Quitting Smoking

[CMYK]

I gave up cold turkey. I found that the "mind over matter" approach worked. Whenever I got a craving I said to myself "ther's that addicition thing tapping you on the shoulder. You can beat it". It was a "know your enemy" approach. I won.

I had done it a few times before but the danger period is around 6 months.

I am now 4 years without a ciggie. I have the occasional bong but no tobacco in it.

The thought of smoking makes me want to vomit.

[m0loch]

I am an ex-smoker. I quit for primarily for financial reasons (tax hikes), but even prior to that I wanted to quit. I quit Cold Turkey but did it while I was on vacation and out of my normal environment. While I was smoking, I was smoking a pack a day and also using smokeless tobacco. Its been nearly 2 years since I quit smoking and 3 months since I gave up smokeless. The cravings are gone completely. I can even go to the bar and not crave a smoke anymore, in fact the smell sickens me, which brings another point. The quitting smoking advocates tell you that your sense of smell will improve after you quit, they are correct but this is definately NOT a good thing. There is a lot of smelly stuff in the world

[gooey]

gave up cold turkey because i was too sick from the flu to smoke.

but unfortunately still getting some nicotine from adding cigarettes to my mull mix - but slowly working that out of the equation (the nicotine, not the ganja ;) )

[Fuzzy Dice]

health risks aside, because i do a lot of things that aren't healthy anyway, i just think it smells bad. Nothing like coming home from a bar with smoke absorbed into your clothes and hair. When you can smell the smoke coming out of your hair when you take a shower....ugh. It's the smell. That's all there is to it.

[Nandragon]

TELL HIM 'BISHI!

He usually makes well thought out statements. I can't believe he would say such nonsense.

<<ex smoker.

Let me start by saying that smoking is a stress buster and a habit. Find out which kind of smoker you are. Stress or habit.
Mine was both. but mostly stress. Even now when under alot of stress I will grab a vanilla cherry Black and Mild. Just a few tokes and I'm good. Exercise, sex, food NON give the satisfaction or relief as a cigarette.

in 87 I had surgery. afterwards when I couldn't get a pain pill I decided that a cig would work too. NOT. I coughed so hard I popped 3 staples loose. I quit for over 10yrs. Then I got a divorce. Yep....started back.

I quit again in 99. Divorce. and a boyfriend that tasted like an ashtray. I've quit this past february after a bout with the old asthma. I have had several other assundries to smoke since then but haven't made it a habit. I CRAVE a cig when drinking in bars. But other than that....

Lollipops helped, toothpicks even straws. But gum was by far the best to keep me wanting a cig in my hand or mouth.

No one has mention Emphazema. Let me say that I can relate. I don't want to die from Emphazema I'll tell you that!
Ya'll do a google search on it. You'll quit smoking.

[kleph]

i smoked two packs of camel filters for about ten years before i finally was able to quit. i went through the usual sturm und drang to achieve it - failed attempts, switching brands, trying to cut down - but it was the cold turkey method that finally saw me through.

there is a great scene in the movie "dead again" where the defrock psychologist played by robin williams sees kenneth branaugh staring at a pack of smokes and tells him "there are two types of people in the world. those who are smokers and those who aren't. decide which one you are an be it."

which is a pretty sensible outlook for a lot of things but it is a very important point in the matter at hand. if you still like to smoke it's gonna take a pretty serious motivation to get you to stop. otherwise you have to reach the point you fucking hate it to make the break.

by the time i quit i hated it. i would get up and have five smokes with a pot of coffee before i even left the house for class. i smoked every chance i got and became damn figity when i went more than half an hour without one. i hated the way it made me feel, i hated the way it made me smell, i hated the fact it made my hangovers twenty times worse. but i still did it.

then my brother got out of the navy and came to visit me in arlington. we then proceeded to drag ourselves through every sleazy topless bar in the two-county area. it was horrible. i thought i might survive but a few of his navy buddies showed up after our fifth bar and took us to a couple of other even sleazier places that didn't have a problem keeping the bar open past the 2 a.m. curfew.

the ensuing hangover laid me low for two full days and i wasn't feeling very chipper the two days that followed. i couldn't considered alcohol or even think about a cigarette without becoming ill (or, more ill than i already was). so i made it 48 hours without and decided "what the hell" and tried to make it 36.

eventually, this "one more day" strategy worked. when the cravings got bad i just tried to find something else to do and told myself i could have a smoke when i was done. the cravings sucked but not as bad as the bleeding gums and hacking up nicotine. i had "smoke mares" for years and still get them now and then.

surviving as a non-smoker in a smoking world was a priority given that i quit while living in texas. going into a bar where the smoke as thick as a heavy fog shrouded the place to have a beer was one of the trials i put myself through as i quit. i find now i don't typically mind going to such places but i loath the smell in my hair and my clothes when i do.

i certainly don't want to get into the ethics of smoking debate but i should probably note that it typically comes down to a case of simple politeness. when i smoked, if i was in a small restaurant or such that allowed it but noone else was - i wouldn't. i avoided smoking when other people were eating or when i knew they had a strong aversion to it. typically, they knew of my practice and had no problem with me taking off for a few minutes to grab a smoke or such.

[deevil]

Originally posted by Nandragon
No one has mention Emphazema. Let me say that I can relate. I don't want to die from Emphazema I'll tell you that!
Ya'll do a google search on it. You'll quit smoking.

I had heard however, that Emphazema had only become a real problem since the invention of the filter on the cigarette. Something about having to suck harder to smoke it.

I am also an ex-smoker. Best way to quit is to:
#1. Want to quit
#2. Get all the puritan non-smokers who tell you constantly how awful it is, you're killing them, etc. blah blah blah blah to put a dollar a day in a jar for you for every day you haven't smoked and give it you you after a certain period of time (3 months for example). [I'm a greedy bastid and this really worked for me]. If you quit smoking for that 3 months you get the money, if you screw up before then, they have a nice little savings they can spend on themselves :)

I've been 3.5 years smoke free. Well except for last week, I had 2 ciggies... Unfortunately, the cravings never have gone away for me. I actually found quitting really easy, but then a few months later I had really bad cravings... got over it... then a few months later... got over it... (longer period of time between each craving), but last week, oooOOOooo was the culmination of about a month of really really wanting to smoke (that and family and co-worker deaths, etc.). So I bought a pack, had one, got a good buzz, but didn't really enjoy it, had the second one an hour later, didn't get much from it, and said to myself, "yeah, this is why I quit... the only good ciggie is the one first thing in the morning... every one after that is a dissappointment."

[Chrissy]

I found this nice little motivational tool to show you how much money you are saving by not smoking. It also shows you how long you have added to your life expectancy by not smoking and how many cigarettes you haven't smoked.

It's on my desktop at work now and i'm finding it pretty helpful.

Nick-O-Tine (http://www.silkquit.org/)

[hazza]

wow this is cool...


ive saved $20.xx dollars and havent smoked 60 ciggs since quitting... man im getting fucking cravings sooo haaarrddd..

[dozer]

i dread the day i give up the demon weed, but i know its coming soon. im not bad during the week, its the weekend blowouts that get me, nye i burned up 60 of those bad boys.

[pliskin]

i gave up over 3yrs ago now.
the first month is the hardest, trying to break all the triggers u associate with smoking. beer/ coffee/ after a meal.
i think i put on a 3-5 kg as well in the 1st ,2 months as well , as the nicotine acts as a hunger suppressant? are u using patches?

[Chrissy]

I've just been into my local chemists to price up the gum.

The pharmacist asked how long I hadn't smoked for, I told her 6 days and she said I shouldn't get the gum or patches since it would be like taking a step backwards.

Hazza, my cravings are pretty bad too, normal chewing gum is helping a lot though, and the fact that I can still smell the perfume that I put on this morning and know that it isn't being obscured by nasty acrid ciggy smoke smells.

This Chrissy is a sweet smelling Chrissy!

[Fuzzy Dice]

Originally posted by pliskin

i think i put on a 3-5 kg as well in the 1st ,2 months as well , as the nicotine acts as a hunger suppressant?

It's not so much that nicotine acts as a hunger suppressant that is responsible for most people's weight gain after quitting smoking, it's that in an effort to fulfill the hand-to-mouth habit that goes along with smoking, people often turn to food.

[Chrissy]

Food tastes much better too, once you stop smoking.

I reckon that nicotine is a pretty good hunger suppressant, I certainly used it as a substitute for breakfast for many years!

[ShadowNemesis]

I smoked a packet a day when I was about 13, then smoked occasionally until I was about 19. Then stopped. I had about 3 smokes about a year and a half ago when I was really stressed, it made me sick so that was that.

[rainbowtatt]

i've never smoked a single ciggie cause i know i'd get addicted and never be able to get off the fuckers. it's hard enough to get me to stop drinking all those damn "energy" drinks. and chocolate.

congrats on making it this far!

