How do I quit?

Question

I'm 16 years old and I have smoked since I was 14 years old. I've tried quitting..but just got bored..and smoked anyway. A lot of people in my house smokes.. so if i dont have any,it's easy to get one off someone else. I'm allowed. Any good ways I could stop smoking for good? Also, If I stopped smoking now, would i breathe normally again? I sometiems get pains in my chest and feel shortness of breath. any help would be great,thanks!

Answer 1

First let me congratulate you on your decision to quit. Let me answer the question I believe you are trying to find the answer to. No, there is no easy way to quit smoking. It is going to be a long difficult journey, and once you have quit at 16, you're going to have an average 54 years left to fight the craving. So be prepared for a long and tumultuous journey. To say the least, the health benefits of quitting far outweigh the difficulty of quitting.
A very great place to start is to tell those around you about your decision. There are going to be those who are going to laugh, and tell you that you don't need to quit. Your family will probably be a little upset by your decision because by telling them you want to quit, you;re going to be sending the message to them that you think smoking is wrong or harmful. Parents don't generally like the idea of their children telling them what to do, even if they are not telling them what not to do.
When you decide to quit, ask those who are around you often to please leave the room to smoke, this will reduce the temptation. I have never smoked, but there are few better smells than a lit cigarette, and few as putrid as the leftover smoke.
There are groups, such as nicotine anonymous, which provide a structured way to quit. If you don't own a vehicle yet, barter the cost of the cigarettes you would have smoked for a ride to the meeting, and as a bonus, the person taking you might even sit through a meeting with you. Quitting with a friend is always easier than going it alone.
Gums, patches, and nicotine replacements are just that, replacements. They help reduce the craving by providing a smaller amount of nicotine, which helps, but eventually you have to quit using the replacements, cold turkey. Just remember that if you decide to go that route, carry at least one extra patch or a few extra pieces of gum so that you don't allow yourself to satisfy the craving with a cigarette.
Smoking is also a social habit, after dinner, with a beer, on your way to school or with friends or family while driving. Smoking is also a physical habit as well as an addiction, I have known people to carry around a pen, or straw or something about the size of a cigarette to keep in your fingers or in your mouth to occupy them while you are craving. Whatever you do, don't replace one habit with another, like eating. I can vouch for the thought that quitting overeating is a very hard thing to do, I am fighting that battle right now.
Good luck, find someone who supports you 100% and go for it. Sorry for the long winded answer but I hate to leave people with an end solution but no way to get there. I hope I have illuminated parts of your path, now you have to provide the vessel. Feel free to contact me through answers if you need support through a craving, or just to chat about your addiction.

Answer 2

I quit 15 yrs ago--when you no longer can breath, it's easy because you either quit or die. I remember the day I finally had to face the music--up until then I quit every day. For the year previous to my actual quitting I never bought another pack; my husband and friends kept me supplied. In addition to a bad habit, I also had developed asthma. On that fateful day, I ended up in the emergency clinic about to have a lung x-ray. I swore to God if my lungs weren't damaged, I would absolutely quit--stupid promise because if they were damaged, I wouldn't have had a choice--but it sounded good (alright--desperate) at the time. The lungs were OK. I still have asthma, but I'm not gasping for air like back then.

Everyone is going to tell you the horror stories in hopes of scaring you out of smoking. Those tactics haven't worked in the past and they won't work now. Smoking is a choice. Quitting is a choice you make one day at a time. You can choose to smoke this morning, this afternoon, today or not at all. You can choose to be controlled by your addiction or you can choose to take control. You are either the master of your fate or you can succumb to your addiction. It's a matter of whether you are the master of your life or you let nicotine rule you.

Yep, it was easy for me--I was going to die if I didn't quit. But then I wasn't the master over nicotine, was I? I have a feeling you are much stronger than I because you had the strength to ask the question.

Later: Re-reading my response I left out one important point--when you remove a habit from your everyday life, there is an empty hole. You need to put something into that hole or relapse back into your smoking habit is a given. Put something into that space--smoking is all about an oral gratification so you will probaby crave something in your mouth--chew on an apple, beef jerky, a stick of gum, a toothpick--in order to sustain you through those periods when a cigarette would be hanging from your lip.

