want to stop smoking,,any advice????

Question

i really need some advice, i really want to stop smoking mostly for my kids sake then mine, i smoke about 15 a day, i would get alot of chest pains, it so scarey i want to stop so much, am only 24....i have 4 kids

am scared i put on lots of weight cus i have tryed before and i ate and ate, put on lots of weight then

Answer 1

20 Quick Tips to Help You Quit Smoking

1. Believe in yourself. Believe that you can quit. Think about some of the most difficult things you have done in your life and realize that you have the guts and determination to quit smoking. It's up to you.

2. After reading this list, sit down and write your own list, customized to your personality and way of doing things. Create you own plan for quitting.

3. Write down why you want to quit (the benefits of quitting): live longer, feel better, for your family, save money, smell better, find a mate more easily, etc. You know what's bad about smoking and you know what you'll get by quitting. Put it on paper and read it daily.

4. Ask your family and friends to support your decision to quit. Ask them to be completely supportive and non-judgmental. Let them know ahead of time that you will probably be irritable and even irrational while you withdraw from your smoking habit.

5. Set a quit date. Decide what day you will extinguish your cigarettes forever. Write it down. Plan for it. Prepare your mind for the "first day of the rest of your life". You might even hold a small ceremony when you smoke you last cigarette, or on the morning of the quit date.

6. Talk with your doctor about quitting. Support and guidance from a physician is a proven way to better your chances to quit.

7. Begin an exercise program. Exercise is simply incompatible with smoking. Exercise relieves stress and helps your body recover from years of damage from cigarettes. If necessary, start slow, with a short walk once or twice per day. Build up to 30 to 40 minutes of rigorous activity, 3 or 4 times per week. Consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.

8. Do some deep breathing each day for 3 to 5 minutes. Breathe in through your nose very slowly, hold the breath for a few seconds, and exhale very slowly through your mouth. Try doing your breathing with your eyes closed and go to step 9.

9. Visualize your way to becoming a non-smoker. While doing your deep breathing in step 8, you can close your eyes and begin to imagine yourself as a non-smoker. See yourself enjoying your exercise in step 7. See yourself turning down a cigarette that someone offers you. See yourself throwing all your cigarettes away, and winning a gold medal for doing so. Develop your own creative visualizations. Visualization works.

10. Cut back on cigarettes gradually (if you cut back gradually, be sure to set a quit date on which you WILL quit). Ways to cut back gradually include: plan how many cigarettes you will smoke each day until your quit date, making the number you smoke smaller each day; buy only one pack at a time; change brands so you don't enjoy smoking as much; give your cigarettes to someone else, so that you have to ask for them each time you want to smoke.

11. Quit smoking "cold turkey". Many smokers find that the only way they can truly quit once and for all is to just quit abruptly without trying to slowly taper off. Find the method that works best for you: gradually quitting or cold turkey. If one way doesn't work do the other.

12. Find another smoker who is trying to quit, and help each other with positive words and by lending an ear when quitting becomes difficult. Visit this Bulletin Board and this Chat Room to find a "quit buddy."

13. Have your teeth cleaned. Enjoy the way your teeth look and feel and plan to keep them that way.

14. After you quit, plan to celebrate the milestones in your journey to becoming a non-smoker. After two weeks of being smoke-free, see a movie. After a month, go to a fancy restaurant (be sure to sit in the non-smoking section). After three months, go for a long weekend to a favorite get-away. After six months, buy yourself something frivolous. After a year, have a party for yourself. Invite your family and friends to your "birthday" party and celebrate your new chance at a long, healthy life.

15. Drink lots of water. Water is good for you anyway, and most people don't get enough. It will help flush the nicotine and other chemicals out of your body, plus it can help reduce cravings by fulfilling the "oral desires" that you may have.

16. Learn what triggers your desire for a cigarette, such as stress, the end of a meal, arrival at work, entering a bar, etc. Avoid these triggers or if that's impossible, plan alternative ways to deal with the triggers.

17. Find something to hold in your hand and mouth, to replace cigarettes. Consider drinking straws or you might try an artificial cigarette called E-Z Quit found here:http://www.quitsmoking.com/ezquit.htm

18. Write yourself an inspirational song or poem about quitting, cigarettes, and what it means to you to quit. Read it daily.

19. Keep a picture of your family or someone very important to you with you at all times. On a piece of paper, write the words"I'm quitting for myself and for you (or "them")". Tape your written message to the picture. Whenever you have the urge to smoke, look at the picture and read the message.

20. Whenever you have a craving for a cigarette, instead of lighting up, write down your feelings or whatever is on your mind. Keep this "journal" with you at all times.

Good luck in your efforts to quit smoking. It's worth it!

