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Quit smoking, but . . .

Z Draci

Z Draci

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2005
Messages
915
Location
Glendora/Riverside, CA
I've suddenly decided to quit smoking.
HOWEVER, I still have cravings for nicotine so I chew a bit of tabacco whenever I begin to go crazy (twice a day).

I'm about to buy some nicotine patches or gum as a substitute for the nasty chewing tabacco.
Do these things actually work? I've heard that you end up getting addicted to the patch or gum.

For those who have kicked the habit, what has worked and what would you recommend for me?
 
I never smoked, but actually a friend of mine decided to quit 3 weeks ago, he smoked for 6 years before. He hasn't touched a ciggarette since..

My opinion is you should do it on your own, I don't think those patches or gum help at all...they still fullfil your need for nicotine..
 
Nothing works, friend of mine tried acupuncture (sp?) didn help, reducing the amount doesnt work, pathes etc dont work, nicotine gum doesnt work. The only thing that works is willpower. Nothing else, magic pills and gums wont do the trick.

I've been on the bad habit for 7-8years now (yes i know i started when i was very young, no need to give me a lecture on how bad it is). I managed to quit 1/2year ago for about 2 months, but had quite a tough period at university, so back i was in the game. At that time, i stoped just like that. What helped: get rid of all the smell round you, wash all your clothes, including bad clothes, pillow etc, just everything that has the smell of cigarettes. Buy some incents (sp?), those smelly things that burn, make a big draft for a day, so that you really get rid of all that smell. Buy a lot of chewing gums and a bag of candys. Whenever i felt like i need a smoke, i immediately grabbed something to chew. Its gonna be quite tough the 1st 4-5days, if you survive that, than you're on good track. However! Avoid going out with people that smoke (in my case that was 90% the ppl i knew), and avoid going to places where there are a lot of smokers (keep this for 1-2weeks). You have to change your lifestyle quite a bit. :)

I dont know how it is in your case but for me everything was tied up to a cigarette. Morning: coffee + cigarette. When i went to university, i smoked one before i went to class. Then during the brake, then after it again with a coffee. Get home, while you prepare your lunch i smoked one, after lunch one, before i start studying one, i study, when i need a brake i get a cigarette, etc etc etc. All these time slots when you have 10-15minutes to waste and you dont have anything to concentrate on is bound to smoking. So you really have to keep yourself busy, and i mean really busy 24/7.

Now im not smoking since a month already, and this time its definitely over for me! Hard time at university is over, so that was it.

I dont know if this helps or not, but this is my experience with stopping. I was smoking 1 pack per day, so it wasnt easy. The one thing that can help you is willpower. You need to hammer into your brain a reason why you have to stop smoking. Otherwise it wont work. Keep telling yourself that its bad for your health, that its a lot of money etc. Just dont give up easily, and try to distract yourself all the time and not to think about smoking.

BTW, its not over within a few weeks. Even after it every now and then you will get a strong feeling to have a cigarette when you go out, when you walk by a cofeehouse etc, so its not easy.

Once again, willpower and a reason to stop! There is no magic unfortunatelly that you can take/drink/eat...
 
Thanks for the input guys!

I was also a pack a day guy. I started up while in Germany and continued after I returned to the US. Whenever one of my hands was free, I simply lit up.
I didn't smoke light cigarettes either! (My favourite were Gitanes)
Before I stopped, I forced myself to smoke nasty tasting cigarettes so I naturally smoked less. Then, I switched to 1mg cigs. Finally, I stopped completely.
I now realised how much of my life revolved around smoking! (buying cigarettes, going outside to smoke, looking for cigarette bins, etc.)

I think the hardest part is that smoking seems like a natural habit. Whenever I have a 5 minute break or when my mouth and hand are free, I have the instinct to grab a cigarette. I need to learn to how to substitute this instinct with something else. I've already bought a few packs of gum and candy. They are helping to keep my mouth busy.

Most of my friends are smokers too. They are just mocking me because they think I'll start right up again. There's no way I'll give in to them though.

I've tried to quit 3 times before. (Started right up during finals week and girlfriend breakup :p )
This time I think I owe it to myself to quit. Waking up in the morning seems much easier now. Plus, I feel more energetic during the day. Maybe it's just psychological, but I don't care. It's a great reason to quit.

I guess simple will power is all I need. I'll muster up all I have and fight this damned addiction!
 
pdanev said:
The only thing that works is willpower. Nothing else, magic pills and gums wont do the trick.
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I think Pdanev pretty much hit the nail on the head. My Dad has smoked for 45+ years (since he was a young teenager...). In the last 10 years he has tried soooo many things to try to stop smoking, but they've all failed. Unfortunately he doesn't have the greatest will power to actually stop - there is nothing driving him to stop. (And almost everyone else in the family and at his work place smokes...)

I used to smoke. Not very much and not for very long at all (a couple of months... I was suckered into it - honest!). (but don't tell my parents! :) ) I managed to quit very easily (3 years ago) when I got Broncitis (sp?) and lost my voice for 3 days... I was so scared I just stopped. Since then I've not picked up a cigarette, but I have had the urge to. Ultimately it is down to how much you don't want to smoke - I know that one cigarette won't do any harm, and given I was never really that hooked on it for that long, I probably won't want more than one. But there are still times I long for one. I just take my mind off it somehow...

