powerful drug! I went to whyquit.com and read alot of powerful and frightening stories. I realized that cigarettes were my crutches, my emotional support, my friends, my enemy.. in short they were everything.

I read that nicotine goes in your brain and takes a hold of you and the withdrawals are along the lines of heroin! I was starting to get mad, i was mad that I had allowed something to take ahold of me and I was determined to get rid of it. I started to tell myself that I was the one in control, and I would not let a drug of any kind be in control.

Week 1. I wrote down every cigarette, and the time. During the entire week, I would read aobut nicotine religiously, and tell myself that i would win.

Week 2. Day 1, 2 and 3, I subtracted 1 cigarette each day. I would pull out my list from the prior week, and cross of a time, and during that time i did ALOT of deep breathing. I also used straws. Day 4, 5, 6 I took out another time, so now i was minus 2 cigarettes a day, it was starting to get easier. I really wanted this and i was determined. I started to actually smell things again, and feel MUCH better.



Week 3, i subtracted another time, this time i picked a cigarette that i felt i would not be able to live without, the one after you eat! and i was able to do it. I was so proud of myself. I was down to 7 cigarettes a day!

Week 4 I subtracted 2 more times and was down to 5 cigarettes a day. During the other times, i chewed on straws, practiced the breathing,

Week 5 I subtracted another cigarette, and by day 3 of this week, i realized that i no longer needed the 4 cigarettes at all. I found that cigarettes actually stink, a fact that i did not know before.

I did not use nicorette or anything, i did it on my own. This March I am 3 years smoke free. I have never felt better in my life. I can definately tell the people that smoke, i was so SHOCKED at how it smells now.

Yes, yes.... I gained 15 pounds, i am working on that now.... but not smoking has far out"weighed" that.... and I am never looking back. If you want to quit, and you don't succeed don't give up.

The real way to quit smoking is to figure out what your "triggers" are when you smoke, and how you can avoid those triggers. If you crave a cigarette, wait 15 minutes, at the end of it, your craving should be gone, and you have just started on your way.

I started smoking when I was 10 years old, and became a regular smoker at 18 (1986) ( one pack a day ) until April 27th, 2011. I had tried to quit a few times before, but I did not really want to stop... I was just doing it because of some boyfriend I was with, or someone else.. I really wanted to give it a try this time around..

So for the first week, I just smoked when I felt I NEEDED a dose of Nicotine and only smoked that cigerette until I felt it "hit" and got relief and then put it out.. The first day I had about 7 or 8, the next day it was 6, next 5-4 and by that friday, I was done. I keep my half pack of Marlboros next to the back door where it always sat.. but now untouched...(and probably stale and gross!)

I used the E-Cigg has something to carry with me, just in case I got a craving... in which I always say..

NON SMOKERS DO NOT CRAVE CIGGERETTS!

I think (and I really think this) that the tobacco companies lie and TELL YOU its hard to quit... and its not.. basically 3 days of withdrawl, and about 10 days to break the "habit" of smoking...

I dont miss it AT ALL! I can now BREATHE and excercise like I have not in well, not since High School...

I am so glad to be RID of it, I dont smell bad anymore, I dont have to find excuses to leave the room, I can visit family without hiding it, and I dont care if I have a 8 hour flight.. or there is no smoking section... in fact the smell makes me SICK!

I just wish that anyone who wants to be through with smoking... is just that.. DONE WITH IT!!!

YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!! GO TEAM GO TEAM GO FIGHT WIN!!!! ( <---- sorry cheerleading flashback!)

PS. Also Vitamin C Drops help a great deal when you need them, and only 20 calories each

COLD TURKEY.

You have to be mentally ready, first of all. No wishy-washy about it, or you won't succeed. You have to commit to yourself that you're DONE smoking, period. Until you get to that point, you're SOL with having a chance of success. When you DO get to that point, make a plan.

I got to that point around my 30th birthday - having smoked for half my life - when I began having random heart palpitations, having to see a cardiologist and wear a holter monitor - I was told I could take a beta blocker regimen or quit smoking. As I take BCP I was also at an increased risk for stroke - and I know two women who were smokers and on the Pill who had serious strokes while in their 30s. So not wanting to leave my child a half-orphan, I made a plan to quit smoking. I knew I would not succeed around the holidays so I planned to quit at the first of January (2011). I also knew I'd want a little something to help me get over the physical withdrawal at first. So I planned to use the patch. I finished up my last pack on January 3rd 2011, wore the patch for two weeks, and have been smoke free since.

