I want to stop smoking...

[finale23]

never started, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. actually it had something to do with my grandpa, who died of lung cancer due to chain smoking when i was very young.

[Alleya]

The most effective way to quit is cold turkey. It's hard as hell but it works the best, fastest.

Basically the problem is psychology-- Every time you light up you're associating the satiation of your addiction and those good feelings it causes with whatever is around you. If you smoke with certain friends, in a certain place, at certain times, doing certain things, all of those places and things you normally associate with nicotine are going to make you want to light up all over again. Operant learning. You have to extinguish these associations by taking away the reinforcer, the nicotine. When you've repeated it enough, the things that made you want to light up will begin to have their effects diminish until finally you can watch someone else light up and smell the smoke and you'll be fine.

BUT. The vast majority of people trying to quit an addiction will go back to it at least once. The most important thing when you're trying to quit is to not give up just because you give in, you have to keep trying each time you have a lapse or you will never kick the habit. You will have withdrawl symptoms, and they will suck, but they do go away. This is a consequence of a poor decision to start smoking in the first place and you will have to deal with it--you're already dealing with it by recognizing that you need to quit. The physical discomfort will pale compared to the psychological, but once you're on the other side, you'll be glad for it.

[Exoduso]

The most effective way to quit is cold turkey. It's hard as hell but it works the best, fastest.

Basically the problem is psychology-- Every time you light up you're associating the satiation of your addiction and those good feelings it causes with whatever is around you. If you smoke with certain friends, in a certain place, at certain times, doing certain things, all of those places and things you normally associate with nicotine are going to make you want to light up all over again. Operant learning. You have to extinguish these associations by taking away the reinforcer, the nicotine. When you've repeated it enough, the things that made you want to light up will begin to have their effects diminish until finally you can watch someone else light up and smell the smoke and you'll be fine.

BUT. The vast majority of people trying to quit an addiction will go back to it at least once. The most important thing when you're trying to quit is to not give up just because you give in, you have to keep trying each time you have a lapse or you will never kick the habit.

lol ain't that right... lolffxi

[Gafgarionn]

I've only been smoking for about 9 months (recently started smoking more, maybe 15 cigarettes a day), and I can definitely testify that it's all psychological. I've tried quitting on and off, but if you associate having a good time with smoking or use them for stress relief or whatever, it's gonna be a lot harder to quit. That's where I'm at right now, having just gotten back from picking up another pack when I told myself this morning that I wouldn't buy anymore. I have no idea how I'm gonna quit and I definitely don't want to be a smoker the rest of my life. Kinda depressing. So, for those of you that don't smoke my advice is to never start. It's a slippery slope, and once you get addicted it's a hard uphill battle to quit. I feel like a dumbass for even touching them.

[Vertabreaker]

A buddy of mine kept a huge box of blow-pops/lolli-pops at work and at home and whenever he had the urge to smoke he just grabbed a blow-pop. He quit smoking cold turkey doing this and hasn't smoked for going on 5 years now.

[markasstrick]

i've been smoking for a long time, now i only smoke cig's if im messed up, to keep the buzz going, only problem is i can smoke a pack in about 2hrs. i used to need cig's to get through the day but my breathing got so bad i had to stop buying them so much, only advice i can give is use the 4$ or whatever on something like fast food

[Demosthenes]

I quit cold turkey anyone can do it.

[MF Perm]

I tried the gum, on the pack it says like, chew 4-5 peices a day. A box of the stuff is 50 bucks, if you did that you'd go through a box in a week or two. They want you addicted to nicotine as much as tobacco companies do. If you aren't they're not making any money either.

I chewed like, 1-2 a day, sometimes I would make it a whole day on one. But I fell back on the train.


About 9 months ago I quit cold turkey, it was probably one of the hardest mental fucks I've ever been through. I would get anxious and nervous for no reason and out of the blue, I'd have bouts of ADD and restlessness. I lost sleep, had nightmares. It was fucking terrible. It all lasted about 3-4 months, but once I got back into an exercise regimen ( which I should have done in the first place ) all of that nervous energy went away.


It didn't hurt that I changed my diet up and cut out alot of fast food and readymade food to chicken, fish and vegetables. And stopped drinking soda and coffee, and started drinking more water.

Not to go on a health tangent, but all of that combined made my head alot clearer and made me feel tons better at the tail end of my withdrawls.

Being able to climb stairs without running out of breath is win.

[Xiona]

I quit cold turkey anyone can do it.

not true.

Quitting is a personal process, and you really have to not want to smoke anymore. i tried cold turkey, failed... nicorette gum, failed... then the last attempt i used the patch and ive been smoke free ever since.

i can only give you a testament to what i did, and why it worked for me... then you can make youre own choice.

i put the patch on every morning after i showered. it makes your upper arm a tad sore when the nicottine kicks in but the bonus is that you are removing the conditional response you once had.

by using the gum or any other substitute you have to become aware of a nicottine urge and find something to quench it. while having a patch on all day you dont get the nicottine urge... merely the mental boredom/habitual reaction which is easily changed by having jolly ranchers or gum around.

the patch is cheaper than buying the packs of smokes for the 1-2 weeks per box. the first 2 weeks i was seperating the physical craving from the mental cravings. not once did i want a cigarette, but i went through a lot of candy.

i smoked for 9 years, the patch program i did was 2 weeks(step 1), 1 week(step 2), 1 week(step 3).

i actually even recently started going to the gym everyday and running which i never would have LOVED prior to quitting. even if you dont run, quitting will give you a huge burst of energy and you wont be out of breath doing little things.

