How did you quit smoking?

DH smoked from before I met him at 16 to age 29 when we had our first child. He quit repeatedly, and always started smoking again.

Our baby was 5 months old when we traveled to see DHs parents. I was so busy with traveling with a baby and dealing with in-laws that I didn't notice that DH wasn't smoking. We had been there a few days when he announced it, which was tough because DHs Dad was a smoker and we were staying with them.

I didn't think he would quit forever because he quit all the time and always went back to it. But this was the one that took. He never smoked again.

This was in 1984 before patches, lozenges or e-cigs. It was THE BEST THING he could have done.

The hand reaching into the shirt pocket thing took a loooong time to go away.

Dec. 20th, 2014 will be 30 years since he quit. What an accomplishment.

Good luck to the OP.
 
Was just remembering the trigger times that I would want a smoke - times and circumstances that the mind ties to smoking. A year after quitting, and many months after random cravings, I was in the woods in the evening with friends and that combination, along with the smoke smell from the campfire and the scent of the trees and earth, triggered a very strong desire. Quite interesting. Put me in the never - ever - another smoke camp
 
One simple trick that helps is to take some DEEP BREATHS when you have a craving.

When I quit, I had smoked for half of my life, most of it around a pack-a-day. What finally worked for me was chewing the gum and going to a stop smoking support group through a health center. The support group is where I was told that for many smokers a slight oxygen deficit could be a trigger, and that a few deep breaths could help. I'm pretty certain I was getting more nicotine from the gum per day than I ever got from cigarettes. Eventually I started to crave the gum instead of the cigarettes.

Step two, was to switch from the nicotine gum to regular gum. Nowadays I would use the patch for that step, but only the gum was available when I quit, so I switched cold-turkey. Though I did join a second stop smoking support group for that step as well.

The final step happened a few months later when I was chewing regular gum one weekend and it pulled out an old filling. I quit the regular gum cold turkey immediately.

Nowadays, I mostly find the smell of cigarette smoke offensive. On the rare occasions I feel a craving (like while reading this thread) a few DEEP BREATHS seem to be all I need to move on.

Good luck. Quitting probably won't be easy, but you can do it if you want to do it.
 
I lost quite a bit of weight many years ago. I had a scare thinking I was having a heart attack (it was just mild food poisoning), but it gave me incentive to eat better. I'm not equating dieting with quitting smoking, but there are some parallels.
The urge to eat more, eat too many desserts etc linger for a very long time. Positive incentives helped me: I took up running, and as I was able to run further and the weight started to come off, that gave me more incentive to continue.
I think an exercise regimen can help you quit smoking as well. As your stamina increases, that might be at least a partial incentive to stay away from cigarettes.
Good luck and I wish you success.
 
I quit smoking "cold turkey" in August 1984. Here are some things that helped me.

1. Increase your physical activity. I started running.
2. Don't drink for a couple months. For me having a drink was a trigger for picking up a cigarette.
3. Don't hang out with friends who are smoking.
4. Tell everyone that you are quitting.
5. Try to sleep on a regular schedule.
 
Gumby said:
4. Tell everyone that you are quitting.
Click to expand...

Immediately after I stopped smoking I'd tell anyone who offered me a cigarette that "I don't smoke"........i.e. I wasn't quitting...I'd already quit.
 
I was one of the lucky ones. Cigarettes quit me. I realized I just did not enjoy it, and quit.
 
drb391 said:
pack-a-day for 45yrs. last Aug picked up a one use ecig. stretched a pack to 3 days. next day went & got an ecig system (rechargeable, refillable). haven't had a cigarette since and don't care. ecig satisfies 1. nicotine addiction 2. feeling of inhaling smoke (but it's vapor) 3. the hand reaching toward my pocket urge.

I know the arguments against and the uncertainty of long term effects, but considering 9months ago I swore I'd never quit, I (and my doctors) are happy with this move.

<ducking the expected barrage of chastising/nay-sayers>
Click to expand...

