Former smokers

i quit smoking 4 months ago with nicotine patches. hardest was the first 5 days. but i was determined to quit so stuck it out. i also quit drinking coffee as for me they went hand in hand - i had a smoke when i drank a cuppa. i put on 10lbs in the first month of quitting hence why im here lol.

16 weeks later and still determined to stay off the cigarettes, and ive lost 28lb!! so big success to me all round!!

6 yrs ago..I found out I was pregnant and never picked another one up. I think after listening to everyones story I find that everyone had "their reason" it gave them the motivation to stick with it.... So just take a good look at yourself and find your reason....If your looking to quit you can do it

I celebrated my 1 year smoke free on the 03 July 2012 !

This is my fiance's dads birthday, we all went out for a meal and then at around 5:30 I smoke my last one and honestly never looked back, not one puff !

I did it cold turkey, its right what they say you have to want to quit for you and your reasons and not rely heavily on other people or aids they do help but you need to put most of the work in to gain the benefit !

I believe anyone can quit, its got to be the right time and you must be 100% sure you wont talk yourself out of it and for the record "one wont hurt" its all lies haha now thinking if I had 1 whilst trying to quit i would have been doomed haha

to the other guy who read Allen Carrs Easy Way book:

Me too.

read his book and quit overnight. 2 and a half years for me

Pregnancy....lol...no seriously...I got preggo n quit....when I smoked one after 9 months it literally made me sick.

3-4 weeks on the patch, C25K running program and a strong desire to rid myself once and for all of the 'smokers cough' that was plaguing me!

I will be 6 months smoke-free on July 29th,.

EDIT: Regarding Chantix...proceed with caution. It works great for some people, but others have HORRIBLE psychotic dreams (myself included).

Ok here is my story. I am 31 years old, smoked since I was 14 or 15. The last 10 years or so, I smoked ALOT. When I say alot, I mean I had to have one as soon as I woke up, 2 or 3 after every meal, and one right before bed....heck I even smoked while taking a bubble bath! And not to mention when I worked, I got a 15 min break in the am and pm and during that 15 mins I would smoke THREE!! No lie.....

So, last year in April, I lost my Mom...she was 58 years old, heavy smoker and overweight. She died very unexpectedly because she seemed to be overall in good health...she went into the hospital with strep pneumonia and ended up in ICU the next day and developed ARDS which is Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome....not necessarily because she smoked but her pulmonologist said it certainly didn't help. BUT, that's not the real big reason why I quit (although it should've been). 2 weeks from the day I buried her, I found out I was pregnant. First time ever and had been trying for several years...total shock! 3 days later my husband and I put them down COLD TURKEY!!! AND to make the story even better and to tell you that it CAN BE DONE, we were both over the road truck drivers...he slept while I drove and I slept while he drove so obviously the only thing we could do while driving was smoke, listen to the radio, eat, or talk on the phone....it actually was not near as hard as I thought it would be and now my daughter just turned 6 months old on July 10th, I still have not had a cigarette since May 20th of 2011. One of the best things I HAVE EVER DONE!!! It can be done, I will tell you!

Oh yea and we tried the electronic cigarettes in the stores and didn't like them at all...just FYI.

Good luck, I hope you are considering quitting and that is your reasoning for this post!!!

Feel free to add me if you'd like!!

Glad to read these stories. Lots of inspiration and encouragement for me! I'm still trying to quit smoking. Right now I'm taking an herb called Lobelia, which works on the nicotine receptors. It has some side effects, but I definitely see a reduction in cravings. I've done the patch and wellbutrin, but both gave me extreme anxiety. I have depression so can't use Chantix I'm probably going to up my dose of Lobelia as my body gets more used to it, stay on it for a week or so, and then start reducing quickly once I disassociate myself from the physical habit. We'll see how it goes...

Quit 2+ years ago now!

Cold turkey but I prepared for it , physically and mentally beforehand. I choose a "quit date" and started cutting down before that date. First I stopped smoking in my ( new) car because I didn't want my new ride to stink!:) Then I stopped smoking in my living room and removed all the ashtrays in the house except in my computer room, which by then was the only room I smoked in. I bought a couple of bags of hard sugarless candies for something to appease the oral fixation. If you always smoke after a meal, brush your teeth right away after eating...that fresh, minty mouth feeling helps you not want to smoke. I enlisted a support group of friends and family to cheer me on...I have been quit for five months now.

I quit 10-6-2011 and haven't smoked since. I started off by simply NOT smoking for the DAY, then I challenged myself to NOT smoke another DAY, and then a WEEK and so on and so on. I never comitted to quiting completely, I knew that would NEVER work I smoked nearly 30 years. I just QUIT for the day, then the next day and then the next...I always told myself I can smoke anytime I want, but for right now I do not want too do it and I want to see how long I can go. It's been 9 months and I haven't had one yet and at this point I know I never will.

One more tip...cravings only last 3 minutes, so if you can occupy yourself for 3 minutes you'll beat it one craving at a time.

My theory was if I don't really really try now...when will I? When will you?

Good luck! Mind over matter...the benefits are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!

I quit in May, after making a decision to be smoke free by my 25th birthday. I didn't use anything to help me quit, just prepared myself mentally over a month before my birthday, and slowly cutting down my intake.

i'v been smoking since i was 9years old i think :P then kept smoking alot when i grew up i smoked like 2 or 3 packs a day then when i became like 18-20 i said to myself i should stop smoking because in a way im killing myself and that is wrong in my religion " trying to be religous " and that i harm everyone around me also and i wanted to make my parents happy so i prayed to stop then slept then i started my day with out smoking and it's been a happy 2-3years with out smoking or having the hunger to smoke " note that all the places i go all the people around smoke and they tryed to make me smoke "

Quit smoking 15th Aug 2010, after 53 years, piled on weight mainly due to comfort eating , hence here, joined MFP Feb 2012,

I still get craving now and again, but my life is more active than it ever was, can walk 2miles in 1 hour with no adverse effects, although I do have to use an handi - haler in the mornings.

One of the best advantages from not smoking is my wife and I used to say, "Can we afford to go anywhere this month for a short break?"

Now I say "Where do you want to go this month for a short break?"

To those of you thinking of giving up, good luck, to those of you in difficulty try try again, and those of you like me that are happy congratulations.

May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.

:drinker:

cold turkey a year ago - gotta have something to do with my hands now lol

Easy pay the money your saving into the bank.... lol good luck:drinker: