How to put down that last cigarette!

13

Replies

  • jaimrlx
    jaimrlx Posts: 426 Member
    ^^ Electric Cigs are the bomb. I end up wanting more when I tell myself that I have to quit.. so I just tried to subconsicously cut down. Your addiction might be stronger, so I think it's hard for us to gauge what will work. Seriously try the electric cigs though.. :)
  • munkey418
    munkey418 Posts: 139
    I find I want them less after running :| unless i almost die during the run then i NEED one but hey Ive cut down from 10/day to 3 in 1 month and im pretty proud ^_^ gonna cut down to 1/day and just be happy with that until the day comes I forget it and just dont pick it back up. Maybe find something that relaxes you just as much if not more to replace it with ^_^
  • charelg
    charelg Posts: 599 Member
    I was a pretty heavy smoker, especially when I was stressed. I traded cigarettes for exercise. Once I started getting in better shape, and losing weight, I just didn't want to smoke. I have on a few occasions this year had some smoked when sociallly drinking, but then I'm over it. I think you just have to be ready and find another activity. I breathe much better, can run now, and not spending all thAt money. Good luck! Ps ChanTix made me a little nuts too!
  • Cold_Steel
    Cold_Steel Posts: 897 Member
    I started to get sick from smoking. When I was stressed I would smoke 2 packs a day. I quit smoking and went on the patch... then I got stressed and the doc said I could smoke up to 5 cigs with the patch. I did and got sick. Now, its been 8 months and I am smoke free :) You just have to be ready. I could have gone back but the urge to quit has to override your smoking. I miss it, I can't lie but it is the best choice health wise!

    even after 3 years i still feel like i want one :( i just remember why i quit in the first place)

    See!!! That's scary as hell.

    A brownie would be awesome right now... A triple chocolate fudge brownie with rocky road ice cream carmel and chocolate drizzle over the top...

    Yeah I want that all the time

    Is it that big of a deal that I don't have it ... no

    If you can overcome bad eating you can overcome smoking

    You don't need to smoke to live you need food to survive- controlling something your body needs is much harder..

    You just have it in your head that it is harder than it really is.

    It is simple. Stop buying the damned things and you can't smoke them or at least you will smoke a lot less if you get them from some one else tell them you are being checked for cancer, if they continue to offer you cigarettes they are not your friends.

    Strange suggestions I know...
  • Ulfgard
    Ulfgard Posts: 49 Member
    Think I started smoking around the age of 15 quit around 27. I was an extremely heavy smoker smoked for 10+ years and mostly a 2pack a day habit. Add alcohol to the mix I would have no idea what the count went to.
    I used suckers/lolipops to get myself addicted to something else, then started sugar free gum. It also helped my wife didnt smoke and I didnt smoke in the house. I ended up going from 180-210lbs or so after I quit. The pneumonia/bronchitis I was chronically getting helped cure me also.
  • BronnersHarris
    BronnersHarris Posts: 247 Member
    If you're finding this site helpful in losing weight you may find quitnet.com helpful for quitting smoking. Has a forum for questions, a chat room for instant replies and it's very motivating. It's nice knowing others are in the same situation.

    Last time I quit which was 18 months ago I used patches only for a couple of days (kept making me really dizzy and faint) and then went cold turkey.

    I used patches. I have found making my lifestyle healthier means I'm less likely to want to smoke. I know it would really effect my exercise etc.
  • Aspynmom
    Aspynmom Posts: 166 Member
    I smoked for 20 years off and on. I quit last November using an Ego-C e-cig, and I haven't had a cigarette since. It works for me because vaping still has the same physical movements as smoking, but without all of the smoke and tar. I'm already down to very low nicotine juice, and I'll probably go with zero stuff soon.

    The other good thing about it is that it won't interfere with you losing weight.

    My husband and I quit using the Ego e-cig on 01 January! I always knew I SHOULD quit for my health, but my fear of weight gain kept me from giving anything but half-hearted attempts. Did the patch, Zyban, lozenges, you name it. Then we had an e-cig shop open up here and decided to check it out. I thought it would be the same old e-cig they sell in the mall kiosk crap....not so! We were in that shop for about 2 hours puffing on every flavor imaginable until we found some we liked. Bought them and haven't looked back....it takes care of the nicotine (which, by itself, does not kill you) and the hand-to-mouth stimulus. We started at 18 mg and are down to 12 mg. I breathe so much better and I don't smell! Heck, I vape in my office at work...lol!!! It's been the LEAST TRAUMATIC way I've ever quit, and this time its going to stick! Do some googling on the subject and you'll see how much is out there!
  • mamaclose
    mamaclose Posts: 179 Member
    I smoked on and off since about age 14. Quit each time I got pregnant, then picked up smoking again when my babies were 3-6 mos. I finally quit for good when I ended up hospitalized with pneumonia in 2010. (My date is November 2, 2010, funny how we all seem to remember our last cigarettes!). I am so glad I quit, I know I've saved a ton of money and my kids are healthier and happier for it.

