I want to STOP smoking tomorrow......

[serryjw]

....any recommendations on how?....the patch is SOOOOOOO expensive!

[JVS]

1. chew

[Duncan Grant]

2. Does it have to be tomorrow?

Are you doing this by yourself or have you joined a stop smoking class? :hi:

[k in IA]

3. How much more expensive is it than the amount you pay for ciggies?

Just a question because I don't know how much either cost - I'm not a smoker.

[TexasSissy]

4. Is this your first attempt?

I switched to Nicorette a couple of weeks ago. So I stopped smoking but haven't given up nicotine. I'll worry about that later. I'm hard core, so it's enough for me right now to focus on the smoking part, so that my lungs improve and I kick the habit part.

Nicorette is expensive, though. Shouldn't be any more expensive than smoking, though. So you already know you can afford THAT.

Veggies are an adequate substitute, like celery sticks, baby carrots, and the like. You can carry them around in plastic baggies, and you won't gain weight from it.

Starting an aerobics or other type of exercise, if you're not already doing that, is helpful. Helps to work out stress, helps to maintain weight control, helps you feel your lungs clearing. It doesn't have to be anything fancy or heavy duty. Just something sorta fun that gets you moving. Just dancing to your own music for half an hour will help, and it's fun.

Warm baths are helpful - good for stress, and although I smoked in the tub sometimes (like I said, I was hard core), most people don't, so it doesn't remind you of smoking. Put something aromatic in it, and it helps fill the senses, which is what smoking did in part.

Chewing gum, preferably sugarless. That's cheap and can be done anywhere, any time.

Smokeless tobacco. That still causes cancer, they say. And it's sorta gross. It yellows the teeth and all. Still...it's an improvement from tobacco that you smoke. My country grandma quit smoking many years ago by switching from smoking to chewing tobacco. She had a spittoon and everything. If nicorette didn't exist, I'd probably use a touch of this now and then to get some nicotine so I wouldn't go crazy (in the privacy of my home).

I quit years ago for several years and then started back up. This is a very difficult process. If you are still young, do it now! It gets much more difficult later. It's addictive, and your mind and body will increasingly find it harder to give up. Good luck. Let us know how you're doing.

[Bluzmann57]

5. Just quit

I am a former smoker and that's how I quit, cold turkey. It is not easy and you should have some non-smoking friends and/or family to lean for a couple of weeks. A couple of things that may help, make a list of pros and cons about smoking in your mind. Tell people who don't think you can do it that you are doing it, then when you make two weeks or so, come back and crow about it. If you do this. make sure that you either don't like the people, or they are understanding because they will get alienated and probably po'ed. Don't do it on a bet, that rarely works on a permanent basis.

[serryjw]

10. Thanks Everyone....

Yes, cigs are ONLY $20/carton and patches are $45/week!! I was shocked.I am more concerned with the empty hand. I live on the internet and what do you do when you don't smoke??

For me it is VERY habitual. I do busy on the phone and always have a lite cig. Now what do I do?
I bought one box of patches. Has anyone tried hypnosis? Acupunture?

It has been 34 years..I think it's time??

[non sociopath skin]

31. In the end, only Cold Turkey works.

The best advice I got was from the guy who told me that the only way to quit smoking was to stop putting cigarettes in your mouth and lighting them.

I did and it worked.

Of course, you can still see my teeth marks in the rug from the first three days ....

The Skin

[flasun]

6. best advice

The best advice I ever got was to imagine yourself a non smoker...a mind thing.

[JLuckey]

7. I quit 30 days ago.....

2 pack a day man. First I set a date. I've used nicorette gum and Nicotrol inhaler. Seems to be working for me. When I get the urge to smoke real bad I remind myself I don't have to smoke any more I'm free. So far its working. Good Luck.

[TexasSissy]

9. How does that inhaler work?

It shoots nicotine in your mouth? Is it harmful to your lungs, or what's the deal on that? I've never heard of it.

I use the nic. gum. But it'd be nice to be able to get a little nic. some other way. But I want my lungs to clear out.

[JLuckey]

19. Inhaler.....

I think it's to expensive #1, But it gives you the satisfaction of having something in your hand and mouth. It does give you a shot of nicotine and you can taste it. My daughter just quit smoking and tried the inhaler and got nauseous from it so its not for everyone. If I need a strong fix I pop the gum. I'm slowly getting away from both of them.

[serryjw]

12. I'm impressed......

I have a new stop smoking tape........Has anyone tried any of the natural products of there?

[sundog]

8. just stop... only way to go... chew a straw if you have to

--

[serryjw]

11. YOU have to be a NON smoker!

Considered the MOST addictive habit....not easy or we all would have done it a long time ago.

Can I smoke a straw :shrug:

[sundog]

21. no, au contraire, I smoked since 15 &

quit when I was 29... I picked it up again for about 9 months last September & quit again a few months ago (33 now) -- much easier this time

It's all mind over matter -- think of it as a war in your mind, it's an issue of how far you want to stretch your limit

Another good idea is to jog -- your lungs will be in intense pain but you start to break up that accumulation -- plus you can use endorphins as a sub...

I still smoke weed though, which is more sporadic & more of a virtue than a vice...

[sallyseven]

13. I went to a hypnotist 15 years ago.

My friends told me that I would not have any withdrawal pain. I didn't and I have been smoke free since 1989. I bought a lot of clothes on the money I would have blown out my nose.

