I need your quitting smoking tips!!!!!!

[bicentennial_baby]

Ok folks, I'll be finishing off my carton in 2 days, and I am done. I've had it with this shit and I want to quit successfully this time. I can't use the patch, b/c my skin is too sensitive, and yucky gum is not my thing. I wanna go cold turkey.

So I want all of your tips for successful quitting. Anything you can think of is greatly appreciated! I'll be checking back later.

Thanks :hi:

-heather

[trumad]

1. PM Matcom

[dontomas]

2. make a bet

Some friends and I wanted to quit smoking. So we through in $200 each in to a bank account. The last one to not have smoked in a year won the money. Well none of us smoked the first year. So we raised the ante to $300. Six months later and we're all going strong.

[Rainbowreflect]

22. Make a bet, but if you lose the $ goes to a repub candidate.

Make sure you stay away from other smokers and places that trigger you to smoke (I know everywhere).

[curlyred]

3. quitnet.com

My SO quit smoking 13 months ago.......this place is a great support group.

Best of wishes to you!

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

4. In one week it will be two years since I quit cold turkey...

...after smoking a pack and a half a day for ten years. It's like Firesign Theatre once said, ya gotta just "ride the snake."

I'm sure you'll find many people here who'll support you. Good luck.

:toast:

[central scrutinizer]

26. cold turkey worked for me, too

Maybe the stars were in alignment that day but it worked. Prior to that I smoked unfiltered Camels to maximize the nicotine. That was February 1986 and haven't had even one puff since.

[johnnie]

5. Honestly

A good rule of thumb is to not tell anyone you are quitting. Then you don't get asked and bothered all the time.

[Goldmund]

6. It's all in your mind

Fool yourself. Think of yourself as a non-smoker. Don't count hours, just feel good about it in the morning that you have another day under your belt, but don't constantly think about it. Try to think of it as an easy thing. If you crave a cigarette, say to yourself: "A cigarette? Why would I have a cigarette? I don't smoke.". Also, load your perception with other things. If you start thinking about a cigarette, go for a run, or look at some porn or something.

[southpaw]

7. Check out Quit Net

http://www.quitnet.com/

Register for the free membership and enter your stats. You can log in anytime after your quit date and it will tell you how long you have been smoke-free (down to the second), how many cigarettes you have not smoked since quitting, how much money you have saved and how much lifetime you have saved...

They have message boards and chat rooms as well, and lots of motivational and informational reading.

My stats:

Your Quit Date is: 5/8/2003 6:00:00 AM

Time Smoke-Free: 384 days, 10 hours, 41 minutes and 28 seconds

Cigarettes NOT smoked: 15378

Lifetime Saved: 3 months, 27 days, 11 hours

Money Saved: $2,688.00

[MissMillie]

42. QuitNet was a big help to me

At times it can be a sappy place, but overall you'll find all the support you need, and some pretty good suggestions on how to get through cravings.





2269 days, 23 hours, 49 minutes and 30 seconds

Cigarettes NOT smoked: 56750

Lifetime Saved: 14 months, 13 days, 12 hours

Money Saved: $8,508.75

[AngryAmish]

8. I quit about 2 months ago.

The gum helps. Especially if you are around smokers. I hang out in bars a lot so having something while drinking beer helps.

I was chewing the gum all the time for about a month, then I kept forgetting about it and have not had any in about three weeks.

Believe it or not, I think quitting was pretty easy. But then again I was a weekend smoker for ten years before becoming an everyday smoker.

[sundog]

9. just stop

i quit for four years - enough time to let my bod clean itself out -- then started again :smoke:

just think of it as a mental challenge -- mind over matter

you'll feel it come in waves, you get all tensed up-- then the waves subside

it's a pretty freaky sensation -- fuck patches & all that shit, those are scams -- just stop -- it's all an issue of how much you want to stop

i've decided being too pure is not good for your health either -- you need to find your own balance, whatever it is...

[rinsd]

10. One of the times I quit.....

I chewed straws...looks funny but it helped with the whole oral fixation. It was better than chewing 10 packs of gum a day. Though people look at you rather peculiar.

[Speck Tater]

11. To quote Robin Williams from the movie Dead Again

"You are either a smoker or a non-smoker. Decide which one you are and BE that."

I can't really say how I did it. I just decided one day, after 40+ years of smoking, to be a non-smoker. By just BEING that, I never gave it another thought.

Don't ask me how long its been because I have no idea. I never bothered to count the days or keep track of the hours. Those kind of activities seemed to me to be something a smoker would do in trying to become a non-smoker. In past attempts to quit ("attempts" is the key word here) every time I tallied up my "hours since I quit" all I was doing was re-affirming the fact that I was still a smoker, still chained to the habit, even if I was chained to it by the act of keeping track of how long I had abstained.

