Any suggestions on how to quit smoking?

[Armed Citizen]

I have smoked for 20 years. I have tried just about every known quit smoking program. The patch, the pills, the inhaler, cold turkey, and the gum. I have not had any success with these products. The patch would fall off, the pills caused weird dreams (like I was a mass murder) the inhaler sucked, and I was chewing three our four pieces of gum at a time. It got so bad one time that my wife (non-smoker) told me to go buy a pack of cigs or end up divorced. I get these angry mood swings that she claims that I'm unbearable to live with. IMO you must want to quit in order to succeed. To be honest, I know this will sound strange to many, I enjoy smoking. But I know what the cost of smoking does to my health. My clothes stink, my truck stinks, and it hits my wallet pretty hard to the tune of 1.5 to 2 packs a day. I have four children that I love so much and I want to be there for them. My father died at 49 years old from smoking. I don't want that to be their future with me. I'm ready to quit, I want to quit. Smoking is very addictive and is a hard habit to quit. Have any of you quit smoking? And if so, what method did you use.

 

[purple72]

I went the Chantix route 2 1/2 yrs ago after smoking for almost 30 yrs. Worked for me. But yes, you have to at least have some desire to quit. Talk to your doctor about it. Good luck.

 

[pjcalla]

I just quit cold-turkey with my wife about three months ago. It is very hard to do. If you are truly ready, you will WANT to quit. The first three days, or so, is the hardest. Once the nicotine is out of your system, it is purely psychological. I have a book "The Easiest Way to Quit Smoking," which I read awhile ago (before I decided to quit). I have a copy laying around here somewhere, I will send to you. It is a pretty well-written book, and it brings up some points and pointers that help people quit.

I, too, enjoyed smoking, but we are going to start a family soon, so we figured if not now, when? You have to stay strong, and remember why you want to quit. It will make things easier, but not easy, by any stretch of the imagination.

What helped me in the first few days was when I wanted to have a smoke, I would take DEEP breaths until the urge went away. You have to figure out what works for you. Maybe take a walk, play with your kids, clean your guns, etc.

Stay strong and you can do it. I smoked for about 15 years with a 1 to 1.5 packs a day habit. PM me your address, and I will send you the book, if you want it.

 

[mrjarrell]

The will to quit is the prime ingredient. If that's not there, you are going to fail every single time. If you have mood swings then you need to rechannel that anger towards the smokes, not those around you. Right now the smokes are your master and until you get good an pissed at that, you're not going to have a load of success. I quit many years ago and used the patch. Not the regular ones, tho. I used the Nicoderm CQ patch. It's clear and more adhesive than the others. I didn't even have to do the step down method. Just used the patch to get past the rituals associated with smoking then quit. It wasn't that hard, once I channeled everything at smoking. Saved a boatload of money and it's unlikely that smoking will kill me and take me away from my kids.

 

[Cat-Herder]

i quit cold turkey almost 3 years ago. I don't miss it a bit. Willpower was the only way for me. I couldn't "step down" or do the patches. It just didn't work. I gained about 15 pounds, then lost it over the course of about a year and a half. I save a lot of money too. 5 bucks a pack times 7 packs a week times 52 weeks a year...$1,820.
that's a nice AR every year, or a combination of sweet firearms!

 

[nox]

A combination of nicotine lozenges to calm the physical withdrawals, and drinking straws cut down to the length of cigs to calm the psychological urges.

Make sure you follow the instructions on the lozenges though, I didn't the first 2 tries and it didn't stick.

 

[Booya]

I have four children that I love so much and I want to be there for them. My father died at 49 years old from smoking. I don't want that to be their future with me. I'm ready to quit, I want to quit. Smoking is very addictive and is a hard habit to quit. Have any of you quit smoking? And if so, what method did you use.

