Desperately Need Tips on How to Quit

I quit over ten years ago and I am so glad I did. A few strategies to deal with cravings I used were to drink ice water through a straw, brush my teeth, eat baby carrots or get up and clean something when I was craving. The first week was hard, the next couple of weeks got easier, and after the third week I would never smoke again.

you may have to try a few things before you find one that works for you, everyones different. A friend of mine went to Costco and bought a huge bag of hard candy/lollipops and every time he wanted a cigarette he would pop a candy in his mouth. Another one of my friends swears by those logic (I think that's what they're called) electronic cigarettes. My cousin used the nicotine gum.. it all depends on you though.. my friend who finally quit using the electronic cigarette had tried to quit for years and nothing worked for her - gum, patches, candy, she tried everything and eventually just gave up on quitting, then last year she tried one of those e-cigs and hasn't smoked a cigarette since..
theres also a pill, Chantix, I believe it is, my old boss's husband was a smoker for 25 years and quit using that, he said at first he was really scared because of all the side effects it can have, but the only thing that happened to him was he would have really strange dreams

as far as cutting back.. ive done that quite a few times.. id be able to get down to like 2 cigarettes a day but I never seemed to be able to go past that

my advice.. if one doesn't work for you, don't give up, try something else until you do find what works
and once you quit, keep it that way... im still kicking myself for going back to smoking after my daughter was born

The statistics don't lie: The majority of the people who quit and STAY non-smokers are the ones who quit cold-turkey.

Don't buy another pack. Ask non-smoking friends to support your decision. Share your vulnerability with your entire support system and let them rally around you.

You'll be so glad you never bought another pack.

Your state has free resources to help you. Call and use them! Here is the website:
http://www.californiasmokershelpline.org/index.htm

For your daughter and for yourself, please DO THIS and QUIT. The short term is hard, but you can get help if you talk to your doctor - patches, gum, zyban, chantix. There is info about all of these on the website. Get help and do it!

My psych professor said the biggest key is removing yourself from scenarios where you would normally smoke. We are creatures of habit, if at 2:10 you are usually walking in the door and then grabbing a smoke, run by somewhere so you are coming in at 2:30 and then walk the dog, don't sit down.

Smoking is a habit in more ways that just addiction. To be successful you have to make bit changes.

For me, I would have to quit cold turkey. I can't do things like that by weaning. I find it's too easy to slide back into old habits if you're already having a little bit.

Have you ever tried the patches? They really help take the edge off. Everything will bother you for a while, a week or so, but then it gets better and easier with each passing day. Just prep your hubby for it, apologize in advance for being testy and short. Plan on taking it easy this week, don't stress about the housework etc - cut yourself some slack where ever you can to help cut down on stress. Get some candy or some gum. Hold your daughter. Do this for her, for you!!!! You can do it! Just stay positive!

Just keep at it. I never smoked, but as a kid my siblings and I BEGGED my mother to stop smoking repeatedly. We knew it was bad for her and she just kept doing it.

Guess what? She got cancer and died and I have serious resentment issues with that. Like, I can't forgive her - it's been 20 years and I can't forgive my mother for being weak and not quitting smoking even though we begged her so often. I feel like she chose instant gratification over us kids. The cigarettes were more important to her than being there to raise us.

Now, I don't know if your daughter would feel the same way, and I won't say my feelings are entirely logical or justified, but when you're a kid and you watch someone you love do something to hurt their body despite your pleas for them to stop, and then it ends up killing them, I don't think it's easy to forgive that. I needed a mother growing up. I want my child to have a grandmother. I want a mother. But I don't have one anymore because she chose cigarettes over her children. I realize that it was never a choice in black and white for her, "cigarettes or your kids" she probably never thought it would happen to her, she probably would have quit if she knew her kids would be mother-less before they even graduated school and her youngest wouldn't even remember her and would have mental issues from the trauma of watching her mother die at such a young age. But I'm not going to lie - I sort of hate her for it.

I'm not saying that to be mean, I just want you to realize (and maybe draw strength from the fact) that your daughter will know, and she will beg you to stop. She will know you are hurting your body. And one day you might get that diagnosis and it's not just about you, so do what you have to do, go slowly if that's going to help you succeed, but watch the end goal and realize that the end goal isn't just do you can breathe easier - it's so you can be a grandma someday and be there for your daughter when she needs you, because even the strongest of us need our mothers sometimes. Fight like you're fighting cancer, you don't have it thank goodness and I hope against hope that you never will, but fight those cigarettes like they ARE cancer, sitting there in your hand trying to take you from your daughter.

Good luck, I know it won't be easy, but FIGHT.

I used a patch the last time I quit (seven months ago now) which really took the edge off. I had tried to quit cold turkey before, but my family wanted to sell me to pig farmers because I was such a jerk. I've known folks who had better luck with the e-cigarette, gum, or lozenges. Others do well just putting the darn pack down. So, you've got to find what works for you.