The key is not to be a smoker-who-is-trying-to-quit. Instead, just BE a non-smoker. Forget it. Don't keep track. Don't dwell on it. Just dismiss it from you life. Completely.

And NEVER say "I'm trying to quit." Instead, just say "I AM a non-smoker. Period."

Decide which one you are and BE that.

[troublemaker]

21. Well said.

Though for some folks the opposite 'one day at a time' is nessecary.

Funny how that works!

[iconoclastic cat]

12. bc baby, listen to me: I tried to quit 36 times in 5 years

and not one of those damn patches or pill worked. You know what did? I watched "The Insider" and quit cold turkey the next morning, all the while telling myself that I was stickin' it to the most evil industry ever.
2 years, 4 months and counting.

My wife found a support board called "Freedom" that helped her quit:
http://www.msnusers.com/FreedomFromTobaccoQuitSmokingNow/messageboard

Cold turkey is the only way.

Good luck!

[Teddy_Salad]

13. Don't tell anyone you're quitting.

Seeing as you already have, this advice is a little late but really, every time I told someone I was giving up smoking, I failed.

Then one day I stopped smoking, didn't tell a soul and have been smoke free for six years.
And still nobody has noticed I've quit. :cry:

Telling others places far too much pressure on yourself and also, don't set a date for quitting.
Think about quitting for a while and then one day, you'll just have enough of it and that will be that.

Honestly, as someone who tried and failed at quitting smoking at least 30 times, telling people you are quitting and setting a date for it places too much pressure on yourself.
Just relax, think about it alone and you will do it.

Good luck! :)

[daa]

14. Great news, here is how I did it

One night I was listening to a talk show our of Boston. The host heard a noise and asked the male caller what was that noise. The guy replied nothing. The host said did you just light a cigarette? The guy admitted it. The host said to read the warning on the side of the pack. The guy read and then the host asked him, if it said that on a can of dog food would you feed that to your dog. The man didn't even take time to think and said hell no. to which the host replied why are you doing that to yourself.

I didn't have a dog but I did have an aquarium and thought it strange that I would not put something like that in the water. and so on February 2, 1985 I quit.

I think the secret is that the addiction with-drawl takes affect in about 12 hours. If you get up and smoke during the morning and quit by noon then the worst with-drawl hits when you are sleeping and less likely to get up and smoke.

It is also important to remember that 1/3 of the people that quit gain weight, 1/3 lose weight, and 1/3 have no change at all. The dangers of smoking are worse than a few pounds and it takes about a year for your body to stabilize and seriously work on weight maintenance.

Good luck Heather, you can really do it.

[TheBlob]

15. You might not like the answer....

Running.

Or other cardio exercise.

It works.

Worked for me and everyone I recommended it to.

The problem is exercise is more of a lifestyle change than quitting smoking.

Good luck with whatever works for ya.

[bicentennial_baby]

18. No cardio for a while

I'm also battling a severe case of Iron deficiency anemia, and I have the stamina of an asthmatic hampster. No iron = No oxygen for my muscles.

I am working on getting a bicycle though, and hope to beriding all summer, albeit slowly.

[Loonman]

16. Step one

Stop buying cigarettes.

Don't take tips from people who have never smoked.

Have you ever tried to quit before?

(this is an important question)

[bicentennial_baby]

19. Tried 2 or 3 times

All three with the patch, which eventually became intolerable. All relapses were triggered by a specific health problem that I no longer have, which seemed to flare up badly every time I tried to quit.

As I posted above, I recently found out that I have severe Anemia and a ridiculously low iron level. This of course means that my muscles are getting very little oxygen. The smoking definitely isn't helping that, and I really want to quit.

[troublemaker]

17. Okay, here's the deal...

keep your teeth brushed
Lots of water (to clear the nicotine out and because the water bloated feeling feels similar to that contented sore-lung feeling)
Peppermint altoids (they burn your toungue just like cigs... it's a pain you'll miss)
Substitute altoids, sugarless mints, a Cinnamon stick... whatever you favor, and keep the substitute wherever you keep your cigs (for when you reach for them without thinking)
If you can get up and walk around the block when you get a craving that's good. (or anything else physical)

Most importantly, you cannot cheat. Even one cigarette will lead to relapse. Really! (It usually takes many quits to learn that the hard way)

If you can't make it cold turkey and disdain gum and patch there's always COMMIT lozenges (no generic yet), which work just as well as those things.

[bicentennial_baby]

20. I love Cinnamon Altoids

I am going to stock up!!