That's all the reason you need. I also enjoyed smoking very much, I only quit a few months ago. I went the Chantix route for the first attempt, seemed to work up until the first relapse. I began the chantix again, but stopped taking after less then a week, for no apparent reason other then I kept forgetting. Cold turkey is pretty much the best way. I will say this though, make sure to put a lot of thought into leaving your children fatherless. I have a 3 and a 4 year old, looking at them everyday was all the motivation I needed. Hell, not only did I quit smoking, but increased my running and gym time for the same reason.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfAxUpeVhCg]YouTube - quit smoking commercial[/ame]

 

[Eddie]

I tried some different things and failed. What worked for me was to first take one minute from the time I finished a smoke before I could light another. Then the next one I had to wait two minutes. I kept adding a minute each time I had a smoke. It sounds dumb, but it helped me build up my willpower. One Sunday I just decided I could quit. I walked out back, had a last smoke and then broke the others in half and threw them out in the yard and I was done.

I think that different people take different solutions, just keep trying and you'll find yours.

 

[purple72]

You know, another bit of incentive I threw in there when I quit. I wanted a bike, so I justified the purchase AFTER quitting by using the money that would have been spent on smoking. I waited 3 months after quitting to buy the bike, so I knew I was over the hump. In the beginning, anytime I wanted a smoke, I said to myself "go ahead and smoke, but the bike goes up for sale." It was enough to rechannel my thoughts. So actually, I gave up one addiction for another. Oh well, gotta' have some vices. But, the reward at the end helped with the desire to quit.

 

[Knife Lady]

I hope you quit before you end up with COPD. Once you get that there is no turning back. There is no cure for it. If it runs in your family then you have a very good chance of getting it also.
It will be a year next month since I quit COLD turkey. Yes I have gained about 10 lbs since then but I dont cough hardly ever now.
I already have COPD so I know my smoking has already done its damage but hpeofully quitting when I did will give me a few more good years before the bad ones hit. Dont wait till its too late. Wanna quit and just do it.

 

[bigus_D]

I smoked a pack a day for 10 years. I quit with the help of a homeopathic pill that contained nicoteen. This curbed my cravings... I imagine the gum or patch would have had similar results for me.

STEP 1: Decided that you actually want to stop smoking (most people skip this step).
STEP 2: Don't smoke anymore.
STEP 3: Repeat Step 2


EDIT: Step 2a: Excersize... this will help diminish your mood swings and also remind you how poor your cardiovascular health has become.

 

[wtfd661]

Don't give up, a lot of times it takes multiple attempts to finally be successful. I smoked for 20 yrs and on a easy day I would smoke 2 packs. For me it was the patch that got me through it. I used the patch, toothpicks (I was chewing so many toothpicks at first my friends all said I wouldn't die of cancer it would be from dutch elm disease ), and when driving I would have sour green apple blow pops (I can still tell you the grocery store code for them in bulk, #1212, that how often I would buy them ). The advice for exercising is spot on, I actually lost weight when I quit from all the running I did (unfortunately that isn't the case now, I slipped back up in weight, but thats a different struggle ).

Another big one for me was after a few weeks, I really enjoyed getting out of bed and not hacking plus getting easier to breath everyday was another motivation. Save your money that you spend on cigs now and build up to buying yourself a new gun .

Keep trying, you CAN do it!!!!!!!!

 

[EnochRoot43]

Been off them for over 3 years now. Me and the wife quit at the same time, so that really helps. I could never quit if I lived with someone who continued to smoke. We quit cold-turkey. It sucks. We were (a) holes to each other for a week. Week 2 also sucked. By the time we hit the 15 day mark, its like....I fiercely want a cigarette 3 or 4 times a day, but it was manageable. And, by that point we were breathing better, and noticed that we had an extra hundred bucks. It took 3 months before the daily craving faded. 3 years out, I still want a cigarette 2 or 3 times a week. I know that one puff will put me on the road to eventually buying a pack, so I just gotta not have that first puff and I will be alright.

 

[Lucas156]

Just do it cold turkey man. You (and the people around you) have to remember that you WILL be irritable and/or on edge for maybe a week or more sometimes even up to a month. When you quit the chemicals in your body and brain are way out of whack and your blood sugar too. What I did when I was about to blow a gasket Id keep pieces of candy around. they can change your blood sugar back to normal and will help you being irritable. Just do it man its worth it. Remember that too.

