Who here successfully quite smoking

[jrhymeammo]

after 10+ years?

I've been smoking for more than half of my life, and I think it's about time I quit.

I was hoping ex-smoker here would give me a great advice.
I think I've failed in the past cuz I always make a huge annoucement before I quit...excuses, excuses.
Patches and gums dont work, but helps me get thru meetings at work. Any thoughts?

[ForeverAutumn]

I started smoking when I was 12. Quit at 25. Forget patches and gum, they just prolong the agony. The only way to quit is cold turkey. You have to just make the decision that you're going to quit and live with it. Just bite the bullet and get all the crap out of your system.

One of the things that worked for me...and this takes a lot of will power...is that I carried around an unopened pack of cigarettes for about three months. My goal each day, was to just get through the day without opening that pack. As long as I didn't break that seal, I was doing okay. After about three months, someone asked me for a cigarette and I just handed her the pack and said, "keep it". That's when I knew that I was successful.

I'm not going to say that it was easy. It was the hardest thing that I've ever done. But the actual withdrawal only lasted a couple of weeks. After that it was all in my head and breaking habits, like reaching for my purse to get a smoke after I started my car, or after dinner. It took a couple of months for me to stop reaching for that unopened pack of cigarettes. I drank about a dozen cups of coffee a day and replaced nicotine with caffeine. Then I had to break the caffeine addiction (which was much easier to do). I also chewed a lot of gum. Not nicotine gum though. That won't help you with the withdrawals. Just plain (sugarless) gum to give you something to do. I still craved cigarettes for about two or three years afterwards. So it's something that you'll have to fight all the time. That's why you have to really, really want to quit.

I'm not one of those people who have quit a dozen times. I just made the decision that I didn't want to smoke anymore and so I didn't. There's no great secret. You just have to want it badly enough. If you don't really want to quit...you won't.

Good luck!!!

[jrhymeammo]

...is that I carried around an unopened pack of cigarettes for about three months.

Good luck!!!

Isnt that how a member of Gwar quit smoking crack?

Thanks ForeverAutumn, I'm starting to quit quiting, but gotta put an end to this cycle. I've quit harder stuff than this, but somehow this gotta be the hardest. I've held off smoking cold turkey for about 4 months once. That was alot easier than cutting back to half a pack/day. I think I had more money back then. During that time, I kept a single Lucky Strikes in a prescription bottle and carried around everywhere. Decided that if I ever wanted to smoke, I shoulda smoke that staled filth as a reminder to how nasty the habit is. But I just ended up driving wrecklessly to a near by station.

This aint gonna be easy and it shouldnt be..

[markw]

Tried cold turkey. Tried the gum. Tried smoke-endears. The patch wasn't out yet but I would have tried it.

don't laugh, but what finally worked was hypnosis and no, we didn't do the chicken walk. It wasn't a clinical thing. It was held en masse in the auditorium of a local high school and was dirt cheap.

He started out by talking about all it's dangers (like we didn't know it already). Then, he gave us a little plastic bag with a piece of gauze like paper in it. He had us smoke a cigarette and blow the smoke into the bag and onto that piece of paper which, coincidentally , had a line drawing of a pair of lungs. After blowing the smoke in there, the lungs were dark and discolored. A handy visual aid.

Then, he sent us outside for a last smoke. When we came back he said that it really only worked if we really, really wanted to quit. If we were here for any reason other than a serious personal desire then we could get our money back if we left now.

He had us relax and talked us through some "visual imaging", which actually helped. After we "woke up" (we were never asleep), he gave us a rubber band to wear on our wrists. When we felt the urge to smoke, we snapped the rubber band and it actually HELPED me resist the urge to smoke.

I say "helped" because it didn't take away the desire, which was strong, (but not quite as strong as it was before) Nor did it do anything magic to stop me from grabbing that cigarette. But, it did give me a little extra strength to resist.

Yeah, I backslid. In two years I went three times. The first time was after six months when my father died, I went back but obviously I wasn't ready because I only lasted two weeks. I continued to smoke until I was really, really mad at myself going back to smoking again and went back one last time. That was in October '92 and I haven't had a cigarette since.

