Please tell me how you quit smoking

[Mizmoon]

Many of you were smart and never started to begin with. Some of you were like me once - a long time smoker who grew to hate it and wanted to quit. How did you do it? Not just that you used the patch or gum - but how did you prepare mentally?

I need help. I don't want to die of a horrible disease.

[veteran_for_peace]

1. Started in the Military

I quit smoking in April. It was very hard to do but I quit cold Turkey. I used Jolly Ranchers to help me overcome cravings.

[TX-RAT]

23. Had my first cigarette in the Army.

It came with the C-Rats we were eating. They were in a 4-pack. The guys used to trade brands.
Several years ago i went to smoking cigars, a habit i still enjoy.

[scarlet_owl]

2. I didn't really have that hard a time of it. I realized

that what I craved the most was the actual smoking itself. So I used marijuana to come off of the tobacco. I've been smoke free three years. Not that marijuana will work for everyone. It is expensive and some folks get psychologically dependent on it. Good luck in your quest!

[Mizmoon]

4. actually, when I get stoned it makes me want cigarettes

force of habit. Damn, damn habit!

[Cheswick2.0]

6. it's not any better for your lungs either

[Mizmoon]

8. If I quit ciggies

I'm going to buy a vaporizer - a thingy that lets you get high without burning the weed hence no lung damage.

[asthmaticeog]

20. You use WAY less, though.

If a pack-a-day smoker were to blow through that volume of pot in a day, he'd be incapacitated. A couple puffs can do you for a few hours, unless it's complete dirt-weed.

[jonnyblitz]

26. coffee makes me want one. I quit coffee also. n/t

[Cheswick2.0]

3. cold turkey

The withdrawal only lasts a few days. After that it is all about behavioral triggers. When I would have an urge to smoke I would remind myself of the way my lungs felt when I smoked. I thought of my Dad who sufficated to death from emphasema. I thought about the way my clothes and my house smelled so much fresher.
It wasn't easy, but it was so worth it.

[meegbear]

5. Hypnosis

Got hypnotized and it helped me stop. That afternoon, someone asked me if I had a cigarette and I immediately answered: "Sorry, I don't smoke". I was surprised I said that.

[Mizmoon]

7. interesting.

I may try that

[mrboba1]

13. a former co-worker used hypnosis to quit smoking

three times. :eyes:

Of course, I'm not saying that it doesn't work, but that he was able to quit doing it. It was his own fault (really, in his case) for starting back.

[jonnyblitz]

14. hypnosis didn't work for my sister either. n/t

[mrboba1]

18. it actually did work for this guy - at least the first time.

He quit smoking for 3 years(!) but then started back again - I dunno why. The other times, I'm not sure what happened.

[meegbear]

21. It's like all the other ones there's no guarantee.

I had to play a relaxation tape every day for a couple weeks. Worked for me, but now I smoke cigars and that's when I drink.

[jonnyblitz]

25. yup!

:thumbsup:

[Mr. McD]

35. I tried Hypnosis twice

The first time worked for 4 months. The second time did not work at all.:shrug:

[Mallifica]

43. I tried once

The mumbo-jumbo of hypnosis stressed me out so much that I immediately had a cigarette in my car. A few days later the therapist suggested that I try Thai yoga therapy, which basically involves someone else stretching out your whole body. I found the experience very relaxing, but it just made me want a cigarette. The longest I've ever quit is for 5 days, and I used the patch. It was my fault that I started back, it was my birthday.

A friend told me to think every time you want a cigarette that if you smoke it, you have to start the whole process of quitting over again. That helped a bit.

Good luck.

[Mallifica]

44. I tried once

The mumbo-jumbo of hypnosis stressed me out so much that I immediately had a cigarette in my car. A few days later the therapist suggested that I try Thai yoga therapy, which basically involves someone else stretching out your whole body. I found the experience very relaxing, but it just made me want a cigarette. The longest I've ever quit is for 5 days, and I used the patch. It was my fault that I started back, it was my birthday.