I'm a big supporter of e-cigs for smokers of 'real' cigarettes. My mother quit the real ones (after 60 years) about 6 months ago but she still puffs on an e-cig now and again. The improvement in her health is phenomenal. Nicotine may not be the best for you, but it is far, far better for you to ingest it via an e-cig versus a burning cigarette, at least from what I've seen with my own eyes.

My sister also smokes and the use of e-cigs most of the time has made a tremendous improvement in her health. She had a very scary cough for a couple of years and it's now gone.

I think e-cigs should be distributed to all smokers for free or a nominal fee. IMHO, transitioning smokers to e-cigs would reduce our national healthcare costs significantly.
 
I started around age 15. Quit in my 20s for 7 years and then quit again 10 years ago. Would you believe I just picked up the habit again a month ago?
Haven't made a plan to quit again, but I could kick myself for starting it back up after so long.
I did buy an e-cig but just not there yet.
And boy, if you thought they were expensive back in the day...
 
I quit twice. The first time I tried a spur of the moment group hypnotist gathering. Started smoking about 2 weeks later. The second time I quit cold turkey and didn't have much of a problem quitting. The ease surprised me.
I was also lucky because when I decided to quit smoking they started restricting where you could smoke at work. I volunteer at a historic site and you can't smoke there. We're all different in what works for us.
1) You have to want to quit.
2) I didn't tell anyone I was quitting the second time. The first time I tired to quit, I told everyone. Then everyone kept asking me if I was still quit, which reminded me I WANTED a cigarette.
3) Get rid of all ash trays and if you use the ash tray in your vehicle.....clean it really well.
4) EXERCISE and don't chew gum or candy. Keep bottled water handy. Weight gain can be a problem.
 
I smoked from 1971 until 12/31/85. I had tried quitting a few times before, but quit cold turkey the last time. I smoked 1 to 1 1/2 packs per day, depending on if I was playing cards at night or socializing with friends. I used regular chewing gum and hard red and white mint candy. My brother quit about 2 years before he died of lung cancer at 45. I have no desire to ever smoke again. I don't like being around smoke now.
 
Sarah in SC said:
I started around age 15. Quit in my 20s for 7 years and then quit again 10 years ago. Would you believe I just picked up the habit again a month ago?
Haven't made a plan to quit again, but I could kick myself for starting it back up after so long.
I did buy an e-cig but just not there yet.
And boy, if you thought they were expensive back in the day...
Click to expand...

Please stop again! :flowers:

I find it really interesting it isn't a 'no brainer' for smokers to switch to e-cigs. E-cigs give you the 'smoke' and something to do with your hands and the nicotine. This difficulty in switching from one nicotine delivery method for another really lets us know there are other chemicals in the smoke that must be addictive.

It's sad to know my mom regrets smoking and ruining her health. Her health has improved since quitting but, although the calendar says she is 80, her body says she is 90. It's so terribly sad.
 
I was really addicted to nicotine. I started smoking in my teens. The first time I quit was in college and I only made it a couple of days. After graduating I quit for 11 months. I continued to start/stop until I was 43.

I used every trick I could think of: the patch, the gum, identifying triggers (like drinking alcohol), and finally I told myself if I started again I wouldn't wait months to quit again, I would jump right back on the non smoking bandwagon after a few hours/days.

I have been cigarette free for over 14 years, but I used nicotine gum for probably 5 of those years.

Best of luck to you OP and Sarah. You can do it!
 
I quit after 14 years of a pack a day Camels. Just did it cold turkey @ 29 years old. Then started a long distance running campaign that lasted 15 years (wore out a hip).

DW smoked most of her life and now has COPD. Not good only having lungs that work @48% efficiency and getting worse.

Now we spend more on meds and doctors annually than she spent on butts but a factor of 1000.
 