Regardless of how you quit, get ready for the mental battle. You've really got to want this. When the craving hits, acknowledge it. Think, this is a craving. It will pass. I want to throw the towel in and have a smoke, but I don't smoke anymore and I am giving myself the gift of health. I am freeing myself from cigarettes. I will give it another five minutes. I will give it another half hour.

Take it a minute/hour/day/week at a time. Just put off picking up.

Find ways to take care of yourself that will fill in the gap. I smoked to get some time to myself, away from my kids. I smoked to stave off anger, sadness, and fear. I'd think, "What's wrong? Oh, I need a cigarette." Really, the cigs didn't fix anything, but it gave me a way to escape from my reality. I smoked because there are a lot of stressors and big things happening in my life and it felt like self care. I'm trying to figure out different ways to give myself that care. A bath. A cup of tea.

I'm a guy who always needs a fidget. Smoking gave me something to do with my hands and mouth. Gum, toothpicks, a ring to twist, a piece of yarn - didn't really matter what it was - but it helped to have something to mess with.

I was taking an anatomy and physiology class while I quit smoking. It was fantastic. We all know that smoking is bad for us. Go and find out how. Find out the nitty details of what happens to each of a smoker's body systems.

Give yourself pep talks. Know it really is THAT hard - so you don't need to feel insane or get down on yourself when you can't figure out why it is that you feel so crazy. It's a hard addiction to kick. A really hard one. So be nice to yourself. Give yourself a break if you are not quite yourself. It does get better.

There will be times when it gets a whole lot easier. For me, the first three days were the hardest. The next seven were almost as hard. Then it started to get easier.

To know, you might find that at certain anniversaries you are freaking out for a cigarette. Three months, six months, a year, 18 months. Get ready for those. Don't give in.

The farther you get from your last smoke, you might find it's harder to remember why you quit in the first place. Your mind might start playing tricks. It might say, "Oh, I didn't feel that bad. Oh, I quit then, so I could do it again, I'll just smoke for a little longer." It will never get easier to quit. We don't become less addicted. There's no good time to quit. No matter what, life will still be waiting for us, and stuff will get in our way. But, smoking doesn't actually fix any of it.

Get yourself a gift every so often. A pair of running shoes. A massage. A night out with the girls...take care of you.

And you may want to avoid the things/places/people who you associate with smoking. I know that if I had hung out in the smokers pit, for example, I would have picked up again. I had to take space from certain friends because it was too hard to not smoke with them. For some folks, maybe that's not so much an issue. For me, it was.

I wish you (and me!) luck. Be strong!

of course it's worth it to quit! complete independence - you can go to a movie, theme park, restaurant, and not have to worry about 'whether i can smoke'. you can run up a flight of stairs without wheezing and gasping for air - think of when your child takes off on you and you go running after her. of COURSE it's worth it! your child never has to know you ever did (until she's in her 20's and you decide to tell her...lol)

i had to be ready. i had tried a few times but what worked for me was when i was REALLY ready i started cutting back everywhere. first i stopped smoking in the house. then the car. then on the porch outside. then finally, at break at work. that's what worked for ME. everyone is different. but you really have to be ready. when you are - you will.

The best advice I ever read was how to ride the cravings. When you want a cigarette it's a craving. Instead of fighting it and panicking and freaking out - welcome it, feel it, ride it. You will notice that it gets stronger and stronger and you start to get anxious/panicky. Then it starts to fade and gets less and less till it's gone for awhile. Once you feel what your cravings are like, when you get one, you will know that 1) it will go away 2) that it's a normal feeling right now. Learn to ride them out and breathe through them.

The 2nd best advice is to change your routine. Realize when you smoke and don't put yourself in those situations. If it's in your car, carpool for awhile or take a bus. After lunch - eat different places. etc. If you go out to the bar - don't. That's over till you can control yourself. At least a year.

Put a printout on your frige of the changes your body goes through after certain length of being smoke free. http://smokefree.nhs.uk/why-quit/timeline/

IF YOU MESS UP - CONSIDER YOURSELF STILL A NON-SMOKER AND TRY NOT TO MESS UP AGAIN. DON'T JUST GIVE UP IF YOU MESS UP. :)

I quit smoking after trying many times almost 10 years ago!!!!!

I quit drinking alcohol 2 years ago this month!!!

Now to quit sugar - ha!

My husband will not take my advice or listen to any of this - sadly he still smokes.

"I don't want my daughter to know I smoke when shes old enough to realize." That statement alone can be your incentive and motivation, do it for her. Print it out and post it around the house. A good friend of mine smoked 20-some years, a few months ago while waiting for her grandson to be born she decided to quit for him and did cold turkey, threw her cigarettes away in the trash then and there. Yes, she had and has anxiety and nervousness at times, but she reminds herself of why she quit and hasn't smoked in 13 weeks. She feels much better, too.