Good luck and seriously if you fail once, wait a little bit and try again... youre going for a life change so its ok if you cant succeed right away.

[Tricen]

Solution: stop. You are only doing it to yourself. I kind of believe, although cigarettes are addictive, it's all the power of suggestion. Because you hear that is is hard for you to quit, it becomes hard.

[Exoduso]

I quit cold turkey anyone can do it.

not true.

Quitting is a personal process, and you really have to not want to smoke anymore. i tried cold turkey, failed... nicorette gum, failed... then the last attempt i used the patch and ive been smoke free ever since.

i can only give you a testament to what i did, and why it worked for me... then you can make youre own choice.

i put the patch on every morning after i showered. it makes your upper arm a tad sore when the nicottine kicks in but the bonus is that you are removing the conditional response you once had.

by using the gum or any other substitute you have to become aware of a nicottine urge and find something to quench it. while having a patch on all day you dont get the nicottine urge... merely the mental boredom/habitual reaction which is easily changed by having jolly ranchers or gum around.

the patch is cheaper than buying the packs of smokes for the 1-2 weeks per box. the first 2 weeks i was seperating the physical craving from the mental cravings. not once did i want a cigarette, but i went through a lot of candy.

i smoked for 9 years, the patch program i did was 2 weeks(step 1), 1 week(step 2), 1 week(step 3).

i actually even recently started going to the gym everyday and running which i never would have LOVED prior to quitting. even if you dont run, quitting will give you a huge burst of energy and you wont be out of breath doing little things.

Good luck and seriously if you fail once, wait a little bit and try again... youre going for a life change so its ok if you cant succeed right away.

Sounds exactly like what my dad used... now when he smells smoke he is even disgusted by it... I remember once we walked by some people who smoked and he smelled it, and asked if it smelled this bad when he smoked too...

My dad did gain a few pounds while trying to quit, because you replace your habit of holding the cigarette outside your office or w/e with eating something instead. But once he finished the 3rd step he kind of got over it and it was as if he had never smoked before.

But again, it's all mental... if you're not mentally ready to quit, you'll fail.

[MF Perm]

Solution: stop. You are only doing it to yourself. I kind of believe, although cigarettes are addictive, it's all the power of suggestion. Because you hear that is is hard for you to quit, it becomes hard.

There was actually an article in Newsweek a month or so ago, about research on the power of suggestion and the biomechanics of the brain, kind of a mix of quantam theory and neuroscience.

They've discovered that you can change the shape of your cells and the way your brain reacts to certain things purely through suggestion and convincing your brain to think another way, such as developing coping mechanisms. It's an interesting emerging science that's starting to open new paths to help treat and prevent mental disorders and brain disease.

So all that said, there is alot of truth to the power of thought and how it is applied.

[Jujubie]

It takes 3 days for the nicotine to get out of your system. If you can make it 72 hours, you have beaten it physically. After that it is all mental and habit. That is the hard part.

I have quit several times, but started again, a few times after a whole year. With me, after I quit I can't ever, ever have another, just one and I will jump right back into where I was before. Every person is different on what will work for them. First step is to decide to do it. Then set a date and do it.

Good luck!

[Bluedemon]

It's been my experience that the only way you can truely ever quit is to actually really want it. Being able to give up smoking is 90% mental. Simplying knowing that you shouldn't be smoking and that it's not good for you just isn't enough. You have to be a non smoker in your mind already.

A strong will power is product far supperior to anything you will ever buy at a pharmacy.

I quit cold turkey and have been smoke free for 3 years now.

[Fhqwghads]

It's been my experience that the only way you can truely ever quit is to actually really want it. Being able to give up smoking is 90% mental. Simplying knowing that you shouldn't be smoking and that it's not good for you just isn't enough. You have to be a non smoker in your mind already.

A strong will power is product far supperior to anything you will ever buy at a pharmacy.

I quit cold turkey and have been smoke free for 3 years now.

Yup. This topic was posted a few months ago, and my response was pretty much the same as Bluedemon's. While smoking aids like nicorette and the patch can smooth it over, when you really want to quit you will quit and stay quit. I tried to quit a number of times before I was truly ready. Did the patch and all that, but wound up smoking again. It wasn't until one day that I woke up and thought to myself "you know, this is about the most fucking retarded habit in the world", threw away my smokes and have never had a cigarette again. Didn't use any patches or tricks like chewing gum, it was almost like something clicked and it was time to quit for good. And yeah, I can't stand to smell the stench of them now, they disgust me.

[Ninjadik]

Thanks for the suggestions and advice everyone!

[Bxbaby]

Thanks for the suggestions and advice everyone!

Good luck!

[Blarg]

Where did the term 'quit cold turkey' come from?

[Bxbaby]

Where did the term 'quit cold turkey' come from?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_turkey

[Swampthing]

I quit cold turkey anyone can do it.

Joke: dumb.
Serious: Have your head examined.