:banana:

[Lord_Phat]

Originally posted by Chrissy
Food tastes much better too, once you stop smoking.

when i quit, everything tasted like it was lathered in butter for a solid three months...

everyone was asking about food tasting better since i quit, and i was ready to start smoking again to get rid of the taste of butter! :swear:

fortunately it eventually wore off :D

[hazza]

day 7.... no ciggies.... was at a party last nite and played pool, i had to hold others ciggs and i didnt have a single drag... pretty happy about that...

im under so much stress now

[kyuss]

Cigarette addiction is such a weird thing when you think about it.
Every 20 mins the addicted user craves to inhale the smoke from a cylindrical piece of paper filled with tobacco, nicotine and tar, which the addicted user claims to relieve stress (im not sure of any other positive effects).
This however comes at a high cost, for smoking for as few as five years has adverse effects on the lungs, the heart, the eyes, the throat, the urinary tract, the digestive organs, the bones and joints, and the skin.

I think it must just be me? Because what i just wrote above makes even the thought of smoking, well, fuck, beyond comprehension.

All the best to the people quitting, keep up the good work.

[THO]

I smoked for about two years, at two packs per day. The weekends averaged about 3-5 packs. I quit about nine different times, and everytime I'd go back. Finally used the patch and started exercising everytime I had a craving, and I haven't had one since september. Drinking is the worst trigger though, because I always want one when I have a beer. :(

[hazza]

2 packs a day?

yikes...

[cdj]

quitting smoking is easy. i do it about 20 times a day.
hmmm if only it was that simple.

[Phyltr3]

Smoking acts as an appetite supressant and also inhibits muscle growth. That in turn with the habitual hand to mouth action commonly being replaced by food etc. You can tend to put on weight.

Nicotine from a cigarette only stays in your body for around 8 hours - which is why you notice the first cigarette of the day so much more than any of the rest of them.

[MisterBishi]

The big test for me comes tomorrow when I go to the pub with my mates for the first time.

I've been to the pub near work at lunchtime the past two days and been fine, two pints and no cigarettes, but going to my local with the lads will be much more difficult I expect.

[Chrissy]

Originally posted by hazza
day 7.... no ciggies.... was at a party last nite and played pool, i had to hold others ciggs and i didnt have a single drag... pretty happy about that...

Hazza, that's so impressive! I don't think I am in that place yet, I even avoid going to my friends house at the moment, she smokes like a chimney.

I put on my little pink cardigan today since it's a bit chilly in my office. I haven't worn it since Boxing day (before I quit smoking) I noticed that it really smells of smoke, I had to change out of it.

It made me realise that this is what I have smelled like for the past 8 years. :(

Definately, the biggest motivator for me is the smell.

Well done to everyone who's quitting for getting this far!

[hazza]

i wasnt drunk though... hmmm ive had a bad day and going out tonight.. oh no probs drinking.... :( woe... i so dont want to smoke

[Chrissy]

Originally posted by hazza
i wasnt drunk though... hmmm ive had a bad day and going out tonight.. oh no probs drinking.... :( woe... i so dont want to smoke

I think just being in a place where everyone is smoking around you, and not smoking yourself is pretty damn good. I couldn't do that yet.

The thing to remember is, if you slip up, accept it and start again tomorrow.

[kyuss]

Originally posted by Chrissy
The thing to remember is, if you slip up, accept it and start again tomorrow.

That's no attitude, wouldn't it be better to be hard on yourself and give yourself a good arse kicking if you give in???
Not having a :flame: just found what you said interesting.

[dozer]

yeah, cos it would be better to give up and go back to 2 packs a day :rolleyes: after the obligatory back whipping with nettles

[MisterBishi]

Thinking that you won't smoke another cigarette in your whole life is pretty daunting, so a day at a time is better in the short term.

Another great help, I've found, is skag. Every time I get a real bad craving I just shoot some smack and I feel wonderful again.

[dozer]

i can imagine, sounds scarry enuff

i normally lace my smokes with hammer anyway so that wouldnt work for me

[MisterBishi]

I used to lace my smokes too dozer, I think that's why it works!

[dozer]

true, replacement theory, im just not happy with the delivery method.

im almost ready to quit, i start swimming again next week and with all these words of motivation i think im going to at least have a go, if only i can get mrs dozer to do the same it would make it easier.

[SOC]

Originally posted by Chrissy
It made me realise that this is what I have smelled like for the past 8 years. :(

yes, stocking and i weren't going to say anything, but ...

:D :p :)

[hazza]

oh well, i had half a cig last nite when i was really trashed.. boo hoo i didnt pay for it...

[Shootz]

Last night I found half a pack in my room. I don't want to smoke them, but I don't particularly want to throw them away either. I wonder if I'll crack soon...

[MisterBishi]

I had almost a full pack left after NYE, I just gave them to some random dude in the pub on New Years Day

[DodgyAmnesiac]

i do so enjoy the after dinner ciggerette. mmmm... tasty. i only have about one ciggerette maybe two a day. its nice because i still get the nic buzz from each ciggy i smoke. plus i am not doing the whole pack a day thing.

[MisterBishi]

Originally posted by DodgyAmnesiac
i do so enjoy the after dinner ciggerette. mmmm... tasty. i only have about one ciggerette maybe two a day. its nice because i still get the nic buzz from each ciggy i smoke. plus i am not doing the whole pack a day thing.

Thanks, just what I needed to hear. :mad:

[mccorski]

Day 3 and counting!!!!

Started with patches, they fall off and shit me so now will power and distractions.

I DON"T WANT TO QUIT!!!!:swear:

But I do, wtf is up with all that anyway??? The world says stop, I say FO!!!! Oh well, c'est la vie, life is not a hapy thing.

The test will be when there are some available and at a weak moment, we'll see. If it comes to getting what I want and a smoke, nah, smoke free for now.

This is about the 4th time I have seriously quite, was off for 18mths, then back on for 18mths, what will happen this time?? Each time is different.


Once a smoker, always a smoker.
Once a drinker, always a drinker.

The choice is...do you want to be a smoker who smokes or a drinker that drinks?

[Howie]

I'm trying to give up as we speak. A pack a day smoker and three failed attempts during my 10 years of smoking.

Tried Zyban - fucked me up so bad it's not funny.
Tried Nicorette - those things you suck on... was alright quit for like two months.

Now Nicorette Patches... been 6 days and i'm not really craving it that bad now. *fingers crossed*

good luck to you all who are quiting.

[Shootz]

I tell you a tactic that I find has worked really well for me - tell all your mates that you are quitting. That way, the thought of going back to the cancer sticks will be disrupted by the knowledge of all the shit you'll cop, and even if you do become weak and crack, you'll have to have your smokes away from them which will mean you're probably smoking less anyway.

I was stressed as fuck yesterday, had a really painful arthrogram on my shoulder and an MRI and all this stuff, and I was thinking, you know what, fuck this, I'm going to have a cigarette as my reward for getting through this crap. I ended up not, because it turned out the idea of it was useful to me at the time and when I finally got home, had popped some pain killers and all this stuff, I just didn't feel like one anyway. But I think it shows, because I enjoy(ed) smoking, that the idea of giving up completely for ever and ever amen is just a bit much. Going out and having one or two smokes with beers and some friends in a pub, that sounds like fun to me. It's just the lung cancers and constant seedy cigarette smell and addiction that I want to ditch.

I'm trying to have my cigarette and smoke it too I suppose... no, the analogy works better with a cake.

[hazza]

1 week and 4 days...


went to a party down the south coast... nothing but drinking, chics and people smoking... from the 9-12th i had... 0 ciggies... this is so easy... it helps when u hear your friends coughing and wheezing in the morning and they all complain about sore throats and your fine.


:D

[MisterBishi]

I was in the pub yesterday for 6 hours, watching the football with a load of smokers and managed to resist the temptation.

A couple of my mates tried and failed to give up so they were being fuckers and blowing the smoke near me to wind me up.

[geggle]

Originally posted by MisterBishi
A couple of my mates tried and failed to give up so they were being fuckers and blowing the smoke near me to wind me up. Hmm. You have strange friends. Doing that is a bit of a low blow I reckon.

[MisterBishi]

Originally posted by geggle
Hmm. You have strange friends. Doing that is a bit of a low blow I reckon.

Yeah, I love those guys.

[Whiskers]

My friends do the same thing. Although, sometimes they actually get the shits with me if I won't 'break it down' with them.

'Break it down' is uber cool code for having a smoke. MC HAMMER stylez.

Dr Phil says that if you want to quit smoking you need to find a new addiction.

I'm thinking of taking up croquet.

[MisterBishi]

Originally posted by Whiskers
Dr Phil says that if you want to quit smoking you need to find a new addiction.

I'm thinking of taking up crack.

Fixed.

[kyuss]

How are all you quitter's going?????? Holding strong?

[mccorski]

FCUK IT!!! 4 days only.

The wife said she would get some to stop me being so cranky!!

Bad week to pick to quit.

Enough said, back on and planning to re-quit, (AGAIN) in about a month or so.

Once again, FCUK IT!!!:grr:

[Al]

I'm glad I never started! My gf is a smoker and I wish she'd stop, it's a gross habit.

[kyuss]

Originally posted by kyuss
How are all you quitter's going?????? Holding strong?

Beside mccorski, eerie silence :D

[MisterBishi]

Still not a single smoke for me :cool:

[Misao]

I remember last time I quit smoking, I suddenly became aware of how bad the city smells!
Thank goodness I'm back on the smokes, and now enjoy my city strolls again :)

[primary]

this is my 8th full day.

all you tradesman type people will know the pain of not having a smoke on smoko.

unless something makes me emotionally unstable to a hi degree i'll keep off them fuckers.


i have 2 quit partners.. they've been smoking when drinking those fucking swine, i've laid off the drinking until i know i got it under control.

