Anyone here quit smoking?

[nismofan14]

I need to quit smoking and I am gonna do it without some magic happy pill or nicotine gum/patch. I have tried before by slowly cutting back which doesn't work. Anybody here quit that has some advise?

One plan I have is to save the money that I used to spend daily on cigarettes and then at the end of the month by something like tools or new parts for my car. Or maybe some kinda device that shocks the **** outta me every time I think about smoking.

Anyhow, I am gonna succeed this time so gimme some tips fi ya have any.

[vicki]

My advice is to stay the hell away from friends and social settings that involve excessive drinking and smoking. I don't know about you, but for a LOOONNNGGG time, whiskey and cigarettes just go together sooooo well.

But yeah, I've been smoke free for over a year now, not counting scattered incidences of social smoking.

[Nismo_Freak]

I'm glad smoking is a habit I will never pick up.

I have my parents to thank for that. My mom smokes alot and I absolutely hate it.

[getnrowdy23]

i agree with Vicki... your probably know that the first 30 days are the hardest, but really the first ten are a B***8 so jus t stay strong... think about the money you save and how much healthier you will be

[Meantime]

I'm actually in the process of quitting right now...

My method is to substitute something else for the smoking, usually 1) exercise or 2) drinking. (1 during the day, 2 at night)

Has worked so far - 7 days without a cig. I don't physically jones for the nicotine, it's more the habit/social interaction that makes me want one...

[Jesda]

One day I was like "Eww, this sucks." and I quit. 3 years smoke free.

[MaineExport]

A lot of good advice thus far.

I quit cold turkey over 4 years ago. I had smoked 1 to 1.5 packs per day for about 7 years. It was EXTREMELY hard to do for the first month. After that... it was only the mental addiction that had a grip on me. The social/emotional addiction takes a LONG time to get over. I didn't go to a bar or drink a beer for well over a year. At this point I have absolutely no desire to smoke.

The only thing that truly got me through the rough spots was mentally challenging myself. Every time an urge would overwhelm me and I felt like giving in... I would tell myself that if I DO give in and smoke... than a little plant that grows from the dirt is stronger than I am. It worked... I refused to be a slave to a plant, and I challenged my will to be stronger than my desire.

[Mr1der]

cold turkey it.

it's a matter of will power, you have any?

[maxnix]

The only way to do it is to do it. A lot depends on your self concept. Do you want your body to be a slave to parasitic corporate tobacco companies who have no regard for your well being? Well, do you?

While aerobic exercise is the best substitute (impaired lung capacity is a real incentive!), I recommend visiting or volunteering at a care facility that has lung cancer patients. It will scare the bejeezus out of you as it is not the way you want to go. Viewing a few pictures of an autopsied smoker's lungs will convince you that there is little reason to use them up prematurely by pumping smoke through them.

When your sense of smell returns, you will have to clean all your clothes, your house, and sell your cars (or replace the interiors and HVAC with clean new ones). You wil probably change a lot of your hang-outs and friends also because once you are away from it, it is very unappealing.

Good luck. You are worth it! The tobacco companies are not.

[nismofan14]

Wow, thanks for all the encouragement. One day at a time. Kinda weird going into the store and not buying a pack. The only thing that sucks so far is that I think I have more of an adiction to coffee and I always had a cigarette with my morning pot of coffee. So today I went for a long run after my coffee which changed my mind about having a cigarette.

1st day almost over.

[psychic_mechanic]

There's only one cig you have to keep yourself from lighting up....the next one. That's one of the things that helped me quit.

Use a combination of patches or gum and/or zyban.

I saw another smoker code blue this morning in the ER. STOP NOW!

[base9se]

Chewing gum helps out because it keeps you away from thinking about putting a cig in your mouth.

Ive quot for about a year now, but I smoke every now and again. I guess you can say I'm a social smoker.

[The Mic]

maybe put in $10 in a jar everytime you try to smoke? tryin to help

[szh]

I have never smoked, luckily, but I am told by close relatives who quit successfully, that cold turkey is the only one that works in the long run ... you have to want to do it, and then it is a matter of will power not to go back.

Z

[HongKongChick]

think about how many girls actually enjoy kissing an ashtray.

but i switched to light, then ultra light, then chewed gum alot, then voila.

good luck

[BadMojo]

cold turkey it.

it's a matter of will power, you have any?

That's what I did. I smoked between 1-2 packs a day and finally just quit because it was making me feel like crap. I just stopped smoking one day and never started again...it's been about 3 years.

The hardest part for me was psychological and just force of habit. The physical withdrawal wasn't all that bad for me.

I definitely feel a lot better now that I've quit smoking. More energy and all that ****.