Smoking is killing me, How do I quit?

Question

I lack the will power to quit. I cant find a way to kick this habit. I dont know if I really lack the willpower or it is normal for all smokers wanting to quit to struggle this way. Any advise would be appreciated.

Answer 1

You and me both! I know how but lack the fortitude for follow through - or something traumatic happens and smoking eases my nerves - that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

As for you - I can tell you a few things you may not be aware of. I am aware of them and it's only a matter of time before they work for me:

* Kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray. That can seriously hinder your love life.
* Smokers wreak of a stale smokestack. If you think putting a mint in your mouth will mask the fact that you have been smoking, think again. Even though I smoke, I have been in the company of someone who smoked more than me and the odor was enough to make me gag.
* Smoke lingers in your house, on your clothes and even on your pets. The instant someone walks into your home, they know they are in the house of a smoker.
* Smoke lingers on everything IN your house. If you sell items on ebay, the odor will go with it. It can be ithe difference of winning and losing repeat customers,
* Second hand smoke can harm not only your non-smoking family members and friends, but it can harm your pets, too. If you can't do it for yourself or your family, think of Fido.

Now for the inside skinny on quitting:
The suggestions you have already received are valid. The patches work. Period. You can get them cheaper by buying them on ebay. When you apply the patch, remember this: You can't put a patch in the same location as the last patch - you'll need a different site every day of the week. You can re-use a site for the patch after 7 days, but not before.

When you put the patch on, put it on at night, just before bed. It will start working for you and still be working in the morning. Most patches are 24-hour patches. When you get up in the morning, have a glass of water or fruit juice. Gargle and brush your teeth. This is the start of day one and you need to do something different to break the habit of getting up and lighting up. Make the freshness of your breath a top priority. Instead of reaching for a cigarette, reach for the tootbrush.

More importantly, when you get up in the mornng, you have just gone for 8 whole hours without a cigarette. That's significant! What's one more hour? What's one more hour after that?

If you falter and feel yourself slipping, take a deep breath, as if you were smoking. Exhale as you would if you were exhaling the smoke. Need something to fiddle with between your fingers? Grab a drinking straw. Cut it to the length of a cigarette. Crimp it in the middle or pinch part of it with a paper clip. When you suck on that, it will feel something like drawing a breath of smoke from a cigarette. You can take that straw with you anywhere - but treat it like a cigarette and only allow yourself to puff on it where you could normally puff on a smoke.

Wash your hands frequently and use a skin lotion or cream. Spend an inordinate amount of time rubbing the skin cream or lotion into your hands. Wringing your hands like this will keep them occupied. Spend some time with your hands - smelling them, pampering them, working on your nails, rubbing lotion into them. I know it sounds dumb, but they have a habit to break too.

Weight gain is the worst of all side effects. Use a toothpick or straw to move to and away from your mouth. Use a breath spray - not a mint or candy. If you MUST eat something to keep your mouth busy, reach for celery, lettuce or a carrot stick. Drink lots of water.

If you are a coffee drinker, switch to hot tea.

Avoid the smoking areas you used to frequent. Watch the news instead. Have a glass of water and give that mouth a spray with a breath freshener and rub lotion into your hands.

Driving is what kills me - I am so used to smoking while driving. Take the car's cigarette lighter out and put it in the glove box or better - in a drawer at home. Clean out your car's ashtray and fill it with potpourri. You want to fill your surroundings with frangrance - not odor.

Wash your car and really clean the glass on the inside and outside, Use vinegar and water to clean the dash, spray the seats with a bit of your favorite cologne in a spray bottle of water. Wash ALL your clothes. The smell of smoke that you can't smell yet will trigger your need to light up. Squash it before it squashes your effort to be smoke free.

Brush your hair more often than usual. This will also occupy your hands. Spray the brush with your favorite cologne in some water. You want to present the new you to the world. And the new you will smell a whole lot better than the old you.

I know a lot of smoking cessation programs say to let your friends and family in on it and some times counseling helps. I found that the more people talked about smoking, it only made me want to light up. So that's a judgement call.

If you fail, set another quit date and start over. You'll smell better, you'll have a wider circle of friends, your dog will be happier and healthier and you will feel better about yourself.