[hazza]

2 weeks 5 days 19 hours

money saved $120

cigs not smoked 300

life saved 1 day


no cravings at all,... allthought ive gone through bout 15 packs of sugar free gum

[nosedog]

GIVE IN TO YOUR CRAVINGS! YOU KNOW YOU WANT A SMOKE! IMAGINE HOW GOOD IT WOULD FEEL PUFFING ON A SMOOOOOTH CIGARETTE RIGHT NOW! DON'T FIGHT IT! GIVE IN! GIVE IN! RESISTANCE IS USELESS! ENJOY A CIGARETTE TODAY! GIVE IN! GIVE IN! YOU WANT A SMOKE RIGHT NOW! YOU NEED A SMOKE RIGHT NOW! GIVE IN! GIVE IN! DON'T FIGHT IT! GIVE IN! ENJOY YOURSELF WITH A CIGARETTE! EXPRESS YOUR INDIVIDUALITY WITH A CIGARETTE TODAY! GIVE IN! GO TO FLAVOUR COUNTRY TODAY! GIVE IN! GIVE IN!


This message brought to you by the nosedog is a cunt foundation ©2004

[MisterBishi]

Reverse psychology :cool:

I'm only giving up because you don't like the smell, nosedog. <3 <3 <3

[nosedog]

Man, writing that big post tired me out. I could sure use a smoke right now. Lucky I've got a pack handy right here.



mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm




Oh that first drag is always the best, isn't it? Wow. Lucky I never suceeded when I tried to quit all those times. They say you never really quit anyway. Besides, life would be so plain and boring without my smokes. Oh yeah.

[nosedog]

:weed:

[polite]

I bet that you have never thought of that lady in a sexual way.
After all that you're still thinking about a fag.:D

[Shootz]

Staying smober when drinking is tough.

Not waking up in the morning with seedy taste in your mouth and wheeziness is good.

[hazza]

3 weeks 21 hours

not smoked 328 durries

this is too easy



*looks at packs of extra chewing gum*

[polite]

Originally posted by hazza
3 weeks 21 hours

not smoked 328 durries

this is too easy



*looks at packs of extra chewing gum*

When I read this post I looked in my packet and saw two smokes left. Knowing I had to ration these until morning I had an insane urge to track you down and try strangulation for the first time. :mad:
Then I thought MMMmmm, what if I try giving up for the 29th time?.
I lit my penultimate smoke and forgot all about it.
Good on all those who have kicked it.
Maybe I will one day.





*who stole my lighter?!!!?*

[Chrissy]

Originally posted by polite
When I read this post I looked in my packet and saw two smokes left. Knowing I had to ration these until morning I had an insane urge to track you down and try strangulation for the first time. :mad:

I would have thought it was obvious that in a thread entitled 'Giving up smoking' there may be people posting who were giving up smoking and therefore talking about how much they hadn't smoked.

If this has made you angry, tough.

I don't like you being in my thread, you have no place here you nasty smoker.

[Shootz]

I think he was just being humourous.

I hope he was just being humourous.

[polite]

Originally posted by Shootz
I think he was just being humourous.

I hope he was just being humourous.

I hoped so too.
Anyway Chrissy, as of 10 minutes ago I am a non-smoker.
(until the shops open).:p
P.S
Weeeeeeee!!!!, I just found an old pouch of Drum in my glovebox.
Smokin!!!!

[Chrissy]

If the quality of his other postings on the forum are anything to go by, I would say polite wouldn't know 'humourous' if it bit him on the arse.

Anyway Chrissy, as of 10 minutes ago I am a non-smoker.
(until the shops open).
P.S
Weeeeeeee!!!!, I just found an old pouch of Drum in my glovebox.
Smokin!!!!

I don't think that's funny, maybe I am missing something?

[polite]

Each to their own.
Maybe you need a smoke.:rolleyes:
*Yawns*

[polite]

Originally posted by Chrissy
I would say polite wouldn't know 'humourous' if it bit him on the arse.




I know how to spell it however.;)

[Chrissy]

Originally posted by polite
Each to their own.
Maybe you need a smoke.:rolleyes:
*Yawns*


Originally posted by polite
I know how to spell it however.

Oh dear god, give me strength, do you post in every thread just to be annoying?

[MisterBishi]

Three weeks, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 32 seconds. 217 cigarettes not smoked, saving £53.11. Life saved: 18 hours, 5 minutes.

[Sambellina]

Never has the saying "STFU n00b" been more appropriate.

Well done guys, you've come this far, don't give in :)

[edeity]

I have only just recently taken up smoking.

After analysing all the other things I could do with my time and money, smoking seemed the best choice to me.

[utopian]

And because you think it makes the chicks attracted to you?

How recent is "recently"?

[Chocoholic]

Originally posted by utopian
And because you think it makes the chicks attracted to you?



I love kissing an ashtray. Smoking makes you more unattractive.

[dozer]

girls dont like smokes girls like cars and muneee

ive cut it back to only 2 a day, but out drinking im still at my usual choo choo self, its gunna take time but that cash saved looks attractive.

[SOC]

Originally posted by dozer
girls dont like smokes girls like cars and muneee

dude, i don't know if you've actually noticed or note, but mrs.dozer also smokes...

[hazza]

4 weeks and 2 days

$176 saved

life saved 1 day 13 hours



the smell of cigg smoke makes me sick now and now im addicted to chewing gum


woe

[dozer]

2 pints downed

3 camel lights

enjoyment, priceless

[hazza]

w00t


now ciggie smoke makes me feel sick

i cant even drink with my mates, this sux.

1 month down... wooo

[Misao]

I think I read one post that someone mention that zyban (sp? - that happy drug that helps ppl quit).
Can I have details from anyone that has tried that? I heard good stuff about it from a guy at work who used it and successfully quit (he was a pack a day, same as I am now). I am thinking of checking that out with my doctor.

[King_Crud]

I've stopped for a couple of days now and it's a piece of piss compared to my other attempts. I'm reading Allen Carr's Easy Ways to Stop Smoking. Although he's a bit of a knob he drums into your head that it's easy to quit and there is nothing about smoking that you like in any way. A bit like hypnotherapy. Whenever i fell like a smoke i just think "I'm not a smoker, why would i want to smoke". I've got half a pack in my bag but i don't feel like touching it. I'll let you know how i am in a week

[c:\>_]

Smoking in this thread is in reference to Cigarettes. Not the other norti hippy stuff :)
All,

After a rather large evening last Thursday downing too much Stella and smoking way too many cigarettes I was unable to smoke on Friday, else my insides make an apperance. So I continued trying not to smoke and have still not buckled into the temptation.

I am finding it quite hard but not as hard as my previous attempts to halt smoking. I have used the patches before but think they are a waste of time, this time have just stopped 'cold turkey'. Feck me I'm TOUGH!!!!

Anyone out there quit? Tips and or tricks?

[Al]

I've never started, but from observing others:

- try not to hang around other smokers
- going out means that without strong willpower you'll be smoking
- pride is the best way to give up, make it embarassing for yourself to fail giving up...

Hope that helps

[ShadowNemesis]

I gave up cold turkey. After smoking a pack and a half a day.

[WiTT]

funny this post comes up out of nowhere because i did the whole cold turkey thing and have been 3 months withought a ciggy but a week ago i was so stressed out i sparked one up - but now i have stopped again, the worst thing is that cold turkey which is what i did is very nasty, about 1 month into quitting you'll start feeling like shit and be coughing out your insides (trying to get rid of all that gunk).

My girlfriend stayed away all week i was so sick - i coughed a whole week straight constantly with tears in my eyes and a runny nose.

But i too tried those crappy patches and well cold turkey is best method - what i have done now is everytime i feel like a ciggy i have a peice of gum.

[Deimos]

I've been told that eating sunflower seeds is a good way to quell cravings, but I don't personally know anyone who has tried this method.

[c:\>_]

Originally posted by WiTT
funny this post comes up out of nowhere because i did the whole cold turkey thing and have been 3 months withought a ciggy

Based on health, do you feel different now that you have quit as opposed to when you were smoking?

[Whiskers]

The key to quitting smoking successfully is having the right motivation to do it. My dad, who had been smoking since he was 12, quit 6 months ago when the doctor noticed that he was showing early symptoms of smoking related illnesses. Your motivation to quit need not be so drastic.
I earnestly wanted to quit smoking. And I did, for a total of about 8 months. And after that, I wanted to smoke again. So I did- which is shit.
Having the right environment is also very important. My closest friends all smoke. And while I had stopped, they kept trying to get me to smoke again.
Further, having someone telling you that you have to quit, doesn't help. You should do it for yourself. You just have to find a very powerful justification to do it.

[gooey]

i quit cold turkey

got the flu so bad i couldn't smoke.

decided it was a good time to quit completely.

it was hard at first, especially after meals

but you get over it.

[Colonel Kurtz]

Patches taketh away the nicotine need for a smoke, but do not take away the desire.

But they do take away the cravings so you certainly think about them a lot less.

3 weeks on the patches so far, 5 weeks to go.