A friend told me to think every time you want a cigarette that if you smoke it, you have to start the whole process of quitting over again. That helped a bit.

Good luck.

[Liberal Veteran]

9. 20 year smoker here that quit over 2 years ago.

I decided to quit so I asked my doc to prescribe Wellbutrin (which is Zyban in a different package).

I started tapering off slowly. Skipping the after dinner cig, smoke breaks at work, smoking in the house altogether.

A couple of months into it, I was only smoking 1 or 2 cigarettes a day and then once morning I woke up and decided "no more", slapped on a patch everyday for a week, and haven't smoke sense.

[sui generis]

10. I'm the worst kind

I used to smoke a lot some years ago, but decided to "not" smoke during the week, and not smoke on the weekend unless I had a cocktail.

I've never had "withdrawals", but I do find myself looking forward to happy hour on the weekends! Unfortunately, although I really don't smoke during the week at all and most weekends, I think it would be really difficult to give it up while knocking back a kickin' chicken (wild turkey) and coke.

How do I keep from smoking during the week? This is cruel. I work out six days a week - plus push the treadmill to its limits every other day. The demands on your cardio and lung capacity make the idea of smoking a cig absolutely disgusting.

[2Design]

11. smoker anonymous and having a sponsor to help me

once I quit..the stopping was easier than staying stopped..even today with over 8 years....

I also kept telling myself that I didn't just want one, I wanted a carton. So when the 'committe in my head' would start with - I just want one, please.... I had a come back..

It was minute by minute for almost the whole first three months...and the first year was very difficult....but with the help of someone to talk to every day who understood the craziness of the craving, I was able to get through.... Others did not understand how I could want something that smelled so bad and was so bad for me....but those cravings are so powerful....

so get to a smoker anonymous meeting and get a sponsor

[jonnyblitz]

12. I just picked a day and stopped.

going on my sixth year of no cigarettes.Don't ask me how I did it, I just did. I didn't want to pay the price they were costing and THAT may have been motivation enough for me. I am stunned I was able to do it. I could smoke two packs of Marlboro a day if I was awake long enough. :shrug:

[soleft]

15. Have you ever stopped for an extended period of time?

I was an on and off again smoker since I was a teenager, every time I stopped it was because I just let myself smoke until I didn't want to anymore. Now I really enjoy being smoke order free, not spending all that money, not feeling socially ostracized, feeling healthier. But the other night I had a dream about a code red alert and in the dream I was so nervous I was smoking.

But I live with someone now who is allergic to smoke - so if something does ever go down I'll have to find another way to deal with my nerves.

[Mizmoon]

17. Quit for two weeks once

I was so close, so close. Then I almost got into a car wreck about 2 blocks from my house. When I got home I was literally shaking, trembling with fear and anxiety over what had almost happened. I knew there was a cigarette in the bedroom, so I dug it up, smoked it, and it was all downhill from there.

I can't seem to get into the same brainspace I was in when I did it then, though. I don't know how to get back there again.

[vi5]

16. I just stopped.....

I smoked from 13 or 14 up until I was about 25. And from age 18 to when I quit I was almost at a pack a day. Eventually I just got tired of smelling like smoke and wheezing and always getting sick or waking up with dry mouth. And I stopped. I just decided I could never have another cigarrete and I haven't had one since and I'm almost 35.

[BlueJazz]

19. I quit by getting rather Pissed at myself and having....

...a lot of facts constantly around. (like the Heart Association Stuff)
I also kept a Pack of smokes handy at all times
I would say to myself "Here...you stupid, weak bastard...you want a Cigarette?..Fine...smoke yourself to death"

I DID smoke some out of that Pack but I kept at it and eventually I
turned the tables on the Fucking things and started thinking:
"Hey..kiss my ass..Cigarettes..sit there in the pack and rot!"
After a few times of THAT crap, my resolve truly started working and
the everyday temptations were a lot easier to deal with.
I suppose the fact that I could resist at 2 O'Clock in the morning
(when nobody was around) really helped me deal with the cravings during the day.
Yeah..it was just a Physiological game but it worked for me.

