Quit Smoking

[irishbimmer]

Originally Posted by SakhirM4

I smoked about 2 packs a day for 40 years. Quit cold turkey 6 years ago. I still get cravings from time to time, but have not smoked. I am now on oxygen 24/7 with emphysema, but exercise keeps me going well.

If you haven't started don't. If you haven't quit, do it now!! You owe it to yourself and everyone that loves you.

That's obviously some powerful wisdom that must be followed by these young guys that are still smoking. I quit two packs a day of Kools when my daughter was born and then took up a sport that became my job for awhile with no ill effects.
I hope you remain healthy as possible and don't hesitate to preach about the evils of smoking!!
Bill

[The Wind Breezes]

Smoking only works when you're not addicted. Once you start smoking any amount you lose the buzz and cigarettes just get you back to feeling normal from the hole they dug in the first place. With that in mind you should feel pretty damn silly about being addicted to something that has lots of drawbacks and doesn't even get you high...at that point you quit easily.

If you need to trade tobacco for another drug, try kratom. It is WAY more pleasurable than cigarettes even if you get addicted.

[CANGRKE70]

Thanks everyone. I think I'm in it for the long haul.

I'm chewing more gum, went to my dentist and got a teeth cleaning. I had the truck detailed (got rid of the smell of smoke) and really seeing the impact to my bank account.

Between the wife and I quitting, we're looking at close to 17K CAD yearly in savings or almost 13K for you Yanks.

[El Cheapo Loco]

What worked for me:

1. Find a buddy to quit together. Works as a support system.
2. Literally stopped going to bars and clubs.

[wdb]

I tried to quit 100 times. It finally stuck on 101. Don't give up.

The thing that finally put me over was a job change. Back when I was smoking, people could still smoke indoors, at their desks. Even after I stopped buying I was constantly bumming. Job change ended that -- I didn't know anyone!

I had cravings for years. Get used to it. Use it as a lever in the other direction.

Years after I quit, I walked into a bar to buy a 6-pack. The place reeked of cigarette smoke! I was in there for less than 5 minutes. I walked out with my beer, went home, took all of my clothes off and threw them in the washing machine because they stank. Threw the cardboard beer container in the garbage can outside for the same reason. And then it hit me; I used to smell like that. At that point in time I knew for certain, for the first time since I quit so many years ago, that I was well and truly done with those sticks.

Moral, such as it is: don't stop trying. The end result is worth far more than you can imagine.

[StuP]

After 40 + years of a packet + a day, I'm trying to quit with little success. I've tried most 'home' options, so now I'm going the chantix route as soon as I can get to the doctor.

I'm not sure it'll help, but I'll try. Smoking is just so intrinsic to so many behavioral patterns in my life it's driving me crazy.

[Needbmwpartzz]

To quit....1)hate the sh!t.....it could be killing you!
2)replace bad habit with good one.
3)continue to hate the sh!t!
4)chew gum/drink lots of water/eat fresh fruit.
5)repeat!
6)last step...laugh at the addiction that you now made it your bitch!

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by Faredo

smoked from age 16 to 38. I quit cold turkey the day my daughter was born but it wasnt easy. Its a habit. Probably the after dinner smoke was the hardest time so i started chewing gum after dinner. that helped and here i am 2 years later, it really doesn't bother me anymore.

A brother of mine also startetd around 16 and smoked heavy till 40. That bastard gave me my 1st cigarette His daughter was born 3 month ago and I told him to quit... .I don't know, last time I spoke with him I think he switched to skinny girls cigarettes

[irishbimmer]

Definitely gotta keep trying...I recall on about my third day of urges that I remembered seeing a cigarette in my garage that had been run over by my car and flattened. It was old and had tire marks on it but I snuck out to the garage and lit it up. It was awful and I got dizzy and near sick. Filled with self-loathing, I decided that was a low point and never looked back again.