[Lord_Phat]

Originally posted by c:\>_
Based on health, do you feel different now that you have quit as opposed to when you were smoking?

i quit about four or five years ago after being a pack a day hoxomonsensual for around ten years...

sweet jesus do you feel better after a coupla months

the coughing up your lung time is purely disgusting... honestly, jar some of the shit you cough up, to remind you never to smoke again!

[MisterBishi]

I gave up cold turkey after new years eve and am still going strong.

I carried on hanging round smokers but I was just an absolute asshole to them, letting them know what a filthy habit it is. Not that I'm a rabid anti-smoker or anything, I just find it funny being a bastard; And they'll be quick to remind me if I ask for a cig from them.

[Bostonmess]

A mate stopped smoking after reading a book (on quitting smoking would you believe). Anyway I asked him what were the key things that influenced him into stopping. He said something like:

That first time you had a cigarette you didn't like it anyway but you kept smoking regardless (fucking moron). Feel the smoke going down your throat, it's not a nice feeling but still you do it (retard). Only until you realise that you don't actually like smoking, you're just pretending you do (durrr), will you be able to stop.

I reckon that's pretty true, my sentiments are in brackets, no offence intended.

I haven't smoked since yesterday afternoon but I'm not trying to stop, I prefer a real challenge like making myself get out of bed in the morning and go to work. :D

[WiTT]

Originally posted by c:\>_
Based on health, do you feel different now that you have quit as opposed to when you were smoking?

Yep definately but the biggest thing i noticed is the sense of smell and taste - Food tastes better :)

One thing that someone told me and got me to quit is: if u can't acheive quiting ciggies then how are u meant to overcome other difficult obsticles in your life.

[Benwah]

Originally posted by c:\>_
Anyone out there quit? Tips and or tricks?

Replaced smoking with another addiction, exercise, it's the only thing that worked, I've been smober for 3 years now.

[c:\>_]

Cheers to all for adding in their advice and goodwill.

To those that have quit; well done hope you keep off 'em.

You're all champs :banana:

[metalhed00]

when i quit, i wanted to 100% quit.
when you want to quit you have to really really want to quit.
no half assing anything.
after a few days even, you start to feel better and breath better, atleast i did.
but cold turkey does nothing.
it makes you nervous and shitty.
you have to buy one more pack and slowly dwindle it down out of your routine smoking.
im telling you its hella tuff, but thats what i did and im glad i did to this day.
i aslo quit drinking caffeine, so i was a nervous messy wreck but once you get over the tough part, it does get easier and you realize how stupid smoking is.

lets inhale a poisonous chemical to be cool.
in fact lets pay tons of money to inhale something poisonoius.
id like a cup of cyanide afterwards too and i will not pay anything less than 100 dollars per cup.

good luck bub!

[WiTT]

I too quit the coffee, used to have at least 4 strong cups a day after i quit i've been able to sleep better. Used to be awake till like 3am before bed now i find i can get to bed at 11am some nights

[MoleTeaser]

I just do the tightarse "social smoker" thing. If someone offers me one, I'll take it, but I never buy my own.

I can't begin to imagine how much money I've saved.

[kyuss]

Originally posted by MoleTeaser
I just do the tightarse "social smoker" thing. If someone offers me one, I'll take it, but I never buy my own.

I can't begin to imagine how much money I've saved.

i can only begin to wonder what your friends say behind your back in regards to scabbing ciggies all the time.

[Megabyte]

Excalibur's probably what you'd call a "social smoker". He only smokes at the pub whilst drinking with friends but he said he'll be quitting soon enough as smoking in pubs will no longer be legal in a little while. [Can't remember exactly when that's being put into action]

Originally posted by WiTT
I too quit the coffee, used to have at least 4 strong cups a day after i quit i've been able to sleep better. Used to be awake till like 3am before bed now i find i can get to bed at 11am some nights

And as for this, Coffee seems to have the reverse effect on me. It doesn't keep me awake but instead sends me to sleep. So much more effective than warm milk when I can't sleep. :D

[Maestro]

'Social smoker' goes through two packs a day

People who smoke up to 60 cigarettes a day can protect themselves from cancer by insisting they are only ‘social smokers’, a health study has found.

“If you never buy cigarettes yourself, and only bum them off friends, you are 62 per cent less likely to suffer lung cancer and 45 per cent less likely to require an operation to have your tongue removed after a throat cancer scare,” said Dr Ingrid Hellicot of the University of Queensland, who led the landmark study.

Social smokers could also protect themselves by only smoking when drunk, which also didn’t count, the study shows.

It was for this reason that alcoholics who also smoked suffered lower mortality rates than non-alcoholic smokers, said Theo Perkins of the Alcohol and Tobacco Information Office.

“That’s because alcoholics are more likely to smoke late at night at the pub after a few drinks, when it doesn’t count because you didn’t mean it to happen and wished you hadn’t in the morning,” Mr Perkins said.

The same principle applied to married, heterosexual men who had sex with other men in the basement of the Carslaw Building at the University of Sydney, and other notorious beats.

“There is no way they can get AIDS because they are not dirty fags, they are just normal Aussie blokes who happen to be having unprotected sex with men they consider dirty fags,” he said.

Source: The Chaser (http://www.chaser.com.au/show_story.asp?ID=922&ED=83)

[frednurk]

Stopped for 12 months on a bet when I was 21. No alcohol either. Won 48 cartons of beer. Powerful motivator that beer. Trouble was that when I drank all that hard earned- I started smoking. Let this be a lesson grasshopper- but I'm fucked if I know what it is. MMMnnnn BEER.

[WiTT]

Originally posted by MoleTeaser
I just do the tightarse "social smoker" thing. If someone offers me one, I'll take it, but I never buy my own.

I can't begin to imagine how much money I've saved.

Damn i hated those social scabbing smokers

[thingy]

So, which of you sad bastards are quitting this year huh? Post in here, keep a count, keep it all going.

It is so hard when I am sitting here at home at my computer. It was so much easier when I was out yesterday with my friends wandering around and doing stuff. [glances out to balcony again] Even though I did have some yesterday, that is a good thing because they were my last. I now have none so it is harder to give in to temptation as I would have to actually go buy some.

[Phyltr]

28 hours and still going strong....ish.
Damn you, damn you all to hell. Now i've got them on my mind.

[hazza]

a year today

woo

[metalhed00]

Almost three years for me.

[Enos]

For anyone who's trying or tried and failed before, I and many of my friends had alot of luck using "Alan Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking". Basically breaks the psychological bonds of smoking and mkaes it way easier to quit. :jizz:

[stewie]

i have been going for a day and a half now!!! yay!

[Afro88]

I've quit a few times now, the longest being the last time. I stopped for about a month and a bit, and then me and a mate had a massive night/day with an illicit substance and a whole pack was smoked between us. Since then (about 2 weeks ago) I've been smoking about 1 a day, but since yesterday have stopped. No major cravings yet, but the hardest part for me is after a couple of weeks when you've had a few beers and you're like "well, I've gone this far, one wouldn't hurt". Of course it does and you find yourself smoking again.

[Afta Image]

I haven't smoke in a good 5 minutes, think its time for one ......

[kleph]

but the hardest part for me is after a couple of weeks when you've had a few beers and you're like "well, I've gone this far, one wouldn't hurt". Of course it does and you find yourself smoking again.


this is, by far, the most difficult part to fight when giving up. the best way i found to handle it is to make an agreement with yourself that you will have another cigarette... but in 30 minutes. then find something else to do.

as for me... it will be nine years in may. and i still have smoke-mares.

[Phyltr]

Ok, been a couple of days now and you would not believe some of the shit i've been coughing up. It coudl have something to do with the sheer volume of cigarettes that i consumed over the last week before i quit though....

[bebop]

thanks man thats cool ive only just gave up aswell
im so sick of smoking

[King_Crud]

i haven't had one today, i don't much feel like it anymore. I am planning to keep this sort of behaviour up

[Cpt Jellybean]

it will be nine years in may. and i still have smoke-mares.
It took me about 4-5 yrs to stop having feelings for them.

Best of luck, no easy answer, just persitence.

[thingy]

I failed.

[Afro88]

It took me about 4-5 yrs to stop having feelings for them.

Best of luck, no easy answer, just persitence.

My dad tells me he still gets tempted whenever someone lights up. He quit nearly 20 years ago too, although he smoked 2-3 packs a day :aah:

[kleph]

i am ressurecting this thread in the wake of the news that ABC News' chief anchor Peter Jennings has been diagnosed with lung cancer. he quit smoking 20 years ago but says he has struggled with backsliding since Sept. 11, 2001.

this brings some good news and some bad news to us former smokers.

research shows that former smokers reduce their risk of developing heart disease and stroke to the risk level of non-smokers within a few years after quitting. it takes about 10 years to reduce the risk for lung cancer and other cancers (WHOHO! thats me come may), but risk never drops to the level of someone who has never smoked.

but you are forever behind the 8-ball. cancers require multiple bits of genetic damage in a single cell to become malignant and permanent. so, like jennings, you may already have that winning ticket. that said continued smoking increases the chances that a genetically damaged cell will continue to accumulate more genetic damage and be transformed into a life-threatening cancer.

the problem is evident in the numbers. less than 20 percent of long-term smokers develop lung cancer but 85 percent of all lung cancers occur in former or current smokers.

in any case, here (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-04-06-smokers_x.htm) is the article i pulled the data out of and here (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/sns-ap-tv-jennings-cancer,0,3502592.story?coll=sfla-news-health) is a story about jennings' situation.

if nothing else, the case has provided a great opportunity to bring back this thread which is one of the best discussions on the topic i have seen on the site.

