Post your stop smoking tips here

[JohnBenussi]

 

best advice i ever had was if you want a smoke, go smoke. some people work with the cold turkey method. i smoked for a year and stopped slowly. i went from one pack a week to one pack two weeks three weeks etc. maybe on a hard take have an extra one. keep in mind you will NEVER get over nicotene. i only smoked for a year and not ver much and i havn't smoked in 5 years. but everytime a buddy lights one up i still smell the wonderful smell and want another.

 

 

Not true at all.

Well, maybe for you personally but people just don't want to hear

the truth.

 

It's all about mental power.

[Miket156]

Some good advice here friends. I have never heard of Chantix, I quit smoking in 1992. Cold Turkey. I had tried cutting down, but that only lasted a short time and I was back up to a pack or so a day.

 

Here's a couple of things to consider:

 

You have to WANT to quit smoking and be determined to quit, take no prisoners. If you have that level of commitment, you can quit smoking. Quitting because its bad for your health, or because your family's concern for your health won't cut it if you really don't want to quit.

 

Make changes in your lifestyle. Usually drinking alcohol and cigarettes go hand in hand. Double whammy. When i quit smoking I stayed out of bars for about 6 weeks (back when people could smoke in bars).

 

Chew peppermint gum, keep several packs available for when you get a craving. Those little mints, or even large peppermints you can buy by the bag will work too. Peppermint helps relieve the cravings.

 

Get into an exercise program. Even if its just walking every morning or maybe in the evening too. If you haven't been exercising and you smoke, you will find that you won't get too far. That will be a reminder how smoking ruins your quality of life, even before you get lung cancer or other nasty things. Once you start walking at a good pace and have stopped smoking, you will notice you will be able to go farther without feeling like you're ready to drop. Increase the time and the pace as you progress. You won't be looking for any cigarettes after a good workout.

 

There's no substitute for DETERMINATION. Consider what is important to you, singing or smoking? You might get away with smoking AND singing when you're younger, but years of smoking catches up to you. Keep in mind that the more years you have been smoking, the harder it is to quit. Be prepared.

 

If you succeed, you will enjoy NOT SMOKING and not smelling like an ash tray to people around you that don't smoke. People that smoke stink. When we were smokers we didn't notice it because our sense of smell is wrecked by smoking.

 

The combination of getting rid of stinky cigarettes and exercise has helped me continuing singing as a solo act at age 62. I can still hit the notes I did when I was 25. Now, I'm not an accomplished musician or a star singer. But I have been able to make the best of what I can do and I enjoy it thoroughly. I feel a hell of a lot better too.

 

If you fail the first time around, keep trying. You never fail until you stop trying.

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Mike T.

[uab9253]

Good stuff Mike. One disappointment I have is my declining upper vocal range even though I quit. I had hoped it would come back - it has not. Back in the day, I smoked cigarettes and weed and could hit high notes like a soprano. Now, not so much....

[kabeerg512]

Ask your family and friends for better support.Try to control over habit by practice.This won't happen overnight.It requires time and patience.

[Miket156]

Uab9253:

 

That’s too bad about your range. In my case I never could hit real notes to begin with. I can hit a few notes in the Tenor range, but I’m primarily a Baritone. Without smoking to ruin my wind, I can sustain notes better and my voice is clear even at my ripe old age. Smoking weed is a KILLER on the vocal chords. There is so much tar in weed its like smoking two packs a day of cigs! Some years back friends of mine would stop in a place I was playing and when I took a break they asked me if I wanted to go out a smoke some GREAT weed they had. I declined. (I had already quit smoking cigs) They were a bit miffed. I had to tell people I appreciated the offer but weed killed my voice. No one ever said it was easy. It may be the hardest thing a human can do, other than childbirth.

 

Kabeerg512:

 

Family support is VERY important. Family members that never smoked don’t understand how difficult it is to quit smoking. I remember reading something a heroin addict said that was in prison. He said quitting heroin was easier than quitting tobacco. He still smoked cigs while in jail but stayed off the heroin when he got out. Family members probably don’t know that and sometimes get upset when you break down and smoke a cigarette when you are trying to quit. My nephew is trying to quit now and his “new” wife never smoked. Anytime he breaks down and smokes she flies into a rage, yells at him, starts an argument with him and says he’s a “weak” person. Duh. That marriage isn’t going to last with that “level of understanding”.

 

Mike T.

[liko]

 

Not true at all. Well, maybe for you personally but people just don't want to hear the truth. It's all about mental power.

 

 

No, he's right; it's like being a "recovering alcoholic". Your body may not want it anymore, but from time to time the craving will resurface. My dad quit smoking from a 1.5pack/day habit over 15 years ago, and he STILL gets cravings sometimes when his co-workers discuss taking a smoke break. The fact that you say it's all about mental power just proves the point; you have to have the will to say "no" when your body or subconscious start telling you they want a cigarette, and they will from time to time for decades after you quit.

[norbulator]

You won't quit overnight, but over time, if you recognize it as a goal and think about that every day, your subconscious will start making it into a reality and the cigs will eventually seem less appealing. You will feel a downer every time you have one, and eventually you'll just be able to kick that downer out of your reality without so much pain.

[Miket156]

Quiting smoking is a change in your lifestyle. A change in your daily routine and habits. I used cigarettes as a crutch, a way to "relax" (actually, smoking a cigarette increases your blood pressure and is a stimulant) and something to do with my hands. You might need a substitute for something to do with your hands. I suggest staying away from picking your nose in public.

 

A friend of mine use to carry a "worry stone" in his pocket. It was a small stone, looked like something you would use to sharpen a pocket knife. He use to take it out and rub his fingers over it. Once I said to him "What the hell are you trying to do with that stone?". He said "Its a worry stone, anytime I am worrying about something, I take it out and rub it for awhile. It worries for me so I don't have too". Nuts. Then he said he used it as a substitute for something to do with his hands, he had quit smoking. Interesting. Whatever works for you.

 

When you do decide to quit smoking, take all the ash trays, lighters, anything that has to do with smoking and dispose of all that stuff in a dumpster somewhere that is not close to your house so in a moment of desperation you are not dumpster diving for a used butt. Get rid of everything. I think that its best to start first thing in the morning, after you have gotten rid of everything to do with cigarettes. When you get up in the morning you already have 7 or 8 hours of not smoking behind you! If coffee and cigarettes are "breakfast" switch to tea for awhile, and EAT something in the morning for breakfast. You can switch back to coffee as I did after a few weeks away from smoking. Coffee and alcohol are cigarette triggers, so is a GREAT dinner. After dinner you might be used to having an after dinner drink and a butt. Have mints instead.

 

If you chew gum or eat a mint in a withdrawal moment, think about something else (play your instrument to occupy your hands if you are home) and the withdrawal will pass. You don't want to make it easy for you to pick up a butt and smoke again. The first 3 days is the toughest part. Remember, you have to be determined to quit. Think of it as life or death, because it is.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike T.