[wrickem]

I quit cold turkey 14 years ago but picked one up after 5 years and for that one day, it was like I never quit. My mind tricked me into thinking I could have "just one". I couldn't and was so mad at myself I "spite quit" for good the next day.

Although I don't mind being around smokers, my mantra to myself is:

There is NOTHING good about smoking. Absolutely nothing. (Unless you're a cigarette manufacturer)

Good luck quitting! And remember, there is not one single good that comes from smoking

[Maynard]

"With that in mind you should feel pretty damn silly about being addicted to something that has lots of drawbacks and doesn't even get you high...at that point you quit easily."

This type of thinking is both painfully naïve, and at the root of many relapses - if (when) it is this easy, so is quitting; but for about 60%, it is not at all simple or easy. Tobacco addiction is very complex and durable, but it can be overcome with time and abstinence. Individual professional support can really go a long way for those having trouble quitting on their own (I'd recc a psychologist, but many other counselors w/ experience out there - go for behavior mod, not the AA approach when it comes to tobacco).

A tactic that can help with relapses is called flooding (works best if you have already done withdrawal, but worth a try anytime). You basically overdo it if you find you have slipped - smoke 2 or 3 in a row fast, and when you get that nauseous dizzy feeling you make a point to re-label that for yourself (instead of thinking of smoking as that one perfect smoke, you have this new memory to remind you). Do not do this if you are on the patch at the time, as you can actually OD.

Some also keep a small jar with some old butts in it, and when they get a craving they take a whiff.

And spend some of that time you used to smoke by planning what you will do with the extra 10 years you will be living - that's a lot of apexes.

[Joekerr]

May not belong here, and if offensive to those who are trying to quit, I'll remove, just let me know.

What are people (who have quit) thoughts on cigars? Just as bad, worse, or better than cigarettes? Equally addictive or not?

The reason I ask, I smoke probably a cigar a week during the summer, but only if the weather is good. I enjoy it, and then around September / October (when it starts to get cooler) I don't have any until the following May when it starts to get warmer again. I've never craved them though, and find it extremely easy not to have them from October to May, not really a second thought.

So I would say I'm not addicted. But I'd also heard there is a bunch of other chemicals in cigarettes to create / maintain addiction? I'm not sure - I've never smoked a cigarette in my life and have no plans to ever do so. That may sound ironic given I have no problems with cigars, but I just don't have any desire to try cigarettes and think they are more dangerous than cigars.

Others thoughts?

And for those that have quit pack a day habits - KUDOS! That's awesome, and I respect that.

[CANGRKE70]

I don't smoke Cigars very often, but I see online that: Cigars, like cigarettes, contain nicotine, the substance that can lead to tobacco dependence. A single full-size cigar can contain nearly as much nicotine as does a pack of cigarettes.

Take it for what it's worth.

I smoke cigars maybe 1-2 times a year, so it should be ok.

[Joekerr]

Originally Posted by CANGRKE70

I don't smoke Cigars very often, but I see online that: Cigars, like cigarettes, contain nicotine, the substance that can lead to tobacco dependence. A single full-size cigar can contain nearly as much nicotine as does a pack of cigarettes.

Take it for what it's worth.

I smoke cigars maybe 1-2 times a year, so it should be ok.

If you are successful giving up cigarettes, would you also cease cigars as well given how infrequent, or do you see the feeling as different?

Also, one side point - that $17K savings you mentioned from quitting - unless you already considered it, is likely after tax savings. So that's like a $20+K bump in your salary. Pretty considerable eh?

[CANGRKE70]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

If you are successful giving up cigarettes, would you also cease cigars as well given how infrequent, or do you see the feeling as different?

Also, one side point - that $17K savings you mentioned from quitting - unless you already considered it, is likely after tax savings. So that's like a $20+K bump in your salary. Pretty considerable eh?

I know cigars are the same thing only difference is not inhaling. I think 1-2 a year won't start me down a slippery slope to smoking again.

Yes, I'm already seeing the difference in my accounts.