[gunsella]

almost 4 yrs now - $12000 saved!

[MasterFarter]

An acquaintance who worked with alcoholics and drug addicts once told me that he believed that getting off nicotine was harder than getting off heroin.

Three weeks in, I think there may be some truth.

Certainly I have had a great deal of assistance from nicotine replacement aids, but I find that there is a massive hole in my time that I cant fill.

I have always been an avid reader, but since being off the smokes I have read less than a page in my most recent book. When I pick up the book I start wanting a smoke and without a ciggie in my hand I just dont seem to see the words in front of me.

When I have time on my hands I cant seem to do anything at all for some reason. This is despite having a house full of musical instruments, books, computers, sporting gear and games of all stripes. My DVD collection has been seeing some use tho.

On the positive side I have found that a Vitamin B Complex is pretty helpful with the stress and anxiety side of things.

OK people, share your own experiences and thoughts!

[AllStars]

As smoking is an oral fixation you'll probably find yourself eating. So beware the weight gain! Try chewies, gives your mouth something to do.

I could always stop and start easily, but I was also a nail biter and an eater.

[kleph]

having quit both drinking and smoking i have to say the latter was by far the most difficut.

oddly, as bad as it may seem to you at the moment, my understanding of the process is that you are just past the worst part. there is an intense craving at the 17-day mark to three-week mark due to the fact your body has finally processed out all the nicotine in its system. now you really are done smoking and your body ain't happy. (obviously, nicotine replacement aids my alter this process significantly)

from this point on you should find the physical craving to become less and less each day. on the other hand, the mental craving can now kick into high gear. its a good period to avoid temption - don't go out drinking with your mates that smoke for a week or so, for example.

as always, my advice is do it day by day. don't keep telling yourself "i've quit smoking" tell yourself "i am not smoking today" then do it again tomorrow.

if you are interested, i have gone over my efforts and methods of quitting smoking in this thread (http://forums.zgeek.com/showthread.php?t=11937) and this thread (http://forums.zgeek.com/showthread.php?t=14905) and this thread (http://forums.zgeek.com/showthread.php?t=17255). and, of course, there is a lot of good information in the quitting drinking (http://www.zgeek.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35105) thread as well.

[AllStars]

And after all this time having a fag will taste like SHIT.

Remind yourself :greenwink

[kleph]

regretably, that's not much of a deterrent when you are jonesing. to wit, how many times has the concern over the agony of a hangover kept you from getting shitfaced?

[Chocoholic]

Do not ever think you can have just one.
That was my downfall. I used to go out drinking and scab a few cigarettes here and there. I thought if they weren’t mine then it wasn’t an addiction. Eventually I went away brought a pack and am once again addicted.

Good luck it’s hard but it’s just a matter of you making the decision and following it though

Also bribe the people you work with... Your shit isn't their problem but they are going to cope it

[Davo_Dinkum]

Three weeks in, I think there may be some truth.

Have you been addicted to heroin?

[AllStars]

This is true kleph.

I think it's called stupidity. Or, 'the best cure for a hangover is to keep drinking'.

:)

[kleph]

i don't think i would call it stupidity. most folks that decide to tie one on know full well what they are in for. its just the short term logic here is so strong it tends to overwhelm longer term rationalizations.

[MasterFarter]

Have you been addicted to heroin?

No I havent my literal minded friend.

Please allow me a little poetic licence in describing how shit I feel.

[MasterFarter]

Kleph, I gave up the booze a long time ago. Just stopped drinking one day and never went back, after realising that I was living in a permanent hangover. You are right that the ciggies are harder to drop.

[Sashasword]

I have never smoked, MasterFarter, but let me offer you this.

Even though you might feel like crap now, and really want to fall back to it, it's worth quitting for good. Your body will thank you for it every day you don't light up. Your lungs are replacing all those useful oxygen absorbing cells more and more each day, and you will feel better for it.

This is the only body you get for this lifetime, and it is worth looking after it so it will serve you well and painlessly throughout most of your (long?) life.
If nothing else, it is worth looking after your body because it is such an amazing machine, the likes of which humans are not able to re-create yet (in a synthetic way).

I don't know if this will come close to helping you, but I wished to offer something.

I hope it helps.

[kleph]

Kleph, I gave up the booze a long time ago. Just stopped drinking one day and never went back, after realising that I was living in a permanent hangover. You are right that the ciggies are harder to drop.

it has been my observation that it would probably be advisable to do this in the reverse order. so good luck with it.

[Hairyman]

Something that might help is avoiding situations that are strongly associated with smoking for you. This will remove some of the cues that make you want to smoke.

Another thing might be to think of some of the other upsides of smoking. THink of the money that you will save. A pack a day is worth about $4000+ after-tax dollars a year. You could get some pretty cool toys with that kind of cash.

[Jimma]

My grandfather used to say "you don't live any longer if you don't smoke, it just feels like it." Granted he died in his forties, but he was a wise man and I'll never forget those words. I have vices, but I like them, and I won't quit until I don't.

[Hairyman]

The 9 months it takes to die from lung cancer is a fucking long time.

[kleph]

My grandfather used to say "you don't live any longer if you don't smoke, it just feels like it." Granted he died in his forties, but he was a wise man and I'll never forget those words. I have vices, but I like them, and I won't quit until I don't.

as an excuse to smoke, well, that's kind of lame. not to mention wrong. almost 40 percent of the deaths each year in australia are due to heart disease of which smoking is a major cause. after that come the dangers of emphysyma and lung cancer.

the bottom line is that quitting smoking is, by far, the most preventable cause of premature death. bon mots won't rationalize that fact away.

although if your point is you won't quit unless you make the decision, i'll buy it. no amount of statistics and information will persuade someone to stop smoking until they are ready. but, if that is actually your point, it is irrelevant to this discussion since MasterFarter has clearly already made the decision to quit.

nobody is hassling you for continuing to smoke, why do you feel the need to criticise to someone who has made the choice to go through the unpleasant process of stopping?

[Jimma]

Firstly, I don't smoke. I never said I did. My grandfather's quote is a joke, alluding to the fact that quitting is harder than continuuing to smoke. I acknowledge smoking is a common cause of death, it killed my grandfather. I wish masterfarter all the best, and if he doesn't want to smoke anymore then more power to him for choosing to quit. It's just that if I did smoke, and I enjoyed smoking, I wouldn't quit just because it would kill me. Why live if you're not going to do the things you enjoy. Why eat healthy to prolong life if you love fried chicken? Why try to add a decade by not having that cold beer you love when you get home from work? If you don't actually enjoy those things and you're just addicted then quitting is a good idea, and it certainly is hard.

[kleph]

i think that is a valid point. i know for a fact i wasn't able to quit smoking until i totally and completely hated it - hated the way it made me smell, hated the way it made me feel, hated how much it cost, hated feeling compelled to do it even when i didn't want to. even then, it was fucking hard to quit.

ones health can be a very compelling motivation to quit. particularly if, for example, you just had a child. but, that said, it's not the primary motivation for everyone. and, while i advocate having an "ultimate goal" of completely not smoking for whatever reason, i try and be clear that it is of limited help with the daily battle of not lighting up (when our short-term desires are in play). you have to be ready to deal with both.

[Jimma]

Heroin is different to Nicotine in that you stop enjoying an addiction to heroin much faster. You realise pretty quickly you no longer want to be an addict, even if you're still getting a bit of pleasure out of it (which doesn't last long as tolerance to heroin builds amazingly fast.) Quitting nicotine might be harder as the motivation to quit doesn't seem as obvious. But as you say kleph, things like smells can be enough to do it. Oh and keep in mind that if you smell things that aren't there it may be an early sign of schizophrenia.

[phunkachunka]

Certainly I have had a great deal of assistance from nicotine replacement aids, but I find that there is a massive hole in my time that I cant fill.

MasterFarter I have to agree with you completely!

I too found that I couldn't concentrate on things, and had a shorter attention span. 2 months in and I seemed to fall in a slump and started smoking again, and to be honest I couldn't tell you why. Think I may have been bored at work and asked someone else for a cigarette, downhill from there.

The hardest thing I find/found was habitual smoking times. Whenever I made a phone call at home I would have a cigarette. This was hard to break at first.

Have restarted the effort again though, have had some health issues of late that scared me a little, and am now ready to never smoke again.

My advice would be to replace cigarettes with something else, healthy obviously. Sugar free gum is quite good, not too much unless you want to spend that extra time on the shitter. ;) Try a piece of fruit too.

Good luck to you though MasterFarter. To quote the dude from Adam Sandler movies:

You can dooo eeeeeet!

[kleph]

never underestimate the power of boredom when trying to quit a vice. it is, almost certainly, the most formidable obstacle you face.

[FatherShark]

My own problem is that I seriously, utterly, completely love smoking.

I've given up before for the most part, but the biggest difficulty I have found is that the second I have a beer in front of me, I can't help but start craving them - they're indubitably associated with one another in my head.

[MasterFarter]

Thx for all the thoughts people.

