who here has quit smoking..... and who is smoking still??

[roygbiv]

wanna know one of the biggest obstacles to me quitting? people telling me i gotta quit. i don't like to be told to do anything. but i guess i've been a stubborn asshole about it for long enough now. time to give it up.

I hear you loud and clear on this one. I finally decided that I was going to be stubborn on things that wouldn't kill me.

[Arr0wHead]

If you want to quit, you need to stop, not reduce, your nicotine intake. Completely. Have you ever heard of a Heroin junkie quitting gradually? Reducing your nicotine puts your body in a constant state of withdrawal. http://whyquit.com Yes, it's a bit over the top sometimes, but the message and advice is sound.

 

 

Uhm, they're called Methadone clinics, and it's how MOST heroin addicts quit. I think the rest do it by dying.

 

Don't criticize the man's effort because you think you've found a better way. It's different for everyone. Nicotine is probably the easiest part to get over. It's the psychological issues that are the hardest to overcome.

[vanderwaal]

Have you ever heard of a Heroin junkie quitting gradually?

 

 

isn't that what methadone is for? (i know, poor analogy but i digress...)

 

besides this is the very problem that i have with quitting. you don't get to tell me how to quit. you don't get to tell me that i need to quit. that's my job.

[GAS Man]

I smoked from about 21 to 37. Quit at the end of '94. I always considered it to be one of the dumbest things I was doing to myself. Plenty of physical damage with no hallucinations, what's the point?

[pekelnik]

Probably unbelievable, but I never held a cigarette in my hand.

[mrbrown49]

Probably unbelievable, but I never held a cigarette in my hand.

How do you smoke it then?

[GarysBlues]

I didn't like the Chantrix. Make SURE you eat before you take it. You WILL be sick to your stomach otherwise. And thats for every time you take it without eating.

I also didn't see where it stopped any cravings to smoke.

But hey it may work different for everyone.

[Geeter]

I quit 2 years ago after having smoked for almost 30 years. It only destroyed my voice and led me to a heart attack. Other than that, I really enjoyed it.

[bsman]

I smoke one cigarette per month (I roll my own). I don't plan on quitting, because I think at that level it's the equivalent of "background radiation" in terms of potential health effects. I really look forward to that one smoke each month.

[JC777]

I did quit after smoking for about 10 years but I don't have any words of wisdom.

I just woke up and put them down one morning. I decided that I hated waking up with a cough and that nasty taste in my mouth.

How I did it. Cold Turkey. I had a constant headache for about 4 days. But then I was over it.

It doesn't bother me to be around other smokers, I never crave a cigarette.

Never been an addictive personality tho.
The only addiction I can't stop is spending money.

[SmoothJK]

I've quit and started again many times. It's not really hard for me to quit, it's just hard for me to stay quit.

 

 

If you can't "stay quit," then you never really quit. So yea, it IS really hard for you to quit, bro.

[pekelnik]

How do you smoke it then?

Oops. You got me there.. j/k
I never smoked anything. Unless you count the time when we where 8 and we had this hollow branch that we put in the fire and then were blowing sparks out of it, and one time I forgot to put my mouth away while breathing in. Ouch. My lungs hurt when I remember that.

[mrbrown49]

Oops. You got me there.. j/k I never smoked anything. Unless you count the time when we where 8 and we had this hollow branch that we put in the fire and then were blowing sparks out of it, and one time I forgot to put my mouth away while breathing in. Ouch. My lungs hurt when I remember that.

Well there's a feather in your cap.

[Magpel]

Smoked for 25+ years, quit about 5 1/2 years ago, after 5 years of increasingly successful quit attempts--three months here, four months, there, ten months once (wish I could have that slip back--I was almost over the hump). It was always hard for me--not harder than for others but maybe harder for longer.

 

I used gum and a support group. Both helped in some way, I think.

[myway]

two years smoke free next month!

[GAS Man]

Came back to this thread and noticed a few questions here in your OP.

So of those of you who have quit..... how did you quit?..... Gum, the patches? They make some type of pill or something dont they. Ive also heard that when you decide to quit if you'll drink a ton of water for two weeks ....... like two gallons a day or something that it will help flush the nick' out of your body faster.

I used to develop sore spots somewhere in my breathing tubes. Felt like little ulcers in the bronchial tubes or something. So that gave me quite a bit of motivation to quit, that on top of the ostracizing/banishment from society. I quit for about 10 months twice and relapsed. I'd make the mistake of thinking that I could have "just that one smoke" while out drinking or something, and then the barn door would be open and I'd be back at it again. But basically it's all mental. If you really want to quit, you can easily do it. The "habit" is harder to break than the addiction. But I also found that my first attempt to quit had the most withdrawal, second less and third even less. Maybe I just knew what to expect. But bottom line - COLD TURKEY - anything else just prolongs the transition and makes it harder to make it. Physical withdrawal symptoms for me usually completely disappeared in about 2 weeks. The rest was mainly mental. I'd always think about how good that one cigarette would taste if I smoked again. And then when I'd relapse, that first cigarette never tasted as good as the expectation. Nor did the second, but the 3rd did. So I just learned I had to stay completely away like a reformed whore.