Answer 3

You already get pain and shortness of breath and you're 16? Wow. Smoking kills about one out of every three smokers, and you might be the one. There are lot of sites online to help you stop. You need to figure out something else to do if you're bored. Why not try walking and then running? As you get healthier through exercise, cigarettes will have less appeal. Also, get a support group of other people trying to quit: that helps a lot. I'm sorry you're already getting sick from this, that's sad. Yes, you can get normal if you quit now.

Answer 4

I suggest you quit NOW. Just do cold turkey...step away and do not go near the cigarettes. Your lungs are still developing and growing (even though you are 16) and you need to start taking better care of them. There may be some damage done but even a day after you quit smoking your body starts to show improvement. Stop smoking now..start chewing gum or something else when you get bored or crave a cigarette...or
go for a walk instead.

Answer 5

My mom swears by this stuff called Chantix, and if you have insurance you're supposed to be able to get it for $10 a month. First you smoke and take it, then you stop smoking while just taking the pill and eventually, when you feel you can stop without having to smoke, you stop taking the pills too. She lives with my father, a smoker, and hasn't smoked in four to five months or more. If she, a smoker of forty years, can do it, you can too. Why did you start anyway?

Oh, and they say that your lungs can recover, it just may take some time to get your breath back.

Answer 6

My friend you got two year in supporting the Merchants of Death! I smoked from 15 to 35. To be honest I quit several times and relapsed. The gum helped a little,but i had my doctor hook me up with Wellbutrin. In a period of about two weeks the "fiending" just went away. Now,a year latter some one can smoke right in front of me and no problem. (Sh_t actually stinks to me now!) You will get back your lung power,you will feel like doing things again,you will have fewer colds,sore throats coughs and all that other crap,and you will have some extra funds over and above what ever you spend for the scrips and doctors office visits. If you can white knuckle it and quit on your on,that's best. If not,the Wellbutrin worked for me! ONE more thing. Food tastes way the HELL better! Figure on putting on some pounds.

Answer 7

The very fact that you asked the question shows that you want to to QUIT which is the right step in the right direction. Apart from this what you need is the will power and some in addition something more.to aim for. You say you are sixteen , you can defintely benefit from quitting such as improving your stamina, easier breathing, savings in your pockets etc. its you who will benfit first and then when others around you see this they may also follow your steps. lead them to a better and healthier life , am sure all this could be achieved by eating some nuts or chewing gum which ever you prefer. Go in the other room or outside if some one else lights up. You could also involve yourself in some hobbies which will keep you engrossed and not bored. but as i said its you who have to fight the battle against the impulse to give in and light up.

Answer 8

cold turkey is the best way for most people to stop. that means you just pick a date and stop. if you get bored, try to engage in a favorite hobby in order to past the time. the first 24 hrs are the hardest because your body is still craving for the nicotine and hasn't gotten it all out of your system. since you're so young you won't be able to buy other quit-smoking alternatives such as nicotine gum, nicoderm patchs, or the lozenges because you must be 18 to purchase these, besides they are also very espensive. therefore for your particular case i would recommend just quitting cold turkey. it'll be tough but well worth the trade off for whiter teeth, healthier lungs, etc.

Answer 9

PhillipMorrisUSA.com has all kinds of resources for helping you to quit smoking. Stopping the addiction is something that has to be accomplished by finding what works for you. Everyone is different and everyone reacts differently to nicotine. Keep trying different methods and find the one that works the best. The most important thing is to keep motivated and don't give up.

Answer 10

omg, I know exactly what your going thru, im 42 yrs old and i've smoked since I was 16, and I still smoke, and wake up hacking my lungs up sometimes. I don't know how to quit, I wish I could. I have heard good things about a prescription pill that doctors prescribe called chantix I believe is how its spelled, see your doctor and see if he/she will prescribe it for you. I wish you good luck in quitting and I will pray for you to succeed, please do the same for me, thank you.