I just wish I could do it the way my wife did. When she fell prgnant with our first she suddenly could not stand the taste or smell of some things. The primary thing was the ciggies.

From that moment 15 years ago till now, one drag on a ciggie makes her literally gag and sometimes worse.

[King_Crud]

I've got to say, i found giving up ciggies quite easy. I read Alan Carrs Easyway to stop smoking book and it worked a treat. I wanted to give up and this book put a couple of ideas in my head that i would think of if i had a craving, so i got over it pretty quickly.

[daonoir]

Gl dude i just quit and started again and realy regreted it dont do it man. All thoes times you want a smoke breath easy because you can now. the cravings just got to me so bad on the 9th day i caved i might try some of thoes aids this time

[daonoir]

I've got to say, i found giving up ciggies quite easy. I read Alan Carrs Easyway to stop smoking book and it worked a treat. I wanted to give up and this book put a couple of ideas in my head that i would think of if i had a craving, so i got over it pretty quickly.

i read that book didnt work for me but lent it to a cuple of my mates and it worked rely well for them

[King_Crud]

i read that book didnt work for me but lent it to a cuple of my mates and it worked rely well for them
i found you're really got to want to stop for it to work. I've had friends who read it and it didn't work for them becuase they were expecting the book to branwash them. It's not for that, it's to be used as an assistance device. BUt horses for courses and all that.

[kleph]

i found you're really got to want to stop for it to work. .

this is what i was trying to say in response to Jimma's post. smoking is a physical and mental compulsion so quitting requires you not wanting to do it anymore. i suppose it is possible to stop the habit despite that conviction but i doubt the success rate is very high. that said, it is pretty clear MasterFarter has reached this point so i think the possibility for success is pretty good.

[kleph]

so, how ya doin', MasterFarter?

[MasterFarter]

MasterFarter is still feeling a bit strung out and hyperactive :)

About a month now, which is not too bad considering that there has been no concious decision to 'quit'.

Anywho, I have decided that I am going to sharpen up my tools, go a hunting for some nice Aussie hardwoods and build a bass guitar. See if I cant divert the mind and body a bit.

Thx for askin!

[amj]

So you're gonna build a bass eh? Let me know how that turns out, I play bass myself so it'd be interesting to see how you get on with it. But for god sake, if you don't know what you're doing, buy a neck, don't make one!

[kleph]

MasterFarter is still feeling a bit strung out and hyperactive :)

About a month now, which is not too bad considering that there has been no concious decision to 'quit'.

well, there is always the possibility that this is your "normal" state. :)

great news. just stick with it and don't let a moment of weakness put all you have achieved in jepoardy. i found that the longer i went the easier it was - not because the craving was any less - but because after making it so long through so tough a trial i wasn't willing to casually throw it away. every day you don't smoke gives that argument a bit more weight.

[Salted_Chipmunk]

I've not had a smoke in just over 3 months now. I found that when i did have a craving to grab a chuppa chup and chew on that for a while.

Going from a pack a day to nil is a hard thing to do but im glad i did it.

[royale]

no smokes for 18 months after 14 years of a pack a day.

Keep it up, its worth it.

[kleph]

try cold turkey after a two-pack-a-day habit. my roomates banned me from watching tv news after week one because i would start screaming at it.

good stuff man. be sure to take the time to sign on and post if you get the craving hard. we'll have your back and going through that effort will buy you a bit more time to find resolve to fight it.

[RedMaN]

I also quit this year after 10 yrs of smoking and found that it was easy than previous times I had tried. I just went cold turkey, no patches gum or anything.

Fair enough I turned into an irritable cunt and ppl were insisting I have a ciggie just to try and calm down but I didn't buckle, like a belt.

I just got to a point where I was smoking and not enjoying it anymore... so I gave it away. Plus... it felt good when I was overseas and all these random hobos would come up and try to bum a free smoke and I could proudly declare that I didn't smoke... hence, "No cigarette for you... ONE YEAR!" :D

[Miss Scarlett]

I quit thanks to hypnotherapy. No cravings and I have to check the calendar to figure out when I last had a smoke. Cost a bomb though - $600 for two one-on-one sessions. Highly recommend it!

[johny_roberts]

Posted before repeat it again:

You must make the decision you want to quit. I quit chewing because my doctor said my throat looked horrible. It might have been a lie I dont know I quit once I heard it.

I quit because of health thats it. Not because of money or because it was gross to spit but because it might hurt my body.

tyvm,

jr

[Nodbugger]

I have heard that the laser treatment works.

[kleph]

and i have heard that it's wise to stay on topic in the discussion forums.

[Furball]

MasterFarter, good on you for quitting. Good stuff mate!

I have the odd situation whereby, i dont smoke, fukin despise the things and yet I crave them when im stressed. I could understand if I was indifferent about it, but I do scratch my head over that one...

[Nodbugger]

and i have heard that it's wise to stay on topic in the discussion forums.

How is that not on topic? He wants to quit smoking and they have a laser treatment that makes you stop smoking. So I said I have heard it works.

[Evil Dan]

Hmmm.... I'm not sure laser therapy has any proven value in the cessation of smoking

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-06-22T163349Z_01_N22395812_RTRUKOC_0_US-LASERS.xml&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage2

[Nodbugger]

Hmmm.... I'm not sure laser therapy has any proven value in the cessation of smoking

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-06-22T163349Z_01_N22395812_RTRUKOC_0_US-LASERS.xml&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage2


My mom stopped smoking for 16 years, started up again for two, had the laser treatment and hasn't wanted to smoke since.

[Yogi]

Im one of those dreaded occasional smokers.. You know the guy that bums your fags but never recipricates.. thats me.

cases against quitting:

Im not a quitter I see things thru.

Lungs, you cant take them with you.

Cases for

Those horrbile new pictures

stinky

girls put of by it..

some health thing.

bugger we have a winner..

[AhhDiddums]

I quit recently myself (June 2) and was using nicotine gum. I'm definately over the nicotine addiction.

But I can relate to your reading situation. There are times where I try to do something and I simply can't because I mentally crave a cigarette so bad.

Although, none of this is permanent. It just takes time.

[kleph]

one thing i have wondered. when you use the nicotine gum, do you also have to wean yourself of it as well?

[AhhDiddums]

one thing i have wondered. when you use the nicotine gum, do you also have to wean yourself of it as well?

Yeah. According to the box, I was supposed to start taking a piece every one to two hours (Which Would have resulted in about ten a day). I forced myself to only 4 a day. Within a week, I was only having two a day, and at this point I have one in a rare great while.

I think it seems to work because it keeps the nicotine while the mental addiction of going out to smoke or whatever is the only thing bugging you. Its weird, but it works quite well.

[johny_roberts]

one thing i have wondered. when you use the nicotine gum, do you also have to wean yourself of it as well?

at the end of three months you nic fit like crazy. but you dont have the habbit anymore. plus at the end the gum makes you sick...

7 months strong without chewing w00t

[AhhDiddums]

at the end of three months you nic fit like crazy. but you dont have the habbit anymore. plus at the end the gum makes you sick

Not following the box has worked quite well for me, considering I nearly never have a piece and virtually never have any noticeable nic-fits.

[johny_roberts]

Not following the box has worked quite well for me, considering I nearly never have a piece and virtually never have any noticeable nic-fits.

ya I followed the box to the letter and it made me sick. all that matters is you quit and the gum is a good way to quit I think.

[AhhDiddums]

ya I followed the box to the letter and it made me sick. all that matters is you quit and the gum is a good way to quit I think.

Yeah.. all that matters is that it works... seems to me that the gum works really well, too.

[kleph]

at the time i quit, i was skeptical of this approach due to my feeling it was simply changing one bad habit for another. my experience was that folks that used this method rarely stuck with it. but this was more than a decade ago, i expect the product has improved as well as the method.

also, the very first time i quit - which lasted about six months before i started back again - i used chewing gum as an alternative. it wasn't long before they started bleeding regularly. so i ditched that approach when i later went cold turkey.

[Benwah]

I tried nicotine gum, but it make me hiccup something savage, but whatever works, right?

[MasterFarter]

Wow, looks like a busy thread :)

Well, I have been busy at work and havent had much time to check in lately. The good news is that the Farter is still off the fags :D

The burning itch to have a ciggie is not so bad that it completely fucks up my day now, although I still cant pick up a book and I think I have put on about 4-5 kilos :(

For all those other quitters in here, goddonya!

And, thanks to everyone for contributing.

[MasterFarter]

Progress report!

Still havent had so much as a sniff of a ciggie :D

Must have turned some sort of corner, cause I'm actually looking forward to playing Football today rather than dreading the really bad unwell feelings that I was getting after playing sport.

Hope all you other dudes are also doing well!

[kleph]

great news, man. i saw you posted and i was scared that it was bad news. now you are getting your health back a bit, why not join us in the getting fit (http://www.zgeek.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44547)thread?

[daonoir]

Well i quit again :) this time decided to go with patches been 2 days and feeling pritty good about it this time. Thx all in this thread reading made me want to quit agin

[annie]

I'm into my third day without a cigarette, and I'm doing fine. I still want one, mainly for the times when I am waiting, or have nothing to do except relax like in the evenings, but meh. The downside to this is that I am eating lots of marshmellows instead of smoking.

