Quitting Smoking

[diapermefast]

Does anybody have any good advice on quitting smoking?, i have been smoking for about 4-5years and smoke on average 20 a day, i have decided to call it a day and to quit, but i wanted to know from anybody that has quit? I have decided to quit mainly for my health, i have seen a couple of family members and family friends die and become really ill because they smoked, i think i have the motivation but i really enjoy smoking, i have a stressfull job and smoking seems to get me though the day.

[Pojo]

Try to replace it with like gum chewing...There are plenty of support groups for it (Google it, because I don't know of any)...Also ask Mandi...As far as I know, she hasn't smoked in a while

[Pramrider]

Never smoked, so I can't give any first hand advice. However, I do know smoking is usually tied in with different things you do as part of your daily routine. Some people have to alter their routine to help curb the desire to light up. For example: it might be a habit to sit back in front of the TV, relax, and smoke right after a meal. In that case it might be better to get up from the table, go out for a walk, surf the net, anything except the action you would normally do which had a cigarette included with it. Wish you every success in your resolve to break the habit.

~Pramrider

[diapermefast]

Thanks guys, im gonna take a look on some quitting smoking groups later, still havent decided if i am going to go "Cold tukey" or cut down a little first.

[Rance]

It's been almost seven months since I last had a cigarette, and I was a heavy smoker for almost a decade. I wish you the best of luck in getting rid of the habit, so I hope that the first time can be the charm!

A few good pointers that I can add from personal experience.

1) Choose a solid ending date. Pick a day that you can prepare for. Prior to that day, keep a list and write up reasons why you want to stop. I know that sounds gay, but it's true -- it helps! The best way to quit smoking is to want to, and no better way than to remind yourself of why it'll be good and get you prepared for it.

2) Dwindle your smokes up until that day. Every day, cut at least one cigarette out of your routine. Being that I was out of the house from 6 A.M. until 10 P.M. at night, and I went through a pack a day, I would open a new pack in the morning, remove one cigarette, throw it away, and go about my business. Next day, I would remove two, next day three, and so on. You begin realizing that you're a) wasting money, and b) readjusting your bodily schedule to deal with the lacking nicotine on a more manageable basis.

3) On the day that you stop, quit in the morning. The easiest time for me to stop smoking was when I woke up, because I was one of the few smokers I knew that could go a few hours in the morning without a cigarette. Wake up on a fresh, new day, go to work, and distract yourself -- keep busy. Do things that you wouldn't associate with smoking. For example, after work, go to a movie (where you can't smoke anyway), and then go to a restaurant where smoking isn't allowed. When you go to places where you can't smoke, you realize just how unimportant smoking was to you in the first place.

4) Ask your friends to help. If they smoke, ask them not to around you for a time being. Whatever you can do to eliminate the urges, do it.

5) DRINK WATER! I can't stress this enough. Other people suggest candy, but that can be bad for your health in the long run, too. For your first week or so without cigarettes, never be without a bottle of water and something healthy to snack on (I suggest sunflower seeds). Drink when you get the urge for a smoke. I used to eat sunflower seeds in the car, because it gave my hands and mouth something to do when I'd normally smoke.

Drink a LOT the day you quit. Just keep pounding water through your body -- it'll make your detox experience much faster. I went through about two gallons of water the day I quit smoking, but I only suffered about a one-hour headache from the lack of nicotine before my body began processing it back out.

6) Take deep breaths. If you find yourself jonesing for a smoke, emulate the motions -- put a pen up to your mouth, suck in a deep breath. You'll find that you were actually more addicted to the sensation of smoking than to the nicotine itself.

7) Keep faith! If you don't quit the first time ... it's okay! Just prepare yourself up for another date. Don't procrastinate, but don't come down hard on yourself, either. You'll do it, and you'll do it fine! If you get through a week, you've got about a 75% better chance to stay nicotine free. Smoke will start smelling bad to you, and the other benefits -- more lung capacity, less headaches, better rest at night, expanded sense of taste and smell -- will begin to show themselves!

Good luck, Fast! I wish you the best!

[ballucanb]

I quit a long time ago, I was a multi pack smoker at times, mostly while drinking.

There was a stop smokeing course on our local Public TV station ch 44 WVIA, basicly you picked a date to quit, and while still smokeing, stretched out the length of time in between cigs.

And a about a month later you quit when you were ready, they wanted you to switch to a light cig a week or two before you started, and just smoke like you did before, and then start the timeing method.

It worked for me after about a month I had one smoke, and shortly after that my father died but I still didn't smoke in a stressful situation, and I was told if I didn't start back after that, I was finished with cigerettes for good, and that was in 1983.

[Vaultin]

Drink water and eat lots of fruit if you go cold turkey. You will get mad constipated. However, if you make it past the first 3 days, your physical addiction to nicotine will be gone. Anything leftover is mental. Replace it with sugar-free gum.

[Nam Repaid]

I quit twice, at 24 for 10 years and again at 38. Dumbist thing I ever did was to start smoking again in my 30s. None of the things mentioned ever worked for me. Both times when I finally did it I just realised this is dumb and quit. I've seen many friends do candy and gum etc. and just get fat rot their teeth and still smoke. Make up your mind and just do it! You won't regret it.

Nam

[mzkkbprmt]

I had to go through my Mum quitting and all she did was use nicotine patches and it really didn't work. For one thing, she had to try three times. Try to use as many different methods as possible and reduce it gradually. It is better to wean yourself off it then to suddenly stop.

[dogboy]

I quit cold turkey. I had quit and started back a number of times. Finally I got fed up and just quit. If you truly want to quit, you will.