Help, ex-smokers! How did you quit smoking?

Question

I am going on nine years of smoking a full pack a day. Before that it was off and on. Anyway, I know people quit after smoking for 20, plus years. How do you people do it? I've tried, but never been able to do it. Does any ex-smokers have any pointers?

Answer 1

I quit a 25 year, 2 pack a day habit COLD TURKEY 23 years ago. In my case, I pretended that they quit making my brand.

Answer 2

You have to commit to quitting. Don't say you are trying to quit.
Just say that you have quit. If you go for a few days without smoking, then you have managed to get rid of the body's physiological dependency and all that is left is the psychological dependency. Some people find that they need to replace the activity of smoking with something else. Chewing gum helps some people. The patch and the gum can help lower the physiological dependency over time but most people tend to have a pretty strong will power for a short period of time. It may be easier to do just do it cold turkey over a short period with more will power.
If there are people in the family that smoke, it is best to all quit together and use each other as a support group.
One couple did that, and when at home, shared a kiss when they felt like smoking. Made for a happier marriage while they were quiting smoking.

Answer 3

I have smoked for the last 11 years, about a pack and a half a day. Last Monday, my husband and I bought a package of stage 2 nicotine patches and we each used 3 patches over the course of 3 days. That was to get over the initial time without cigarettes. We also radically changed our routine and have avoided smokers like the plague. Seriously, I don't even breathe if I have to walk past someone who is smoking, because I don't even want to be tempted by the smell of it. Cold turkey quitting does tend to be the best way to quit, but the only real way to quit, no matter how you decide to do it, is with absolute determintation that you will never smoke a cigarette ever again. Not just on the weekends, or just this once, or only when I'm drinking, but NEVER again. Once you have decided that you will NEVER be a smoker again, the rest will be easy.

Answer 4

Cold turkey. I was smoking 3 packs of 25 per day. Enough is enough. Try convincing yourself that you are a non smoker and drink cold water the colder the better. Say over and over in your head that I am a non smoker. The cravings only last a short time. Put your face in the pillow and scream if you must. I did. Cry if you must I did. Go for a walk. I did. Breath fresh cool air into your mouth and keep saying over and over I am a non smoker. Good Luck I quit in 1991.

Answer 5

My friend just quit in July after about 17 years of smoking a pack a day. She started freaking herself out over cancer and emphysema. Those graphic anti-smoking commercials started to get to her. She then read The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr (it's about how we are brainwashing ourselves into thinking we can't quit). She stopped buying cigarettes and used the patch everyday. She bought tea tree oil flavored toothpicks and started chewing on those all day. She was a mess for about a week but slowly got better after that. She actually quit using the patch once the box was empty and she tried the gum but she thought it was gross. She hasn't smoked since and it's been about 5 months.

I tried the exact same thing as her and I've been smoking about a pack a day (sometimes more) for about 10 years. I had a mental breakdown after about a week then I ran out of patches. I freaked out about gaining weight so I ran out and bought cigarettes instead of patches. I'm still smoking. Honestly, the patch was working but I made the decision to buy cigarettes instead. I really didn't try hard enough because I was afraid of the weight gain.

The anti-depressant Wellbutrin is supposed to help people stop smoking but I can't take it since I'm on other medication.

Answer 6

I smoked three packs a day for over 20 years. Woke up one morning and almost coughed my lungs out and realized enough is enough. I threw away the pack I was smoking and have never looked back and it has been almost 20 years. One really has to want to quit the ugly habit before he/she will really quit. I am so happy that I quit when I did because I probably would be dead if I didn't. Good luck......

Answer 7

I smoked for 35 years and stopped smoking 3 years ago. I developed a very bad respiratory flu and physically could not smoke because all I did was cough and cough and since we always smoked outside (it was winter at the time) it made my cough worse. It started off not smoking for 1/2 day, then increased it to 1 day and said to myself "if I went one day without maybe I can go 2", etc. But be prepared for the cravings because they never leave you - they do become less and less as time goes. Good luck and try whatever you think will work for you.

Answer 8

My dad had smoked for over 30 years and got a prescribed medication to help him. He had a hard time for a few weeks but got past that and now has no cravings and cant stand the smell. They gave him Wellbutrin to help him stop, but there are others as well.