Answer 2

Cigarette smoking, and even smoking cigars or a pipe, is one of the greatest risk factors for a heart attack as well as for stroke, lung cancer, and emphysema.
To stop smoking:
Set a quit date. Smoking cessation is most successful when it's done "cold turkey," not slowly by reducing the number of cigarettes smoked daily.
Throw them out. Throw away all cigarettes and matches at home, in your car, and at work. Put away ash trays and lighters.
Share your goal. Tell your family and friends you're quitting and ask for their support.
Avoid triggers. Avoid alcohol, coffee, and other triggers for smoking.
Set a no-smoking policy. Do not allow anyone to smoke in your home or car, and avoid other people when they are smoking.
Get tools. Take advantage of the available stop-smoking aids: nicotine replacements, drug therapy, and counseling. Less than 1 in 10 smokers can quit without some help. Nicotine gums, skin patches, and lozenges are available over the counter. Nicotine nasal sprays and inhalers require a prescription from your doctor. Don't smoke when using these products.
Get a prescription. Bupropion (Zyban) and varenicline (Chantix) are two prescription-only medications that may help you quit. Start taking one of these drugs shortly before your quit date.
Join a support group. Find a source of individual or group counseling. Counseling alone can be helpful, but it is particularly useful in combination with nicotine replacements or smoking cessation drugs.
Call the Quit Line. Call the National Cancer Institute Smoking Quit Line if you need more help. Their toll-free number is 1-877-44U-QUIT.
Though these measures and help aids considerably boost the chances of quitting, there's a more than 50 percent chance that a smoker who quits will start again. I hope this doesn't happen to you, but if it does, don't give up. Announce another quit date and start stopping again.

Answer 3

They say never to quit at the same time, and now you see why lol. Keeping busy is going to be key here. Stock up on lots of healthy snacks so when the craving hits, you can replace it with something else. Have fresh veggies in the fridge with dip. etc. Go do things together that don't link smoking.......such as a bike ride, or exercise. If you find that you are getting on each others nerves still, then take a break away. Go have lunch with a friend, or go visit family for abit. You both know why you are irritable, so try and support and encourage each other.

Answer 4

I think you will be inundated with advice now.
What has happened to make you think it is killing you?
Do you have trouble breathing? If you were to get a serious chest infection, congestion, bronchial coughing with phlegm etc., building up, would it be even harder to breath????
I mean, with a heavy chest infection and head cold, sore throat and that's only the first day or two; if your breathing isn't impaired too much, keep smoking.
All the above happened to me and I gave up out of fear of suffocating. I only had a light cold which had gone to my chest and created havoc because of the smoking.
Good luck. And feel proud that you've done something that all smokers struggle with.
I did it cold turkey (over 1 year ago) and the early symptoms of emphysema have gone! (Thank you God).
You will often feel the urge but the thought of not being able to breath sort of makes up for it.
Good luck!

Answer 5

If your smoking over 2 packs a day, forget the patches, gum etc.
They only work for a pack a day smoker ( wasted several $hundred on that stuff)

I tried most methods, the only one that worked for me was increasing time between smokes, 1 every 5 min, 1 every 10 min etc. Work at each level for about a week so that your body gets adjusted to it.

Ask your Dr for an anit-anxiety med. like Ativan; for me, Zyban and Welluburtain(sp) was a waste of money.

BTW you can get addicted to patch and the gum.

Answer 6

I made the mistake of starting smoking at nine, by the time puberty hit it became imperative that I quite. If you really want to quite smoking, lite up, and all the time your smoking, think of the most grossest thing you can imagine, something that can make you sick to your stomach. And do this every time you lite up.

Hey, can't say it will work for you.But I stopped ten years ago, and haven't started up.

Answer 7

It is normal for all smokers to have trouble quitting. Go to your doctor and ask for help - s/he'll be able to provide you with the tools you need to quit, and get you into contact with support groups. Very few people can manage to quit cold turkey, so don't feel bad about that - it'll just make you feel worse and you'll be more likely to backslide.

Congrats on taking action to make your life healthier and better!