I have never smoked but as a physician I counseled many smokers to quit. My advice to them was often met with a statement like, "no one ever explained it to me like that before!" Or " I never thought about like that before!" So here is what I would say which incorporates much of what others have said in this thread:

1)many millions of people have quit smoking. They are no smarter or better than anyone else. Quitting is difficult BUT this can be done. You can do this.

2) Quitting smoking successfully involves two phases:
A) quitting for the next several weeks to months and beyond- with this part I always asked them, "when you leave here, when would you normally next light up? What if you just didn't do it? What would you feel that would push you to light up? Anxious? Craving? I realize lighting up relieves that feeling, but whatever it is, how long do you think that feeling will last if you do not light up?" I remind them that they probably have done this already- on airplanes, in my waiting room, at church, etc...someplace where they wanted a cig but could not have one. and probably they did not realize this is the same thing as quitting. I note that the intense need for a cig likely fades in less than 15 minutes...
For the next 15 minutes, do anything else..sex, shower, go for a walk, do the dishes, go someplace smoking is not allowed- something where it could be challenging to smoke... If you just concentrate on doing whatever to avoid having THIS cigarette AND ONLY THIS CIGARETTE, it is simpler. When you break it down into a nice short bite sized chunk it should be easier. What they are likely to find is that each time they skip a cigarette the intensity of the craving and the length of time to get over it gets less. Quitting smoking in this phase is not about quitting for the rest of your life. It is about quitting for the next 15 minutes. And soon they may not have cravings at all. But the battle is not over.

B) staying an ex -smoker means being aware that at any time -even years since you have had a craving - you may find yourself wanting to have "Just One." This may be precipitated by stress, or by seeing someone else enjoying a cig, or by finding yourself in an old familiar smoking setting for you...You must never never never ever give in to this desire to try just one. The cigarettes will whisper lies to you about how it is just one time, etc...it is a dangerous game to play and successfully quitting means not playing that game-ever. Remember as before - do not have THAT cigarette just for the next 15 minutes.
Being aware that you may be "ambushed" by cravings automatically makes you better prepared to deal with those feelings so you can continue to be a successful ex-smoker.
 
I'm not a smoker but I have heard several people say that by using cigars they were able to phase out cigarettes, and that the cigars were much easier to give up afterward.


Sent from somewhere in the world with whatever device I can get my hands on.
 
I'm a stubborn SOB and one day 12 years ago decided to use it to my advantage. Every one is different as to the balance between mental addiction and physical addiction. For me it was almost all mental ... nicotine gum didn't help at all. For my buddy it was almost all physical. I found an online support group a very valuable tool ... there was always someone who could identify with exactly what I was going through. Get mad, get stubborn, get quit. Best of Luck!
 
Quit cold turkey March 18, 1985 at 1:18 PM Central Time. Not that I'm counting.

I think my key to success was telling myself that if I ever touched another cigarette I'd be instantly hooked again, like an alcoholic (never having known an alcoholic, I guess I really don't know that). I gnawed coffee stirrers and ate sunflower seeds in the shell, which kept my mouth and hands busy. There was a hump at about 3 months, but I got over it. Eventually, the thought of cigarette smoke got so disgusting there was no further danger of backsliding.

Good luck. The morning phlegm stopped after only a few days, which I took as my body's signal that this is definitely the right thing to do.
 
It was odd for me, my fear of future pain caused me to quit. I never had the post quitting cravings that many go through.

I started, after a few months, to notice the smell of smoke, and how nasty it was. When my FIL quit he said he could smell smokers in the car ahead of him with his windows up. DW and I thought he was going through cravings(he had a lot), then it happened to us. It's true how different the world smells after you quit.
MRG
 
This may be a strong positive incentive: I just Googled the price of a pack of cigarettes. YIKES! Here in New Jersey they're about $9/pack. M'gosh, a pack a day means $3285/year !
That goes a long way to anyone's retirement budget. Instead of buying a pack of cigarettes, take $9 out of your wallet and put it in a piggy bank, and once a week(or daily if you're so inclined) deposit the money in the bank.
 
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