Quitting smoking

[Nevero]

Any tips and strategies for quitting once and for all?

I've quit several times but none of these attempts have lasted. The very last one was back in August, and couple weeks ago I was lighting up again. I go cold turkey for a few months but I can't seem to stay of it. Anyone with the same problem, how did you overcome it?

[Beautiful sky]

Do you live in the US?

[macysmama]

Don't hang out with anyone that smokes.

[matilda]

Same problem, but Sorry still looking for a solution. Has anyone ever tried Champix and does it work?

[Kim]

I am not much of a self-help book person, but I came across Alan Carr's book and I did stop while reading it. I was very skeptical at first, but gave it a shot and it worked. I had smoked about .5-1 pack a day for seven years at the time and have mostly been a non-smoker since (14 years with one brief relapse maybe 8 years ago that lasted about 3 months or so). Most of my friends at the time were still smoking, but it was relatively easy to not smoke while hanging out with them after reading the book.

I think what helps is to focus on the positives rather than on what you are missing. Depending on how much you smoked, you notice the changes after quitting right away (sense of smell, better skin, more endurance, etc.). I kind of embraced the fact that my body recovered from the poison (but rest assured, to this day I miss the ritual somewhat).

That being said, his weight loss book is utter crap.

[sarinana]

Get an e-cig

[Narc]

Here are my thoughts. I managed to get about 5 weeks into quitting while getting the worst possible withdrawal symptoms (fuzzy mindedness that I refer to as 'brain mush', really strong depression, overeating and insomnia) and I'm about to commence quitting again now that I'm on break from university and have less things around that will make me want to smoke.

It seems that there's a huge addiction to the actual smoking component, possibly even more than the chemical addiction which is almost gone by about 4 weeks in.

My advice is at the very least to get your Nicotine from gum, patches or lozenges. Work on killing that habit. You've already demonstrated that you can get through the chemical component.

Judging by the amount of time you have off cigarettes before going back, you have essentially quit smoking each time. Your returns are probably triggered by being around other smokers too much, watching film or TV with too much smoking in it or you're coming across stressful situations that make you want to light up again. I'd say look for a better way to channel/cope with your stress. You can essentially turn to food, but then it just becomes the same problem and you end up putting weight on.

My recommendation is that you look to exercise to get your hit of 'feel good' stuff. Supplement that with meditation to help keep a cool head and deal with the stress better.

[Joy]

If you can make it a few months, you've made it through the hardest part. Your physical addiction and withdrawal is gone by the point. If you start smoking again after that, maybe it's because you simply want to smoke? (Though obviously there's also a part of you that doesn't or you wouldn't have quit.)

I second the exercise and meditation suggestions.

I quit a year and a half ago using the patch, but I did gain like 50 lbs in six months. :-/

[xerx]

no way out bro, you shouldn't have started smoking it in the first place.

[lagerdemon]

I recommend plenty of exercise, sex, food, and sexercise + food. it worked for me for a long period of time but then we broke up and I went back to smoking b/c not enough sex mostly.

[Kalinoche buenanoche]

think of your cig free life and all the benefits both money-wise and health-wise



then whenever you get the urge to smoke, imagine yourself a couple of hours later having already smoked and wanting it again

DO U WANNA BE A FKN SLAVE?????
DO U WANNA RAISE SLAVES??

thought so

then again i guess it's kinda ok if you can control it and say smoke a few when u feel bad and then staying off it for a long long time afterwards bcuz u r only human

i do the same with my nails sometimes when i am stressed and it sucks
esp when i see other people doing it and remembering that i am no different lul
must be the same with cigs

[strrrng]

Any tips and strategies for quitting once and for all?

I've quit several times but none of these attempts have lasted. The very last one was back in August, and couple weeks ago I was lighting up again. I go cold turkey for a few months but I can't seem to stay of it. Anyone with the same problem, how did you overcome it?

this happened to me as well, though it was typically weeks. the issue was always the psychological mechanism, i.e. how "quitting" falls under the same category as continuing... the energy has to be redirected or it'll just be a matter of time before you're thrown back into it. my best suggestion would be to begin exercising while smoking (ideally less) and kind of ween that way (hopefully memories begin associating themselves independently of nicotine). otherwise I don't know what to tell you. the only reason I was able to quit was because my body spontaneously began rejecting it. my uncle kept a pack in his house after quitting...

[jughead]

If you try the e-cig route buy the stuff online...much cheaper and better I've heard. check out http://www.reddit.com/r/electronic_cigarette

[DaftPunk]

Here are my thoughts. I managed to get about 5 weeks into quitting while getting the worst possible withdrawal symptoms (fuzzy mindedness that I refer to as 'brain mush', really strong depression, overeating and insomnia) and I'm about to commence quitting again now that I'm on break from university and have less things around that will make me want to smoke.

It seems that there's a huge addiction to the actual smoking component, possibly even more than the chemical addiction which is almost gone by about 4 weeks in.

My advice is at the very least to get your Nicotine from gum, patches or lozenges. Work on killing that habit. You've already demonstrated that you can get through the chemical component.