Buena Suerte

[Dmerge]

isn't that what methadone is for? (i know, poor analogy but i digress...) besides this is the very problem that i have with quitting. you don't get to tell me how to quit. you don't get to tell me that i need to quit. that's my job.

 

 

Vanderwaal,

 

Don't get me wrong. I'm not telling you that you need to quit. You have to decide that. I'm telling you how you can quit once you've made the decision.

 

Believe me, three or four days of hardcore withdrawal is easier to deal with than weeks or months of constant withdrawal.

 

Perhaps my heroin analogy was ill-suited, but I think you get my point.

[gaspergoo]

only leftys now

[goodhonk]

 

I smoke one cigarette per month (I roll my own). I don't plan on quitting, because I think at that level it's the equivalent of "background radiation" in terms of potential health effects. I really look forward to that one smoke each month.

 

 

 

that's a good plan. i quit several years ago, but i still long for a smoke. i'm always a little envious when i see someone driving on the freeway in a beat up car, smoking a cigerette. that's the life. like the end of blues brothers.

[jrfan]

I started smoking when I was 16 and quit cold turkey at 32.
Been smoke free for 8 years with prayer and the support of friends and a great wife.
After the first few months I didn't miss it at all and don't to this day.
I did gain 30 lbs though.
When you quit food taste so much better.

[Arr0wHead]

I decided to quit after 20 years. I figured I might fatten up a bit, so I joined a gym the week I quit. I immediately threw on about 20 lbs of muscle.

Secondly, I figured I'd save enough money to pay for the gym membership. I did. I also saved enough to get my girlfriend a membership. And I bought 3 guitars, a bass, and new accessories and pickups for each. And I'm halfway through remodeling my bathroom. I just bought new floors, new vanity, marble top, etc...

I only quit smoking 8 MONTHS ago, and I've already saved $3000 I would have had nothing to show for if I kept smoking. Now imagine all the awesome {censored} I must've smoked away over the last 20 years. Cars, guitars, hookers, houses maybe?

[BASSDAD]

12 years and counting. My trick. I realized that it would kill me or {censored} up my health in other ways. Once you really look at that and believe it the motivation is there.
Cut down. Str by delaying the fisrt one of the day. I started trying to make it to the car, then 1/2 to work , then at work, 1st break etc......
The go after places. Only smoke in certain place. Anfd finally if you smoke on a schedule ( you must be commttted) you will break the positive behavioral bonds you have with smoking,i.e. after dinner, after sex, smoke breaks with friends etc.

DO NOT use Nicotine gum , patches etc. What sense does it make to change the delivery system of the drug you are addicted to. It's the biggest stop smoking scams out there. Nictine "replacement" doesn't "replace" the Nicotene, it only changes how you get it. It makes as much sense as a herion patch. Sure you avoid all those nasty track marks but.......

That's my 2 centavos.....
I cut down to bout 5 per day before I really quit for good. Valantine's Day 1996 bitches!!!

[chqtarzan]

12 years and counting. My trick. I realized that it would kill me or {censored} up my health in other ways. Once you really look at that and believe it the motivation is there. Cut down. Str by delaying the fisrt one of the day. I started trying to make it to the car, then 1/2 to work , then at work, 1st break etc...... The go after places. Only smoke in certain place. Anfd finally if you smoke on a schedule ( you must be commttted) you will break the positive behavioral bonds you have with smoking,i.e. after dinner, after sex, smoke breaks with friends etc. DO NOT use Nicotine gum , patches etc. What sense does it make to change the delivery system of the drug you are addicted to. It's the biggest stop smoking scams out there. Nictine "replacement" doesn't "replace" the Nicotene, it only changes how you get it. It makes as much sense as a herion patch. Sure you avoid all those nasty track marks but....... That's my 2 centavos..... I cut down to bout 5 per day before I really quit for good. Valantine's Day 1996 bitches!!!

 

 

 

nicotine is just 1 of the 3000+ thousand chemicals that a cigarette makes. nicotine does less harm than the other chemicals especially tar.

 

I've been smoking since 13 or so, more than ten years and still smoking.

[Doctor Morbius]

I consider myself very fortunate as I never started. My mom, dad, brother and sister were all smokers. I only used to smoke a few times when I was younger and was trying to fit in. It seemed like everyone smoked when I was young. Non smokers were nerds or something. Just watch some old TV shows and see how often people are lighting up.

 

 

Kudos to those of you who have kicked the habit as that is a major personal accomplishment to be proud of. Way to stick it to the man!

[axslinger]

I quit 5 months ago...talk to your doctor about welbutrin, it's an anti depressant, but a side effect of it is it just about completely kills the urges. I smoked for 20 YEARS and haven't really had much problems in the last 5 months. you can do it, just make up your mind to do it, talk to your doc, and DO IT! lots of lollipops helped too...good luck man!

Cool Avatar...Silvio rocks! So does Steven.