[troublemaker]

23. Excellent. (Too hot for me, but I'm a wuss.)

One more thing... you will feel like you want to eat more and you will gain a pound or two (treatable through excercise), but you will probably be eating LESS. The weight thing is a metabolic deal, not always a pig-out thing. In 'studies' (gotta love studies) many smokers take in fewer calories when they quit... so that's good for the long run.

[bicentennial_baby]

24. I'd like to gain some weight actually

My nutritionist says I need to eat more and more frequently. I am hoping that this will assist in that.

I'm optimistic...I quit potato chips cold turkey last week after she said I was eating way too much sodium. (1 Huge Bag of Salt and Vinegar Chips a day!) It was painful, but relatively easy. :P

[bpcmxr]

25. Hypnotherapy worked for me.

I'd smoked for 22 years and quit I don't know how many times. 90 minutes with a hypnotherapist changed all of that. She helped me to change my mind on a fundamental level about my relationship with cigarettes and, as fiziwig talks about, to simply BE a nonsmoker. And no fighting of urges-to-smoke to speak of in the days and weeks that followed. Since I made the changes in my subconcious mind, resistance & willpower (of the concious mind) seemed almost beside the point. Anyway, powerful stuff.

If you're interested and anywhere near NYC, PM me and I'll give you her #.

[whosinpower]

27. Sunflower seeds

Buy a very large bag of sunflower seeds...and every time you feel the urge, pack your cheeks with spits.

[BurtWorm]

28. Cigarette sized straw + OJ + Peaceful Music/White Noise = No Smoking

I quit on 2/14/04 using just these "crutches" if you will:



One cigarette-lengthed straw that I carried with me all the time. When I was feeling a need to light up, I'd draw on the straw until the need went away--usually after just three or four "puffs."

Frequent glasses of OJ--healthy, nutricious, tasty. A nice reward for not smoking.

Frequent (in the beginning) pauses to sit still with eyes closed while listening to adagios or better yet the sound of waves or rain.




I haven't smoked since.

[ima_sinnic]

29. I quit after 40 years so I know whereof I speak:

--do you by any chance knit? having something that keeps your hands busy is extremely helpful
--keep lots of munchies around--and make sure a lot of them are healthy, like celery sticks, carrot sticks, raisins--and chewing gum--ice cream is good--indulge in your favorite treats, no matter how unhealthy (it's only temporary); use them as rewards after a day or two without smoking
--make a list of all the things about smoking that are bad and that you'll be glad to be done with: stinks up my hair, stinks up my clothes, makes ME stink, makes my teeth yellow, makes me short-winded, costs me like $3/day (that's about $1,000/year!), most likely makes some people avoid me, shortens my life, etc. etc.
--also make a list of the good things about being a non-smoker: energy up the wazoo, no more stinking hair, clothes and skin, MONEY to spend on other things, no more cigarette holes in upholstery, no more smelly filthy ashtrays, no more having to keep track of matches and being sure not to run out of cigarettes--ie, FREEDOM, not being chained down--keep the lists with you and review them when you feel an urge to smoke
--drink lots of fluids
--eat cabbage-family foods, esp. broccoli, as they contain compounds that help alleviate grouchiness from withdrawal
--plan to sleep a lot for a couple of days; withdrawal wreaks havoc with normal metabolizing
--take more showers than usual: impossible to smoke in the shower and that clean feeling is a good motivator
--when a craving does hit, it will subside after one or two minutes (forget exactly how long), so postpone giving into it; gradually the cravings will come less and less--when you give in to them, it is like "rewarding" them so if you don't reward them they will go away. real cravings should go away in about 3 or 4 days.
--stay away from other smokers for a few days
--if you have the stomach for it and need a good kick, find some pictures of cancerous lungs, lips, etc. (the American Cancer Society is real great about putting out booklets with these pictures)
--as mentioned above: just think of yourself as a former smoker, not someone who is trying to quit. try meditation and visualization exercises--just sit quietly and meditate on yourself as a nonsmoker; breathe deeply and center yourself
--the hardest part, as I remember (I quit 10 years ago), was the first 2 days. after that it got easier and easier. after about a week I was at the laundromat and found myself watching people smoke and thinking how stupid they looked and how happy I was that I didn't do that anymore. when the worst of the withdrawal is over, look objectively at other people smoking and see how dumb it looks.

I know you can do it--I was hard-core (I did use the patch for a while but all this other stuff was a big help)

[bicentennial_baby]

30. Love to knit

Funny you should mention that, in anticipation of my quitting, I started a huge scarf a few nights back. Wide, fuzzy, and a simple plain ol' knit stitch so I don't have to concentrate too much! Thanks for the tips! I have bookmarked this thread!

