Tying to quit smoking...

[JimmyC]

You said you never understood the addiction
Quit while your ahead
I've smoked for thirty years I know all about it.
It is mind of matter
I know that ... But it's more addictive than smack
Now if you don't mind, this don't matter

[EskimoJoe]

oh yea? then prove my logic wrong. how about YOU STFU and not turn this into a pursefight. because the last two you attempted to start with me did not at all go your way.

Why don't you go ask your ship mechanic and blackhawk pilot step-fathers whats the best way to quit smoking? bet they'll know just as much on the subject as they would on the flight mechanics of a vintage ww2 aircraft that you tried to pass off. do.not.start.with.me.

lol.

I'd expect the same response from a 13 year old girl.

Shocker.

[Cheese]

Junky,

Gum...lots of it..Sunflower seeds.

The first day was hell - and once I made it through the first day w/o a smoke, I told myself I'm NEVER going through that AGAIN!  After that, I had minor cravings, but nothing like the first day.  Last smoke over 20 years ago.

Good luck,

Cheese

[Tyrannis]

lol.

I'd expect the same response from a 13 year old girl.

Shocker.

From your last post, you would know what a retort from a 13 yr old looked liked, wouldnt you?

[mechanic]

Tyrannis, seriously....


Junky, it is one of the hardest things to quit. I smoked fr about 15 years but managed to quit for good 7.5 months ago now. I just went to bed one night and said 'tomorrow I will no longer be a smoker'. I would not recomend any of the methods unless will power alone is failing you. If you truly want to quit it should be easy to not smoke.

After one day you have something to lose by going back, you lose that one day of not smoking. After a week it's a bigger loss if you go back. After several months the urge to not throw away all your hard work makes it easy to not go back.When you truly want to quit, you will.

Good luck.

[ACE]

I'm  sorry but joe had no reason to snap?

[Spikes]

IS it?
Think about your problem. your trying to quit smoking.
Therefore, to quit something you need to discover what keeps drawing you back to smoking in the first place. Find out what makes you so addicted.

You may say its the nicotine, but is it? you say your "moody". could it be that you smoked to calm your nerves? social thing? peer pressure that you wish to get rid of?
Maybe the best way to quit, is figuring out why you smoke, then finding something else that does the same thing cigerettes do for you. but safer.

Like if you smoke to calm your nerves, find something else that calms your nerves just as good, or even better.
Social thing? just dont hang around your friends when their all lighting up. or just tell them your trying to quit, and ask them to reframe from smoking around you for the time being. their friends. they will understand.
If you believe you simply smoked due to the nicotine however, there are many items on the market to help with that.

-Identify the problem. (smoking)
-identify why you wish to quit smoking.
-identify why you started smoking in the first place, and why you continued too.
-Find a replacement for cigeretters to satisfy the reason why you smoke.
-stick with it. And eventually the cravings will go away.

We have the master among us, bow before him.

Whether you're lying about smoking or not, some people don't have it that easy.

[Nefarious]

I've been smoke free for nearly 5 years. I smoked my first cigarette at 12 and quit when I was 26. I was smoking a pack day by the time I was 18/19 and by the time I was 24 I was suffering from it in the form I was having trouble breathing.

I quit using the patch (through a WV state program for free) and chewing on cut down straws which I chewed to bits. Rosie and I tried to quit at the same time and she failed and is still smoking.

If you can beat the first few months, you are doing good. Those were the toughest for me.

But then again, I'm a Steeler fan, what do I know?    good luck, it's tough.

[gyrene81]

Ive never understood cigerette addiction. I smoke, but ive never felt "compelled" or addicted. Ive gone months without a smoke and never had anything more than a slight craving for one. A pack usually lasts me a month.

if a pack lasts you more than a week, you're not really smoking, you're a cigarette waster. what little you actually inhale at the stage you're in will give you a slight head rush but that's it, no cravings, no habits. if you continue and start actually getting your lungs full, you will find yourself making excuses for lighting up a cigarette, because your brain is going to want to experience that little rush. the more often you smoke a cigarette the more often you're going to want one. before you know it you will be at 5 a day, then 10 a day and by then very few people can simply quit.

you should stop now before you end up trying to break the habit.


good luck junky, i've tried and only went smoke free for a year...one long night in a new orleans bar and i was hooked again.

