Quitting Smoking

In My Humble Opinion
21

This makes me optimistic about your chances of quitting for good, because that was pretty much my attitude the last (and hopefully final) time I gave up, after 15+ years. Before that, I still enjoyed, or thought I enjoyed, smoking, so I felt deprived when I attempted to quit and it became a battle of willpower that I was bound to lose.

But the last time, for months beforehand I had found myself smoking and wondering why I was doing it, because I was getting very little pleasure from it. And then one day I just stopped, and was amazed how easy it was. Only one real craving, when I first had a beer a few days later. Great feeling of liberation when I rid out that craving, had another beer and DIDN’T WANT A CIGARETTE WITH IT! Since then, plain sailing, and it’s been over 4 years now. I just don’t think about ciggies at all. I almost forget sometimes that I used to smoke.

(Gah, I hate tempting fate like this…)

22

If I may get woo-woo for a moment… (if you don’t like the woo, just skip the post, folks!)

I found that the idea of quitting felt quite rude. Here was this plant, Tobacco, that had been my friend and ally for years. Whenever, I was sad, he was there to make me happy. Whenever I was frightened, Tobacco would calm me down. Whenever I was bored, he’d keep me company. He introduced me to new friends, provided a topic of conversation, and was generally a very good friend. Sure, he was smelly and some other friends didn’t like him much. But how would it work if you just went up to a human friend and shouted: “You’re bad and dirty and smell and you’re killing me and I won’t see you ever again!” :eek: Chances are real good that you’d get a few phone calls or emails going, “Um, what the fuck, man? Can we talk about this? Let’s just get together over a couple of beers and see if we can work this out, please! C’mon, please? Just give me another chance, it’ll be different this time, I promise!”

So I decided that I needed to break up with Tobacco a little more gently, and with explanation. So, being a silly pagan, I sat there in a circle with my tobacco and rolling papers and two other silly pagans who also decided to quit, and we all spoke about the great friendship we’d had with Tobacco. We thanked Tobacco for all it’s done for us, and reassured him that we weren’t leaving him, but we needed to take our friendship in a new direction - one that wouldn’t hurt us. We promised him and ourselves that we’d still honor his spirit, but we could no longer share his body. I keep a small pouch of tobacco with me to this day, and sprinkle a bit in places where I used to smoke. I still think of Tobacco quite fondly, but haven’t smoked in over two years.

Anyway, that’s my woo-woo bit. Whether you think Tobacco has a literal spirit you can communicate with, or if you need to have a loving talk with your subconscious, I found that being gentle and mindful was a much more pleasant (and effective) way to go about it than with a mindset of hate and deprivation.

On a practical note, I highly recommend a small bottle of Angastora bitters (or gentian extract) for after meals. Just one drop (straight, or on a bit of bread or cracker), will get your bile flowing and your guts moving - the same way a smoke after a large meal does. One of the hardest smokes for me to give up was the after meal smoke, 'cause everything just sat there in my stomach and wouldn’t go anywhere. Bitters help a lot with that feeling.

23

Thank you everyone for your great advice and for sharing your stories :). Tomorrow is the big day. Currently, I am smoking out of my last pack and, as I take my smoke breaks at work, I am thinking of things I can start doing instead (walk around the building, go up and down the stairs) when I just need to move around a bit. This weekend might be a bit rough since it is a long weekend, but I am ready to do away with this habit. :stuck_out_tongue:

24

I quit in March. My doc put me on Wllbutrin (Zyban) and it has been a major help in getting over the physical cravings (I had been on Zoloft so it was not a difficult transition). I also started using things that would make cigarettes taste bad:
• Milk (it almost curdles in your mouth if you try to smoke while drinking it)
• Big Red gum (the cinnamon made the smokes taste like crap)
• Lavoris mouthwash (ditto)
Another big helper was cinnamon sticks. The afore-mentioned effect was important but, most of all, it had the same size and shape as a cigarette. You can play with it or use it as a pointer to satisfy the psychological aspects of the addiction, chew on it to help with the oral fixation and it is pretty tasty too.

The first week or two were pretty lousy but I managed to not kill myself or my family. I can actually feel my energy level has improved. Watch what you eat because it’s too easy to pick up a fork when you want to pick up a cigarette. Keep lots of carrot or celery sticks in the fridge.

I decided that I did not want to use the patch or gum. Sure, they wouldn’t be polluting my lungs, but I wanted to get rid of all parts of the addiction, including the nicotine.

Good luck!

25

I quit smoking about a year and a half ago. The way I did it was to break my routine. I always had my first smoke with a beer or glass of wine or cocktail when I came home from work. So the first thing I had to do was find something else to drink when I came home. I drank a lot of sparkling water with lemon or cranberry juice. (Added benefit - I cut way down on drinking alcohol too). Then I also had to fight the after-dinner urge, usually by distracting myself with some kind of organizational-type project - the kind where you look up and realize three hours have gone past without you even noticing it.

I wasn’t much of a smoker, admittedly. I had long since cut way down. I was having about 2 cigs a day during the week and unlimited smokes when out with friends on the weekends (usually drinking), which isn’t much, really. But I did have to make a conscious effort to really make that final break. Even now I still have a social smoke now and then. But I no longer smoke every day or every week or even every month. I wish you good luck!

26

I gave up drinking entirely at New Years. NO, I did not have a “drinking problem” before. But even a glass of wine would elevate the need to have a cigarette after dinner or something. Quitting drinking killed the sensation to smoke about 99%.

There are times, occasionally, when I’m really stressed that I’ll feel the desire for a cigarette but they are increasingly far and few in between. When I do hit that feeling (which is usually during the day) I’ll just go for a walk instead.