[southpaw]

31. Former Winston advertising model Dave Goerlitz

tells the story of a Winston executive's answer to his question as to why none of the tobacco executives smoked:

"We don't smoke the stuff, we just sell it. We reserve the right to smoke for the young, the poor, the black and the stupid."

Fuck the tobacco companies. As a liberal, I could not in good conscience support an industry that knowingly and by design lures children to their product because stats show that most life-long smokers start smoking before their 14th birthday.

Big tobacco is evil! They'll not get another penny from me.

[The empressof all]

32. Drink lots of Grapefruit Juice

It really cuts the craving for me.

[bicentennial_baby]

33. Kick

:kick:

[Kazak]

34. Persistence pays...

That was the only thing that helped me quit. Try try again. There's not a single product in the world that will help you.

(better than three years for me. :thumbsup:)

[blackmoonlillith]

35. I'm on my last carton and plan on using

nicorette. I've quit using it before. It helps when those urges get to be too much.

[EstimatedProphet]

36. The patch worked wonders for me

Been quit over 3 years now. The patch cut out a lot of the cravings. First 3 days are by far the hardest.

[bicentennial_baby]

37. Kick this mutha

:kick:

[marigold20]

38. I quit thirty years ago.

I was young and a hypochrondriac. I was convinced a sore spot in my mouth was mouth cancer so I quit cold turkey. (It wasn't cancer!)

A friend just quit - while somewhat tipsy, she signed a contract on a bar napkin to quit on April 1. Though she dreaded the day, she did quit.

[kevinam]

39. I have a website you really really should visit.

First best of luck. It is truly a mind over matter thing. The website is

www.whyquit.com

This website encourages quitting only cold turkey, using the rational that if you using nicotine replacement therapy, at some point you are still going to have the nicotine withdrawl symptoms, and might as well get them out of the way all at once. Some things I picked up from this website. Typically after 72 the worst of the withdrawl symptoms are overwith. So all you have to do is get through three days, and it is downhill from there. The other thing is that a typical craving last THREE minutes. If you think about it from that perspective, if you do get a craving or an urge, it is three short frickin minutes. A way to get yourself over the hump. Get yourself three big ass bottles of scotch, and for three days remain so damned drunk that you lack the coordination to drive to buy smokes, or to hold a lighter up to a cigarette and inhale at the same time. Joke intended. To be serious, they say it is good to drink lots and lots of cranberry juice, because it helps get the nasty toxins out of your system. Also, it might be helpful to get some candy or something. I tried using halls fruit lozenges, something that puts a good taste in your mouth so you don't really want to smoke. Also, it might help to take up some form of physical activity. If you are limited, you might even try walking. So if you are sitting around the house, and get a craving, go walk around the block. If you feel like you are getting all panicky and upset wanting a nail, just breath deep and keep reassuring yourself with the reasons you are quitting. Again, best of luck, and I really really suggest you visit that website, I really think it will help...Kevin.

[jukes]

40. i used the patch

& was clean for four years. took 1 hit 4 mos ago, & i'm still smoking. HATE this.


psych w/drawal lasted 1 1/2 years after the physical addixion was licked. you're in for a rough time.

niacin supp's might help; it's a version of nicotinic acid. also lowers cholesteral.

good luck!

[BlueStateGirl]

41. I quit cold turkey. It is difficult, but not as hard as you think.

I lost the physical cravings pretty quickly, with in a week.

The habitual and psychological cravings were worse, but then it really becomes an issue of mind over matter. Decide you are not going to smoke.

If you get a craving, stand up and stretch, or take a walk, a read a few pages of a book. Do something to take your mind off the cigarette.

Think about not spending $6 on a pack of smokes, plan what you are going to do with the money you save.

It is totally worth it.

[TrogL]

43. I've watched a bunch of people quit using various methods

If you're a heavy smoker, you might need the patch, but scale down faster than the instructions.

If you're a light smoker, suck it up and go cold turkey.

Regardless don't jump from one habit to another. Stay away from the munchies or you'll put on 50 pounds without even trying.

Chew on carrot sticks or coffee stirrers.

[bearfan454]

44. Zyban worked for me.

You still go nuts the first day though.

[BiggJawn]

45. Worked for me, too.

I ate a TRUCKLOAD of 'Toids the first week....

Also used guided imagery. I magined those ReTHUGlican bastards down at the statehouse having to buy their OWN fucking dinner at St. Moritz steakhouse because they weren't getting anymore tobacco tax money from *ME*!

It was a year ago this past St. Paddy's day...

[Bluebear]

46. Commit lozenges did it for me

One year ago this month. I cannot endorse cold turkey, only plastic turkeys.

I also got a used book Allen carr's "the Easy Way to Quit Smoking" on Amazon that was _very_ helpful. Good luck, kick it!!!