Smoking - how did you quit?

[polihood]

I tried and tried and tried. Failed and failed and failed.

So last year I tried the e-cigs. Didn't do it. And a new study confirms they don't help. I really felt they were the quitting smoker's panacea, but alas, I am back on the weed.


Study finds E-cigarettes don’t help smokers quit

So, how did you defeat smoking, or are you struggling like me?

[UncleYoder]

1. Took a helicopter ride to OSU Medical Center

had two stents installed. Never looked back.

Don't recomend it.

[polihood]

2. That's one way N/T

[CurtEastPoint]

3. Picked a date, got the patch, used it for six weeks, kept my mouth

occupied w/Red Hot tiny candies and cinnamon toothpicks.
Four months later, still smoke-free and not having urges.

Best to you!

[Boom Sound 416]

21. Ditto

Save for the patch. I like the gum

[dr.strangelove]

4. Good luck

I tried a few times and failed as well. Don't give up. Its hard for many people. But you can do it if you really want to.

I finally stopped when my wife and I decided to quit together. It helped a lot having a partner quitting with me. We went on the patch. We have been smoke free in our house for about 10 years now.

[Callmecrazy]

27. ^^This is how I did it^^

My kid sister and I set a quit date. I got a 30 day supply of patches from the VA and used them. I had my urges but I identified my triggers (start driving my car or finish a meal) and worked through them. The patches helped with the cravings and the e-cigs helped with the oral fixation and doing something with my hands. I've also been keeping an eye on what I eat and have actually lost weight during the past 39 days. I'll never smoke tobacco again.

The wacky tobacky, on the other hand, is for another thread.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. Spent two days in the hospital with a respiratory infection after calling and ambulance

because I couldn't breath. When I got out I figured I had a two day head start on quitting. Got rid of the cigs I had at the house and never picked up another one. I had to do something to keep my hands busy, so I took up knitting. That kept me from just reaching over to light one up without thinking and kept my mind busy, too. That was over 3 years ago and I had been a pack a day smoker for over 40 years.

[denverbill]

6. A combination of the patch and online support.

I didn't do the patches as per the package though. I used them for a 3-4 weeks and got off of them pretty much after that.

It took me a long time to quit, but I'm over 10 years without now. Keys for me were planning in advance and using a support website. A couple weeks before I started reading posts and suggestions there and talking with other smokers. You need to plan in advance what you are going to do when the urges hit, smoke breaks at work, stressful situations, that first time in a bar, etc. For me the hard part was the psychological part. Nicotine was a bit tough at first, but the patches helped with that. Pick a quit date a couple weeks away and plan your week so you avoid going to wherever you usually buy your cigs, so you don't give in on a whim. Reward your successes somehow. And whenever you think about smoking, remember the rich assholes running the tobacco companies and lobbying Republicans to keep smoking unregulated. You know none of those guys smoke but they have no problem selling you an addictive, deadly drug.

[Glorfindel]

7. After years of struggling to quit and using the one-step-at-a-time filter/holders

I got a prescription for the patches when they first came out. Put on a patch and never smoked again. That's been more than 20 years. The only thing I miss is how cool I looked with the "jaunty" cigarette holders. You can do it! I was a two-pack-a-day smoker for 30(ish) years.

[Earth_First]

8. Chantix + E-cigarette

A combination of two evils according to DemocraticUnderground.

Big Pharma + E-cigarette.

Whatever.

I found it to be a successful, winning combination.

I used the E-cigarette heavily for the first week, and rapidly came off using it by the end of week two with no issues.

The little side-effects that I had due to the Chantix were hardly worth mentioning. Extremely vivid, lucid dreaming and upset stomach from not eating when I took my dose were the only side effects I encountered. I was fortunate, however. Some of the side effects reported in 50% of cases are worth taking seriously into account.

Worked extremely well in my circumstance.

[MissMillie]

26. I took Chantix for 4 days

and then spent a week in bed crying my eyes out.

[sharp_stick]

9. I used the patch

many times. I found it worked better than the gum which I also tried a few times.

Every time I quit I was convinced I could do it. When I started I always began with a lot of enthusiasm and I failed every time but one. Each time I learned of a new trigger or something that would put me back on the weed and the next time I tried to figure out a way to avoid or ignore the trigger.

This was things like.
Going out to a bar with friends after work, back when you could smoke in a bar.
Quitting smoking three weeks before I was supposed to take a bunch of final exams. Yeah I know, not my brightest moment.
Quitting right when I knew it was going to be a hectic time in the near future.

Sometimes I'd quit for a day, three days, a couple of weeks or a month.

I also learned that for me the hardest times fell on the threes and that seems to be pretty common. Big cravings, hard to beat, at 3 days, 3 weeks and 3 months.