[ET Awful]

22. Honestly? I quit on a whim, with the help of Zyban.

I hadn't really planned on it or thought about it. A little over 2 years ago, I went in for a physical, doc did the typical "you should quit smoking" routine. I figured "sure why not?" He prescribed Zyban and I quit.

It wasn't preparing mentally, it wasn't really planned at all. It was more on a whim than anything else.

[olddem43]

24. Just made up my mind that I was not going to continue to be

a victim of the tobacco companies. Financial costs and health effects are huge. The greedy tobacco executives are laughing at your misfortune all the way to the bank. You are paying them to help you commit slow suicide. (it's slow until near the end when it's horrible for the last few months) I've had several friends die from smoking,- emphysema, lung cancer and heart attack. Quit while it's not too late. If you make it 5 years, you are 95% out of the woods.

[Callissto]

27. Alan Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking

Sounds trite, but it was helpful in reprogramming my brain and how I viewed cigarettes and myself in relation to them.

I also tried hypnotism and listened to a quit-smoking hypnosis CD every night. I know the hypnosis didn't work, and I don't know if the CD worked.

I spent some time before I quit and after I quit on Quitnet.com.

I also developed a "fear" of smoking. Basically, I became more afraid of smoking than of quitting. That helped a lot.

So, with all of the above and a case of stubbornness, I have been a non-smoker for 1 year and 3 months.

Congrats on deciding to stop smoking!

[miss_kitty]

28. okay i have told this before, i'll give ya the shortish version

i made reasons i no longer wanted to smoke. i thought about it a while. the reasons were:
1) money
2) health
3) wanted to attract a non smoker :-)
what pushed me over the edge was the PR ad campaign the tobacco assholes started running about 'contacting your state AGs and urging them to settle.' that toasted my buns. i was so angry with the "get over it, victims, so we the perpetrators can go on with our lives" attitude, i vowed to never spend money that would go to a tobacco company. that meant also no more nabisco (i like triscuits) and no more kraft (no loss) as well.

that was 1998. nothing was available otc so i stopped out of pure cussedness and anger alone. i felt like shit on a stick for about 6 weeks. and sometimes i still want a cig. but i have not had a puff since 26 feb, 1998.
i hear hypnosis is a good way to go. that way you are not substituting one delivery system for another.

i tell people it is the first time i used my anger for good, instead of evil.

if you need another thing to put in the 'mental prep hopper' try this:
tobacco companies are huge evil sick-making multi-nationals. they give quite heavily to the rethuglies. that is where your cigarette $$ goes-to support the likes of the cheney-bush junta. on edit: after Margaret Thatcher left the PM spot she was hired by a tobacco company to promote tobacco products in ASIA (hence the nickname 'Faggy Thatcher')

also if your attempts at stopping do not work at first, DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED...i stopped for 4 years and went back to it for 10...it may take you a couple of tries.

here's a little piece of advice too. don't announce you are quitting. if you are unsuccessful, it's an added piece of shit you have to add to the 'feeling bad about failing' pile. quitely tell some close friends you are stopping for now. don't give in to the urge to bum one off a friend. or just a drag...

you CAN do it-if i did-i know you can!

[Butterflies]

29. I focused on the dirty lungs part

I had pictures of diseased and tar-filled lungs, and every time I sucked the smoke down into my lungs I thought about the dirty smoke ruining my lungs. I had one of those flemmie coughs too, and that was gross.

It's been several years since I quit, and sometimes I still miss it. It's worth quitting though (but expect to gain some weight.)