I've never smoked and am so thankful, I see how hard it is for people to quit. If I had and wanted to quit I'd stop thinking of the momentary gratification, think of your health, how you want to be there for your daughter years from now. I've seen my sister's FIL die from lung cancer, so very sad, and he told all the grandkids not to ever smoke and made my BIL and sister promise to tell my nephew (1 at the time) that Grampy said don't ever smoke when he was older. He knows now and how much his grandfather loved him to want him to know, but he wishes he had his grandfather.

Take up something to replace it like chewing gum, my son used the nicotine gum to quit and found chewing regular gum now helps to ease the cravings and not smoke. My friend said she missed using her hands so took up crocheting. And treat yourself to something once you hit a milestone, using the money you save. Mani's, pedi's, lunch out...

Why not ask your doctor for help, too? Sometimes being accountable to someone helps.

Hope you do it!!

When I started ding Yoga every day my body didn't want cigarettes anymore. That was really easy, and not even planned.

I find that when I am smoking, I am much more prone to anxiety. I am always looking forward to my next cig...plus it is a huge stress to have to hide it, hide the smell. There are so many benefits to quitting, but I understand the lure of instant gratification. I have been an on and off smoker for over 15 years. My last cigarette, however, was Dec 31 2012! I rarely think about it any more, so there is hope!!
I know it is different for everyone, but here are my suggestions:
- Get an Ecig. It really helped to know it was there if I had severe anxiety, and it kept me from running out and buying a new pack. Mostly it is nice to have something to hold, you know, go through the motions. I got one for about 20.00 from the gas station.
-Write a list of why you want to quit and keep it in a place you can see often. Helps so much to review this list when you have a craving.
-Biggest help was to have friends on board. All my friends were smokers but 1 is pregnant, her husband switched to an ecig, the other friend quit as well and we all have pretty much stopped drinking as well for various reasons. Not being around smokers and not being able to bum a smoke from a friend made the biggest difference.
Good luck!!

My mom and grandmother, who lived with us through my childhood, were both heavy smokers. Both tried several times to quit. They finally did it, and as a child with asthma, I'm sure that helped my lungs, too. And the messages they gave about their regrets, the bad taste in their mouth, the cost, everything they hated about the habit, helped keep me and my sisters from ever wanting to try it. (Thanks, Mom and Granny!) They both got over the cravings and other effects as their bodies cleaned out. I can't tell you how long that took – way too many years ago.

According to experts, each time a smoker tries to quit, they get closer to succeeding, until they do. Each time, you learn strategies that help, you get more used to the physical effects of deprivation, you cope better.

Whether this is your "successful" try or not, I wish you success, L..

When I quit smoking years ago, I kept a pack of cigarettes in a drawer. I did that because I was a single mom and after kiddo went to bed, I couldn't go out. If I hadn't had that pack of cigs in the drawer, I would have had a lot of anxiety. With the pack in the drawer, I knew I could have a cig if I REALLY needed/wanted it so it came down to how bad did I want it. Sometimes I would talk myself out of having a cig one minute at a time!

I think the E-cigs are great to help you quit. I wouldn't try cutting back - I've done that and it only lasts a few days and then I'm right back up to the pack a day.

I am going to try again soon and I plan to use the e-cigarette. I have found that my addiction is with the physical act of smoking as much as to the nicotine. I guess it's called an oral fixation - I HAVE to smoke something!

I was a chimney before I quit over 20 years ago. First, YES it is worth it, I feel so much better.
Quitting is a process, first I broke all the habits I associated with smoking. For example, I associated having a cup of coffee with smoking, so I switched to tea and did not smoke when I had the tea. If I went out with friends and drank beer, I would crave a cigarrette because I associated it with beer so I switched to wine, I did not crave a butt when drinking wine or another type of cocktail. I smoked in the car, so I thoroughly cleaned out the car, refreshed it so it did not smell like cigarrette smoke and I stopped smoking in the car. Instead of smoking after eating, I got up and washed dishes or engaged in another activity. Just small changes to things that you associate smoking with. Make the changes gradually and don't start smoking with the changed habit.

Once I broke the habit smoking and smoking by association, I asked my doctor for the patch and used it to help conquer the physical cravings. This also helped me because I was afraid to smoke with the patch on.

This process really worked for me, it took time but I can proudly say that I have not craved a cigarrette in over 20 years and I notice how bad it smells on others.

Like any drug, it is a lifestyle change.

In the beginning, I remember feeling dizzy and kind of like a space cadet. That is normal part of withdrawl, it goes away.

Everyday that I was smoke free, I threw the amt. of money that I would have spent on cigarrettes in a bucket, I ended up saving a few thousand.

Good Luck

Buy an E-cig instead (about the same price as a pack of cigarettes).
I know a few people who have quit with the e-cig.
Good luck!

When I quit granted I was pregnant with my oldest so that helped a little. I had over half a pack left and set it on my TV where I could see it. I told myself they are there if I really need one and could talk myself out of it. weeks later I finally broke down and light one up and it was so nasty. I would sugest using gum or something like that. Good luck!!!