[dkff49]

I smoked over a pack a day for more than 20 yrs. I too will say it, it will most likely be one of the hardest things you will ever do. During that more than 20 yrs of smoking I tried at least 15 times to quit smoking. Chantix was what finally got me over the addiction and now it has been about 5 yrs now and still have cravings occasionally.

Tyrannis, I have only this to say. If all you smoke is a pack a month, that is no where near the same thing as those of us who SMOKE. Not trying to be rude, but you hardly form an addiction by having a cigarette a day, no comparison.

Some people are also more prone to addictions than others and this can create issues with trying to get over them as well. I happen to fall into this category. For example, in the past I developed an addiction to Norflex, which is supposed to be pretty rare. I even had to ween myself off it. I was able to that but I think it was a due to only being on it for a couple of days, but when stopping (since it did not work) I noticed sweats, nausea, and jitters that stopped about 1/2 hour after taking a single dose again. The fact is that every persons chemistry is different and handles these chemicals in a different way and Junky you will need to find something that works for you.

Chantix made it so easy for me that I called it cheating and I have never looked back and I will always highly recommend using it. With that I also would say that watch your reaction to others around you and even maybe have them keep an eye out to, it can make you become somewhat aggressive and edgy (not quite like quitting cold turkey).

I really have no pointers for doing cold turkey as I was never able to do it that way. Stick to it though man, it will be hard but worth it in the end. If you can't make that way, then look for another but never give up.

Good Luck Junky

[PFactorDave]

For me, it took a 25 foot fall while working that put me in the hospital for two weeks.  Two weeks of serious painkillers and forced "cold turkey" on the cigarettes.  I can't say that I would recommend the process though.

[james]

I'm 1 year 3 months from my last 2 pack a day habit. I had to learn to drive a car without one.
I had to relearn my whole day away from the smoking area at work.
Yeah I can smell a smoker from 50 feet away now. Food tastes tremendous now! I washed all my clothes and cleaned the inside of the car on the first week. If you have smoked you know the color of the wash water after you've done that. If you can get past the firs 48 hours the rest is habit of the
muscle memory. The physical need is gone. Now it's simply who is stronger, you or the mind control device you suck on at break time.

[jimson]

The reason occasional smokers don't understand the cigarette addiction is that they are not addicted.

I'll help you understand:

Imagine the strongest craving you ever felt for food, or drink.

Multiply that by 1000.

[Old Sport]

I too was addicted to cigs and managed to be freed from them, more than 30 years ago, but my story is a little different.

I feel for all you that are still battling cravings.   

I was up to a pack and a half a day in the USMC in the '70's around lots of other smokers. The only alternative I knew of then was Skoal, which I dipped for 6 months or so. But it is rather disgusting on a regular basis, doesn't exactly draw the babes, and the inside of my mouth was turning into leather and probably a precursor carcinoma. I reluctantly went back to cigs. I knew I wanted to quit so I simply tried to stop buying. After a day or two of intense cravings, especially after meals, I'd dig around in the bedroom wastebasket for an interim half-smoked butt, and then would just give in totally and buy a new carton. At this time I was turning to faith in God, so I did ask for his help and was continuously promising God I'd quit "after this I finish this pack." This recurring cycle of trying not to buy, and of giving in after a day or two, simply unable to stand the intense cravings, went on for six months.

Finally, one evening in my offbase apt I'd just given in again, bought a new pack and had just lit up the third one. It hit me that I simply did not have the power to quit, and knew I'd be unable to honor my promise to God to quit. I was moved by regret and simply admitted to God that I could not quit on my own, though I wanted to very much. At that moment I experienced an extremely powerful sensation (the power of the Holy Spirit for the biblically inclined) which lasted about 20 minutes. (I was a radar tech and had been shocked a number of times, including once by a capacitor of 20,000 volts. The experience in my apt was not an instantaneous jolt, but it was just as palpable.) After the intensity of this experience subsided I took that fresh pack with 17 fine cigarettes and threw them in the bedroom wastebasket and left them there for more than 4 months, never touching another smoke again. I was free, and I give thanks to God for it. So, in addition to the other suggestions above, you might add prayer if you are so inclined.

By the way, ever thought about changing "Junky" to something a little more positive?   

[CAP1]

hypno therapy....i know 3 people that've successfully quit very easily with that.