Giving up smoking... Let's hope it sticks this time.

[Malak'ai]

Well playgrounders,
Once again I'm trying to quit that wonderful horrible obsession that is smoking.
In the past I've had differing amounts of success with it, ranging from a few weeks up to 18 months, but unfortunately something has always driven me back to it.
So, here I am, had my last cigarette last night about 30 minutes before I went to bed, and 13 hours later, I'm starting to get that twitch... You know the one...

So all you ex-smokers, lets hear about how you gave up the cigs and what problems you had.

I will also kind of be logging my progress here, so please forgive me in advance for some of the rants I may give.

[bluewind95]

Congratulations on taking this step. And here's hoping you'll keep up with it. As motivation, I'll give you this link which tells you the good you're doing to your body.

Edit: I think it also comes with some tips to quit smoking.

[Haruki-kun]

I've never smoked. My dad smoked for a really long time, though, and he quit by going cold turkey.

He smoked a little too much one night and felt pretty badly the following day. So he decided he wasn't gonna have any more. It's been like 25 years.

I always thought he was amazing because of this.

[JustPlayItLoud]

I'm a lucky bastard that can quit pretty much anything cold turkey. I've stopped smoking and started smoking numerous times, but every time I've quit I've never felt the a want or need to buy another pack. Every time I've started again, it's usually because I think "you know what would be good with the night of socializing and drinking I have planned? Lucky Strike!" and go grab one.

From trying to help others who have more difficulty quitting, I've found the best thing to do is find out the primary reason why you smoke. There might be more than one, and it's most important to identify them.

For some, it's the literal physical dependency on nicotine. I know people that have managed to slowly come down off nicotine with NRT products, and managed to stay off after the withdrawal cycle is completed. I know people that have quit while severely ill, slept through the worst withdrawals, and come out of the illness feeling well and having broken nicotine dependency as a bonus. My mom, for example, quit over ten years ago when she came down with severe bronchitis. She stayed heavily drugged on cough and sleeping medicine for close to three weeks, and she never touched a cigarette after.

For some, it seems like the ritual is the biggest thing. The act of physically putting it into your mouth and smoking it. I know a couple of people who bought coffee stirrers to chew for a couple of weeks and quit that way, of all the strange things. Currently, my uncle is having luck by weening himself off nicotine with an electronic cigarette and by replacing many of his rituals. He has said the toughest is not having a cigarette after a meal, so he's started finding things to do immediately after finishing eating. Instead of smoking he strikes up a conversation with the other people in the dining party, or he immediately turns on a movie, or a video game, or opens the gun safe and starts cleaning a pistol.

Now, I'm not telling you to do any of those things, obviously. I would just advise starting off by quitting cold turkey and keeping a notepad with you. After logging the times and events around your heaviest cravings, maybe you'll see a pattern.

And most of all, good luck. As everyone says, you can't quit for anyone but you. Once you're ready to quit, you'll find a way.

[Dr.Epic]

The price of a carton of cigarettes has to be some motivation. Six bucks, no thank you!

[AKA_Bait]

I found that two things, in combonation, work pretty well.

1. Hypnosis.

2. A signifigant other who will murder you if you restart smoking.

I'm actually serious (about both) but the first one I found to be quite helpful and anyone can do without all the other relatinshippy work involved.

Two other observations:

Any sort of fake cigarettes are probably a false start, they just reinforce the habit.

Avoid buying another packat all costs. There will be times when you will be extremely tempted to have a cigarette because of one thing or another (drinking with friends, stress, etc.). Giving in those moments is not the end of the world, but having a pack around may give you the "well, I might as well finish the pack" excuse that turns into the whole dependency all over again. Slipping and bumming one or two of friends should be an isolated thing, don't turn it into buying a pack and restarting all of the habits developed up over the (in my case) years of smoking. Those habits are what trigger the cravings as much as the physical dependency itself.

[Malak'ai]

Originally Posted by Dr.Epic

The price of a carton of cigarettes has to be some motivation. Six bucks, no thank you!

Hell, six bucks would be a god send. Here in NZ, for the brand I smoked, Pall Mall Baseline Red (one of the cheaper but still decient brands), a pack of 30 costs $20.70. The cheapest (JPS 30's but feel like sandpaper in the lungs) cost $18.60.

Thank you all for the support and advice, it is much appreciated.