One of my Uni mates (who was a bit like pdanev in that he stopped then started again during exams then just kept going) had very good incentive to stop. His girlfriend threatened to leave him again if he didn't quit. In that case, the nicotine patches did help, but then he weaned himself off those by using normal chewing gum (not nicotine gum). As a side effect he's now hooked to sweets! :) And they're still together... She banned him from going out for a few weeks so that he wouldn't be in an environment where he'd be surrounded by smoke and smokers and she got his friends to encourage him not to smoke during the day time.
If you have good friends who really care about you, then they will help you to quit. They may challenge you about it and joke about it, but you have to tell them that you need their help and that you do want to kick the habit.
And again, as Pdanev said, it is important that you occupy your mind with something else when you'd normally be standing round smoking. Even picking up a book or magazine and reading it (but actually reading it rather than just glancing at the pictures) will help take your mind off the cravings. (though I don't think reading about not smoking will help take your mind off cigarettes! :) )

It's not easy to do, so you need the people around you to support you and help you. I know this is gonna be hard but you'll have to accept help from people (at least this was hard for my friend who is a stubborn bastard)...

Keep thinking of all the benefits of not smoking; you will smell better (and be able to smell better), you'll have more money, you'll have more free time (if you want a real scare, add up the number of minutes each day you normally smoke and see how much time you lose each day), you'll be generally healthier...

Good luck, and let us all know how you get on!

I'm gonna close on something pdanev said. It's important (and well put) so rather than repeating it, I'm gonna just put it here again...

pdanev said:

The one thing that can help you is willpower. You need to hammer into your brain a reason why you have to stop smoking. Otherwise it wont work. Keep telling yourself that its bad for your health, that its a lot of money etc. Just dont give up easily, and try to distract yourself all the time and not to think about smoking.
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Stopping smoking is one of the hardest things in the world. My Dad has been a smoker for just about 30 years, he tried quitting once, he felt great, but he job got stressful for a week and he started back up. He says the hardest part of quitting is stopping the morning Coffee+Cigarette.

Best of luck with your new lifestyle!!
 
Actually light cigarettes apparently proved to be even worse, because they had some nasty stuff (ammonium-sth?) in their filter, which was even more harmful and actually didnt make the cagerettes any lighter. Hence the ban in the eu to wirte light anymore on cigarettes, instead they now write mild, softer tastes and crap like that.

btw, i was on one red marlboro per day, when i went out on fridays/saturdays 2packs, when i had exams 2packs as well... :?

Unfortunatelly, in my case stopping, didnt lead to gainining weight (im not that tough, so i wouldnt mind gaining a few kg's). Even though i was eating much more in the days after i quit, for some reason i didnt gain more.

Ah well, its all crap (yet still i miss it from time to time). There are so many side effects of smoking, that i couldnt even put together that huge list, starting with heart problems, and ending with manhood issues.
 
I NEVER smoked in my entire life, but I wish you all the best, this is such a nasty habit...
 
I smoked for about 2 years about a year ago and managed to quit without any help, just loads of determination here and there + one cigarette once every now and then... then after a while, you get used to not popping a cigarette into your mouth after you have a meal or something
 
jayjaya29 said:
I suppose I can say the same, but my Dad is a smoker....2nd hand smoke anybody?
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2nd hand smoke can actually be just as bad, though not worse, than first hand. you're getting a smaller percent of carcinogens at a lower concentration, but you'd be surprised how fast it can add up. :shock: there are several people who have actually gotten lung cancer from 2nd hand smoke...
 
bihus said:
Redliner said:
I NEVER smoked in my entire life, but I wish you all the best, this is such a nasty habit...
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D58CE_ditto-smilie.gif
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+1


my grandmother had an horrible end of life, (years of misery and sickness all because of that) and I sweared to myself that I'd never smoke... it's so uncool and pointless anyway
 
I'm a smoker also, I've quit a few times(for a few months each time) till I came to the realisation that I don't need to not smoke :lol: just smoke less :) 3-4 Davidoff magnum cigarettes a day is all I need to keep me sane :lol:

patches/gum don't really work. regular excercise makes you want to smoke less tho :)
 
yup... I think the best way is to keep yourself really busy with work and sports... then you'll forget all about it :D
 
Sometimes I see these chicks at school, I look at them they look back, and then suddenly they have the urge to light up a cigarette, I think DON'T DO IT!!

A girl who smokes is so f*cking lame and it's not very horny either :thumbsdown:
 
For those who don't smoke, please try your hardest never to try it. It starts out as a single cigarette at the bar. Then you are smoking 2-3 a day. Before you know it, you are up to a pack a day! So please keep your lungs virgin!

Another day has passed without a cigarette. Lab work and driving around town was no problem. I didn't even have cravings after lunch and dinner. Things are looking good!

My friends think it's all a joke. I was one of the heaviest smokers of the group so they miss me not smoking with them. Their doubt in my success is keeping me determined not to give in.

Jostyrostelli, I think girls who smoke are very loose on morals. You know what that means right? :p
 
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