Need some support and advice

[Cali]

i'm trying to quit smoking. i'm not gonna say i'm gonna quit for good, just like that. i'm gonna do it one day at a time because it's so damn hard i know it's a nasty habit and i was sick of the smell and the yellowish fingers and having to get out of the house everytime i wanted a smoke (sooooooooooooo good though)

anyway, if any of you have succesfully quit smoking, i would like to hear how you did it. or if you know people that have quit and wanna say something, please do so.

ps to non-smokers. lectures about cancer or health in general don't work. same with pictures of blackened lungs, teetch, etc

[kkraft]

hey cali,

i myself am in the process of quitting. i'd like to say i'm done for good, but like you, i'm taking it one day at a time. i quit cold turkey on january 1. i wish i had some great words of wisdom, but my quitting was mostly mental i think. i love cigarettes, as sick as that sounds, but like you, i was sick of the smell, and specifically the cost of smoking. i've tried to quite probably 112 times in the last year, but only made it a week. but here i am on 1/25, and the only 3 cigarettes i've had this month were when i was out at the bars with my friends having a few beers and bumming smokes.

the key is not to buy packs of cigarettes, cause if you're like me and you have them, you'll definitely smoke them. also, i had to make a goal for myself so i was quitting for a "reason" (apparently better health was not enough for me). so i started running, with the goal of training to run a marathon, and that has become sort of my addiction.

one of my best friends quit years ago, and he told me it's ok to have one now and then when you first quit, like when having a drink or something, but he says the best advice is not to buy them...like i said, if you have them you will continue to smoke them no matter what you tell yourself.

i don't know if this has helped or not, but you can do it, you just have to make the mental choice that you're done with it....one day at a time, one craving at a time, just do something else when you crave one....i tend to eat...but i hope that will go away

feel free to chat with me for support or anything else, and BEST OF LUCK!

[Beevers_uk]

This is a english organization, they might have it in America im not sure...

http://www.givingupsmoking.co.uk/
Heres Another...
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_ad.../smokequit.htm
And 1 More...
http://www.smokersstopshop.co.uk/

[Profandy]

I quit last year. For me the main thing was being able to psychologically redefine 'giving up' something as 'gaining' something (health, energy, taste, not looking for the opportuinity for the next smoke etc etc. I can tell you guys have thought about what you're gaining - but honestly once you've got the pluses outweighing the minuses in your psyche its much easier. I haven't looked back... Hope it helps!!

[soda]

my neighbor at the office started eating pistacho's now that she quite smoking

[jenn fox]

ah jesus...I've just started...one month in. It's a phase but I'm loving it. All I can say is as with anything, take control, you are always in control of it...good luck to you Cali, we're here for ya

[corkboyinexile]

I have been trying to give up for ages and I have finally stopped four weeks ago. What I started doing to try to take my mind off them is starting running, which was very feckin hard to do at first having smokers lungs and all!!
I feel soo much better now, but it is still so hard when I go out for a drink, but if I end up having one after a drink its not the end of the world, ill just start again the next day, hope you you find something that takes your mind off them.

[Cali]

thank you guys

Originally Posted by kkraft

hlike you, i was sick of the smell, and specifically the cost of smoking.

the key is not to buy packs of cigarettes, cause if you're like me and you have them, you'll definitely smoke them. ...like i said, if you have them you will continue to smoke them no matter what you tell yourself.

i'll keep that in mind. and you're right, smoking is ridiculously expensive and not worth it.

i just started on monday and i've been like a zombie. i'm sleepy all day and right now i'm working on a project that's been taking me all day, when it would actually take me no more than one hour under normal circumstances . but i guess it can't get any worse, so it has got to get better duh!!

good luck to you too fellow quitters

[dizzy cannon]

did anyone see this new comerical they have out about smoking? it talks about plaque in the aorta. i dont want to gross anyone out that hasnt seen it. but ugh i just hate that commerical its so gross.

[flyaway]

Well good luck with it! The same thing for giving up everything is go a day without it, then "oh I've done one day, why not another". And so on, and so forth. It's proven the best method, as it doesn't seem like you're giving up everything.

[Angela]

I used Alan Carr's "Easy way to stop smoking" book. It worked really well for me. I went cold turkey. I wanted to save myself from all the waffling over "having to hang in there for another hour" and having to resist the temptation of wanting to smoke.

What I like about the book is that it is so full of ideas, you are bound to find one you can work with. Here is the one I used: you think it's hard to quit. But everytime you extinguish a cigarette you are in fact quittting. Quitting isn't the problem. Starting to smoke again is!

I then joined a group on MSN for cold turkey quitters and there I learned something similar: lot of people quit all the time, but they start smoking again after a while.

Those two things, the book and the group, made me think that the path to success would be not the determination to quit, but a decision to never ever smoke even a puff after you quit. Haven't smoked in five years.

