My best friend and I are quitting smoking today. We stayed up late smoking (and drinking) way too many last light, and now is the first day of a new era.
Wish me luck.
It’s been almost five weeks for me. You’re lucky that you and your friend have each other to rely on - it’s almost like having an AA sponsor. You can call or text each other for support and such.
Are you going to use a nic replacement system or anything?
I haven’t decided on a nic replacement. I’m going to try without, but I’m not going to rule it out.
Having the support is going to be key. We’ve been planning this quit for about three weeks. I think we may be able to rope another friend along too.
ETA: Need to go buy some gum. I don’t know what to do with my hands, either.
I quit (finally) last October. Previously I’d quit for long periods of time and then, in a moment of stress, take it up again. Can’t wait for my one year anniversary. Best of luck!
I replaced it with working out. And in terms of stress, I replaced smoking with long angry walks.
I quit in March, cold turkey. We (supervenusfreak quit at the same time) chewed a lot of gum (plain old gum, not nicotine gum) and just toughed it out. It’s been about 85 days now and frankly, I barely even think about it anymore. There are still certain trigger places and events and situations (bars…actually, bars are about it now) that spark a craving, but they’re rare.
I used to smoke two packs a day, and I had been smoking for almost 20 years…I started in 1989.
Good luck! Know that you CAN do this!
Do you live in New York state by any chance? The cig tax just went up 1.25 here, and I’ve never had so many people tell me that they’re quitting. My dad, a smoker for the past 35 years, is even trying.
Yup. I gotta say that was a part of it. Just one week of the new taxes was all part of the planned quit date.
Feel the suffering before the quit.
First off, I’d like to say good luck on the endeavor! The first step to any goal is having the faith to take the chance!
I live in a family of habitual smokers and I have been trying to get most of my loved ones to quit for a long time now. One thing my Dad has been doing as of late to help him quit is keeping a journal of the habit. He had tried cold-turkey many times and just could never do it (even with patches, gum, and what not). Each journal entry is normally done at the end of the day around bed time and consists of:
the date
planned goal of smoked cigarettes for the day (normally set the night before; this can be left blank the first day)
actual number of smoked cigarettes for the day
next day’s goal
Dad has seen significant progress with tracking the habit. When he first started, he smoked over two packs a day. Now, he’s lucky if he can count on one hand the number of cigs he has most days.
As a suggestion for the jittery hands problem, here’s also some suggestions:
take up drawing or painting
get one of those old ball’n’paddle games that kids love to play with (you know, the one with the rubber ball attached to a paddle via rubber band?)
get a stack of playing cards or Uno and have long card game matches
twirling/flipping pens and pencils
Again, good luck and keep the faith in yourselves that you can do it!
I will say this: over the normal course of my week I will generally restrain myself to one cigarette a day, or less. But when I’m drunk, all the moderation goes out the window and I just smoke however many cigarettes I feel like it.
So just based on my own experience, if drinking makes you want to smoke, you should probably cut back on it.
Good luck! I hope you make it!
I quit about 6 weeks ago. I’m using nicotine patches. It’s been great so far!
I thought it would be a lot harder but after the first few days, once you realize how long you can go w/o a cig it’s really easy to keep going a little longer, a little longer, etc…
I’ll admit that I have one or two here or there, of those Marlboro 72’s. It’s getting to the point where I can’t hardly finish one of those anymore (they’re short).
More than anything, I am feeling the extra $40/week from not having to buy cigs. So cool!
Good luck to you and your friend!
I’ve been smoke free since Jan 2, 2007. I smoked a pack of Camel non-filters a day for 15 years before that. My thoughts (and see if they work for you):
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No coffee or booze for at least two months. They will trigger a desire to smoke that will be nearly impossible to stop.
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Go cold turkey. No nicotine replacement. When you go cold turkey, at least you know that while you feel like total hell and want to die, that what you are going through is the worst of it and you will not have to go through anymore withdrawl after that. Three to five days and it is out of your system. Suffer through it and be done.
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Drink LOTS of water. It cleans your system of nicotine faster, and it is good for you anyways.
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Instead of gum, I used sunflower seeds. Always keeps your mouth full and keeps your teeth, tongue and jaw working biting the shells and spitting them out.
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Eat lighter meals. If you eat a giant meal, you will want to sit back and smoke…
YMMV
jtgain is dead right: no nic substitutions. yes, you’ll feel like shit on toast for those few days but then it’s over. all that is (yeah, just all) :rolleyes: is your body getting past the physical desire for nicotine, which is unpleasant, i grant you. once it’s gone all that’s left is the psychological, which is not a lot of fun, but at least you won’t feel lousy.
jtgain has all the important recommends, to which i can only add, try deep breathing when the urge to smoke strikes. it was a godsend for me. the deep breathing in some way helps negate the need.
better minds than mine will have to explain what i mean, but it does work. best of luck. quitting smoking is one of the smarter things we humans do for ourselves.
You don’t need luck; you need detemination and moral support. Allegedly, good motivation comes from the spouse promising nookie for a smoke-free day…