Giving up smoking

[Maci-May]

i have smoked since the age of 13 (i am 24 now) i smoke 20 aday and i hate the smell, taste and the money that i might as well set alight to and watch it go up in smoke...

Anyway i have been trying since Monday, on monday i smoked 4 cigs, tuesday i smoked 4 cigs as well (i proude that i have dropped from 20 to 4 but its NOT good enough i want to just STOP.....

Its hard as i am at home all day looking after my daughter (i don't smoke in the same room as her i go outside but if its raining i stand by the back door while she is in the other room watchin tv.

Can anyone give me some advise on how to do it, its 2pm here and i only had 1 cig so far today it seams to be habbit eg first thing in the morning with a coffee, After dinner, after tea and one just before bed

 

[Elyse]

First, CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are doing amazing so far!! I quit almost 4 years ago and was smoking about 2 packs a day (40). Did it cold turkey and never picked up another one since.

2 things really got me through it. Gum. At any point in time, I had about 8 different types of gum on me (all flavors). The big one thing that got me was that every time I almost had one, I would think OK, I haven't smoked in 3 days, if I have one, I have to go back to Zero days. Sounds stupid but once you have come so far (and 4 days is a long time) how could you go back to zero days? Day by day!! If you are ready and want to quit, you will get through this!!!

 

[Tatertot]

There is a book that a friend of mine used. She has been smoke freen about 5 months now. I don't want to say the name of the book, because I don't think I am allowed to promote it here, even though its not about boxers/dogs/animals

But she swears by it.

Let me say it is a book for people who do not WANT to stop. If you are reluctant, then you need to read it. Basically, anybody who is addicted would be reluctant to quit, right?

This book doesn't encourage you to stop smoking, it doesn't tell you you are going to die, it actually encourages you to smoke while you read it. But the last chapter is your last cigarette. It centers around the theory "dont look at it as quitting" they just want you to be a non-smoker again. Supposedly, its an easy read

My friend said she has passed it on to some other smoking friends, and they all signed it when they became non smokers. She said at least 20 signatures are on that book now

The title has the word "easy" in it, authors initials are A.C. (male). I hope that is not too much info and hopefully I wont get in trouble. You can find it at Barnes and Noble, worth looking into. Don't know if you have that in UK but you can order online

And you are right, most smoking is from habit, not because you need it. Such as get in the car, have a cig. That's the toughest part, not getting over withdrawls, but kicking a bad habit

 

[Dunkin]

You Can Do It!!

OK If I can quit anyone can. I am not saying it was easy. I have not had a single cig. in 14 yrs. I started smoking at 13 (it was so cool NOT!!) When I quit I was smoling 4 packs a day. YES!!! 4. I would tell my husband "I think I will stop smoking" he woud always tell me "You will when you are ready" On Jan. 15th 1991 I laid my cig. and lighter down and never picked them up again. Once again it was not easy and to this day every great now and then I still get the urge. But it got easier with time. Good luck and if you are ready you WILL stop. YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!

 

[boxerchick12]

I'm not a smoker, so I'm not going to BS you and say I know what you are going through. I just wanted to encourage you! Please, for your daughter's sake stop!! My mom was a smoker and she's gone now (not by cancer, though, Thank God) and I would give anything to have just one more day with her. You smoking WILL take years off your life, even if you are lucky and don't end up with cancer. I read somewhere that within 6 months or so of NOT smoking, your lungs have basically healed themselves. So, please, please stay strong!!! You are doing good !!!! appicon

 

[My Calla]

Congrats appicon!!! I stopped smoking for a year (started back--long story, bad marriage) but what encouraged me to stop was I printed off an article off of the internet that said what your body does after 1 hour without a cigarette, 1 day, 3 days, 1 month and so on. It was neat to see how my body was getting better and improving without smoking. Guess I need to re-print it and stop again, huh? It is not easy--it is a bad, bad habit but I am wishing you all the luck with it. You have to really want to quit for it to be effective, but YOU CAN DO IT!!! appicon

 

[Bjaken]

Congrats!!! The first step is the WANT to quit. The hard step is actually doing it. After 3 days, the nicotine is out of your system, so why is it still so hard after that?? Smoking is more of a psychological habit than a substance/nicotine habit. That ciggie first thing in the morning, HABIT. That ciggie after a meal, HABIT. During that cold beer at the bar, HABIT. Now, I'm no expert, seeing as how I am a smoker myself and quitting tomorrow (national smoke out day) but I learned quite a bit about this a few years ago. Preparing for the oral fixation you will have during the first few months is very important. Sugarfree gum, baby carrots, cinnamon sticks, sugarfree blow pops, celery sticks, etc. will help out, and also help keep you from gaining a ton of weight, which is a scary thought for some people. Not to mention that after only a few short days, you will begin to smell better and taste your food!!! Turning down food that tastes so much better all a sudden can be really hard. Set yourself up to succeed. Pick your quit date and highlight it on your calendar. After you get thru the first day, and you WILL, move two days from that and reward yourself with something OTHER than a ciggarette (new outfit, a movie, etc.) Then pick three days from that day and so on.
Set aside the money you would have spent on that pack or two of cigs and keep it in a jar or an envelop. Six months from your quit date, count your money and start planning that great vacation you always wanted to go on, but never could afford. The rewards by far out weigh a nasty habit that could potentially end your life.

We are always talking about training our babies, bite inhabition, potty training, using positive reinforcement to accomplish goals. Well, it's time we train ourselves!! Us smokers need to break the bad habit by using the same techniques we use with our pups!!!

Good luck, you can do it!!!

 

[AJsMom]

I quit 3 months ago yesterday. It was the hardest and the greatest thing I've ever accomplished. I also gained 10 pounds very quickly - but I have since lost it. Anyway - I took one day at a time. I did not tell anyone that I quit because I didn't want them to know if I failed. That was a mistake. I think my friends and family would've been more supportive of my "moods" if they'd known what I was going through. Also - try to put yourself in different situations. I know this sounds crazy - but for example - I always smoked when I talked on the phone at night. This is because I too have children and didn't smoke in the house. So when I got a phone call at night I would go to the garage and smoke while I talked on the phone. Now - everytime I get on the phone I try to keep busy doing something because my mind associates this with smoking. Mind over matter. Anyway - 3 months later and I don't crave a cigarette at all. My sister-in-law quit at the same time and she said she craves one about 50 times a day still. A craving only lasts 2 minutes. If you can get past it then you just have to wait until the next craving and get through it.

Good luck and you're doing a great thing!!!!!!!!

 

[jenjones28]

My husband quit smoking and he said what worked well for him was when he wanted a cigarette was to tell himself he would wait five minutes, and if he still wanted one, he could have one. He said that without fail, after five minutes he would have forgotten about it, or he wouldn't want it anymore. He found that by the time five minutes had passed, whatever had triggered the craving had passed.

 

[B-MAN'S MOM]

First Congrats! I'm not going to lie quiting smoking was very hard for ME.. because I didn't want to....I loved to smoke. I tried everything to quit! You really have to have the mind set to do it! What I did, I bought a pack...smoked them all <not at once as I reguarly would> when I got to the last cig.. I left it in the pack and carried it everywhere with me. It was my crutch. I knew if I had a crisis I had it, but I also knew everytime I pulled it out to smoke it....I was going to start again. I have quit for 2 years now! Yeah I took a puff after a year of quitting...and I was sicker than a dog! Now..no way! I'm done! Ohh and what happened to that cig you asked....DH smoked it 6 months later :rolleyes: Be strong you can do it!!!!