    My husband quit for the last time on January 1, 2012. (He had quit for 7 years after we had our first child and then started back up at a wedding.) This time he quit as a Christmas gift to our oldest daughter. He was miserable for most of January and still says he misses smoking and craves a cigarette every once in a while.

    If you really WANT to quit, you will find a way to do it.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,021 Member
    edit
  • mandi2r
    mandi2r Posts: 228 Member
    When I was younger (as a young teenager) I ended up in bad situation. And smoking was one of the things I picked up to be part of the group.
    My mother comfronted me, I took out my pack of cigs, tossed them into a barrel and haven't smoked since.

    But now I'm trying to help and convince my mom to quit.
    What I'm suggested for her is, every time she chooses not to buy a pack, put that money into a seperate account, watch it grow, and then go out and buy something really nice.
    She has a her own new car! (Before she always bought used)
  • mommajolynn
    mommajolynn Posts: 353 Member
    I'd quit 4 times in the past, once for 4 years but I always started back up again. the last time (and I do mean the LAST time) I tried the lozenges. They made me sick to my stomach so I ended up quitting cold turkey. i just kept telling myself if the cravings got too bad I'd use another lozenge (which I didn't want to do, b/c they made me nauseous). That was 6 years ago now, and now I'm the obnoxious ex smoker who can't be around it. the smell makes me gag!

    I will say I think it too much to try to lose weight and to quit smoking at the same time. I would probably concentrate on the smoking and then start the weightloss/journey to health in about 6 months when you're completely over the lack of nicotine. But, hey, I do know people that have done both and lived :laugh:

    The lozenge sounds like a good idea....but as far as stopping on the weight loss journey not a chance in hell LOL...I'm dedicated completely to getting this weight off of me...I cannot stand myself anymore! I'm just going to try and quit during the journey. I'm trying to tell myself the pack I have now is my last and hoping it'll stick like I need to stand strong against my own urges.

    I'm going to warn you since no one else has mentioned it. Quitting smoking MAY make you actually gain weight. So I think you really should quit the smoking first. That what I did. I worked on quitting slowly and then in May I decided that I was ready to start on my weight loss. I think the stress of trying to loose the weight plus the stress of quitting will just cause more weight gain. Stress is a known factor in weight gain sweetie. The way I did it was I told myself that I can go 12 hours.. then 24.. than 2 days.. than a week and now I've been cigarette free for 2 months. I don't have cravings so much anymore but occasionally I will see someone smoking and sigh a bit. But I keep strong for my son and my will power
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    My husband is in the last stage of Emphysema. It is horrible watching someone litteraly suffocate to a slow death. He is still smoking. I wish I knew the answer. Good luck.:flowerforyou:
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    I quit a while ago after 20 years of solid smoking.

    I read Allan Carr's "Easy Way" book, I respond well to logic and not 'it will kill you' scare stories (which I instantly rebel against).

    That book first told me why I THOUGHT I needed to do it then debunked everything, by the end I realised I was another sucker to Big Tobacco and I quit cold turkey. No patches, no eCigs, just gone.

    I can't even tell you how long ago it was ... a year? 18 months? Because I don't identify myself as ever being a smoker now.

    How the #@$% it isn't more widely known is frankly beyond me ...
  • Onaughmae
    Onaughmae Posts: 873 Member
    It was tough. The best way for me to quit was to just do it. Like ripping off a bandaid...quick. I opened the last pack of smokes out of the last carton I bought and told myself enjoy these...they are the last ones you will buy. Even when I smoked that last one I enjoyed every bit of it. I bought some sugar free toffee candies and kept them with me all the time. I was constantly putting one in my mouth to help with that oral craving. It helps also to get up and brush your teeth when you have that urge to smoke. It wasnt easy...and I spent about 2 weeks wanting to stab everyone I talked to in the eye...but I survived. So did all my friends and family :) I apologized to them all up front and told them if I was being a hag to just ignore me and gently let me know to reign it in a bit. You can do this!
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    My husband is in the last stage of Emphysema. It is horrible watching someone litteraly suffocate to a slow death. He is still smoking. I wish I knew the answer. Good luck.:flowerforyou:

    I watched my Dad go the same way, from fit to dead in 6 months, I am sincerely sorry you are going through it.

    The perverse thing is, I started smoking after I witnessed it ... strange decisions we all make sometimes ...
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    My husband is in the last stage of Emphysema. It is horrible watching someone litteraly suffocate to a slow death. He is still smoking. I wish I knew the answer. Good luck.:flowerforyou:

    I watched my Dad go the same way, from fit to dead in 6 months, I am sincerely sorry you are going through it.