[rusky85]

My wife gave up smoking yesterday, if she can keep it up for 5 months we will be buying a puppy.

Since we are nearly buying our first home the extra money will help, plus the other half has become health consious as well - which is good.

6:30 tonight will mark 24 hours - it must be tuff.

I noticed that she is drinking tea during her usual smoke breaks @ work (it is great working @ the same place)

Also, out of curiosity. My wife tried patches last year before the wedding, but she ended up smoking more on them..... In the begining it gave her headaches but they wore off - anyone else had this?

[That Bloke]

An acquaintance who worked with alcoholics and drug addicts once told me that he believed that getting off nicotine was harder than getting off heroin.


Don't know if it's an exageration but they say you haven't truelly kicked it until you've been 4 years without smoking.

[kleph]

good luck to all making another go at it. feel free to post here if things get rough and you need some support.

don't underestimate the boredom factor and concentrate on the immediate goals such as getting through the day... or hour, if that's the case.

[Wombatunder]

My wife has quit 3 times, she was a 120-150 per week smoker since she moved out with me 4 years ago. She used to be a 50per day smoker when she lived with her mum. Every time she has taken it back up has been because of stress, related to her condition and upcoming operations. She's now down to less than 100 per day but I don't see her quitting anytime soon, her condition doesn't seem to be clearing up any :(

I took up smoking at about 18(I'm 25 now) and have quit twice. The first time I went cold turkey with no probs(I wasn't a heavy smoker, more a social smoker, less than 50 per week). I only took it up again because I was trying to convince my wife to quit and was stealing her smokes:D every time she had one I would go outside with her and nick it off her so she would only have half. I gave up the second time because I felt like I'd nearly killed myself and all I did was push start a small car :confused:. I've been off them for 2 years now and have only felt like having one during times of extreme stress, ie concern for a loved one in hospital. I haven't given in and am feeling much healthier. Good luck and congrats to everyone here who is succeeding.

[MasterFarter]

Great to see so many having a go :D

Still doing all right here. Not even a puff.

Hopped onto one of those closed up air-conditioned buses today and sat next to a bloke who must be a cigar smoker. Would have smelled better if he took a dip in bin juice!

[Whiskers]

I'm quitting. My health is at stake. Wish me luck.

[vantastic]

I'm quitting. My health is at stake. Wish me luck.

Good luck! Me and the missus quit for about 2 weeks after new years. We nearly killed eachother... sex was great tho! Angry and frustrated and frequent...

Now we've started smoking again, allthough less... and sex is few and far between and not nearly as angry

Take the good with the bad I guess, at least we're not arguing over trivial things like who will get the mail or something ;)

All the best to ya!

[Thyrd]

I'm quitting. My health is at stake. Wish me luck.
Hooray!
Good luck, cunny!

[ShinymetalASS]

I'm on nearly one year.

Eleven months it is.

One year in August.

And it's a sweet sweet thing.

I just eat lots of cookies now and am a BIG FAT ASS.

[annie]

I'm now almost at 3 weeks without a cig. Had to quit because I could feel my body dying basically. Still can, but to a lesser degree, which is something.
I would love a smoke, and I watch enviously as my friends puff away, but I'm experiencing a strange bout of will power.

[annie]

Oh, and the point of my post was :

Good luck Whiskers!!!

[metalhed00]

I quit the day after 9/11. (Very tough.) I may smoke the occassional cigar, but not one ciggy since then.

If you want to quit, you HAVE to want to quit. 100%!!!!!

[kleph]

man, smelling it again is a real revelation. you get a point blank example of what you actually reeked like when you were smoking regularly. it can be a great tool to keep you from having another.

[Kanderson]

Rusty, I have had friends that felt ill/got headaches using patches as you have described. I'm not sure why, they just seem to affect people at random.

After 8 whole months of not smoking, I'm never going back. My anti-smoking partner is much happier, my relationship with him has improved, as has my health. I have more money in my pocket to do with as I wish, and I feel good about myself.

I hope that my words offer some sort of small comfort to those giving it a go, and I am encouraging you to keep on trying. I admire your efforts.

[Whiskers]

It's been almost a week without one. I'm still a little sick and I have been avoiding my girlfriends but other than that I just don't want to have one.

[kleph]

next week won't be fun and the one after that probably will not be much better. by that time, though, you will have a pretty good not-smoking habit set up and the nicotine will be out of your system so the physical craving will be mostly gone. which helps, but it's the mental part that kicks your ass.

just focus on baby steps. 'i am not having a cigarette today.' or, if necessary, 'i can hold out another 20 minutes' and find something that will keep you very busy for the next hour.

[Whiskers]

Thanks Kleph. Yesterday I received some very bad news and my first reaction was to ask for a cigarette but I knew I would feel physically ill if I had one. If I can get through that, as early on as it is, I feel I can get through any temptation.

[kleph]

that actually is a good sign. my big test was hitting the bar a month after quitting. i knew very well getting into a few pints and being around smokers would be tough and it sure a fucking hell was. in fact, it was making it through that evening i first felt i could actually do the thing.

one trick i tried is making an investment into my quitting. a BIG investment. i had all my clothes and bedsheets and blankets dry cleaned. it cost a few hundred dollars that i really didn't have at the time, but damn if it didn't give me a good reason not to 'just have a a smoke.'

(i also moved and got a new car shortly after so that redoubled the incentive.)

[King_Crud]

I stopped 13 months ago. On my first day of quitting i went out on the piss hard because it was all or nothing. I knew if i could survive that i could survive anything, and as usual i was right.

[Vally]

I am now on my 18th day of giving up, being on the computer most of the time has help, as it kept me busy. Good luck Whiskers. I was not 100% ready, but i had no choice but to give up. you will get there, just keep talking to us about how you feel :):w00t:

[maccabean]

im onto my 6th day of quitting.

ive already been to the pub twice and survived.

its hard. i just think of all the reasons why i should smoke such as..

you are young...you have plenty of time to quit
everybody does it, its not so bad for you.
it'll help you score more chicks
its just one ciggie. wahts it going to do.

but then this little voice sitting at the back of my mind says

Maccabean, you little fucking jew. its only a temporary feeling, it will go away soon. have some self control you weak piece of shit. it will be the biggest achievement ever if you get through it.

[kleph]

great stuff, vally. you are right at the point where the nicotine is out of your system and you are really a 'non-smoker.' i have heard other smokers trying to quit say that this is the point when their cravings become the worst but it wasnt like that at all for me. just in case, be alert for the next few days.

now you have to tackle the mental reflex to smoke head on. this can be tricky due to the little games your mind plays on you for a smoke. no matter how 'in control' you feel about your smoking, don't give in to the urge to have a cigarette - no matter how well you rationalize it beforehand. it won't end up being 'just one' and you will have thrown away three weeks or more of hard work.

the other thing happening now is your body is starting to get 'well' again from smoking. your lungs are begining to fix the damage the smoke has caused and the effects of the carcinogins are lessening. as a result, its a good time to join us freaks over at the getting fit thread (http://www.zgeek.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44547).

[Vally]

The funny thing is, that i have not any bad cravens, maybe one here and there, but not any for the past 10 days now. i am really proud of myself becuase i used to be nearly a pack a day smoker :)

[kleph]

its hard. i just think of all the reasons why i should smoke such as..

you are young...you have plenty of time to quit
everybody does it, its not so bad for you.
it'll help you score more chicks
its just one ciggie. wahts it going to do.

this is exactly the sensation that makes it so maddening. when i first quit i was expecting to have an intense craving like when i am hungry or a physically painful feeling but instead i got this... an ongoing and persistant mindfuck. i would play this stupid logic game in my head pretty much ceaselessly.

it took me awhile to realize this is the craving for a smoke at work. that's why i always suggest the short goal strategy to deal with it. since it doesn't go away, you gotta get yourself occupied enough to make it through the times of the day you are relatively idle and in a position to listen to the bs your head is giving you.

plus rep for hitting the nail on the head. good luck sticking with it.

[King_Crud]

its hard. i just think of all the reasons why i should smoke such as..

it'll help you score more chicks


Actually i think you'll find the opposite.

[maccabean]

thanks kleph.

as for it helping to score more chicks...

well yes and no, ive been told by some girls that they think guys smoking ciggies makes them look suave.... like bogart suave or jimmy stewart suave
its worked for me a few times.

but then ive been chatting to this girl, pull out a cigg and straight away she's like, sorry, im not interested in talking to you anymore.

crazy hey

[kleph]

movie stars smoked because the motion of smoke in the air looks great on camera. the motion of the smoke through the air is dynamic and perfect for film. thus, it has become intergrated into the iconography of cinema.

its the same reason all of those films set in new york have a nighttime scene of the steam coming out of the manhole covers.

but, you don't look that cool when you smoke because 1) nobody is as cool as bogart or sinatra 2) you don't have several thousand dollars worth of lighting highlighting the effect and 3) you can smell the stink.

[deevil]

Just quit smoking... again... last time I quit (about 6 years ago) was for about 3 years, then I started again when I went back to Uni for a few courses. Its going pretty well so far... don't want to leave the house and want to sleep or play games constantly for a distraction... realized I sometimes would go onto the balcony and light up to get some alone time but don't want to go onto the balcony without lighting up for fear of causing the cravings to explode! Argh!

Day one nearly over...

