Advice for Someone Who Is Ready to Quit Smoking!

Such wonderful news that he is ready to quit. I was a smoker for almost 20 years and have now been smoke-free for 16 months. I quit with the Chantix pill. I too was ready to quit. Have him write down the reason(s) to quit and post that somewhere where he will see it every day. Mine was to not be tethered to cigarettes any longer and be able to enjoy a day without wondering when I would be able to smoke.
I would recommend to keep a lot of fresh fruit and/or veggies cut up and easily available. Pretzel sticks also helped; it is the hand-to-mouth action.
Also, be supportive and understand that his mood swings are not necessarily directed towards you. Go for nightly walks or some other activity that you can do together, this will help keep his mind off of when/where his next cigarette is.

Congratulations! It's not going to be an easy road, but it can totally be done! First, I'd suggest praying...find some scriptures that inspire him to keep his body holy for God, that reminds him that his body is a temple...things of that nature...when I quit, I pictured the Holy Spirit inside of me, coughing & gagging on cigarette smoke...definitely helped! If he is not spiritual, just find some powerful sayings to focus on when the cravings hit. Visualizations help as well. Something else that is helpful is to get hypnotized...I know a number of people that did this & it was very successful...but only for those who really, really were ready to quit. Finally, advise for you...be supportive, try to remember that the crankiness is only temporary. For both of you, look up the benefits of quitting smoking, hour by hour (just google it) & focus on it...it will help you both to know that some of the side effects of quitting won't last forever! Best of luck!!!

Good for him! I've heard that it helps to also try to short-circuit the non-chemical part of the habit - "when" you smoke. For instance, if he always smokes WITH breakfast, he should smoke before or after, not during. Part of the habit is the routines as well as the chemical addiction. I hope that helps a little. Good luck!

I quit smoking 4 years ago. My thought was don't buy them, don't bum them.

The first year, I craved them. Then, a friend who smokes came over for an afternoon by the pool. The next day when I cleaned up, I could smell the butts that had gotten wet. YUCK! It was so disgusting. Now, I don't want one at all.

One thing I noticed was that I had craving trigger times. Like when I put a load of laundry in...I'd want one. I realized that I would put a load in, then sit down and have one. I just had to be strong during those times and do something else with my hands and keep my mind busy.

Someone once told me that the craving will last the length of time that it would take to smoke one.

So, I would tell myself I didn't want one and within 3 minutes the craving was gone.

I did recently hear that Wanda Hazelton at MindMatters Hypnosis Center in Arlington (on Arkansas Lane) has started group hypnosis. She said that if you are ready to quit, it will work.

I wish him luck and good health. He will be surprised how GOOD food smells and tastes.

Congratulations to your husband! Quitting smoking is one of the absolute best things he'll ever do, albeit one of the most difficult.

The only method that worked for me? Cold turkey. I tried the patches, the lozenges, the gum, and even a smoking cessation program. Making the decision to quit and just doing it was what worked for me. I quit on December 31, 2007.

Tell him to visit www.quitnet.net. I don't know what I would've done without the support of that site sometimes. He'll get support, encouragement, advice, tips and tricks to keeping a quit, etc.

There is nothing good that comes out of smoking. Tell your husband how proud of him you are, and tell him often :)

My husband smoked for 15 years and quit with Chantix. He has been smoke free for almost 2 and a half years. My brother also quit with Chantix a year ago. Hopefully your husband can do it too!

First I must say congratulations. This is a big step. Chantix (I think that's how you spell it) has worked for several of my friends. I was lucky and had a wonderful experience with Hypnosis with Dr. Mike. If you google him you will find him his office is on LBJ freeway near Central.

There is another several on-line support websites that are available as well. The one thing that helped me more than ever was if I wanted one to tell myself to wait 10 minutes. Usually the craving was gone and if it wasn't to tell myself again 10 minutes. I have been completely smoke free for 4 years and feel a million times better. I wish my husband would quit, but he'll get there eventually. I wish him the best of luck!

I have been taking the pill "chantix" for about 4 weeks now, and it is working!! I have been a pack a day smoker for over 25 years now, and I am down to 3 or 4 cigarettes a day on the stuff. It makes them taste horrible first of all, and when I don't have them I really don't care anymore.(used to be if I didn't have them or was almost out, my mind would go into painc mode and I would get irratable, and my kids would actually tell me to go get them.). The Dr. told me it may take up to 3 months for a person to quit compeletely, but going from 20 a day to 4 at the most is a vast improvement for me. There is also an online support program that you can use with the drug. Hope this helps, it sure has done me alot of good!!!!

Hi R.. Good luck to you and your husband!

I don't have a ton of advice, but wanted you to know that my dentist, Dr. Hank Jacobs near UTA, offers 25% off teeth whitening services for people who are willing to stop smoking. It may be a good motivator! Good luck!!