How did you quit smoking?

[zman]

thats the second time someone mentioned the book.So whats the secret?

The Brittish have this uncanny way of making you feel like an ass for doing something wrong. It is in subtle intellectual re assuring kinda way

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Quitting smoking step 1: Want to quit. This doesn't mean "want to save money" or "want not to piss off my wife". It means wanting to NOT smoke MORE than wanting to smoke. Drugs, patches, hynotism, meditation or shock therapy will fail outright if you don't want that.

This is the hardest part for me and the reason I've never really tried to quit. I like smoking.

And I'm not sure if I could quit without also quitting beer.

If/when I do quit I think the only way that will work for me is to just quit cold-turkey. I'm pretty sure I could do it...IF I really wanted to quit. But I don't.

 

[Dwain]

Man, let me tell you. I am a nicotine freak. I could smoke a cigar, chew Levi Garrett, and dip Skoal all at the same time and loved it. I did all forms of tobacco for 15 years (started about 15), motly smoked, quit cold turkey for about 5 years, started again when I started paying child support. This time I smoked for about 3 years. I quit using Zyban. I started taking it and after 30 days hadn't cut down from 1 - 2 packs a day. After about 34 days, I realized I hadn't smoked all day, so I did. Didn't think about it and didn't smoke another one. Until about 5 years later, just picked one up. Smoked for about 2 years. Took Zyban again and it didn't do anything after 4 months. So I quit cold turkey again. This time, it's been about 3 years. I almost never have any problems around smokers or even in bars. I don't get retarded drunk anymore so it's not like I'm going to wake up with a pack in my pocket. If I'm out and I feel the urge, I leave the setting. If I'm in my shop, and some one wants to smoke, they ask me. Normally, I'm OK, but every now and then. All of my smoking friends know I have bad days and are very supportive. Another friendly little off shoot of this is the fact that at about 45, it got really hard to lose weight. So now, it's a daily struggle to work out. I lost my Mother to lung cancer about 9 years ago, heavy smoker. So that has been an incentive. I've heard heroin addicts say that it was harder to quit smoking than heroin. I wrote this for you Red. If someone else gets a start out of it, great. It has been harder to stay off of cigarettes than anything else I've ever done, except forgive myself when I would slip. If you are truly addicted, it is a battle. Just like people that have an occasional drink can't understand someone losing everything for a bottle, most can't understand this addiction. A final note, go have your lungs checked. If you don't have any problems that can't be corrected, do whatever you have to do to quit. If you're already headed down the other road, get your affairs in order as a favor to your family. Good Luck - Dwain

P.S. Any updates?

 

[phillc]

Cold turkey. Willpower. I tried all of the other gimmicks and found them to be BS crutches. If you don't really want to quit, you won't.

Over two years since my last one. The cravings get less and less as time passes. After the first year for me, I had about 1 craving a month. Now, probably about every 6 months. They pass in moments.

Good luck!