Quitting Smoking

[StevieM]

I posted before I read the other posts. Come back and read the advice - great advice from people (and support)!!

One more thing - there is this thing that I had on my computer at work and here at home called - the quit meter - it tells you how much life you've added - how much $ you saved. That helped a lot to and my daughter loved seeing it.

If you do a goole search for quit meter it should come up. If you are on the computer a lot it's definately worth getting (it's free)

good luck again. We can do anything we make up our minds to do!! : )

[dreaminginblond]

I wish you the best of luck and all the willpower you need to be successful.

Nice pink lungs, being able to breathe, not smelling like smoke, saving you a ton of money and lowering your risk of cancer all good things to remember if it gets hard.

You're doing the right thing and I really hope you do it.

[Lil Bit]

I smoked for 23 years. At the end I was up to 2 (or more) packs a day. I've been smoke free for 5 1/2 years now. I tried hypnotism and it didn't work at all for me. Maybe for some people but not me. I think the most important thing is that you have to want to quit smoking. If you don't really want to, nothing is going to help you. Both of my parents died of lung cancer and it took me another 10 years to quit.

What I think worked for me, besides the desire to quit, was the patch. I was afraid to smoke as long as I had a patch on, because I'd heard that you could have a heart attack or something, so as long as I left the patch on, I was able to resist. Now don't get me wrong, it was HARD . Every second of every waking moment I was thinking of smoking. But it does get better.

Another thing that helped me immensely was to join a list serve group (or whatever they're called). I joined something called "Smoke Free Gal" and I think it was on OneList.com or something. Anyway, whenever I felt I needed extra help, I could go on and read the mail, post something of my own, message someone personally, whatever. It helps to have someone to talk to who is going through the same thing that you are.

I tried to reward myself, not with food, but with other things that I really enjoy. I started spending some of the money that I would have been spending on cigs on scented candles. Let me tell you, when your sense of smell comes back.... it's truely amazing! When I felt really stressed and was afraid that I'd smoke, sometimes I'd take a long, hot, soothing bubble bath, complete with dimmed lights and scented candles around the room.

Well, every one has given you good advice. I wish you luck. And you are more than welcome to pm me if you just want to chat or rant or anything. I would love to help you if I can. GOOD LUCK!!

[Citizen Kaos]

I just wanted to say that this is a great thread and everyone is giving some great, helpful advice.

I don't smoke but my husband has smoked since he could crawl and I'm trying desperately to get him to quit.

I hate when his family butts in and says to me "You gotta let him do it when he's ready.." Oh blah blah.

[captain]

I quit smoking Dec 31, 2003, so going on 5 months. I quit 7 1/2 yrs ago but picked it back up. It will only take 1 cigarette to start again. One of the best things I have found to get the nicotine out of my system is ordinary Apple Juice. I quit cold turkey, dont ask me how I did it, but so far so good. I still drink a lot of juices and plenty of water. The first step is to actually want to stop, then change the first thing you do in the morning and make that your new habit. Once the nicotine is out of your system (and it will take a long time) the energy is great, walking every day now and no longer out of breath.
Good Luck

[applesauce]

I decided to quit smoking out of the blue one day. Just decided it was time. A few days later, I found out I was pregnant, so maybe my body was trying to tell me something. That, of course, turned into a huge motivation for me to continue to not smoke. Everytime I would see a cigarette, I would imagine blowing the smoke into the face of a newborn. My body wasn't just my own to demolish anymore.

Now, I'm not saying that anyone that wants to quit smoking should get pregnant. I am saying that I think it helped to have a specific mental image to bring to mind whenever I wanted to smoke. Something so bad, that I began to associate smoking with feelings of disgust. While I was pregnant, that image was blowing the smoke into the face of a baby. Now, that image is of my daughter's face as I lay in a bed rotting away from lung cancer.

For many years I was a closet smoker. I had a friend and a few co-workers that I would hang with and smoke but it was mostly done while I travelled for business which was a lot and often alone. I quit smoking when I thought I might be pregnant. I will admit, it was very hard but I knew I couldn't hurt a baby with my smoking. Even worse, I had to give up coffee at the same time. I would often get a craving to start again...even now, I will occasionally want a cigarette. I can't give you any great advice about quitting other than never having cigarettes around. If they are there, you will find an excuse to smoke one.

Oh yeah...when you stop, have you entire house and car cleaned and detoxed to get rid of all smoke smell, dust, etc. Even your clothes. It is amazing how much smoke damages and stinks up everything. About a week after I quit, I went through and cleaned up everything! My biggest motivator for not starting up again is not wanting that wretched smell on my clothes, in my hair, on my furniture. I look back and wonder if people ever made comments about me smelling like smoke. I am sure they did.

I think quitting is really like a new beginning and you have to treat it as such. Think of other changes you have been wanting to make...maybe more excersize, yoga, an art class, volunteer, etc, and focus your energy into something new where you aren't associated with smoking. Basically take away the negative and channel your energy into something positive.

OK. I am starting to sound silly. Good luck with your endeavor and let us all know if we can do anything to help. Many of us have been there. We know it isn't easy, but just making the decision to quit took a lot of courage.

[Anonymous]

Wow, there was some really great advice in this thread. I feel kind of silly as I'm having a smoke as I'm reading it but I'm definitely getting second thoughts. I have smoked for about 5 years now - usually smoking a pack a day - and I've tried to quit a bunch times but I haven't had any success. Part of the reason being that 1. I don't have to pay for my cigarettes and 2. I am still in the "I enjoy smoking" phase.

It's hard, definitely. I didn't last more than a week before breaking down. I've tried the patch, gum, "fake" cigarettes, herbal stuff.. and none of them seemed to help me at all. Actually, I found that the gum made me want to have a cigarette more because gum always does that to me. Also, I'm just so used to smoking during certain times that it doesn't feel right if I don't have a smoke when I usually do, you know?

So yeah, I'm wishing you all the luck in the world JG. I hope that you're able to kick this nasty habit!

[Ilikai]

What seems to be an important part is the fact that you need to "WANT" to quit. Not just saying I am going to quit cause its good for my health. You really have to want to quit. I was getting tired of smoking, had been for some time. I tried quitting at least five times in the past, once I made it a year going cold turkey. This last time was the best, I Really Wanted to Quit and was weaning myself down to make it easier.

[speedbump]

Ili-

I didn't use the Smokeaway system, but I have heard good things about it. A friend of mine told me to use it, but since I saw it on an infomercial I thought it was a sham (as a few infomercials are). Several people I know who were lifetime smokers swear by it.

[Lil Bit]

I don't smoke but my husband has smoked since he could crawl and I'm trying desperately to get him to quit.

I hate when his family butts in and says to me "You gotta let him do it when he's ready.." Oh blah blah.

I hate to tell you this but your husbands family may be right. It seemed the more people nagged me about my smoking, the more I wanted to smoke. Sort of that, "You can't tell me what to do, I'll do what I want" mentality. I'm going through this with my husband now. He says he's trying to quit, but he continues to smoke. And he needs to stop because he already has some health issues that are made worse by smoking. It's REALLY hard for me to keep quiet and let him do it himself. But he is the only one who can do it so I try not to nag. :rolleyes