Finally I went at it again, with the patch every time, and I had my list of triggers and methods to avoid cravings (candy, gum, walking). I started to notice that every craving was getting shorter and the time between them was getting longer, I used that as a crutch and started to mentally count the number I was having. Eventually I stopped counting and realized that I wasn't smoking anymore.

I used the patch for quite a bit longer than the instructions said, mostly as another crutch because I was afraid I'd start up again. But after a long time on the smallest one I pulled it off and I was quit. That was 15 years ago now.

My biggest pieces of advice are:
Don't stop quitting and every time you quit do it knowing that this is the time you're going to do it!
Chuck out the smokes, wash the ashtrays and put them away, don't leave yourself an easy option. If you're going to fail, make yourself drive to the store to buy a pack of smokes. More than once I changed my mind in the car on the way to the convenience store to grab "just one pack".
Also, if you can predict a three or four month relatively peaceful time in your life it might help as well.

If I can do it, anybody can, all that you need to do is not give up trying.

Congratulations on being a step closer after that last try.

[UglyGreed]

10. The way I quit

I started smoking light cigarettes like Marlboro lights and then Merit ultra lights. Then I switched to Indian brand light cigarettes due to the fact they did not have the other addictive additives that brand cigarettes had. After a couples of months I stopped cold turkey on my daughter's fourth birthday 10 years ago and never looked back. Good luck and wish you the best. Nothing like waking up in the morning and not hacking up half a lung.

[Wounded Bear]

11. Tonsilitis...

No shit, that's what triggered my last-successful-quitting strategy. I generally don't recommend nicotine replacement strategies; IMHO it's like having an alcoholic take one drink a day. I suppose it works for some, and god bless if it does, but it didn't work for me.

Back to my story. I'd tried to quit twice, and did OK for a couple of weeks. This was back in the Carter administration, so there was no patch, nor any drugs or gum. People were pretty much on their own. The first time I failed I thought that well, hey, I could smoke a pipe. That's something that isn't as 'convenient' as cigarettes, so I'll be constrained by that. Nope. Back on the cigs in less than a month of that. The second time, it was cigars. Nobody can smoke that many cigars, right? Guess again. I was up to the 'many' level on cigars and decided if I was going to smoke, that might be the worst delivery mechanism, as they were already posting studies on the dangers of tobacco in the mouth through cigars, dips, and chews.

So the successful try came on Thanksgiving weekend in the late 70's, I forget the exact year. I contracted tonsilitis, something that I'd struggled with all my life. I was always getting sore throats and had several bouts with the Big T since I was a kid. Was feeling somewhat better by Sunday. Got up to go back to work on Monday, looked down at that pack of cigs on the nightstand, thought about if for about three seconds and dropped them in the waste basket.

I haven't looked back. I've had scattered cravings, and I think I might have taken like one puff from someone's cig along the way somewhere, but I've never regretted quitting, TBS.

Best of luck to anyone trying to drop that evil habit.

[warrior1]

12. I took my last drag and a cig, and put it out

Haven't touch it since. Cold turkey. Didn't crave it at all.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. Anger at cig companies worked for me

About the time they came out and admitted they had been adding nicotine to cigs to keep people hooked,
back in '98, that really pissed me off.

In '98 I decided I seriously wanted to be a non-smoker. I let that idea/image float around in my mind for a few months before doing anything.
And there was the pressure of more and more smoke free environments, it was getting to be a hassle to smoke at work.
I knew if I could detox past day 6, I could make it, so took a week off work, and stopped smoking.
Day 4 was the hardest, but I also work the 12 Steps for other reasons, and it worked with cravings.

Occasional cravings after that came and went, less and less over time,
I didn't resist them, but noticed them as they showed up and they just floated away.
My craving mantra: " I want a cigarette, but I choose not to have one now"

It works.. been nicotine free since April 1998.

[Auggie]

14. ^^ THIS ^^

The anger thing. During my strongest withdrawal symptoms I allowed my anger to be unleashed. It must have been frightening for anyone in shouting distance. I've been off tobacco for 11.5 years.

dixiegrrrrl:

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. "It works if you work it"

Plus...think of all the money we have saved!

[Auggie]

16. Yes -- the money! Close to $10,000 by now!

Back at 'ya

[Scruffy Rumbler]

17. Couldn't afford American Spirits

any more. Switched to cheapest brand. They tasted like shit, made me constantly sick. Decided I would finish my last pack. Smoked my last one before going to bed and told myself I would wake up a non-smoker. That was one year ago March 16th. Have not had one since. Still have cravings.... unexpected triggers....