** Article © Copyright Fred Kelley of QuitSmoking.com. Visit the web site at http://www.quitsmoking.com
for great information and products designed to help you quit smoking.

Answer 2

I gave up smoking 2 yrs ago and it was the hardest thing I have had to do. Don't stop straight away, cut down first cos you will feel better that way, maybe try some nicotine patches or gum? some people say it helps others not, but you can do it. Try and find something else to do when you have a craving, do a task that will keep your mind busy, eventually with a lot of will power it will work and you will be rid of cigarettes. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Knowledge is power. "Never Take Another Puff" is a free PDF quit smoking book by Joel Spitzer, a full-time smoking cessation clinic counselor for more than 30 years. His insights are eye opening. You can download a copy at this book at this link: http://whyquit.com/joel/

While there, watch a few of his more than 50 free video quitting lessons, explore WhyQuit's motivational materials or see what highly focused online peer to peer message board support looks like at Freedom from Tobacco. The sites are entirely free, staffed by volunteers and they even refuse donations.

Again, knowledge is power. I may want to build a skyscraper but I don't know how it can prove rather challenging. It can be done but it's sort of like trying to land a plane without putting the wheels down. Nicotine is simply a chemical with an I.Q. of zero. It cannot plot, plan, conspire, nor think. Our greatest weapon against it has always been our vastly superior intelligence.

John R. Polito
Nicotine Cessation Educator

Answer 4

There is all kinds of help out there for people wanting to give up smoking, especially at the moment. Lots of people swear by the patches and the gum, and if you want to give them a try then you can get them free/on prescription so go see your doctor. There are also government funded websites and helplines which your doctor or pharmacist will give you details of.

I gave up successfully without using patches or gum, just by gradually cutting down. I gave myself a limit I could smoke in a day (say five) and stuck to it rigidly, reducing it whenever I felt I could. Eventually I was just having one cigarette before I went into work each morning, then I finally managed to drop that last one when I changed jobs.

Whatever method you use I think a BIG part of it is finding other things to fill your time with, as this helps you to break the habit (hence, for me the change of job meant a change of behaviour with regard to that final one cigarette each day). Its also essential to NOT hang around with other smokers.

Answer 5

Go to your local practice nurse who specialises in smoking cessation. You'll get your patches, gum, inhaler through NHS prescription at a fraction of the price you'd pay at the chemist or supermarket. They'll also give you lots of great advice and tips on how to get through the first month. I'm currently using patches with the inhaler, and I really think that this time around I'll be able to stop smoking. Good luck!

Answer 6

Good for you. I too have four children and I haven't smoked for three weeks now. I am using Nicotiell patches. My doctors surgery holds a stop smoking clinic, where you can get four months treatment on prescription. They are a great support too. Check your local surgery to see if they offer a simlar group.
Changing your way of live helps. If like me you probably would have a cigarette when you wake up with a cup of tea. Thats the hardest one to drop.
Get out of bed and have a shower or brush your teeth. Do something instead of that cigarette.
have a bottle of water at all times ,and if you fancy a cigarette have a sip.
Have pudding after meals instead of a cigarette, or go and wash up straight away.
Suck on lolly pops so you are still putting something in and out of your mouth.
Sort out cupboards and wardrobes to keep yourself busy. My house has never been so clean and organised.
Log on to NHS stopsmoking.com The have good ideas and inspirations to keep you going e.g. your health and your finances.

Answer 7

Hi Donna,

You could try Allen Carr's book. It really helped me.

You keep smoking until you finish the book and let me tell you, you can't put the thing down for trying to get to the end.

Some people say that cold-turkey is the best way to go but this book really does make you see sense.

I hope it works out for you.
Good Luck.

Answer 8

Contact your local hospital. Many have smoking cessation and prevention education classes for free. Also contact these resources:
American Cancer Society
American Lung Association
American Heart Association
CDC: Office on Smoking/Health

Remember you are not alone when you try to quit

Answer 9

You have to do it at your own pace. Make sure your ready to stop, if you know what I mean. Might be worth going to your doctors and getting the patches on prescription and at least you will have someone else to support you through the rough process.
I quit at christmas and it was one of the hardest thing I've ever done. Its amazing how much of a drug they actually are.
But you can do it, good luck and dont loose hope x

Answer 10

right i went out got hammered / smashed - smoked like a chimney woke up next day felt like s__t went cold turkey -

i generally felt ratty for about a week -

its not easy but you can do it -

its a year end of march - I have probably saved about :-

4.60 (avrge pack of 20 )
x
4 packs a week = 18.40 a week

73.60 a month

883.20 = a year the question is what could you do with an extra 900 a year !

Answer 11

Go and talk with your GP and stop smoking today! Second hand smoking is a killer, so you will be doing not only yourself but your kids a BIG favour.