    The perverse thing is, I started smoking after I witnessed it ... strange decisions we all make sometimes ...

    We watched his Father die the same way and I took care of his mother who died from lung cancer.
  • trasista4
    trasista4 Posts: 36 Member
    so much to say about this! I pray it helps. First, set a quit date and get a coffee can with a lid. Second, put every cigerette you smoke between now and then into the can. (make sure you put an inch of water in the can first). Once the quit date comes, get into the habit of going to the can (I kept mine in the refrigerator) and smell it and think about what you have been doing to your lungs, heart and overall body appearance. Change your habits, I had coffee in the shower with one of those cups with a lid. (You can't smoke in the shower,lol) When I craved a cigerette I would suck on a sugarfree hard piece of cinnomon candy, Bad news is I gained 60 pounds, but with hard work and determination always struggling to keep it off YOU CAN DO THIS! The doctor said it's better to gain the weight then put the nicotine and other 2001 chemicals into your body. (these days there are more chemicals then ever added) Trust me..... you can do this! I am pulling for you. You're worth it and so is your family. You want to live to fight not fight to live. God's many Blessings. YOU GOT THIS!
  • khubbard1207
    khubbard1207 Posts: 19 Member
    Can you perhaps smoke a ton so it becomes repulsive? That always seems to work with some types of alcohol? Just a thought from an ignorant non smoker. :)


    That seems like it would work but you can get nicotine poisoning. When I started smoking I would have one right before bed, go throw up, then go to bed. Its a wonder I wanted to smoke at all, but it just latches on to you.
  • AlexanderK1994
    AlexanderK1994 Posts: 243 Member
    I stopped for a couple of years then as college started, I started back up. I'm trying to quit for my partner and have been telling myself 'this is my last pack of straights/tobacco' so many times... *sigh* I dunno ._. But I smoke like 1-4/day. And also, I do have a small nicotine tolerance...
  • Hi Ayirela - I recently quit smoking on 5/15/2012. I was about a pack a day smoker for about 7 years or so. I woke up one morning and decided to make some life changes. Quitting smoking was at the top of my list. My mother-in-law had mailed me several packs of the nicotine packages and they had been laying around for several months now. Without thinking about it, I woke up one morning and slapped a patch on. Knowing that I would get extremely sick if I smoked with the patch on kept me from grabbing a cig throughout the day. The first day was hard i'll admit but it got easier. The first thing I did every morning when I opened my eyes was put on a patch - again, I felt as though what really helped me get through it was knowing I would get sick if I smoked with the patch on which is why I would put it on soo early in the morning. After several days, I got the hang of not smoking - I liked the feeling of not smoking so that kept me going. One day after about 3 weeks, I forgot to wear the patch. I thought for sure I was going to have a rough day - I DIDNT. The cravings were gone and I stopped wearing the patch. It has now been 6 weeks and I am smoke free and patch free although I do recommend doing the entire patch program for the heavy smokers or for anybody really. I just felt I could do without the darn irritating patch and I did. Along with quitting smoking, I started hitting the gym daily the same week I quit. This gave me motivation that I could do anything and it kept me going. It also prevented me from gaining weight from quitting smoking. The 2 life changes I made on the week of 5/14/12 have made me a better stronger person. If you need any advice or words of encouragement, please feel free to message me. Good luck with quitting - YOU CAN DO IT.
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    My husband is in the last stage of Emphysema. It is horrible watching someone litteraly suffocate to a slow death. He is still smoking. I wish I knew the answer. Good luck.:flowerforyou:

    I watched my Dad go the same way, from fit to dead in 6 months, I am sincerely sorry you are going through it.

    The perverse thing is, I started smoking after I witnessed it ... strange decisions we all make sometimes ...

    We watched his Father die the same way and I took care of his mother who died from lung cancer.

    It is incredible what we do to ourselves ... I mean, I understand why I thought I needed to do it at the time and I would defend my position like most smokers would but looking back it was madness ... I didn't even stop due to health concerns, I just hated being addicted to something, being a slave ...

    (edit) I have just realised my avatar is smoking a pipe ... Ah the irony :)
  • fsmalley
    fsmalley Posts: 62 Member
    Can you perhaps smoke a ton so it becomes repulsive? That always seems to work with some types of alcohol? Just a thought from an ignorant non smoker. :)

    An we could call this the "Tequila" cessation method??
  • PaveGurl
    PaveGurl Posts: 244 Member
    The only thing that worked for me was deciding that this was ONE thing in my crazy mixed-up life over which I have control - one day, I just got REALLY annoyed that I was the pawn of this major company, and its product was keeping me a slave!

    i started really thinking about "why do i want this cigarette? What will it add to this situation? Is there another option I can engage to get through this moment?"