Answer 8

Type "smoking cessation" into your search engine and choose a program-there are many,completely free and committed to helping you quit. You are not alone in your struggle-it is common.
Try to remember what the American Lung Association says-each time you try to quit, don't call it failure if you start again, call it practice. Good luck.

Answer 9

Hi,
You do not lack the will power to quit the smoking. You are interested to quit but do not know the method and side effect of not quiting.
This is for your information that Cigarette smoking kills nearly about 420,000 people a year.
Following are the risks of smoking
1. Heart disease
2. Cancer
3. Dementia and neurologic diseases
4. Lung disease
5. Male infertility
6. Male sexuality and reproduction

7. Behavioural and Social Problems
8. Effects on bones and joints

Folloing are the methods to quit smoking.

At this time the most effective methods for quitting is a combination of nicotine replacement products and the antidepressant drug bupropion bolstered by counselling. After a year only about 4% of smokers who quit without any outside help succeed. The primary obstacle in trying to quit alone is making the behavioural changes necessary to eliminate the habits associated with smoking. Excellent books, tapes, and manuals are available and are strongly recommended to help people who want to quit without other assistance.

1. Nicotine replacement

Nicotine replacement products provide low doses of nicotine that do not contain the contaminants found in smoke. They are proving to be twice as helpful as other standard quitting methods. Replacement products include nicotine patches, gums, nasal sprays, and inhalers. Side effects of any nicotine replacement product may include headaches, nausea, and other gastrointestinal problems. People often experience sleeplessness in the first few days, particularly with the patch, but the insomnia usually passes. Patients using very high doses are more likely to experience symptoms, and reducing the dose can prevent them. Certain individuals like people with heart disease, pregnant women, small children may need to avoid nicotine replacement products.

Nicotine patches: Nicotine patches, or transdermal nicotine, can be an effective way to quit smoking. The quit rate for patch users is around 20% after six months. Nicotine patches are available over the counter, but it is best to consult a doctor before using them, particularly people with any medical problems.

Nicotine gum: Nicotine gum (Nicorette), available over the counter, has also been effective for a number of people. Some prefer it to the patch because they can control the nicotine dosage and chewing satisfies the oral urge. Long-term dependence may be a problem with this method.

Nicotine inhaler: The nicotine inhaler resembles a plastic cigarette holder. It comes with a number of nicotine cartridges which are inserted into the inhaler. It has some specific advantages over other slower nicotine replacement products:

Nicotine nasal spray: The nasal spray satisfies immediate cravings by providing doses of nicotine rapidly, and thus may play a useful role in conjunction with slower acting nicotine replacement therapies.

Nicotine tablet: A nicotine tablet that is held under the tongue is also very useful.

2. Alternative and ther Methods for Quitting

Scheduled reduction: One study showed that people who used a systematic withdrawal schedule were twice as likely to quit as those who went cold turkey. The procedure involves the following steps:


Divide the number of minutes per day awake by the number of daily cigarettes; the result is the minute-long wait between smokes.

Set up a schedule with time intervals based on this result and using a timer, smoke only at those intervals; if the "cigarette appointment" is missed by more than five minutes, the smoker must skip that cigarette.

The following week, one-third fewer cigarettes are used and the smoking time is recalculated based on the lower number.

During the third week the count is again reduced by a third, and the smoker quits in the fourth week.
Change daily habits:


Change the daily schedule as much as possible. Eat at different times or eat many small meals instead of three large ones, sit in a different chair, rearrange the furniture.

Find other ways to close a meal. Play a tape or CD, eat a piece of fruit, get up and make a phone call, or take a walk (a good distraction that burns calories as well).

Substitute oral habits (eat celery, chew sugarless gum, suck on a cinnamon stick.) Go to public places and restaurants where smoking is prohibited or restricted.

Set short-term quitting goals and reward yourself when they are met, or every day put the money normally spent on cigarettes in a jar and buy something pleasurable at the end of a predetermined period of time.

Find activities that focus the hands and mind but are not taxing or fattening: computer games, solitaire, knitting, sewing, whittling, crossword puzzles.

Avoid heavy drinking of alcohol, caffeine, or other stimulants or mood altering substances.

Answer 10

Just quit.