Quitting Smoking Advice.?

Question

I am going to quit smoking tomorrow. Cold turkey. I have decided that it's time to quit. Do you have any adice, tips, or suggestions that would help me. Besides the patch. I tryed that before and it just made me want to smoke. Anything would be great. Thanks

Answer 1

Quiting smoking can be very difficult to accomplish...I finally successfully completed this mission about 8 years ago...after having smoked for 20...the feeling of success and accomplishment when you have been able to fight off the urges are SUCH a high!!! I'll tell you my secret....pretzel rods...the long pretzels....I walked around for a couple months with pretzels hanging out of my mouth...sucking the salt off them (incase your not aware...salt is a substitute for nicotine cravings)....when my cravings got really bad I would go to the kitchen...pour some salt in the palm of my hand and lick it off.....cravings gone! Also, I had a perscription for Welbutrin...this is a generic for Zyban. While most insurance perscription plans will not pay for stop smoking aids...Welbutrin is also an anti-depression medication....if you go see your physician...tell him/her what your trying to accomplish...I'd bet they would be willing to write you a perscription for Welbutrin with a depression diagnosis and your insurance will cover the medication cost. The instructions for quitting smoking while taking Welbutrin are: take the medication twice a day....continue to smoke for 7 days.....on the 8th day you wake up....and don't smoke....for as much as I was certain it was NOT gonna work, because I didn't feel any different for that 7 days...it did work.....I got ready for work that morning...thinking hmmmm....this isn't so bad....got 1/2 way thru my day...thinking wow! this is pretty amazing....about 2:00 that afternoon...I called my dad...asking him to go get the 2 packs of smokes out of my house....so the temptation wouldn't be there when I got home. I did however, quit smoking in my house and my vehicle a month or so before hand....working to free those places of the icky smoke smell.....(going outside to smoke in the winter when it's 10 below zero wasn't anything I was looking forward to doing)..giving myself some additional incentive! Then off to the store for a bag of pretzels....I kept a bag in my desk drawer at work...a bag in my car..and a bag or two in my kitchen....I remained on the 2 times a day dosage of Welbutrin for about a month...then weened myself down to 1 a day...then to every other day..and so on until I was no longer felt the need for the medication or the nicotine.....Pretzels are very very low in fat...and are very inexpensive...if ya don't wanna eat them with the salt is gone...throw them in the trash! It's still WAY cheaper than the cost of a pack of smokes! Ask your friends and co-workers for words of encouragement...if they are smokers....it would help if they would have enough respect for you and your goal to not smoke around you! You must accept responsibility for your actions....stive for a positive attitude...and know that the way your gonna feel in the end is WONDERFUL!! Not to mention...food tastes GREAT! I have 3 children, and at the time was a single mom....my greatest memory of my stop smoking is this....My daughter..who at the time was 9 years old, went to spend the night with a friend...when she came home the next day she said to me...."Mom, I didn't realize how much smoke stinks until you quit smoking" WOAH! If that wasn't incentive to never start again...I don't know what was! If you need a support contact..your welcom to email me...I'd be glad to help in any way I can.... Best of luck to you..and Keep our chin up...IT DOES GET EASIER! I promise!!!

Answer 2

Natural Quit Smoking Magic

Answer 3

Toss out all cigarettes, ashtrays and lighters and anything else that may advise you of smoking cigarettes. Wash your clothing and clean your vehicle to eliminate the scent of smoke.

Answer 4

I smoked for over 40 years, having quit and gone back several times. I finally tried something new and have been smoke-free for about a year. This is what I did: whenever I wanted a cigarette, I'd smoke half of one. I did that for a couple of weeks, then I'd just take about four or five puffs, only smoking every other time I wanted a cigarette. I did that for a couple of weeks until I was down to 2 drags on a cigarette, maybe 4 times a day. Then, I decided that when that pack ran out, I'd buy no more. Quitting cold turkey is just about as effective as quitting heroin cold turkey. Your body is just as addicted to nicotine and you have to wean yourself off it, like heroin addicts do with methadone. If you quit cold turkey, the craving is huge, while weaning yourself off of it, there is no craving left and your body is accustomed to being without it. Good Luck, my friend!