When cravings hit, I acknowledged them with a pause, taking 10 slow deep breaths. This allowes me to focus and get by the craving. It was also a great affirmation. I could feel my lungs clearing as it got easier to take deeper and deeper breathes.

This is my third time quitting for over a year. My last two times were for about three years of non smoking before starting again. This time it is for good! I help care for my mother and she needs multiple breathing treatments a day and oxygen at night to combat the damage smoking has done to her lungs. 50 years old here and want the next 25 to be easy breathing!

Good luck! You can do it! When you are ready!

[Aristus]

18. I never started.

Easy-peasy...

[Sweet Freedom]

19. Picked a date

and changed my smoking routine. I also quit drinking because those two habits went together for me. When I was down to 5 cigs a day, I started changing brands. I started at Marlboro 100s and ended at Benson & Hedges Menthol Lights 100s , which at that point, wasn't even like smoking. It was so gross, I didn't want to do it anymore and quit on the date I had set.

This summer, it will be 8 years. I don't miss it at all.

Good luck!

[Demoiselle]

20. Got pregnant. Stopped for two..

It isn't right for everyone.

[hobbit709]

22. Stopped one day and never went back.

Never give in no matter how strong the urge.

[DebJ]

23. Has anyone tried the lozenges?

[fizzgig]

24. i'm on day 11 of the vapor pen

we're using one of the highest doses of nicotine right now, but we'll gradually step down. i already have no desire to go back to the cigs.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

25. When it finally worked, here's what I did:

Cold turkey, but here's what I did differently from all the other times I'd tried--

1) Instead of waiting for the weekend when 'things were calmer,' I started on a Tuesday and waded right into the workweek. I apologized to a couple people ahead of time. When I would do it on the weekend (even a long weekend) I'd be good till Monday morning and then bail out, convincing myself that I couldn't keep it together with all the demands at work. So I figured Start at work and by the weekend I'd have the 3 or 4 days under my belt you need to detox. My work friends forgave me and I didn't actually kill anybody. Also, you'd be surprised how people at work will rally around you if they know you're quitting.

2) I bought, had at the ready, but never used the patch and the gum. The idea was that when I tried the gum before and I bailed, I went back to smoking. This time if I bailed on cold turkey my initial fallback position was gum and/or patch.

[raccoon]

28. Cold turkey. Me and my then boyfriend quit together, which helped a lot.

Although he was not as addicted as I was.

[truebrit71]

29. Cold turkey - on the millionth attempt...

....it worked...will be 4 years this July..

[Skittles]

30. every time I failed I made note of what did it, what made me start again

and addressed the issue before my next attempt - you will lose battles but you can always win the war

[graywarrior]

31. Smoked three packs in one night til I got sick on them

Quit the next day and never went back--that was 1977.

[femmocrat]

32. Pregnancy. Doesn't work for everyone, though!

[LiberalEsto]

33. Talked myself into believing they gave me splitting headaches and made me sick to my stomach

and quit cold turkey. After that, every time I was near a lit cigarette, I imagined feeling nauseous, with a pounding headache. That was in 1974.

[madamesilverspurs]

34. Tapered down.

Then got a blood clot in the lung, hemorraged on the blood thinners and wound up unconscious and in ICU for eleven days. Woke up with hands and legs that didn't work. By the time I got out of the rehab facility I'd been in the hospital for a month, and had to have continuing therapies in the home. The only upside is that I was unavailable for the several days of craving that follow quitting.

If you can find a better way of quitting, please do so. Trust me, you don't want to do it the way I did. (That was 2001, by the way.)

GOOD LUCK!

[applegrove]

35. I did Champix/Chantix. Then once I was off of that pill with a three month quit under my

belt when I had a crave I would smoke a herbal cigarette. They were awful. But I kept at it for at least 6 weeks. I smoked less and less. Then I stopped smoking the herbal ones altogether. Now when I think of smoking I get that disgusting herbal smoke sensation in my mind. And I no longer crave at all. Keep at it. Being quit feels wonderful.

[rurallib]

36. about 10 deep breaths when I had the urge

some guy on a radio show said smokers missed the deep breathing more than the nicotine.
It was my 3rd attempt and this one worked.

And it is cheap and you can do it anywhere.

[HipChick]

37. Easy...Cold turkey...ran out of British Cigs..

and don't like American Cigs

[distantearlywarning]

38. Quit cold turkey after 6 months of chronic tonsillitis

I had tried a few times before, but it finally stuck after I got really tired of having an inflamed sore throat all the time. Also, I was living with a non-smoker in Colorado, and hated having to stand out in the cold to smoke.

I also had to give up drinking, though, as those two activities went together. The smoking was definitely more of a "loss" for me than the drinking was. I would still smoke if it wasn't so bad for you.