[Dr.Epic]

Originally Posted by Malak'ai

Hell, six bucks would be a god send. Here in NZ, for the brand I smoked, Pall Mall Baseline Red (one of the cheaper but still decient brands), a pack of 30 costs $20.70. The cheapest (JPS 30's but feel like sandpaper in the lungs) cost $18.60.

Thank you all for the support and advice, it is much appreciated.

Twenty bucks!?!? How can you even afford to be a smoker?

[Ravens_cry]

As Mark Twain said, "Quitting smoking is easy; I've done it hundreds of times."
Best of luck to you on your attempt.

[Malak'ai]

Originally Posted by Dr.Epic

Twenty bucks!?!? How can you even afford to be a smoker?

Well, my food bill is half what it was when I didn't smoke. They haven't always been that expensive. When I started a pack of B&H Classic (which I used to smoke years ago) were $7.20, and they had just gone up.
The NZ government keeps raising the price every 6 months, they've been doing this for about 6 years now. If you look at a cigarette here in NZ, the shop and tabacco company get the filter worth of that $20.70, the rest goes to the government.

[Starwulf]

Good luck! I'd like to give up smoking once and for all as well, but I've had little success in the last 2 years any time I try. I always run back the moment I have a majorly stressful moment, it's my coping mechanism. That and fishing. I just can't go out fishing without smoking cigarettes.

[Killer Angel]

If you're really convinced about it, you should try to find the offices of Quitters, Inc. (whistle innocently)

Originally Posted by Malak'ai

So all you ex-smokers, lets hear about how you gave up

Well, my wife was a smoker. She gave up with pregnancy, so it's really a matter of will and motivations behind it.

[Socratov]

Good luck! Last time I tried to stop it went well for about 3 months. then I got to smoking again becuase there were friends who smoke and noone actually to stay behind and not smoke with me. that kind of support is actually a great boost. also be aware that drinking and smoking go hand in hand so try to avoid that as well...

[Malak'ai]

Well, second day now and I'm craving bad, and my hands are really quite shaky... Mind you, I did have one slip up and stole a smoke off my father last night after dinner, it tasted really bad though so I think that's a good sign.

As for my friends, most of them are non-smokers or casual smokers (only smoke while drinking) so no worries about them smoking around me.

[Dr.Epic]

Originally Posted by Killer Angel

Well, my wife was a smoker. She gave up with pregnancy

So you're saying the best way to quit smoking is to become pregnant? Excellent! As a male, I'll get right on that!

[Malak'ai]

Originally Posted by Dr.Epic

So you're saying the best way to quit smoking is to become pregnant? Excellent! As a male, I'll get right on that!

Good luck... I think?

[Dr.Epic]

Originally Posted by Malak'ai

Good luck... I think?

Oh, I don't need luck. I have science!

[thubby]

if your $ minded, money jar.
how much do you spend on cigarettes? put that much in a jar every day.

my uncle bought a small boat in a few years.

also, if part of it is an oral fixation, chew gum or cinnamon sticks.

Originally Posted by Malak'ai

Well, second day now and I'm craving bad, and my hands are really quite shaky... Mind you, I did have one slip up and stole a smoke off my father last night after dinner, it tasted really bad though so I think that's a good sign.

As for my friends, most of them are non-smokers or casual smokers (only smoke while drinking) so no worries about them smoking around me.

tell your family.
quitting is tough, don't be afraid to get some help. they love you (it's kind of obligatory), and im sure at least a few of them wouldnt mind kicking your butt into line.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Originally Posted by Dr.Epic

The price of a carton of cigarettes has to be some motivation. Six bucks, no thank you!

Where the crap do you live that you can get a carton for 6 bucks?! Do you mean a pack of 20 cigarettes? That'd be a lot easier to swallow.

A carton (200 cigs) costs just under $30 US pretty much anywhere in the US, at bare minimum, last I heard. As I understand it, a carton of the cheapest cigs you can get costs around $45 in New York. I know even the cheapos cost $28 here in Alabama.

This is why I insisted my wife start rolling her own. Dramatically cheaper at around $8 a carton.

Good luck OP. I hope you can pull it off. If nothing else, decreased demand might bring the prices down if enough people quit. (I don't think my wife ever will.)

[Malak'ai]

Originally Posted by thubby

if your $ minded, money jar.
how much do you spend on cigarettes? put that much in a jar every day.

my uncle bought a small boat in a few years.

also, if part of it is an oral fixation, chew gum or cinnamon sticks.



tell your family.
quitting is tough, don't be afraid to get some help. they love you (it's kind of obligatory), and im sure at least a few of them wouldnt mind kicking your butt into line.