But, YMMV. Different things work for different people. If the opportunity presents itself and you're really, really serious, you might want to give it a try.

Good luck. It ain't easy, but you CAN do it.

[kexodusc]

First, jrhymeammo, congrats on making this decision to quit smoking. Like Yoda said, "Do, or do not. There is no try."

I'm deathly allergic to 1st hand cigarette smoke (2nd hand doesn't bother me more than anyone else), so I guess I was lucky to never pick up that habbit.
My Dad used the USAF method to quit himself, and still uses it to help his students quit.

Just a two step process:
1) Find a friend(s) who can act as your monitor(s)...
2) Everytime you're caught smoking a cigarette, they kick you in the nuts!

Serious...unbelivable how fast and effective this is!

[GMichael]

I started smoking in 1976. After getting up to 2 packs a day, I tried to quit several times. I'd fall for the same mistake each time. "Oh, just one won't hurt me." Yes it will. One leads to two and you're back in the same boat all over again. You have to make up your mind that once you quit, you will never ever take a single puff again.
I made a list of all the reasons I wanted to quit. You'd be surprised to see how long this list ends up. Health, breath, cloths, car, the being chained to them everywhere you go, etc.... Then I picked a day that would be my last. I smoked my brains out up to that day knowing that I'd never have one after then. Then the day came. 3/31/92 at 11:55 PM I tossed the rest of my pack into garbage and never had another.

It's more mental than physical as FA pointed out. There are many little habits to break. The first one when you wake up. The one after coffee. The one after a meal. The one when starting the car. The one before bed. And on and on.

Don't ever give in. Quit and never smoke again..
You're loved ones will get to love you longer.

[basite]

congrats on the decision to quit smoking,

I've never smoked a cigarette in my life, and I never will.

but how about this:
every time when you smoke a cigarette, is a day without listening to music.

I think that's even a better and a healthier method to quit smoking.

Good luck,
Bert.

[ForeverAutumn]

I made a list of all the reasons I wanted to quit. You'd be surprised to see how long this list ends up. Health, breath, cloths, car, the being chained to them everywhere you go, etc.... Then I picked a day that would be my last. I smoked my brains out up to that day knowing that I'd never have one after then. Then the day came. 3/31/92 at 11:55 PM I tossed the rest of my pack into garbage and never had another.

Don't ever give in. Quit and never smoke again..
You're loved ones will get to love you longer.

There are some great points there.

After I quit, anytime I thought about starting again, I thought of two things...

1) If I start smoking again, eventually I'm going to want to quit again. Quiting was so hard that I never want to go through it again. The only way to to avoid quitting again, was to not start again.

2) I thought about all the people that would be hurt if I developed a smoking related illness like lung cancer. I didn't want to be responsible for all their pain. If I developed an illness that couldn't be avoided there was nothing I could do about that. But I didn't want to be a knowing/willing contributor.

In the movie, Dead Again, Robin Williams plays a psychologist. There is a line that he says in that movie that has always stuck with me...

Someone is either a smoker or a nonsmoker. There's no in-between. The trick is to find out which one you are, and be that. If you're a nonsmoker, you'll know.

[shokhead]

I stopped 22 years ago. No more joints for me.

[Resident Loser]

after 10+ years?

I've been smoking for more than half of my life, and I think it's about time I quit.

I was hoping ex-smoker here would give me a great advice.
I think I've failed in the past cuz I always make a huge annoucement before I quit...excuses, excuses.
Patches and gums dont work, but helps me get thru meetings at work. Any thoughts?

...just quit, quit, quit...cold turkey...sure you may turn into a b@stard and eat everything in sight as your taste buds come alive, but why do you think they make Jack Daniel's...

You have to just get used to doing things that you normally would light up for...for me it was doing follow-up paper work, drinking coffee, after eating....It's a b!tch no doubt, particularly when your better half still indulges...but only near the exhaust fan...They say it only takes three days to purge your system of the nicotine craving after that, it's in the head and that's what you need to work on...