Judging by the amount of time you have off cigarettes before going back, you have essentially quit smoking each time. Your returns are probably triggered by being around other smokers too much, watching film or TV with too much smoking in it or you're coming across stressful situations that make you want to light up again. I'd say look for a better way to channel/cope with your stress. You can essentially turn to food, but then it just becomes the same problem and you end up putting weight on.

My recommendation is that you look to exercise to get your hit of 'feel good' stuff. Supplement that with meditation to help keep a cool head and deal with the stress better.

Did you make it?

I tryed several times to stop smoking the longest period was after I read the Allen Carr Book the first time. So my recommendation is to read his book and stop forever. The power of the book vanishs with the second read

[Narc]

Did you make it?

I tryed several times to stop smoking the longest period was after I read the Allen Carr Book the first time. So my recommendation is to read his book and stop forever. The power of the book vanishs with the second read

I'm actually back on my first day of quitting. Got some gum to have at night so I can sleep. I won't be able to afford the habit soon, so it's best I quit now. I've left it about as late as I could.

[Amber]

Any tips and strategies for quitting once and for all?

I've quit several times but none of these attempts have lasted. The very last one was back in August, and couple weeks ago I was lighting up again. I go cold turkey for a few months but I can't seem to stay of it. Anyone with the same problem, how did you overcome it?

First I had to hit the bottom. lol. I was getting neurotic, smoked more than 1 pack per day, I was hating it (and my own addiction in the process). So I made the rational decision to quit. The method was buying some special Anti-tobacco cigarets from a drug store. I could smoke how much I wanted to , since the reflex-gesture was maintained, but they are made of plants and have a nasty taste, so you don't really wanna. The logic of those cigarets is that they leave you a particular taste in your mouth which makes a real cigaret taste like hell when you try again. I first thought it's bs, but damn, how it worked. I didn't even have to smoke the whole pack. At the same time, I entered a "hardcore" fruit diet : 2-3 weeks of daily natural juice (lemons, oranges and grapefruits) --- cca 2 liters , diluted with some water, of course. All this kept me from going crazy during the nastiest period of quitting, when you wanna kill yourself out of desire for the object of your addiction, so to speak. My skin started looking way better (nicer, fresher color), my mood was brighter and I began to like my whole life a lot more. The consequence of resorting to those special cigars is that even now ( after 7 years) I have a high intolerance to real cigarettes or smoke. My organism cannot stand tobacco any more. I have to tell smokers to refrain from it or go mainly in places for non-smokers. It's an organic reaction , probably also coupled with some interesting psychological "positive blockage" , cause I feel some sort of nausea at the smell of cigarette smoke. I couldn't stand tasting anything similar again. So whichever tactics you choose, good luck.

[Iris]

My friend quit using Chantix and then relapsed due to a breakup. She waited a bit to get to a better place emotionally and then quit again using Chantix. She hasn't smoked in about a year now.

[Aylen]

I quit for ten years once. Wellbutrin helps, but I do not recommend, unless you want another thing to withdrawal from. It does give energy and lift your mood though.

Edit: I started inhaling at age 12 because I was trying to be cool and I asked some older kids for a cig and they said, only if you inhale, so I did. I wanted to gag and I held back the choke. Walked away feeling so proud of myself.

[Beautiful sky]

Check out your local hospitals for free smoking programs sponsored by the American Heart Association.

My dad recently joined one and they said they have a higher than average success rate. Plus I think most quitters need a lot of support.

[Nevero]

Don't hang out with anyone that smokes.

Overall this is a good advice, but I was trying to quit smoking - not my friends. I realize that hanging out with people who smoke (which is 1/3 of those whom I know, most are casual) is enabling me to pick it up again but value the bonds that I've built with them above dying from lung cancer.

It seems that there's a huge addiction to the actual smoking component, possibly even more than the chemical addiction which is almost gone by about 4 weeks in.

My advice is at the very least to get your Nicotine from gum, patches or lozenges. Work on killing that habit. You've already demonstrated that you can get through the chemical component.

Judging by the amount of time you have off cigarettes before going back, you have essentially quit smoking each time. Your returns are probably triggered by being around other smokers too much, watching film or TV with too much smoking in it or you're coming across stressful situations that make you want to light up again. I'd say look for a better way to channel/cope with your stress. You can essentially turn to food, but then it just becomes the same problem and you end up putting weight on.

My recommendation is that you look to exercise to get your hit of 'feel good' stuff. Supplement that with meditation to help keep a cool head and deal with the stress better.

My addition is more chemical than habitual and gets re-triggered by stress and break-ups or making a bad move picking up a crappy job. That's when the cravings pick back up again and that's also the time that I'm most likely to go out to let loose and relieve some of the tension. The cure would be to have less stress in my life but at the current time that's not possible. Fuck it may be I'll try an anti-depressant next time. I've read those things can have all kinds of side effects.

no way out bro, you shouldn't have started smoking it in the first place.

I was eight when I had my first cig and too young to realize it.