...quit smoking?

[silverwhisper]

i'm a smoker. i've been one for many years now. i began out of teen rebellion (dad's a doc, mom was born again) but what began as rebellion has turned into slavery.

i don't smoke at home unless we're drinking (alcohol). but my smoking outside of my home is increasing. i always used to manage on half a pack/day but that's increased to the better part of a pack/day. i used to manage going the whole weekend w/out smoking. that stopped weeks ago.

so i could really use some help here, folks. what techniques/methods have you guys found effective in kicking the habit, or at least trying to get some control over it? b/c i'm having absolutely none.

ed

 

[sassy_girl1963]

i'm a smoker. i've been one for many years now. i began out of teen rebellion (dad's a doc, mom was born again) but what began as rebellion has turned into slavery.

i don't smoke at home unless we're drinking (alcohol). but my smoking outside of my home is increasing. i always used to manage on half a pack/day but that's increased to the better part of a pack/day. i used to manage going the whole weekend w/out smoking. that stopped weeks ago.

so i could really use some help here, folks. what techniques/methods have you guys found effective in kicking the habit, or at least trying to get some control over it? b/c i'm having absolutely none.

ed

Ed, I wish I could offer some advice. I quit 13 years ago, but it was because I got so sick, so fast, that I could not breath to inhale.

Please know I am rooting for you!

Sassy~

 

[alain88]

I smoked for over 30 years and quit about a year and a half ago. My incentive was a wisdom tooth extraction. My dentist made it very clear that I could not smoke for at least 48 hours or risk a dry socket which he said is extremely painful. Well, I went the 2 days and thought, hell, I made it this far lets try another day. I got the nicotine gum and did the whole 3 month program which really helped. Plus, today you feel like such a low life for smoking that I made up a slogan that helped both my girlfriend and me quit at the same time. "Only hillbillies smoke". Look around you...especially at older people that smoke. Most look like hicks...wear hats at resturants, drive pick-ups, have bad teeth, etc. Even in an urban areas most smokers are under educated and sadly are the least able to afford it. Hope I don't offend too many smokers, but you have to admit you have to be pretty stupid to spend all that money to slowly poison yourself. Hope I learned that lesson before it was too late. Good luck.

 

[Flyin_Free]

I smoked for years (from teenager to mid 20's) and then quit. It is so hard to do. One of the things that really helped me was chewing on a straw. It seemed to give me something to do with my hand and mouth instead of smoking. I also had to completely quit going out for coffee with friends because it was one of the things that I associated so closely with smoking (of course that was back in the day when you could smoke in restaurants). The nicotine patch Really helps with the physical craving as well.

Anyway, I quit for many many years and then somehow started again when my ex and I were having so many problems. First I'd just go visit my friend and smoke one now and then with her and then not need another till my next "crisis" with my ex. Now, 4 years later, I am definately addicted to them again. I don't smoke much...maybe only 5 a day, but I'm finding it really hard to stop. I know if I put my mind to it I Can do it but the memory of how hard it was to quit last time scares me LOL

Like I said, it IS hard...but if you really put your mind to it you can do it. The first 3 days are the worst I think. So if you can get through that then it all starts to get a bit easier. Eventually you really don't even think about it anymore.

Damn, typing all this out makes me think I really should just bite the bullet and throw the things out again....

 

[ifitfeelsgood]

Smoking

Hi, Im new to this site and this question is probably the only one I may have an answer to! Ive been a heavy smoker for 35 years, I decided 16 days ago to stop the dirty things. Im using nicotine patches and so far they are bloody marvelous! I think you have to reach a point in your life when you just know youre ready. I reccomend these patches if your serios about quitting cos it still aint a walk in the park.. Good luck.

 

[Ike_The_Spike]

I quit nearly 3 years ago (Sept. 25 is the anniversary date). It was not my first attempt by any stretch, so don't let failed attempts get you down. I had smoked for 20 years, with several quit attempts ranging from hours to 6+ months.

Of my 3 most successful attempts; the first was because I had to stop due to a sinus infection (~6 mos.), the second and third I used the patch.

For this last one I used a combination of the patch, Wellbutrin(aka Zyban), moral support from my family (my daughters especially) and QuitNet. It might have been as simple as trying to make it to the next milestone, but it helped a lot.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck with it, and if you slip don't let it get you down.

 

[Ness73]

I had been cutting back for the best part of 6 months in preparation for falling pregnant. Finally, I just quit, going cold turkey and it wasn't that bad. Been 'clean' since April this year and now the smell of cigarettes turns my stomach.
As an aside, here in Australia about 6 or so months ago, they began putting gross pictures on cigarette packets. Gangrenous feet, mouth cancer, diseased lungs,etc - if you still smoke after looking at them, you're a stronger person than me!
I have heard of people putting an astrays worth of cigarette butts into a jar and adding water. When you feel like one, open the jar and take a lungful - it stinks and it also looks gross.
Best of luck.