Regardless, I've been a non-smoker now for nearly 14 years.

(I am a habitual gum chewer, however...took up that habit after quitting smoking. It wasn't a conscious decision, but I am sure the two activities are related. Better TMJ problems than cancer, though...)

[Generic Brad]

39. The scared crapless method

My wife had trouble breathing one day and I brought her into the emergency room. She was diagnosed with early stage emphysema which the doctor swore could still be reversible if we both quit immediately. We both quit then and there without even a single smoke for the road.

Realizing I could have lost the love of my life for real was enough to make me quit and not look back.

[Squinch]

40. Same as you:

tried and tried and tried and failed and failed and failed.

Seriously, that went on almost daily for about 5 years.

Then one day it worked.

13 years non-smoking.

When I quit, I thought I could never go a lifetime without it. But seriously, you couldn't make me smoke now. No cravings, I am grossed out by it, would cry if I had to smoke again. That aversion took about 3 years of non smoking to develop.

[HeiressofBickworth]

41. I never was much of a smoker

and then one day I ran out of cigarettes and money on the same day. I was such a light smoker (about 6 cigs a day) that I don't recall having any withdrawal. Never bought another pack -- and I never smoked again. That was in 1976.

[LiberalAndProud]

42. Today I'm using the vapor pen.

Day two without a cigarette for me. It was difficult this evening not stopping to pick up a pack. I wanted it. Might get one tomorrow, but tonight I didn't. So for this night I'm not smoking. The vape pen helps.

I'll work on tomorrow tomorrow.

Good luck to you. I know right now I could use both some luck and some extra will power.

[Mira]

43. I felt certain I would be the last smoker on earth

I tried just about everything available in order to quit. That included hypnosis and also 2 times aversion therapy where I smoked til I threw up.
I smoked for over 30 years-two packs on a good day

I quit on the 5th of may 1998, and I know if I smoked a cigarette right now in one week I would be up to a pack a day.

I realized finally that attempts at quitting would one day bring a good result. That the more often you try the better your chances get.

Ultimately how I stopped is making a very firm and final decision to see it through. To not allow myself to forget that it is a difficult thing to do and that it is not supposed to be easy but that ultimately there will be life after cigarettes.
Other than that I followed through on knowing that every time I quit I would get depressed and that therefore I have to fight the depression. So I took the antidepressant Wellbutrin for one month and it helped, along with my conviction to trudge through to the other side.

I hope you decide to make it. It's up to you and inch by inch it's a cinch.

[kwassa]

44. Quitting is easy, I've done it hundreds of times.

The last time stuck, though, and that is now 30 years ago.

I smoked 2.5 packs of Marlboros every day for 14 years.

I decided not to quit, but to smoke as little as I could without going crazy. I immediately cut down to about 8 cigarettes a day, as much of my smoking was simply habit. From there, I gradually cut back over several months until I was down to one cigarette a day, after dinner. I did that for a couple of months, then said I was going to quit, and did. My rule was that I was entitled to have a cigarette if I really wanted one, and I kept an unopened pack in a drawer in the kitchen.

Because I gradually cut back, it gradually took all the nicotine out of my system, and I never had ANY cravings after I stopped. I threw out the unopened pack a year later.

[PeteSelman]

45. Just stopped because I wanted to.

I only smoked because I wanted to. All you have to do is stop. It's really not that big a deal.

[pablo_marmol]

46. The hard way.

Stopped - started up again. (And repeat about three times)

Each time, cold turkey. I had a rough habit that escalated sharply after I quit dope & booze. 1 Camel short to get the gorilla off my back, and the next to enjoy. Never a chain smoker though.

Sure don't want to go through that again, and with the amount of clean time I have now don't think I will.

[Tobin S.]

47. Cold turkey is the best way in my view.

That's the way I did it almost two years ago.

You may feel like crap for about a month, but after that you are done with nicotine. Any cravings after that point are purely emotional and have nothing to do with physiological addiction.

[Tom_Foolery]

48. I bought a pack of cigarettes when I was 16...

Smoked 3 or 4 and then threw them away. It wasn't for me. That's 37 years ago.

[lunatica]

49. I was in a double blind study group for what is now Chantix

It works. It takes away the craving, the physical addiction so it makes it much easier to say no to that next cigarette. I smoked for 30 years and was up to 3 packs a day. I've been a non-smoker for 20 years.

[Boom Sound 416]

50. Day 9 for me

And still feeling good

[Turbineguy]

51. I didn't.

I just stopped smoking. I enjoyed it while I smoked. I have good memories of it. But now I do not smoke. I never quit. There was no "change" involved.

[mvd]

52. Fortunately I never started

But threads like this maybe can help my parents stop even in their 60s. Will look through.