    And it full-on sucked out loud for about two weeks. In the end, though, it's a drug, and I was tired of being an addict. I was tired of structuring my social life around where I could smoke. When I think now about having a cigarette, I remember how hard and painful it was to quit and how patient my partner was - and I don't want to put him through that again - so I don't give in.

    (I was a pack-and-a-half a day smoker for 23 years. I quite 14 Jan 2010 and haven't regretted it for a moment.)
  • aspry1957
    aspry1957 Posts: 1
    LAST TIME I SMOKED CIGARETTES WERE 65 CENTS A PACK!!
    ARE YOU READY?????????
    First, spend a week watching people smoke, save a weeks worth of cigarette ashes in a jar, brush your teeth often, put the cigarettes in 1 place and the lighter in another to have to go two locations to have your cigarette. Make yourself as aware of your habit. THEN,
    Go buy 1 pack of YOUR BRAND of cigarettes.
    Buy 1 jar of any large capsule product you can re-open and refill. Like gelatin capsules for your nails.
    Or explain what you are doing to a sympathetic pharmacist.
    Empty capsules. If full.
    Open your cigarettes on a tray break open the cigarettes so you can get to the tabacco. Carefully cram both ends of tabacco in each capsule till over flowing. Use the eraser end of a pencil to push the tabacco deeper into the capsule. (If you can't get a pencil eraser into the capsule, the capsule is too small). Now with both ends over-flowing with tobacco, carefully combine them to close the capsule. There are air pockets between the tobacco pieces and when you combine them hold 1 end still and slightly turn twist the other end like your rolling it between your fingers. The two over-flowing ends will combine because of air pockets between the tobacco. Trim off any loose pieces of tobacco after you combine them sticking out of the capsule.
    Make up at least 20 capsules or use the entire tobacco out of the pack you bought. When I quit I got up a 7 needed a cigarette by 7:05 swollowed 1 capsule by 7:10. The craving was history. Now your not going to do this for more then a week. It took 4 days for me. I took 9 the 1rst day 5 the 2nd day & 4 the 3rd & 4th day. Use them ONLY when you are ready to light up. Push yourself until you can't stand it time wise between capsules.
    This is a crutch to get you off the tobacco and wean it out of your system.
    It was unbelievable how well this worked.
    Bad for you? Yes if you do this more then 7 days. ( I wouldn't do it for anyone who has stomach problems like an ulcer). But unlike the patches, gums, and other products that the nicotine level is too high or not high enough, this is dead on because it comes from the level in your cigarettes. But the long term effects of smoking are far worse then doing this for 1 week.
    This will get the nicotine out of your system. You then need to address the psychological addiction of having something between your fingers and your mental addiction tithe cigarettes.
    Every time I thought of going back to smoking, I remembered doing this and didn't want to do it again so I NEVER PICKED THE CIGARETTS BACK UP!!!!
    I quit in the 80's!!!
    I know it sounds crazy but it seriously worked for me!
    Best of Luck!!
    Amy S.
  • Nancy_AZ60
    Nancy_AZ60 Posts: 99 Member
    Maybe you could Volunteer with a Respiratory therapists or at a hospital in that department. This would be a good visual turn off towards Cigarettes, My mom has COPD.. it is not pretty and quite frightening when she has her spells when she cannot breath.
  • Discoveri
    Discoveri Posts: 435 Member
    I have been planning to quit smoking this friday (tomorrow) but this thread convinced me to get serious about it. I just went to CVS and picked up their lozenges so I am completely prepared for tomorrow. Thanks for all of the ideas. I am a pack a day smoker and have been smoking for over 11 years. I need to have the willpower to quit for good this time.
  • Esther50
    Esther50 Posts: 252
    My life insurance coat me $100 more (the premium) a month. That was enough to make me quit. Just stop, you don't love it. You love yourself.
  • PaveGurl
    PaveGurl Posts: 244 Member
    A pretty stunning infographic is on Yahoo today:

    http://finance.yahoo.com/photos/health-and-economic-consequences-of-smoking-slideshow/-photo-1340891145.html

    I did NOT know some of those stats. YOWZA.
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,690 Member
    It sucks but cold turkey is literally the best way to do it, period. I've quit a hundred times too. I am sticking to it this time because I hate the way it smells, tastes, feels, everything about it. Not to mention its so damned expensive.


    The commercials on tv really scare me with the tips from former smokers. YUCK.
  • Pedal_Pusher
    Pedal_Pusher Posts: 1,166 Member
    Never took a puff of anything, I'm no help here. Keep on keepin' on..........