Good luck!

[dramaking]

i can't really give you an davice, because i don't smoke. but a friend of me always says that you really have to want it. that you really believe it's better not to smoke. and in the beginning better don't face situations where you usually smoke a lot. like when you are out and drinking or something like that...
i wish you the best of luck for it!

[cneill]

I heard on tv the other day, it might have been an infomercial, I'm not sure, somebody was talking about smokers quiting. He said it's amusing when smokers say "I haven't had a cigarette in ___ days." Because whay count the days? So you can tell people how many days you went before starting again? He said someone who has really quit has no idea how many days it's been since the last cigarette, because that person has changed who they are in terms of being a smoker or non-smoker. That person will never be a smoker again, they've become a non-smoker. Never again will that person smoke a cigarette. So the amount of time passed since the last cigarette is irrelevant.

Seems like the mind game approach.
I've never really been addicted to cigarettes, so I can't really relate.

But good luck to you!

[kkraft]

that's a good point cneil....i'll have to keep that in mind...thanks

[jasonAVO]

what i did was cut down to 3 a day. on the way to work , one at lunch, and one on the way home. finally i read an article about how cig companies were using 'freebase' form of nicotine to make it more addictive. i said, why the f**k am i giving these people my money? and never have had one since. i smoked from the age of 12 to 30. it actually is easy once you decide you really want it. i was held back by thoughts of ...' well, sometimes i do like it' and that was true. but i realized its only because i had chems running through me and without it i had a physical response saying get some nicotine in here quick! just like if i dont have sugar i'll crave a candy bar.

i dont know it sounds real easy, but it really is all in your head and you have to believe you are in control of your self.

it will get easier. dont give up.


on an interesting sidenote...smoking pot does not do the same harm that smoking cigs does. when you smoke either, lung cells die. this is natural. your body then sheds those cells and replaces them. cigs however have a chemical that inhibits the bodies chemical for this process. the cells are not shed and then grow into tumors. on the other hand, pot has chemicals that induce and assist this process. pretty interesting. im not saying there are no bad effects, and this is not an endorsement for smoking weed. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4350642.stm

jason

It is now proved beyond doubt that smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics.

[cille]

i heard that smoking hash and pot is MORE harmful to the lungs

[jasonAVO]

Originally Posted by cille

i heard that smoking hash and pot is MORE harmful to the lungs

of course you did.(this was recent research showing the differences between teh smoke of weed and cigs)
for a long time govts have fed the public ridiculous assertions about weed in particular. we were told in the 60s that weed drives you insane while at the same time, doctors were doing commercials explaining the medical benefit to smoking. weed has been protrayed since the early 20th century as an evil violent drug. anyone who uses it will tell you at the very least, violent is absurd. ive never seen anyone in all my days get violent while on weed, unless they were drunk as well or on something else. but just weed? nope.

gotta remember where all this info on weed started....dupont was lobbying to keep weed illegal after prohibition and hearst was lobbying for it to be kept that way as well. dupont had just discovered many uses for this new thing called oil that for centuries hemp was used for(plastic for one- things similar to tupperware used to be made from hemp(marijuana). hearst had just come up with a new way of making paper. the majority of things printed (at least in america) were printed on hemp prior to that. george washington himself wrote in his diaries how to grow more potent strains. until late 1800's you were able to pay taxes with it. \

anyway, yeah there are harmful effects from weed. but the same can be said of caffiene. aspirin. pretty much any drug. sitting around a camp fire is harmful to your lungs. not to mention where i live, nj, the air itself is considered hazardous.

gotta go.....

jason

America's first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia in 1619. It was a law "ordering" all farmers to grow Indian hempseed. There were several other "must grow" laws over the next 200 years (you could be jailed for not growing hemp during times of shortage in Virginia between 1763 and 1767), and during most of that time, hemp was legal tender (you could even pay your taxes with hemp -- try that today!) Hemp was such a critical crop for a number of purposes (including essential war requirements - rope, etc.) that the government went out of its way to encourage growth.

[Hendrik]

Originally Posted by cille

i heard that smoking hash and pot is MORE harmful to the lungs

Plus the brain.

I've heard that there is a new law for California coming which protects non- and passiver smoker - well done!

[Hendrik]

Originally Posted by jasonAVO

anyway, yeah there are harmful effects from weed. but the same can be said of caffiene. aspirin. pretty much any drug. sitting around a camp fire is harmful to your lungs.

Of course, you could say the same about cars. But at least a camp fire stops you from freezing to death, a car gets you somewhere, whereas cigarettes...?

If someone enjoys a cigarette in his/her cellar...that's okay. But not in public places or closed rooms, like pubs or similar places.