 

[Mazuri]

My husband did well with the military's program which uses a psychologist (for the mental addiction) and wellbutrin (for the physical). He said it was the easiest he's ever stopped smoking and it even got rid of the cravings.

 

[JustaJerk]

Hi Ed,
I'm one of those that pump $5 Billion dollars a year in my state's coffers through cigarette taxes. No, I'm not responsible for all of it. But at times, it seems like it. I had managed to quit for about a month last year. But things have been Extremely stressful these past few months and I'm hooked again.

First, a few words on the addiction for the benefit of the non-smokers:

Mark Twain: Quiting smoking is easy. And I should know, I've done it a thousand times.
(read between the lines, he started back up 1001 times)

Nicotine is a naturally occurring pesticide produced by the tobacco plant to protect itself against bugs. This pesticide attacks the nervous system.

20% of those that use cocaine on a regular basis are physically, chemically addicted.
80% of those that use nicotine on a regular basis are physically, chemically addictied.

Alcohol actually flushes nicotine from your system. It's why smokers smoke more when drinking. They need to smoke more to maintain their normal level of nicotine in their blood. It's also why some people can smoke only when they drink, and never feel the addictive effects.


I very highly reccomend
www.WhyQuit.com

Be sure to read the article, Nicotine Addiction 101. It explains in layman terms what the nicotine does to your body. I'm NOT talking about the stupid pictures of black lungs and other pictures with the intent of grossing you out/scaring you into quitting. I'm talking about the physical changes the brain goes through in an attempt to combat the pesticide. How nicotice changes your blood sugar level to such an extent, that your body begins to use craving for a smoke in order to regulate it.

Good luck, Ed. And anybody else trying to quit. It's a real bitch, but possible.
I've been reading through the WhyQuit website again. I'll make another attempt in fourteen days.

Justa

 

[The Gimp]

Although I enjoy a good nicotine buzz as good as anybody I have two addictions that are significantly stronger: money and sex. First off I'm far too cheap to get hooked on a habit that will cost me hundreds of dollars per month to maintain. Secondly my girlfriend absolutely hates cigarettes and would take the best sex that I've ever had away from me if I started smoking.

I wouldn't be so willing to give up liquor or porn but I can be more flexible with cigarettes. Now I just wait to smoke till I know that I can manage 12 hours, a shower, a toothbrush and a change of clothes to mask the smell.

 

[stageleft]

yuk

i once kissed a girl who smokes...it was HORRIBLE !
it was like tasting the bottom of a filthy dirty ash tray & almost made me gag to the point of being sick...
who would want to stink like that ???

 

[JustaJerk]

who would want to stink like that ???

Nobody would purposely want to stink like that. But that's not the point.
The point is, nicotine is more addictive than heroin or cocaine. And once you're hooked, you no longer notice (or care) that you stink.

 

[Bandit58]

i'm a smoker. i've been one for many years now. i began out of teen rebellion (dad's a doc, mom was born again) but what began as rebellion has turned into slavery.

i don't smoke at home unless we're drinking (alcohol). but my smoking outside of my home is increasing. i always used to manage on half a pack/day but that's increased to the better part of a pack/day. i used to manage going the whole weekend w/out smoking. that stopped weeks ago.

so i could really use some help here, folks. what techniques/methods have you guys found effective in kicking the habit, or at least trying to get some control over it? b/c i'm having absolutely none.

ed

Gil has gone from a 40+ a day habit down to 2 or 3 a day (yes he still has a cigarette but he stresses a lot and it's the only thing that calms him). He's thinking of trying the nicotine gum to cut back again. He was doing well there for a few months but has gradually let it get hold of him again - and he knows it isn't good but can't help it

He used the patches. I washed all the ashtrays and put them away, and the rule is he has to go out on the balcony to smoke. He finds it hard being around other smokers and that's what has started him up again I think. Speedway season has just started and that is a huge trigger for him - he's on the crash crew and has always smoked while down on the infield, and his mate next to him smokes like a chimney which doesn't help.

I am also an ex smoker, 20 years clean. I didn't smoke heavily (10-12 a day). I hibernated for 2 weeks, which was easy because the nearest shop was 10km away and I told myself I wasn't going to buy any more. The first 2 weeks is the hardest. I found myself drinking more coffee! But now I have no desire to start up again

 

[M's girl]

It's not only the physical aspect; it's the habit too. I mean... I'm a smoker; I smoke small cigars. Physically I'm not even addicted (to the nicotine), I'm more addicted to the habit.