So in summary my advice is:

Be mentally ready.
Have a plan.

Good luck!!

Chantix. Smoke free 3 years on May 2. I have ABSOLUTELY no desire whatsoever ever.

Hey there,
When I started this journey I told myself I'd lose the first 14lbs and then give up smoking. Well I've now lost 40lbs and I'm still smoking. I just can't seem to kick the habit.

Any advice on things I can do to make it a little easier?

Just wean down for 2 weeks, then quit cold turkey.
Smoking is the single worse thing you can do to ruin your health as you are aware.
And it'll be the hardest addiction to break, so be ready for some painful days and nights.
I am not trying to create drama, but use vacation time of you have it, stay home and address this like one would any addiction.
Detox yourself that first week of "cold turkey" at home and punch through the pain.
And here's the miserable part.
Your hunger will BURN for a month after that first week. Just BURN!

Good luck to you, and I wish I had some little thing to say that would be the key to making this easy.
There is NOTHING.
Gird yourself for a tough fight, and no matter what, stay motivated and just KEEP PUNCHING!

I went to smoking only when I drank and then cold turkey.

I just pushed through the cravings and all.

When I put my mind to it and mean it I make it happen. So maybe try picking up a new stubborn personality :-)

Good luck!

I used Chantix to help me quit. It worked really well for me. You have to take it with a good bit of food (sandwiched in the middle of your meal) or it can make you very nauseous. Whatever you do, you have to be willing to commit to it and want to change.

I ran. I smoked for just about 10 years. The gum was an instant disaster, the patch worked...until step 1 when i was just smoking with it on. To get rid of that deafening screaming for a smoke in my head, I ran. I didn't go very far at first...I still don't go particularly far, but each time i reached a goal I began to see myself a little more as a runner than a smoker.

I think if there is any kind of physical activity you can find yourself passionate about, it could work....Running for me was the most challenging, easily accessible, and I really felt the effects of the cigarette the most.

I just quit last week. Im using an e-cig that I bought at www.aquavapor.com It really has helped me because the liquid used in them has nicotine in it, at first you can get the strong liquid and work your way down slowly. Its a whole lot easier then quitting cold turkey, but you do still have to have the determination to not pick one up and smoke it. Good luck to you and congrats for making this decision!

What saved me was a podcast (free on itunes) by WNYC's Radiolab. It is called "Help!"

To summarize you make a deal with yourself that if you ever smoke another cigarette you will __________(fill in the blank)_____________. It should be something revolting to you and and immediate, present moment punishment. For me, I vowed to cut down all my flowers, and vegetables that i was growing if i ever took another puff. You have to listen to the podcast to understand the psychology of why this works for some people... But ten years of being a hardcore smoker and trying MANY things ended when i listened to this. Completely smoke free for almost 1 year now.

First, and most importantly, you have to want it badly enough. It has to be THE most important thing to you, similar to losing weight. Second, there is no shame in using an aid. I used the patch. I smoked only less than a pack a day.
Third, try to figure out at what times you smoke most often. For me, I always took smoke breaks at work at the same time of day, smoked after every meal, and when I was driving. I also smoked out of boredom (when I quit, I ate out of boredom).
Fourth, break the habit of smoking at those habitual times. Those will be the times when the urge is the strongest & no single aid will help you through that. It is all mental.
Last, find someone to support you. Someone you can call when you have a craving you don't feel you can overcome. Someone who will be positive for you. It is best to have someone who has been through the same thing because your subconscious won't be able to tell you that person doesn't understand. One less excuse.

You seem to have at least the first & last items (the last being members here if no one else). Be strong! You can do it. The first month is the most difficult. When I quit, I had a hard time getting past week 3. Once I did, though, it got easier. One day at a time. It is an addiction. You have to treat it as such.

COLD Turkey! its the only way!
I hate to say this to you but you have to decide to quit and then quit no excuses

I quite cold turkey 13 years ago. The felt like crap the first 4-5 days. The habit of having a cigarette took longer. Getting in the car to go somewhere was the hardest for me as I always lit on up before I took off. You have to just really want it and you have to tell yourself your done.