Yes, alcohol is a drug as well, but should i be concerned if i enjoy a bottle of beer in front of my mate? Where's the harm?

(Okay I could smash the bottle on his head, but that's another topic )

[jasonAVO]

Originally Posted by Hendrik

Of course, you could say the same about cars.
.But at least a camp fire stops you from freezing to death, a car gets you somewhere, whereas cigarettes...?

If someone enjoys a cigarette in his/her cellar...that's okay. But not in public places or closed rooms, like pubs or similar places.

Yes, alcohol is a drug as well, but should i be concerned if i enjoy a bottle of beer in front of my mate? Where's the harm?

(Okay I could smash the bottle on his head, but that's another topic )

a lot of people that smoke will say they get the same thing from the cig as you get from that beer- enjoyment. i mean, a car gets you somewhere whereas a beer? and i can easily point to mounds of evidence of the negatives of drinking- drunk drivers, abusers of spouses and children , medical, etc....

but im just playing devils advocate as i dont smoke cigs but do drink as well as smoke weed. i personally feel no one has the right to tell me what i can add to my body if i enjoy it. and only if my actions directly harm others should i be held accountable for that.(drunk driving). the drug wars our countries have waged is misguided and and a complete failure. people have always had vices and always will. from every culture and race across the planet. you might as well try outlawing masterbation.

weed has something else on these other things...no one has ever directly died from using it. people die in cars all the time. people drink too much and die from alcohol poisoning all the time. hell, people have even had heartattcks while having sex. you cant even o.d. from weed. its ridiculous the way they portray it as this crazy drug. 'oh but it makes kids stupid' so does playing too much video games. ive always wished that they would make caffeine illegal so all these people who have to have coffee to function will know what its like to not be able to consume something they enjoy for no other reason than some govt thinks you shouldnt be able to do it.

and thats not saying anything about the medicinal benefits of marijuana which are quite real.

jason

"Marijuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing."
-Harry Anslinger, director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics from 1930 to 1962

the man who brought the drug war to us. this was taken from a congressional hearing in which he described how letting young people smoke weed would cause them to not fight wars.

[SisterMidnight]

cali - have you thought of trying any of the prescribed or over the counter methods? i've tried the patch (worked for awhile) nictoine gum (worked better than the patch for me) or zyban is supposed to help with cravings plus it's an anti-depressant and you lose weight when you take it so you're smoke-free, happier and skinnier you can use that with one of the replacement methods to put a double whammy on the cravings

i always ask people how they quit - my dad says he just put them down and that was it. another person i know used brach's starlight mints and that really worked for them. i was talking to a nurse the other day who had quit and she said she used cinnamon toothpicks and straws to give her mouth something to do. apparently mc donald's straws are exactly the same diameter as most cigs so she cut them to length and kept them on hand to keep her hands and mouth busy because they were used to holding cigarettes

a holisitic healer told me once to do deep breathing exercises when you get a craving, if you breathe through it it should pass in a few minutes.. and to drink lots of water as it detoxifies the system and the sooner you get the nicotine out of your system the less severe the initial cravings will be. also someone suggested taking the money you spend on cigarettes and put it into a jar everyday so you can watch it pile up and then in a year or so you would have enough to take a trip or something with it to reward yourself

good luck to you hun, the only thing that ever successfully got me to quit was getting pregnant and i don't think i'll be going to that extreme again! i've never really wanted to quit i guess or i would have...

hang in there baby

[rosie_g]

Hey Cali I just wanted to tell you that I am very proud that you want to stop smoking...dont give up sweetie

[Cali]

ok, as some of you know, my last attempt to stop smoking failed miserably
but i'm trying again and i haven't smoked in 3 Weeks, 4 Days, 12 hours, 39 minutes and 21 seconds (25 days) this time i really want to quit
unlike what i'd heard, that the the first days are the hardest, this week the cravings are really taking over, i can't sleep, i can't concentrate and i have uncontrollable urges to cry, several times a day. it's horrible!!!
my "sponsor" says that it is normal for some people but still i'm using a stop smoking aid that makes me feel sick and shaky and it's nasty too, but i head great things about it. i haven't set foot in a bar since i quit, i actually haven't had a drink at all, i'm avoiding a lot of frineds (i miss them too) and i just feel weird and cranky.
sorry to make a bid deal of it but letting it out really helps and thanks y'all for your very kind words

[Cali]

Originally Posted by Angela

Those two things, the book and the group, made me think that the path to success would be not the determination to quit, but a decision to never ever smoke even a puff after you quit. Haven't smoked in five years.

Good luck!

you're absolutely right, and i didn't understand it until now. quittin and choosing not to smoke ever again are two completely different thigns and right now beig very aware of it makes the whole difference. you're my inspiration, for real, thank honey

[carvinC980t_kid]

if you really wanna quit cali, start smoking marlboro lights... those are so ****ty i can never finish a whole cigarette haha!