 

[drgnrobo]

I feel for you brother ,I quit 20 yrs ago cold turkey because I didnt want my kids watch me slowly die on a ventilator.........like I had to watch my father slip away & leave a pile of medical bills for my family to endure.My kids are now older than what I was when my dad passed (I was 17) I carry that image of my father with me & I swore I would live a healthier lifestyle for them to learn from,I dont drink,do drugs,smoke & currently been putting myself on a exercise program so i can keep up with grandkids (when they come ,none are expecting) I quit & it was hard but Im more mad at the tobacco companies that put so many chemicals in to a cigarette that smoking withdrawl is equal to a heroin addict withdrawls. Good luck man I know that you can do it, just say no

 

[Armed Citizen]

It has now been 5 days without a cigarette. My wife read somewhere that St. John's Wort helps with the attitude. Taking it three times a day. I have chewed nicotine gum a lot, it helps take the edge off. I just keeping telling myself that I'm stronger that the cigarettes and that gets me through, it has been tough. Thank you all for the support.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Disclaimer: I have not ever smoked, and therefore I don't have any first-hand experience with quitting. But I can offer my perspective from the other side of the fence.

In HS I was part of the "mutual support group" for my friend that quit smoke marijuana cold turkey. He got caught, got let off with a slap on the wrist and he turned his life around. We kept him away from the bad, and kept him focused elsewhere so he wasn't constantly thinking about it etc. I realize that marijuana works a lot differently than tobacco, but the support group idea is the same.

This will be MUCH, MUCH easier for you to do if you have support and encouragement. That can come from us (INGOers) and people that are close to you in your personal life. Think of some of your closest friends, not the ones you just BS with etc, the ones that you would trust with your life and would do anything for you, those are the ones you want. Sit down with them, explain to them how bad smoking is and that you're tired of it and you want to make a change in your life. Tell them that you're going to need lots of help, support, encouragement, and ask if they're willing to be there for you. I doubt you'll find one that isn't willing.

Once you get your support group together, just drop it all. Don't "finish that last pack", don't set a date for yourself to quit by etc, just do it. Get rid of the cigs, today is the day to quit, setting deadlines etc is just setting yourself up to miss those deadlines and fail.

Most importantly in this whole thing is honesty. Your support group should be very disappointed if you cave in, so you'll be very tempted to "just cave in and then lie to them". Lies can't be covered up forever, so don't be tempted, don't lie to yourself or them. You have to be a man of willpower and integrity to get this done. It also helps to have a reason to quit. Some people can quit just because of their own health, others quit because they don't want to harm their family, or they want to be there to watch their children grow up and their grandchildren be born. Lay down your reasons, put them in front of you in every aspect of your life, especially where things get stressful, that way, if you're ever tempted, your reasons are right there to remind you why you're not going to smoke. You're not just doing this for yourself, you're doing this for ___________ (your reasons).

Very few people just quit cold-turkey without support or "reasons". So don't try to do it yourself.

This is all information gleaned from other threads here, and other 2nd-hand experiences with people that quit smoking. Like I said, I don't have any first-hand experience with quitting, but I do know what quitters have advised to others, and how important support and encouragement are in every aspect of life when things are challenging.

 

[E5RANGER375]

stop cold turkey. and dont drink alcohol while your doing it. worked for me. killed 2 birds with one stone.

 

[360]

The eCig is working for me.

I have tried several of them, and the Vapor Toker is the one I recommend.

Vapor Tokers - Hawaii's Best Ecig - Age Verification

The Fatty is the one I am currently using, and I buy my juice from Don at Backwoods Brew

Don is a good businessman.

Like everyone else said, it is different for everyone. I have tried about every method, and this one seems to be doing the trick.

 

[Armed Citizen]

Day 12, not smoking. It is getting easier. But that after dinner cigarette is still a hard one to fight off. But I have not caved in. I won't, I will beat it this time. I have tried many times in the past and have never gone this long. I love my kids, my wife, my dog, my guns, my guitars, and my truck . I want to live a long life and enjoy them all......