I quit cold turkey but I have always been mentally bound to them, not physically, so I didn’t have any withdrawal symptoms.

So I’ve been utterly and completely smokefree since about a week before Xmas now and before that I was smoking problably 3 or 4 cigarettes a month.

27

Mostly wanted to add my support. Stopping smoking is the hardest thing I ever did. I quit over Thanksgiving weekend about 20 years ago. I don’t know how, just quit. I had been sneaking smokes for years, but of course my wife knew every time I did. I got tired of going out in the cold and snow and heat and rain to puff. So I just quit doing it.

Best of luck to you. You can do this.

28

You definitely sound ready to quit. I also quit drinking for about a month when I quit smoking as it was a MAJOR trigger. When I did go back to a bar I would cut a drinking straw to the approximate length as a cig and just chew on that or hold it in my fingers when the craving struck.

Oh and it will be six years for me on Thursday! yay me!

29

And remember that even when you’ve quit for a while, you’ll likely have urges.

I have spent two days fighting the serious desire for a cigarette. I don’t get one, and I know I don’t. And I keep taking sips of water and waiting for them to die out.

But I just keep reminding myself that wanting does not mean having. And eventually I’ll get through the craving. Without one. Because one would turn into a pack a day without me realizing it.

30

My wife decided to quit in January, and was having a rough go of it about a week in. On the advice of the Dopers, I bought Carr’s book, and wifey read it…and was decidedly unimpressed. But she felt that since she had already decided to quit and was in already, that most of what he was saying wasn’t directed at her.

So YMMV.

But she’s still non-smoking.

31

I bought the book and have been too terrified to read it.

I’ll be reading up on Chantix. I’ve been smoking for far, far too long and frankly, I need the money.

Good luck to you. I hope you realize that not smoking is a perk, not a punishment.

32

Hey, hi five everyone! Today is my 40th day without a cigarette!

I used chantix as well. I only took it for one month. I quit smoking after the first week. I cheated a few times in the following week, but the smokes gave me an upset stomach and tasted bad. Which is good because that is how I remember my last smoke.

I gave up drinking for the first two weeks and didn’t go to a bar for the first month.Last week I did go out to the bar for the first time since I quit. I made it through the whole night without smoking. I did think about it, but never gave in.

A couple of days ago I had a breakthrough. I went out for lunch. I actually left the office, got in my car, drove to a food joint, ate, got back in my car and drove back to the office and never once thought about a smoke! Those were three huge triggers for me. Leaving work, driving, and after eating.

FTR, this is about my 8th serious attempt at quitting. I’ve gone longer without smoking before, but I had always still been on the patch or gum or lozenge. This is the longest I’ve been without nicotine in a looooong time.

Best of luck to ya. It’s not easy, but it is worth it.

33

I fell for a girl that’s a non smoker. She said she didn’t mind, but it wouldn’t be cool to stink for her.

It’s been about four weeks now, I’ve not really been counting. I’ve found it much easier than all the other times I’ve given up because I’ve got a reason to do it for.

Aside from not dying young and all that jazz.

The bestest of luck to you. Know that after a few days and certainly weeks if you have that cigarette that you think you crave, you’ll hate it after one drag. Dont let yourself regret it, just dont let yourself down.

Let us know how you get along!

34

So we’re almost at the same point with not smoking - only I haven’t been off the chantix as long. I hadn’t had any serious issues until this week - and I think that’s a combination of the stress I’ve got going on right now and not having that pill every day as a crutch. But I’m making it through - and once I get through the next couple of weeks, things will be much better (after all, today was better than yesterday and tomorrow will be easier still).

Auntbeast, I’d recommend talking to your doctor about the Chantix if you’re sure you want to quit. It’s still not easy - but it’s easier, or at least it has been for me. It’s also not cheap if your insurance doesn’t cover it (luckily, mine did), but when you figure what you spend on cigarettes, you probably come out better. It may not be right for you - but at the same time, it might.

35

My fiance quit tobacco after 16 years of continuous use. It’s been 2 months. Chantix is what did it. I’m not sure if the stuff actually works or if it had a placebo effect and gave him the confidence to stick with it. He smoked into the second week of taking it, and said he made himself sick doing it.

I’m so relieved, because several previous attempts had failed miserably. Worth trying, if cold turkey doesn’t work for you.

36

How long can someone take Chantix? The article says 12 weeks. I’m afraid that wouldn’t be long enough for me.

I’d be willing to take a smaller dose for the rest of my life, if that’s what it would take. Cheaper than cigarettes, and it couldn’t be any worse, health-wise.

The longest I quit (ten years) was after hypnotherapy – a really good hypnotist in Seattle, five one-hour sessions. I’ve tried two of them here in Iowa, and they didn’t work.

37

This is how you quit: You stop raising a cigarette to your mouth. Just stop doing it.

38

Exactly. If you want to, you will. I stopped a long time ago because I wanted to. No other reason. I heard my Mum coughing and wheezing every morning and then lighting a cigarette, and I thought to myself “I don’t want to be like that in 30 years.” So I quit.

39

If the OP quits cigarettes but not pot, they’re not quitting smoking. They have to give up at least 2 things.

40

12 weeks is the maximum (at least according to what my doctor said). Typical is either 4 or 8 weeks, depending on the person and your doctor. I was on for under 8 weeks, but more than 4 - I actually still have some of the pills, but I was at the point that I’d forgotten to take them for several days and been fine. There’s no tapering off of them, just a stopping point and I’d asked my doctor what to do if I felt like stopping them early - she said to just stop - so I didn’t have any qualms about that.
Seriously, if you really want to quit, then the Chantix can be a tool to help you. But that’s all it is, a tool.