Answer 5

I quit smoking years ago after a years long habit of 3 packs a day. The first thing I did was select a target date, and when that day came, I put them down. I started using Nicorette gum, and reminded myself that I was satisfying my habit for nicotine, and that any other craving/problem was due to the "side" habits of smoking (doing something with your hands, etc). Whenever I really wanted a cigarette, I would take a deep breath, and tell myself I was a nonsmoker.
I also started exercising and that was probably the best thing I ever did. I think that it is good to try to substitute a positive addiction for the negative one you are giving up.
Good Luck

Answer 6

Good for you for making the decision to stop. I've heard the reason the patch doesn't work is because in order to stop craving the cigarettes, you need to detox... get the nicotine out of your system. The patch, of course, keeps it in. Some people can stop by pure will and I hope you are one of them! Make sure you have lots of friends and family supporting you. Have a list of people you can call if you feel the urge to smoke. Try to stay away from smokers (and from alcohol - since it lowers inhibitions) and if you need more help, see your doctor. There are medications that can safely (under a doctor's supervision) help you stop smoking. You are doing an admirable thing... don't give up! If you want to stop badly enough, you'll succeed! Some resources below... good luck!

Answer 7

I am doing the same thing, been smoking for 13 years. I haven't had a cigarette since New Years day, but I try to just get by day by day. No patch or medicine, just cold turkey. Good Luck with your not smoking.

PS-Try not to eat a lot of gum or hard candies though, you are just starting another habit, plus you'll gain weight if you have to much. I know it's tough, but try to quit cold turkey.

Answer 8

I believe that the reason that most people who have "failed" in their efforts to quit is because they did not recognize a very fundamental fact. All who are quitting smoking need need to understand that it is, in fact, a physical addiction and the cravings will come back months or even years after you have been smoke free, sometimes at the most unexpected moments.

Those that fail are not weak, they were just unprepared for the reality that at some point in the fairly distant future they will suddenly be hit with a sudden urge to smoke that they will be totally unprepared for and will find it very easy to convince themselves that "it's just one smoke...".

As for me, I am definitely not an addictive personality, but giving up the cigs was one of the harder things I have ever done. What helped me was the total revulsion at the idea that my behavior was being controlled by an addiction and not my my will.

Don't let the bastards win!

Answer 9

LOL....heres some good advice, don't quit cold turkey! You have to wean yourself off of them, say you are smoking one pack (20 cigarettes) a day. Over the next month, make it your goal to drop it one or two a day on average. The second month you should be around 10 cigarettes a day. over this month, drop it another one or two a day on average. Keep on going until you are down to one a day. That month make it your goal to smoke less than one a week. You are also going to need something to preoccupy your hands/mouth with when you would normally be smoking. The thing that helped me out tremendously was a mouthguard. I had to wear one for about a year at night because I was grinding my teeth in my sleep. I just popped it in and chewed on that for a while and what's great is I didn't gain the lollipop weight most quitters get subbing the lollipops for smokes. But whether or not you take my advice, good luck on quitting! :)

Answer 10

I am 59 and on disability because of smoking. "Cancer"" of the arteries is the way they explained it to me. I have Periphial Arterial Disease and Bergers disease. I smoked 1 pack every 2 or 3 days, sometimes a pack a day. I started at 20 and would smoke a year and quit several years. Then it got harder to quit. To me the knowledge that cigarettes can take your life away should be incentive enough. I am no longer independent and my legs and feet hurt and burn and feel like ice cubes everyday. Stop now because you could be at risk for my problems or worse lung cancer. Chew gum, call a friend, love your pet or your man. Don't Smoke!!!

Answer 11

According to the American Lung Association 1/3 of people who smoke become addicted. There is a good chance you are NOT addicted, only have a bad habit. Cold Turkey is the best way to go.

I don't mean to sound silly, but it really is as easy as.....just don't do it. Overthinking it will put the idea into your mind that you need a smoke, when you really don't crave it.