You could say I could stop then, ..... and I could. I would not experience physical problems, but I like it too much. It's the whole social aspect too, I guess. I like sitting at the table after dinner with a strong coffee and a drink and my cigar. During the day I smoke less (to none sometimes). For me it matters if my partner smokes (and M does).

What I'm trying to say, I guess, is that you have to put your mind to it and that it helps if your spouse (and/or) others in your surrounding do not smoke.

Good luck!

 

[insertcutename]

I quit late March of this year after smoking since I was about 13 (I'm 25 now). It was not as hard as I thought it would be, but I still have cravings. Whenever I usually would have a smoke, now I pop in a piece of gum. I tried a few different kinds, but I found my cravings to be less severe with Extra Bubblemint gum.

 

[silverwhisper]

thanks for all the support, guys: i really appreciate it. i'm heartened to know that i can ask a question like this and have that kind of support: it means a lot to me.

sassy, flyin free: thanks, ladies!

ifitfeelsgood, i want: i've heard decent things about the patch. i'll have to keep that in mind but i don't think it's the physical addiction that's the problem. the mere act of smoking is what i'm addicted to. even when i have a cold, i'll light up. yeah, that's stupid and i know it, but still...

ness: i'm a bit of a neat freak so i don't know that i could do that. plus, the mrs would probably find it kinda gross. and i know that's the point but i don't know that i want that in my home, you know?

mazuri: not a fan of hypnosis, as i tend to react oddly to it. i'm not terribly familiar w/ wellbutrin: are there any side effects?

justa: thanks, that's something i was rather hoping to find, sites that might give me ammo to argue w/ myself. :>

bandit, m'sgirl: i agree there's a certain amount of controlling one's environment that's important. i don't necessarily want to tackle quitting wholesale--if limited to while drinking, that would be OK for me. and i have the big "while driving" trigger, too, although happily, not the "after eating" trigger that plagues so many smokers.

insertcutename: i love that handle! :> i may need to become a really big chewing gum junkie. this would hardly be a terrible thing, i suppose.

i know that most people say that cold turkey is the most effective way. i'm trying to reduce my consumption of smokes but work isn't making that easy. :|

again, thanks everyone!

ed

 

[Mazuri]

mazuri: not a fan of hypnosis, as i tend to react oddly to it. i'm not terribly familiar w/ wellbutrin: are there any side effects?
ed

They don't use hypnosis. The psychologist/psychiatrist (needed to prescribe the wellbutrin) is there to teach stress management and ways to recognize the mental triggers of wanting to smoke and to replace cigarettes in the comfort zone. They also tell one important thing....everyone backslides and it's not 'failure' if you do. So many programs make it seem like if you goof up once, you're done. But they acknowledge that, inevitably, you will regress and smoke, and that's ok, but you have to go back through the identifying the trigger and replacing the cigarette with something else.

Wellbutrin is actually a mild anti-depressant so during the first 30 days, the one quitting is actually calm and cheerful instead of grumpy They discovered one of the side effects on their depressed patients was the loss of physical cravings (it produces something that mimics the effect of nicotine, so your body thinks it's getting nicotine, when it's actually not, and you can flush it from your system and get beyond the physical cravings).

It was very straightforward, and was very successful for my husband (over two years and no cravings)...until he got orders for a remote to Korea and his stress levels skyrocketed He is already looking into re-taking it so as to stop once more. I have no idea how much such a program would cost civilians, however. It's included in our benefits package as military members.

 

[BTK51]

When You Are Ready

I was a smoker for over 30 years. Started in HS cause I hung around w/ smokers and it seemed like the thing to do. Increased my smoking a lot in college (up to ½ pack a day & at least a pack on the weekends when partying). Really started smoking when I got married (over 2 packs a day).

Like Mark Twain, I quit a thousand times (actually about 15) for anywhere from 3 days to 6 months. I thought that I would never quit because I really, really loved smoking. That was the problem as much as the addiction. I tried it all – hypnotism (never worked), acupuncture (worked for about 4 months), Smokenders through my company (about 3 weeks after the program finally ended), cold turkey (no way that was going to work), gum (about a month), and all sorts of programs and plans which never resulted in anything. Never tried Wellbutrin because my doctor, who is a staunch anti-smoker and ex-smoker, steered me away from it.

I have been off the smokes for 20 months & I truly feel that I will never go back. I NEVER felt that way when I quit in the past which IMO proves that you really have to WANT to quit. What worked for me is the patches. But they just made it easier. The cravings subsided & afforded me the time to forget how much I missed them.

I quit for about 7 months once on the patches and stupidly thought that I could have just 1-2 and then go back off them. I was right so I had 2-3 the next week & guess what? I was right again. So I had 4-5 the next week. Once again, no problem. Then I went on a business trip & didn’t want to grub so I bought a pack. You know the rest!