[serryjw]

14. That excites me.....

There is a hypnotist that advertises in Denver......You would recommend it? $250!!!

[Chuletas]

15. moderation then to nothing

People say cold turkey is the only way, but I found that tapering off made it a lot easier. And getting exercise, you're so winded that you swear off the butts.

I'll still have a couple with friends who still smoke while drinking maybe once or twice a month. Thinking that you'll never have another butt is an incredible thought for anyone who really enjoys smoking.

I enjoy living more so I smoke maybe 2 packs a year tops.

[serryjw]

16. I thought about that...

But I don't think it would work for me unless I locked the cigs in vault! I smoke without even think about it.

[Chuletas]

17. best o' luck to you

I used to be a cook and it was hard not to smoke, the only way you could take a freaking break.

Luckily now that I'm a state office worker, there's a lot less smoking around me.

I'm telling you that exercise is great, once you get that first full clean lung full of air, it's a amazing thing. Bike or if you're healthy enough, sprint until you almost throw up.

Again it's one of the hardest things you'll ever do.

[serryjw]

18. Thanks

I'll keep you posted. I bought new running shoes so I am read for 3 miles a day.

[Misunderestimator]

20. You can get nicorette really cheaply online (about 50% of the price)

The patch, gum, or inhalers, here: http://www.nicorettedirect.com

It's about half the cost of even the generic nicotine replacement products. (I only buy it on this site, every time I quit :D)

[Speck Tater]

22. If you smoke a pack a day

then twenty times a day you are a non-smoker. Say you put one out at 2:00 and light up another at 2:45. From 2:00 to 2:45 you were a non-smoker. The problem is not being a non-smoker; you already do that many times every day. They problem is being content to be a non-smoker.

You see, after 45 minutes, or an hour, or two hours, or when waking up in the morning, you start feeling discontent about being a non-smoker.

Here's what worked for me. A simple affirmation. Just say this to yourself, over and over as you drift to sleep each night, and during the day when you start feeling that discontent: "I am content to be a non-smoker."

Repeat that affirmation until it starts to soak in. Over time you will feel more an more content with those periods of being a non-smoker, and soon you won't have any reason to interupt your non-smoker status with a cigarette.

I tried dozens of different ways to quit over that last 40 years (yes, I'd smoked for 40 years). This is the only way that ever worked, and it was relatively effortless. I haven't smoked since last October and I don't even miss it at all because I am content being a non-smoker.

[Bruce McAuley]

23. Borrow some Xanax or Valium for the first 3 days...

Quit cold turkey.
You could find some smoking mixture that is relatively non-toxic if you are stuck lighting SOMETHING up besides weed. I would recommend a mixture of Mullein and Knick-knick, or "indian tobacco", both relatively benign. Also catnip, tastes kinda minty.
Forget the patches and gum, you are still hooked.
Take three deep breaths every time you think about a cigarette, and FEEL how nice the air feels without nicotine. Imagine you are a non-smoker, as noted above it is all mind over tobacco.
Drink lots of water when you think about smoking.
Think about all those extra years you will have with your family.
You CAN be a non-smoker. I know you can!
:hi:

Bruce

[VOX]

24. Lay off alcohol while you quit. I know, a drink is more appealing then...

But the second you get a drink in your mitt, the craving for a smoke is overwhelming. I know, I've been there.

If you can lay off cigaretts just long enough, the idea of smoking can actually lose its appeal. Kind of like when you don't eat for awhile -- longer than meal-skiping, like when you have a medical exam, say -- and you have to sometimes make a deliberate effort to eat. If you get to this point -- and there's no reason why you shouldn't, you'll be halfway home.

I'm not a doc, and everyone's different, but it is possible to quit without doing anything radical or dumping huge amounts of cash -- I was able to.

Hang in there, serryjw, and good luck to you --

[Nevernose]

27. I thought it was just me

I'll quit for a few days/weeks. Drink a beer and WHAM! Marlboro central.

[ima_sinnic]

25. a craving lasts only 1 to 2 minutes

--every time a craving hits, "postpone" giving into it--ignore it, it will go away. the first 2 days are the worst. indulge yourself, buy treats and also hard candy to suck on. don't worry--pigging out will be temporary--but stock up on things like celery and carrot sticks, cucumber slices.

having a project like knitting, something that keeps your hands busy, helps.

eat cabbage-family foods--broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts--they have a compound that helps with the grouchiness.

make a list of everything positive you can think of about being a nonsmoker (which you must now regard yourself as) and review it when a craving hits.

putting yourself on an increasing "timer" between cigarettes over a period of days can work. I started at half an hour (hard-core) and increased it by 15 minutes every other day. When I was up to 2 hours between cigarettes it seemed dumb to keep smoking--though that attempt did not really last for me--I finally did succeed with the patch (I quit many times over the course of a 30-year habit but now have gone 11 years smoke-free--I regret the years I did smoke--and the wrinkles I have now to show for them).

[serryjw]

26. Thanks everyone.....I've decided

to spend the $250 and go to a hypnotist. If it doesn't work...he gives a year guarantee than I will buy the patches on the link from Nicorette..thanks....That is quit a savings.

[Osama_Bin_Winnin]

28. the patch is working for me. 9 Weeks today

[Bluebear]

29. I stopped with Commit lozenges

Gave me something to twirl around in my mouth as well as get the fix. Best best best of luck to you. It's not easy but so worth it.

[Nevernose]

30. Those really helped me, too

Beer seemed to screw things up, though.