[Ships_Were_Sailin]

Originally Posted by Cali

ok, as some of you know, my last attempt to stop smoking failed miserably
but i'm trying again and i haven't smoked in 3 Weeks, 4 Days, 12 hours, 39 minutes and 21 seconds (25 days) this time i really want to quit
unlike what i'd heard, that the the first days are the hardest, this week the cravings are really taking over, i can't sleep, i can't concentrate and i have uncontrollable urges to cry, several times a day. it's horrible!!!
my "sponsor" says that it is normal for some people but still i'm using a stop smoking aid that makes me feel sick and shaky and it's nasty too, but i head great things about it. i haven't set foot in a bar since i quit, i actually haven't had a drink at all, i'm avoiding a lot of frineds (i miss them too) and i just feel weird and cranky.
sorry to make a bid deal of it but letting it out really helps and thanks y'all for your very kind words

from what it sounds liek your going through the roughest bit, i dont smoke but i know some people who have quit, the only real advice i can think of is just to try and ride through the storm your going through at the moment, and just try and stay strong, cause if you can make it through this part, then the rest will be a walk in the park

[PenguinBoy]

Will power!

The best thing is to just remember all the little private superstitions are lies. like:

"Oh no i slipped and had a fag, that's my quitting phase over" UNTRUE, get right back on the horse, and carry on just the same nothing has changed and you're doing just as well before.

Also "cigs are my friends", it's really easy to get a kinda personal relationship with them, they do not have little personalities, and they don't care about you (i know, OBVIOUS, but it's amazing what we tell ourselves).

And also, do things to prove to yourself that you can do it. Like, buying a pack of them, taking out each cigarette. And prove to yourself that no matter how close you get, you can turn back. Hold it in your hand, sniff it, put it in your mouth, light it, and get as close as you can to smoking it, then spit it out, and stamp on it or anything you like.

They are not worth the money, so just because you bought some, doesn't mean you have to smoke them, just think of how worth-it it was to buy them, because it gave you the opportunity to deny them, and you know how good that is for you.

Good luck, Cali, you can do it! REMEMBER, everytime you smoke it, you make a decision to, don't let anything tell you that it isn't a decision.

You really can do.

[Hendrik]

Sweetie, we and I believe in you, you'll get there, you sure will, just wait and see.

It's only so hard to quit, because the sh.ite that's in the cigarettes nowadays is so much more toxic and addictive than twenty years ago. The evil cig industry makes it hard for you, not god or allah or fate, try to remember that.

[katiejoey]

Originally Posted by Cali

ok, as some of you know, my last attempt to stop smoking failed miserably
but i'm trying again and i haven't smoked in 3 Weeks, 4 Days, 12 hours, 39 minutes and 21 seconds (25 days) this time i really want to quit
unlike what i'd heard, that the the first days are the hardest, this week the cravings are really taking over, i can't sleep, i can't concentrate and i have uncontrollable urges to cry, several times a day. it's horrible!!!
my "sponsor" says that it is normal for some people but still i'm using a stop smoking aid that makes me feel sick and shaky and it's nasty too, but i head great things about it. i haven't set foot in a bar since i quit, i actually haven't had a drink at all, i'm avoiding a lot of frineds (i miss them too) and i just feel weird and cranky.
sorry to make a bid deal of it but letting it out really helps and thanks y'all for your very kind words

I agree with you about it getting harder after the initial first few days. I think the reason is because when you very first make the decision to quit you feel really good about it and very determined to stick to it. The after a few days (or even a week pass) that determination seems to wain and it's just like any other day. For me, smoking was not only an addiction - it was habbit. I was so used to having a smoke at certain times of the day for example that it was just regular for me. And that's why i completly agree with what a few others said anout finding something to do to help take you're mind off of it. Exercise, go for a long walk, write ina journal, anything to help free your brain. (Also, exercise is a natural antidepressant so it may help with your crying spells as well - when i quit i used to lay on my couch and sob on occasion - it's just normal what with all the your body and brain are going through.
But I wish you all the best - you can do it - you're almost passed the most difficult part. And like someone else said, think of all the money you ill save - maybe you can go somewhere awesome.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by Cali

but i'm trying again and i haven't smoked in 3 Weeks, 4 Days, 12 hours, 39 minutes and 21 seconds (25 days)

.... this week the cravings are really taking over, i can't sleep, i can't concentrate and i have uncontrollable urges to cry, several times a day. it's horrible!!!

Oh, I used one of those counters, too! Mine also added up the dollars I was saving - I really liked that

Be gentle on yourself - you won't feel like this much longer.

Here is some reinforcement - it always helped me to read this kind of thing:
http://members.aol.com/joelspitz/Joe...4_Relapse.html