[Whiskers]

I had one yesterday. I had a huge fight with my boyfriend and felt the urge to do something self-destructive (this is a recurring theme).

It wasn't worth it and I've had a niggling headache ever since. When I think too much about it I feel really pathetic and worthless. But no so much that I would revert back to smoking. I don't need it.

The hardest times for me are when I have time to myself. If I get to work 15 mins early, my instinct is to sit down and have a relaxing cigarette before I start work. The world stops for those few minutes.

Lately, I know I've been filling those gaps with food but I'm making every effort to snack healthily. I've been carrying around a lot of fruit and unsalted nuts/seeds to munch on.

I'm still going to the gym so hopefully my weight will remain the same. In any case, I'm doing more cardio because I'm finding it easier.

Also my skin seems brighter and I love the luxury of having the clean teeth feeling for longer.

I'm also finding myself with more money at the end of the fortnight. Which makes paying off all my jean laybys so much easier.

[kleph]

Just quit smoking... again... last time I quit (about 6 years ago) was for about 3 years, then I started again when I went back to Uni for a few courses. Its going pretty well so far... don't want to leave the house and want to sleep or play games constantly for a distraction...

kick ass. the first day is the most important one. now you build on that. tomorrow you can tell yourself you don't want to throw away the struggle you went through today as a bit more incentive.

go outside and walk or run. go see a movie. post entries in the current photoshop contests. go do something. don't give yourself idle time to be tempted.

It wasn't worth it and I've had a niggling headache ever since. When I think too much about it I feel really pathetic and worthless. But no so much that I would revert back to smoking. I don't need it.

yeah, that's the nicotine. it will take a while to get all of it out of your system again. and, while it's there, it makes the temptation even harder to resist.

the key thing is not to think you have failed, which is a mindset that lends itself to backsliding, but to keep your resolve and not have another. one of the reasons i didn't ever have this one is i had serious doubts about my own self control in the same situation. kick ass, if you can handle it.

Lately, I know I've been filling those gaps with food but I'm making every effort to snack healthily. I've been carrying around a lot of fruit and unsalted nuts/seeds to munch on. I'm still going to the gym so hopefully my weight will remain the same. In any case, I'm doing more cardio because I'm finding it easier.

yeah, this is where the payoff really is going to show up. because that smart snacking should also be helping your gym effort.

Also my skin seems brighter and I love the luxury of having the clean teeth feeling for longer.

i don't know i have ever seen anything connecting crappy skin and smoking but i have seen far far to many people who smoke with that emaciated drawn skin look. i have known many people the age i am now who looked like they were decades older due to the effects of smoking. i don't tend to be very concerned about my own appearance but this is one point i take a bit of pride in.

[Scumbag]

I decided to quit last wednesday. 02nd August 2006.

So I bought a box of patches. Had my last ciggie before I went to bed on wednesday night, shed a tear.

Then applied a patch on thursday morning. I went out for dinner on friday night, drank a bottle of wine - no urges.

I went out on Saturday night through to Sunday arvo, took loads of drugs, drank nearly a whole bottle of vodka and a 6 pack of beer - no urges.

Today I forgot to put a patch on this morning, and im feeling mostly fine! A little edgy and weird - just a little, I think my body knows its lacking in nicotene but because its been 5 days since ive had a ciggie im not having any urges to have a ciggarette.

I reckon thats it! its over! Patches are awesome.

[kleph]

dont get lulled by your success. sounds like you have stayed pretty busy, thats a good way to keep to it. but the next two weeks are still part of the danger period where your body is working the nicotine out. as you do that, the tough cravings can reappear. keep on top of it but i hope the rest turns out as easy as this start seems to have been.

[thegrouch]

hmmm, i crave a smoke. wait i can have one cause i havent givin up yet....

[Scumbag]

na, the only thing to use are the tablets (I like to call them my lollies). Anyone for a lollie?

hehehe

lollies taste like shit.

Plus I found that sure everytime you get a craving, you eat a lollie. But an hour after id eat a lollie, id feel like a ciggie again.

Whereas I put a patch on in the morning - and I dont feel like a ciggie again for the next 24 hours or more - thats it. Do that every morning and after a few days to a few weeks I forget that I ever smoked in the first place.

[deevil]

shit, smoking again... well that was 24 hours of not smoking down the tubes...

[dazmon]

i have been trying to stop for a few months now. go ok during the week but crash and light up on the weekends. especially when alcohol is involved. a social binge smoker is what i am.

funny thing is i gave up pot after almost 15 years over a year ago and that was fucking easier than giving up the ciggies!! once i stopped i realised i used to crave the tobacco in the mix more than the mull!

[vantastic]

i have been trying to stop for a few months now. go ok during the week but crash and light up on the weekends. especially when alcohol is involved. a social binge smoker is what i am.

funny thing is i gave up pot after almost 15 years over a year ago and that was fucking easier than giving up the ciggies!! once i stopped i realised i used to crave the tobacco in the mix more than the mull!

Yeah weed was pretty easy to give up I found... ciggies have a much tighter stranglehold on your body... good old nicotine... green doesnt have any seriously addictive chems in it (as far as I know) and if it does they didnt affect me... sure my come down was horrible, but that lasted a few days only... plus the love and support of my missus made it all the more easier :)

As for the smokes, Good Work! I wish I could go 2 hours without one.... kudos

And kudos to all here who have successfully thrown the fuckers out of their lives. I salute you!

[kleph]

deevil and dazmon, this is the reason you can't make it an all-or-nothing equation in your head. because when you fall short of your goal there is a tendency to give in completely. look at that most recent cigarette as a lapse not a collapse.

vantastic, if a weak-willed loser like myself can give up ciggies after a decade of smoking two-packs-a-day, you can too. i promise. i didn't just get up one morning and just not have another. i went through dozens of the usual stop-and-start cycles intermixed with lots of self-loathing smoking.

the thing is to give it another go and try again. you are a bit wiser, you know the tricks it is going to throw at you and you should be a bit more pissed off that the fuckers beat you again. now its your turn.

[Scumbag]

OK, I feel like a ciggie now.

I can quite easily resist though, what should I do: Keep resisting or get back on the patches ?

[Whiskers]

Go the patch. Decrease the temptation. The longer you go without a ciggarette, the better.

[kleph]

hmmm, i crave a smoke. wait i can have one cause i havent givin up yet....

ok, this little joke of yours lost all of its humor value midway through the first post. if you have something to contribute to this specific discussion, please do so. otherwise take your comments to the smoking thread (http://www.zgeek.com/forum/showthread.php?p=968294) where they are welcomed and encouraged.

::NOTE TO ALL:: please consider this the official nazi mod notification for all such posts from now on i will simply be moving such commentary to the smoking thread (http://www.zgeek.com/forum/showthread.php?p=968294)

[AhhDiddums]

OK, I feel like a ciggie now.

I can quite easily resist though, what should I do: Keep resisting or get back on the patches ?

Use the gum... it lets you determine when you get the Nicotine, as opposed to patches.

[wolfpac181]

I quit about 20 days ago. I've had tons of urges, but never fell for them this time. Being on the patch helps with the cravings I get, yet it doesn't fill the habit bit. So there's been times where I'd regulary want to light up, couldn't, and then get into a weird mood from it.

OH!!! check this shit out. I found a nice way around the hand to mouth thing. Beef Jerky. It just rocks for the replacing. get some really dry jerky, and you can gnaw on it for a really long time. The smokey flavor helps, and I'm doing great on it. I've gotta work around chain smokers, so I pull out the jerky. It's keeping the habit part rightly under control. but tis expensive.

[kleph]

greetings all! your friendly neighborhood nazi mod again.

i have now merged all the various quitting smoking threads and posts i could find and collected them in this here thread which is now a sticky. so, if you are trying to quit it might be worth your while to go back and re-read this thread to see some more posts about how a number of us dealt with giving up the habit.

and if that weren't enough now this new and improved thread has extra nosedog for your continued enjoyment! beat that, kids.

in addition, i've bumped this thread (http://forums.zgeek.com/showthread.php?p=972958)of Colonel Kurtz which has a very interesting discussion about smoking. i've pulled the quitting specific posts into this thread but if the issue of smoking is more of your interest, you might want to check it out.

and, of course, there is now the smoking thread (http://www.zgeek.com/forum/showthread.php?p=968294) for sharing the things about this habit that made it so enjoyable once upon a time or still today, if you continue to partake.

thanks,

kleph

[MasterFarter]

Hi Guys

Long time no post!

Well, MasterFarter has been so damned busy with a new job that there has not been much time to think of smokes.

Must be somewhere around 4 months now, I havent been keeping count.

the place I notice the most difference is playing sport. I come off the field feeling energised rather than sick now.

What I must do now is get my trombone out of its case and see if I can still play. I gotta say that a smoker trying to play a wind instrument is not a brilliant sight :D

Keep it up all you other quitters!

[kleph]

four months is great, man. you are clearly 'over the hump.' the biggest concern from here on is thinking you have beat it entirely and having one to prove it or because you think you can. the only answer to that is the same answer you had the first day you quit - just don't do it. the danger is the same.

if you is feeling so much more healthy, come visit us over at the getting fit thread (http://www.zgeek.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44547) and start some real abuse on your bod.

[fivestarcam]

Every pack is my "