[BurtWorm]

30. I picked a day to give me one last bit of "freedom" to smoke my brains out

then quit cold turkey. I chose Valentine's Day, and gave my quitting as a present to my wife and daughter. It was much easier than I expected.
I used a straw, cut to the length of a cigarette, to puff on whenever I had a craving. I carried it with me at all times. Usually the craving would subside within three or four long puffs. When I felt particularly anxious and was able, I would sit still and listen to white noise (the sound of rain or waves on CD) or soft music to keep myself calm. I kept a running tab of the money I was saving, which in New York City is quite substantial. I began paying close attention to the smells and tastes that were returning full force--the first benefit of smoking. Within a couple of weeks, I didn't need the straw or the white noise. I've now gone almost nine months without a cigarette and very few cravings for one. I've been in situations where I should have been tempted--like by my twin brother who smokes a lot more than I ever did--and got through them (thanks mainly to his support).

Now I think about how I'm really free: I can go anywhere and last however long without needing to excuse myself for my habit. I never worry about stinking like a nicotine addict. I can smell the world again, and taste my food again. I don't have to lie on insurance or medical forms about being a nonsmoker. I've saved hundreds of dollars.

Now that is freedom.

[Dukkha]

31. I quit 01/01/00

at exactly 4:00 AM p.s.t.

Just cold turnkey haven't touched one since

[Exultant Democracy]

32. I just stopped about a month ago.

I had smoked for 8 years since I was 13. A month ago I bought my first nice car and I decided I didn't want it to stink so I stopped smoking.

[Mr. McD]

33. The main thing is you really have to want to quit

more then you want to smoke. I tried many times only to fail because deep down I was holding on to the perceived benefit of smoking. I had to let go of all illusions that smoking had a positive side. I spent a lot of time thinking about the negative things about smoking. I have been smoke free over 10 years now after 30 years of smoking.

On edit: I used the patch.

[mrboba1]

34. WARNING - graphic picture in the link

http://www.sptimes.com/News/61599/Floridian/He_wanted_you_to_know.shtml

I work in cancer and ran across this site some time ago - what happened to this guy is obscenely awful, but you should probably see it. It may help you to quit...

Him before:


Click the link to see after - on the day of his death
again ***WARNING****

and all in 2 months time.

very sad.

[Shanty Oilish]

36. Check your mail, sent you a pm

With the answer you seek. :)

[Mizmoon]

38. good idea

thank you

[bearfan454]

37. Zyban worked for me.

It is brand name Wellbutrin.

[Bluzmann57]

39. As a former smoker

I am always glad to help out someone who is trying to quit. A couple of hints which may help you out. Make a list of pros and cons. Most likely, the cons will eventually outnumber the pros. Another thing I did was to loudly announce to all I knew that I was quitting smoking. This serves more than one purpose. It will shame you if you fail because people will almost certainly make fun of you, but if you succeed say for two weeks, then you can come back and say "I told you so". This method should be done with care, however, because if you go cold turkey, you may alienate some people along the way with your discomfort. Treat it like an adventure into something new for the first few days too. This may help the mindset as almost all of us like trying new and pleasantly different things. And if you put on a few pounds during the first month or so, don't worry about it! Concentrate on one thing at a time. When your body and mind are sufficiently cleansed, then concentrate on losing the weight you may put on. Hope you make it!

[denverbill]

40. Try www.quitnet.com

I've been off them for over a year now, after smoking for over 10 years.

Some of the key things to me: Pick a date well in advance (2 weeks or so). From now until then, THINK about quitting every single day. Start planning what you are going to do on your quit day. Psych yourself up to the quit, to the point of almost looking forward to it. Read up about it. Use nicotine replacement to get you past the jitters. (I used the patch). The physical addiction is only a small part of the smoking addiction, or it was for me anyway. Getting past the psychological addiction was more important to me, and if nicotine replacement helps get past the physical addiction, you only have to deal with the psychological part at first. That makes it easier.

Good luck!!

[Algorem]

41. book:"Fresh Start:21 Days to Stop Smoking".12 years now,worked great.

I didn't even know there was a book,never thought to look,found one copy totally by accident,then someone gave me another copy out of the blue. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/067162086X/002-7165157-457228?v=glance

[Rambis]

42. Day 5

20 years last week. I have had no guiness or coffee that would put me right back on.