This time I knew that I could never have just one. Some people can, but I just can’t.

Good luck silver in whatever you try. I’ll be rooting for you because it much nicer being a non-smoker and makes life easier because I don’t have to find a place to sneak off to grab a toke. Besides that, you can’t believe the amount of money you’ll save.

... insertcutename: i love that handle! :> i may need to become a really big chewing gum junkie. this would hardly be a terrible thing, i suppose.

i know that most people say that cold turkey is the most effective way. i'm trying to reduce my consumption of smokes but work isn't making that easy. :|
:ed

Be careful, chewing too much or too fast can have some bad consequences!

 

[vanelane]

i know that most people say that cold turkey is the most effective way. i'm trying to reduce my consumption of smokes but work isn't making that easy. :|

again, thanks everyone!

ed

First, good for you! The benefits of quitting smoking are tremendous. Now, the most effective way, according to studies,is a combination of 1)a nicotine replacement of some sort (patch, gum, inhaler) and 2) Wellbutrin or Zyban (two different brands of the drug buproprion).

Good luck!

 

[Straight-8]

i know that most people say that cold turkey is the most effective way. i'm trying to reduce my consumption of smokes but work isn't making that easy. :|

ed

Good luck Ed! I've never been a smoker but my Dad was from the war until the mid-sixties. Then one day he just quit. Wrote the date on the back of the 'last pack of cigarettes he'd ever smoke' and that was it. Mind you he was a man of singular determination!

But a few years ago I was golfing with him and we were behind some smokers. Out west here it is very socially unacceptable to smoke, and I made some comment about them to my Dad. He said that he still considered himself a smoker - just one that didn't smoke. He said he knew if he had one that he'd be back to a pack a day within the week. Not wanting to do that, he never had that first one.

I was amazed that a guy like him could still feel the addiction that long after stopping. It must be a very powerful thing and I'm glad I never got hooked. I think the message is: it can be done but it is going to take effort and work and a deep committment to suceed - all the best!

 

[silverwhisper]

mazuri: obviously, i misunderstood, thanks for the clarification and the information. :>

BTK: ah, another advocate of the patch. i wasn't sure how much of this i was going to find but thanks.

vanelane, thank you.

straight 8: your father is a very, very wise man.

ed

 

[Sarojaede]

I've never been a smoker. I can't say that I have never smoked because I did in college but only when we were out drinking. But both my parents smoked for many years. My dad did from the time he was in high school until after I graduated from college, so probably about 30 years for him. My mom smoked from the time she married my dad until I was a sophmore or junior in college. She quit about 3 years before my dad did.

Both of my parents quit cold turkey. My mother actually quit because I asked her to. My sorority was sponsoring the great American Smokeout--we did every year. And as part of the promotional packages were tons of "headless" matches. I sent my mom a packet of headless matches with a note written inside the cover of the book. She read the note, called me and asked me to send her a pledge to sign to quit. I mailed it to her the next day. Three days later she signed it and threw away the rest of her cigarrettes and just quit.

Three years later my dad just quit cold turkey as well--no gum, no patches, no medicine. In fact my dad had tried the medicine and the patches but it just didn't work for him. So, he just crushed out his last cigarette and wouldn't let himself buy any more. I think he chewed his way through a half a forest worth of toothpicks though. And he would chew on straws.

Both of them still talk about how they are still smokers who don't smoke any more and that the cravings are still there. My dad says that the cravings never really go away but that he knows if he picks up a cigarette he will right back to that pack a day habit. My mom feels the same way. And, she still has that matchbook of headless matches and will pull it out and look at it occassionally just to remind herself of the promise that she made to herself and to me.

I'll send you all the good thoughts I can in your efforts, Silver.

 

[Guest]

 

[midwestyankee]

Never smoked cigarettes so I don't have any personal advice to offer, no testimonials to any particular method. Like SJ, I had two parents who were long-time smokers. My dad quit right after the first surgeon general's report came out in the early 1960's. My mother required another several years. Both went cold turkey, though my dad did several transitional years with a nightly cigar after dinner. Even those are long gone now.

It's possible to overcome any addiction, but the starting point has to be a willful choice to do so. Anything half-hearted is likely to be unsuccessful. It's amazing, in fact, what people can do with sufficient will.

If you choose to do this, you will succeed.

 

[Name_taken]

I wish you the best of luck! My dad quite smoking last year after about 3 decades of smoking!
From what I have heard, it takes 4 days for the nicotin to leave the body, and physical cravings to stop. After that it is jusat a mater of breaking the old rutines of smoking after coffee or at work or whatever.

Good luck!