It's been over 30 yrs. now and to this day I still get the urge now and again...over time however, the time period of the urge has shrunk to milliseconds...

Drinkin' can be hard to kick, but changing eating habits is THE worst...

jimHJJ(...with smokin' you just stop, with drinkin' you just don't go to gin mills, but there's little you can do to avoid the temptation of f-o-o-o-d glorious food..)

[Gerall]

IMHO the key to success in quitting is really honestly wanting to quit. Not because its the in thing to do, not because its costly, not because of a bet, but because you really feel you have to. That is the first step. I have quit a few times on a whim or bet, and went back. Finally what got me to quit about 4 years ago was after a nightclub where I smoked about a pack from open to close. Next day I woke up with such a sore throat, cough and chest congestion that the mere thought of a cigarette was not good, so decided to quit.
Another tip is reward yourself fiancially for quitting. Every week I put the cost of a weeks smokes into a jar, and on each anniversary date I took it and spent it on whatever I wanted. It helped to see that.

[GMichael]

IMHO the key to success in quitting is really honestly wanting to quit. Not because its the in thing to do, not because its costly, not because of a bet, but because you really feel you have to. That is the first step. I have quit a few times on a whim or bet, and went back. Finally what got me to quit about 4 years ago was after a nightclub where I smoked about a pack from open to close. Next day I woke up with such a sore throat, cough and chest congestion that the mere thought of a cigarette was not good, so decided to quit.
Another tip is reward yourself fiancially for quitting. Every week I put the cost of a weeks smokes into a jar, and on each anniversary date I took it and spent it on whatever I wanted. It helped to see that.

That's the reason for the list.
At 2 packs a day at $5 a pack that adds up to a small car payment. (or some very nice speakers )

[basite]

here's something to demotivate smoking:

one of my teachers at school smokes (well, not at school, but you get the picture)
nothing against him, he's my favourite teacher, but his teeth are yellow and black instead of white, his clothes stink, his breath stinks, if we get a test back from him, the test stinks too.

Imagine what would happen when you meet a nice girl, or go for a job, or something else.
think about it.


Good luck,
Bert.

[KaiWinters]

I quit approx 27 years ago after smoking for around 12 years.
I tried to stop using varied methods numerous times but always started up again.
Finally I found a method that seemed to work for me: Found another habit...running...and started smoking one less cigarette per week. Eventually I was smoking around 3 to 4 cigarettes per week and finally one day I just did not need to smoke any more. Never smoked again but it still was not easy. For the next year or so I would crave a smoke at certain times or doing certain activities...Cup of coffee and a smoke...pitcher of beer with buds and a smoke, etc. But I managed to hold out and never smoke again.
Now I hate the sight and smell of the nasty things.
Fortunately my children were raised in a smoke free house and neither smoke...one is 19 the other is 22. Thank God.

Just do not give up. Sometimes it takes a while but if you want to quit you can.

[jrhymeammo]

Thanks to all. I appreciate it alot.

I agree with almost everything stated. I think I truely want to quit, whatever reasons may be.

I, too, used to make long lists of reasons to quit. I didnt care if I had made double or triple entries cuz it just meant it was that much important to me.

btw, I havent decided to quit yet. Just thinking REALLY strong about quiting....again.

Also, not looking forward to a week long constapation.

[daviethek]

[QUOTE=jrhymeammo]Thanks to all. I appreciate it alot.

I agree with almost everything stated. I think I truely want to quit, whatever reasons may be.

I, too, used to make long lists of reasons to quit. I didnt care if I had made double or triple entries cuz it just meant it was that much important to me.

btw, I havent decided to quit yet. Just thinking REALLY strong about quiting....again.

Also, not looking forward to a week long constapation.[/QUOTE]

So much of this is psychological. Smokers have a lot of completely fabricated media crap to contend with. The latest ( actually within the last few years) is the thing about addiction. Its common for people who have never smoked to describe tobacco addiction as this incredible soul-stealing affair.