They know. And yes, money was a big motivator, have some bills that the extra cash will help with.

Originally Posted by Kelb_Panthera

Where the crap do you live that you can get a carton for 6 bucks?! Do you mean a pack of 20 cigarettes? That'd be a lot easier to swallow.

A carton (200 cigs) costs just under $30 US pretty much anywhere in the US, at bare minimum, last I heard. As I understand it, a carton of the cheapest cigs you can get costs around $45 in New York. I know even the cheapos cost $28 here in Alabama.

This is why I insisted my wife start rolling her own. Dramatically cheaper at around $8 a carton.

Good luck OP. I hope you can pull it off. If nothing else, decreased demand might bring the prices down if enough people quit. (I don't think my wife ever will.)

Thank you. A carton here costs about $120 at the cheapest.

[Killer Angel]

Originally Posted by Dr.Epic

So you're saying the best way to quit smoking is to become pregnant? Excellent! As a male, I'll get right on that!

Well, it can work for a good half of the population. It's not my fault if you're in the wrong one!

[Kjata]

Wow, this thread actually gave me a nic fit.

Guess i'm no quitter.

[Dr.Epic]

Originally Posted by Killer Angel

Well, it can work for a good half of the population. It's not my fault if you're in the wrong one!

Nonsense! The other half just isn't trying hard enough!

[Knaight]

Originally Posted by Malak'ai

So all you ex-smokers, lets hear about how you gave up the cigs and what problems you had.

Good luck. As for advice, I never have smoked, but I do know people who successfully got out of alcoholism, and might know someone who successfully got out of heroin*. There are two main things, according to them: Get all of the stuff you are addicted to away from you, so you at the very least have to go buy some more before you can smoke it/chew it/whatever, and make sure that you have things to do. Empty periods alone are profoundly unhelpful.

*He also might have relapsed. I'm really hoping for the former, and I suspect it is the case, but heroin is a horrible nasty drug which is hard to quit.

[HairyGuy4]

Originally Posted by Dr.Epic

Nonsense! The other half just isn't trying hard enough!

Right, but the urge to smoke comes after sex... does it not? All that trying to get yourself pregnant seems like a lot of temptation.

[Lentrax]

I used my local quitline. They sent me A whole bunch of stuff to help quit. I went through the patches, and the gum and it just didn't work. Then I moved on to that pill, I forget the name, that blocks the nicotine receptors. It worked pretty well, although taking it made me feel nauseous for an hour or two.

But I was abe to quit smoking after a week, and now I've been smoke-free for almost two years.

[Malak'ai]

Originally Posted by Lentrax

I used my local quitline. They sent me A whole bunch of stuff to help quit. I went through the patches, and the gum and it just didn't work. Then I moved on to that pill, I forget the name, that blocks the nicotine receptors. It worked pretty well, although taking it made me feel nauseous for an hour or two.

But I was abe to quit smoking after a week, and now I've been smoke-free for almost two years.

I've tried gum and patches before and they didn't work, infact my skin broke out real bad when I was on the patches.

There is a pill here, Champix, that does what you described, but it has been reported to cause or exasberate mental health problems, which coupled with my depression and anxiety wouldn't be good.

[Lentrax]

Originally Posted by Malak'ai

I've tried gum and patches before and they didn't work, infact my skin broke out real bad when I was on the patches.

There is a pill here, Champix, that does what you described, but it has been reported to cause or exasberate mental health problems, which coupled with my depression and anxiety wouldn't be good.

I also have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, as well as a couple of other mental challenges, but I suffered no ill effects from the pill besides the nausea I mentioned.

It really comes down to the person. If you are able to get them on a program that offers it for free like I was able to, its worth a shot. You can always stop taking the pill if it makes things worse.

But I am not a doctor and will not endorse those statements. Always consult a doctor before doing anything.

[MageOfCakes]

I have quit by using smokeless cigarettes (i.e. electronic ones)

Granted this isn't like really quitting as you are still getting nicotine, but it is cheaper and you are not getting all the tar and other junk as in a traditional cigarette. I also find I use them less than I would smoke normally. Anyway, it has worked for me and I find I breathe better. Good luck to you.

[bluewind95]

You can also use those and slowly cut back on the nicotine. Could indeed be an idea.