# Convince me to stop smoking! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 29, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315 "2010-11-29T19:16:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Doctor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Doctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/41 "2010-11-29T22:33:39Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Hello! You’re a member here, aren’t you? How many more bad habits do you need? 😃 😕 :dubious: :smack: 😛 :D:D:D:D:D:D 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/42 "2010-11-29T22:33:43Z")
> [@Doctor](#): > > Simple, but at the same time it can be incredibly hard. That little voice going “come on, man, 1 little smoke won’t hurt you. You can have one…” Argh!!! > > Not true because one smoke leads to another and another and pretty soon, half a pack a day or more. Just gotta make it to the end of this day. Then we’ll see what tomorrow brings. Good idea - take it a day at a time. Just don’t smoke _today_. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Doctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/43 "2010-11-29T22:36:26Z")
> [@niblet\_head](#): > > Yep. The one thing you can take from smoking that will help your stress is the breathing in deep, holding it, slowly letting it out. I like that. That is a damn good idea. I just tried it – it’s good! Ok, I better go do some work. Be back later to see any other good ideas and will probably be going nuts and will need to moral support. To everyone who has replied so far: YOU GUYS ROCK!!! ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/44 "2010-11-29T22:37:46Z")
The best thing for me about quitting is not feeling guilty. When smoking, I always felt that if I got ill from it I would have brought it on myself and how I would have face to my loved ones if that happened. Constant fear and guilt about that. Gone now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/45 "2010-11-29T23:05:06Z")
Got a family? Got friends? Want to be with them for a long time, watch the kids grow up and give them a lifetime of great memories, that kind of thing? Don’t smoke again. Same thing that convinced a friend of mine who was severely overweight to get healthy - he looked at his baby daughter one day and realized he wanted to be there for her as long as he possibly could. And read the Stephen King short story **Quitters Inc**. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/46 "2010-11-29T23:33:42Z")
Just get [this](http://www.amazon.com/Allen-Carrs-Easy-Smoking-ebook/dp/B002RI9432/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1291073426&sr=8-2) book. It will both convince you and, much better still, be exactly the thing to make it far less painless. Stoid Hardcore 2-Plus Packs a Day for 26 Years - Just celebrated the 10th anniversary of quitting it for good and I’ve never missed it, never wished I could, nothing but gratitude that the 26 year nightmare is over. READ THE BOOK. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/47 "2010-11-29T23:37:56Z")
Any belief that it eases stress…pure bullshit. The only stress that smoking eases is the stress that smoking CREATES by turning you into a drug addict that stresses out when you don’t get your drug. Really. Read the book. I’m the least self-disciplined person you ever met in your life, I have no willpower whatsoever and I have no impulse control at all. I was absolutely certain that I was doomed to smoke til the day it killed me. But that stopped being true ten years ago. Read the book. ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/48 "2010-11-29T23:47:38Z")
Lots of good ideas. For me, longterm stuff (things taste good, live longer, etc.) was just so much bullshit. I had to concentrate on the here and now. So, don’t smoke today. If that’s too long, don’t smoke for the next hour. And if that’s too long, then not for the next five minutes. Breathe. **Whynot** (speaking about something possibly unrealted to smoking) talked about circular breathing - breathe in for four, hold for four, breathe out for four, hold for four, repeat. That worked very well for me when I was fighting cravings. Beware insomnia - in hindsight, this is what killed (for me) all previous quit attempts. Nicotine withdrawal can cause (and oh boy DOES it cause for me) insomnia. I’d go to bed, and instead of blissful sleep I’d lie there wanting a smoke. With no real distractions, in the dark. Circular breathing got me through this time. Change your habits - I got off at a different train station, one I couldn’t smoke at. I changed where I went to lunch, etc. Some benefits are long term - you will probably cough more for the next three months as your lungs get better than you ever did as a smoker. Just get through it. Some benefits are illusory, or do not happen for everyone. I, for example, don’t think that food tastes any differently than it did before. All these happy wonderful things may not happen for you, so don’t set them as a goal. Your goal is don’t smoke right now. The anti-smoking lobby has made not smoking sound like getting a rainbow shower from a unicorn everytime you might otherwise have smoked. Not smoking is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but the benefits are less tangible than you might be led to believe, and if they don’t arrive, it’s not an excuse to light up. I stopped smoking on Wed, 7 Jan 2009 09:59:00 UTC. It has been 98 weeks, 5 days, 13 hours, 54 minutes and 9 seconds since I quit. I have saved $ 10546.58 by choosing not to smoke 17289 cigarettes. More importantly, I saved 18 weeks, 6 days 1 hours 44 minutes of my life! ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/49 "2010-11-30T00:03:15Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Read the book. It’s a good book, and is what got me to quit my pack and a half/ two pack a day habit. That being said, a lot of what the OP is already doing is what the book suggests. But if he finds himself struggling to stay a non smoker, I would heartily suggest trying Alan Carr’s book before moving on to something like the patch or nicotine gum. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Doctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/50 "2010-11-30T01:19:55Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > It’s a good book, and is what got me to quit my pack and a half/ two pack a day habit. > > That being said, a lot of what the OP is already doing is what the book suggests. But if he finds himself struggling to stay a non smoker, I would heartily suggest trying Alan Carr’s book before moving on to something like the patch or nicotine gum. I just checked the preview on Google and it looks very interesting. I’m probably going to take yours and \*\*Stoid’s \*\*suggestion and read the book. **Stoid:** I get the idea that you had some success with this? :dubious: 😉 Ok, ok. I’ll read it! ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/51 "2010-11-30T01:28:40Z")
