I am looking for some advice from any former smokers. Soon I will have been a smoker for ten years, and I want to be done with it. I have set up a date of extermination, but I was curious if anyone found any avtivities or philosophies they felt helped them to quit this filthy habit. I am also curious about various medical remedies (the patch, the gum) and their usefullness.
Running out of breath,
Eric
The gum. I quit almost three long weeks ago after smoking for 30 years. Do not buy the regular road kill flavored gum. Buy the mint road kill flavor.
at first the urges to smoke were many and small. Now the urges to smoke are fewer, but they are large and in two different colors of neon.
My kids give me good feedback and that helps.
Good luck.
and welcome to the boards.
I bought the book You Can Stop Smoking by Jaqueline Rogers. It’s a 4 week step down program that, in addition to helping you break the physical addiction, also deals with the psychological addiction, which I found the most difficult part in my oh-too-many previous attempts. I’m about 2 months away from the 4th anniversary (following an 18 year addiction), and have had very few cravings for a cigarette, even in high stress situations.
And let me state for the record that I do not know Ms. Rogers and am in no way affiliated with her, her program, or the publishers, whoever they may be. And if I’m breaking any rules by trying to sell a product, please let the knowledge that I am trying to save EricL’s life be my excuse.
Good luck, and let us know how you’re doing.
Funny you posted this, b/c I have stated that on Monday, Mr. Levins and I will quit smoking. Cold turkey. (I’m not a big believer in the “step down” theory, although many people have claimed success with it; if I tried to cut back on my prodigious habit, all I’d think about all day would be my “ration” of cigarettes. I’d rather just know that I can’t have any at all.)
Why Monday, you ask? Why not. We just thought about all the money we’d save, and told ourselves that we’d put all the money we normally spend on cigarettes in a kitty, and within several months, we’d put it towards a new car. (Yes. I know. We smoke quite a bit.)
Quitters I know with long-term success have used varied methods, but the one that made the most sense to me was the “Are you going to let that little stick of tobacco beat you?” school of thought. This is what I think will work for us; it’s this plus the fact that Mr. Levins has smoked for fifteen years, vs. my five, so I’d like to quit for his health more than mine. But he can’t quit unless I do, so it’s a joint effort. I love him too much to let him continue to do this to himself…and if that sounds weird :shrug: maybe it is. But I just know that I’m gonna need all the help I can get, and the thought of making him healthier is a very motivational one. I wanna keep him around for awhile, you know. 
So I wish you and I the greatest success, EricL. Let me know how you fare, and we’ll encourage each other.
Oh, and I talked to a former smoker at work the other day, and he said that the hardest cig to get rid of was the “postmeal” cig. You know, the one you look forward to after a big meal. He said that the only thing that helped was those Listerine squares…the kind that come in tiny packs that look like paper. He said that psychologically they “ended the meal” the same way cigarettes did, without any nicotine at all, even better than the nicotine gum. He also said that oral cleanliness…brushing your teeth, using a mouth rinse, peppermint gum, etc…were a huge help as well. Every time he wanted a cig, he’d pop something in his mouth to distract him.
And he hasn’t had a cig in six months.
I’m gonna try it.