has anyone the answer to giving up smoking which actually works long term??

Answer 1

The only sure way is willpower. There is Zyban of course but if you suffer from even mild epilepsy this can be lethal. There are patches, gums, herbal cigarettes, Hypnosis, Acupuncture and tese are to name but a few and unless you have the willpower to say no then none of these will work. I know. I have used them all with the exception of Zyban and none of them worked.

Answer 2

Quitting smoking is a great opportunity to learn about ourselves, as you have already observed.
Congratulate yourself on having the desire to stop - then you are over the worst, but still need to maintain your resolve. It's just so easy to start thinking that just one won't hurt, but it does. Just one achieves nothing except feeling the need for another. Whatever you do, don't have just one. Beware - alcohol will weaken your resolve.
Here's a few home-brewed tips that might be useful.
It's not just nicotine addiction - there are 50+ chemicals in cigarettes. Also the main problem is habit.
We have been used to having body sensations which we translate as 'my body needs something', which we have attempted to satisfy by having a cigarette.
When we try to stop smoking, we still get these 'my body needs something' sensations, and we still feel that we want a cigarette. We have to train our body to be more selective. When we feel we need something, we have to work out what it is that we actually need.
A glass of water is an excellent substitute if nothing else comes to mind, as it helps with the clearance of the toxic substances in our body. Another good substitute is a bag of salted peanuts, used in combination with the water.
Another thing to do is to find an activity which occupies the mind or body. Go swimming - nobody wants to smoke while they are swimming. Slowly, as our body adjusts and translates the 'want something' feelings into something other than cigarettes, then the feelings begin to go away. We know its not a cigarette that the body really needs, because as soon as we've had one we still have the feeling, and want another!
We will have a few bouts of feeling or even being short tempered. We must try to bite our lip, and control; ourselves. Recognise the short temper as being the removal of toxins which are trying to find a way out. They went in through the mouth, and they try to get out that way to. We must learn to keep our mouth closed, and force the toxins out the other way.

After we have stopped for a while we will begin to feel that just one wont to any harm.
All that leads to is a desire for just another one. We must guard very strongly against the desire to have just one.

Answer 3

I have tried to give up smoking in the past and couldn't, and i mean i tried everything patches, gum i even tried locking myself in my bedroom. I have smoked for 14 years and 1 week ago today my mum was rushed into hospital with chronic airways disease and when i spoke to her i said we will both give up together and i have. I think the biggest thing is, do you really want to give up deep down if you do then like me you will find it relatively easy as long as you stay positive. There are times when you find it hard, the hardest thing for me was going out with 10 friends who all smoke. Good luck im sure you can do it

Answer 4

I'm not a smoker myself, but I know someone who smoked for 40 years and had tried everything to give up and failed. She eventually got recommended a book called Easy way to stop smoking by a bloke called Allan Carr, dunno if you've heard of it?

After reading it once, and putting it down for a couple of months, she read it again, and again and evetually, gave up cold turkey. She's now in year 4 of her quit and loving it. Its not easy, but I think Allen Carr gives you some very solid psychological thinking points. Give it a try. Its certainly not a quick fix and it does need effort, but it helps!

Also, join up with a free online stop smoking site. People there can really bolster you when you're feeling down and my friend is still best friends with many who used the site to quit, going over to America from England to visit them!

This is the site she used, get yourself posting and make some friends on there, its amazing how quickly you find people that care whether you flunk your quit :-)

http://www.stopsmokingcenter.net/

Answer 5

Man, it's different for everybody. For me, I smoked a pack a day for eight years. Not a chain smoker, but not a social smoker, either. Anyways, my girlfriend became pregnant, and we both decided to quit. It was tough, and I actually started up for a few months, but I did eventually quit. I didn't use any patches, gum, pills, or otherwise. I admit, that's not the best program, but it worked for me. Plus, I really, really was sick of smoking, and was ready to quit.

Answer 6

If long-term means forever, then yes. Quench the desire by understanding. After this is done, one wonders how it was they ever did come to smoke. You can't really quit if you expect a crutch to do the "magic" work. The work is mental, not material.

Answer 7

you seem to have got a lot of stick for this one but take heart - i was a heavy smoker (30 a day) and tried patches and gum - that worked for about 12 weeks ( apparently thats the danger time when a lot of people go back to smoking) i had hypnotherapy, didnt really believe that it would work - BUT IT DID - the guy i saw said that not ONE of his clients had restarted smoking .
hope this helps you

Answer 8

I smoked for 12 years & gave up 3 months ago cold turkey. I tried before to give up with the gum but failed - it's foul. Different things for different people though.

Answer 9

Book:
The Easy Way To Stop Smoking
By: Andrew Carr



http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Way-Stop-Smoking-Nonsmokers/dp/1402718616/sr=8-1/qid=1161637398/ref=sr_1_1/102-6658560-2076966?ie=UTF8&s=books



I smoked for 20 years.
I read the book and quit.
(BTW...you can read the book in an afternoon)
I've been a non-smoker now for a year and a half.

Hope it works for you!

Answer 10

Yes, I know from experience that you have to want to quit if you don't you won't. You have to purpose in your mind that you are finished smoking and don't do it again it is as simple as that I did it 25 years ago and you can do it also. Your mind is a wonderful machine and it can accept anything you program into it. You have to use your will power to get what you want.