I honestly don’t understand how anyone could look at pictures [like this](http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=smokers+lungs&qpvt=smoker's+lung&FORM=Z7FD#focal=754682edb506689d1f061ca8eeb7ddda&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fsdfs.ucps.k12.nc.us%2Fimages%2FSmokers%2520Lung.JPG) and smoke. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/52 "2010-11-30T01:29:39Z")
I quit smoking for several months… for a guy who wouldn’t tolerate dating a smoking lady. We broke up and then I relapsed out of sheer spite. But it can be done. What helped me stay quit was substitution. Lollipops are comforting (cause the stick hangs out of your mouth), or if you can buy one of those plastic things that looks like a cigarette so you can walk outside and hang onto/puff it to maintain the ritualistic aspect of smoking (the ritual is all that keeps me coming back). You could also, if not quit totally, try out an “electric cigarette” (really it’s a cigarette-shaped vaporizer). They still deliver nicotine to you, but without the smoke. My mom showed me hers this weekend and I’m thinking of changing over to them. They don’t smell bad, you can “smoke” them indoors legally (I think). It looks like it’d be a good way to maintain the ritual, the nicotine delivery, and the comforting aspects while dropping the negatives of stinkiness, paralyzed cilia, etc. Of course you’re still feeding a nicotine addiction, and honestly I am not sure what effect it has on blood pressure. But it’s a definite step down from smelly cigarettes. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/53 "2010-11-30T01:40:02Z")
Wow, I had no idea a bunch of famous people had discovered Carr’s book. Funny bit of Ashton Kutcher on Leno on [this](http://www.theeasywaytostopsmoking.com/AboutUs/Testimonials/Celebritytestimonials.aspx#Kutcher) page. And other celeb comments: ellen degeneres “Everyone who reads this books quits, and I quit too…” sir anthony hopkins “It was such a revelation that instantly I was freed from my addiction.” anjelica huston “The Allen Carr Easy Way to Stop Smoking Program achieved for me a thing that I thought was not possible - to give up a thirty year smoking habit literally overnight. It was nothing short of a miracle.” lou reed “Someone gave me the book years ago…I found it very useful. It’s a great book.” david blaine “Allen Carr’s program…that’s real magic!” sir richard branson Sir Richard Branson has been a supporter of Allen Carr’s Easyway since the 1980s. stewart copeland The legendary Police drummer quit smoking using Allen Carr’s Easyway in 2006. jason mraz “It worked for me and about twenty of my friends. Seriously.” There ya go! DO IT! ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/54 "2010-11-30T01:50:53Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Wow, I had no idea a bunch of famous people had discovered Carr’s book. Funny bit of Ashton Kutcher on Leno on [this](http://www.theeasywaytostopsmoking.com/AboutUs/Testimonials/Celebritytestimonials.aspx#Kutcher) page. > > And other celeb comments: > > ellen degeneres > “Everyone who reads this books quits, and I quit too…” > sir anthony hopkins > “It was such a revelation that instantly I was freed from my addiction.” > > anjelica huston > “The Allen Carr Easy Way to Stop Smoking Program achieved for me a thing that I thought was not possible - to give up a thirty year smoking habit literally overnight. It was nothing short of a miracle.” > > lou reed > “Someone gave me the book years ago…I found it very useful. It’s a great book.” > > david blaine > “Allen Carr’s program…that’s real magic!” > > sir richard branson > Sir Richard Branson has been a supporter of Allen Carr’s Easyway since the 1980s. > stewart copeland > The legendary Police drummer quit smoking using Allen Carr’s Easyway in 2006. > > jason mraz > “It worked for me and about twenty of my friends. Seriously.” > > There ya go! DO IT! If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. What is so great about this book? What does the author say that we haven’t all already heard before? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Doctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/55 "2010-11-30T02:07:09Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. What is so great about this book? What does the author say that we haven’t all already heard before? Guess we’d have to read the book to find out. You can get it pretty cheap on Amazon. On his web site is a bit expensive, though. Regarding the electric cigarettes, that is a no-go as the nicotine is definitely the culprit on blood pressure (I think along with the carbon monoxide). So, my best bit is to just stop. Made it through dinner now with no cigarette. Gave away my primary lighter. Currently, I have no cigarettes and no lighter on me. ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/56 "2010-11-30T02:17:39Z")
Never was a smoker here but it’s the same still. That cigarrette does not smoke itself. You make the decision to do it. It’s as simple as just saying “No” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/57 "2010-11-30T02:30:45Z")
Please don’t give the “Just say no” crap. Just saying no does not get you through withdrawals. I loathe it when people try to make getting off of any addictive drug sound easy. It’s not. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/58 "2010-11-30T02:41:07Z")
> [@Scotty Mo](#): > > Never was a smoker This explains your attitude. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/59 "2010-11-30T02:45:20Z")
My mother’s parents died peaceful deaths at home, in their 90s. Her siblings are still alive (except one who died this year, a few weeks short of turning 90). My oldest aunt is 89 and still very active- travelling, gardening, writing, playing music, directing a choir. My mother was a smoker. She died at 66, of lung cancer. Do whatever you have to do, get whatever help you need, but never smoke again. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315/60 "2010-11-30T02:49:12Z")
> [@MoodIndigo1](#): > > My mother’s parents died peaceful deaths at home, in their 90s. Her siblings are still alive (except one who died this year, a few weeks short of turning 90). My oldest aunt is 89 and still very active- travelling, gardening, writing, playing music, directing a choir. > My mother was a smoker. She died at 66, of lung cancer. > > Do whatever you have to do, get whatever help you need, but never smoke again. On that note, my grandmother was a smoker, and on oxygen. She lit herself on fire when she fell asleep with a cig in her hand. Seriously. That’s a pretty good reason to quit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-stop-smoking/562315.md?page=4)