Please consider that addiction to tobacco is probably one of the mildest addictions. It is indeed physically addicting but not even in the same freakin ball park as prescription pain killers and other hard drugs. The physical symptoms of withdrawl are in the "mild discomfort" range. Belive me, you have had worse colds and flu symptoms. They last for about a week and then it becomes a psychological struggle, whic is completely different from the physical withdrawl.

Modern medicine pisses me off. You see commercials showing everyday smokers who have smoked forever and all look full of anxiety about quitting. The next thing you see is a freakin add for a freakin drug that is supposed to ease the withdrawl of the freakin drug they are on. You don't need the drugs, you don't need the patch, you don't need the zanex and you don't need the plethera of ill-intentioned advice. When you need to quit, just do it cold turkey, be a man, and deal with it. It is not even close to the most difficult thing you have done in your life. Don't buy into all the crap. Pierce through it with your own reality.

[ForeverAutumn]

It is not even close to the most difficult thing you have done in your life.

Having never been addicted to and had to quit all of the other vices that you mention...I can honestly say that quiting smoking IS the most difficult thing that I've ever done in my life. Don't minimize the accomplishment.

[ForeverAutumn]

btw, I havent decided to quit yet. Just thinking REALLY strong about quiting....again.

Until you've made that decision and really mean it, you won't be successful. You may as well just keep on smoking and avoid the frustration of failure.

[GMichael]

Until you've made that decision and really mean it, you won't be successful. You may as well just keep on smoking and avoid the frustration of failure.

Agreed, but don't stop adding to your list. Maybe something will come along that tips the scale for you.
Maybe: Found a wife that makes living longer sound like a great idea.
or: Wife gets preggo and you want to set a good example for her.
or: Wife gets preggo and you don't want to have your kid effected by second hand smoke before they are even born.
or: Wife gave birth, etc
or: Friend gets cancer
or: Someone you know dies from cancer or heart attack or any of the other ways that smoke kills.
or: you get the idea. etc etc etc

[Smokey]

Deja Vu.....

Cigarettes are worst form of addiction.

[daviethek]

Having never been addicted to and had to quit all of the other vices that you mention...I can honestly say that quiting smoking IS the most difficult thing that I've ever done in my life. Don't minimize the accomplishment.

I hear you. It was just my view. I was not trying to minimize the accomplishment just add my perspective to it. Maybe I could have worded things better, but my feelings on the issue are strong. My only other withdrawls besides a 25 year addiction to cigarettes was with pain killers... twice. Both times I found the pain killer withdrawl a preview of hell for a few days. I don't remember cigarettes being like that. Difficult to quit....unquestionably. Most who stay quit usually have several trys at it before success. But I don't remember the cravings for a cig. in any way resembling tremors, ,joint pains and insomnia.

[ForeverAutumn]

I hear you. It was just my view. I was not trying to minimize the accomplishment just add my perspective to it. Maybe I could have worded things better, but my feelings on the issue are strong. My only other withdrawls besides a 25 year addiction to cigarettes was with pain killers... twice. Both times I found the pain killer withdrawl a preview of hell for a few days. I don't remember cigarettes being like that. Difficult to quit....unquestionably. Most who stay quit usually have several trys at it before success. But I don't remember the cravings for a cig. in any way resembling tremors, ,joint pains and insomnia.

I'm sure that was terrible for you. I'm sorry that you had to go through that. Glad to hear that you were successful, in any case.

[jrhymeammo]

Painkillers were easy to quit for me. I just packed my bags and left to West. Now back in east again, but I'm much stronger.

Trust me, $300 nights with cotton fever? $0 days on a couch like a ball python with constant you know what.
We all do behave differently, dont we?

But like the way everyone stated about quiting, you truly gotta want to quit. I did. That doesnt mean I didnt relapse. But I have scars that remind me of bad days, but they are fading along with urges.

I dont think I can quit by wanting aspiration to quit. Got some thinking to do I guess.

Best wishes,