My mom (flama) just said she'd quit smoking!

[rbnyc]

That would be so great! Let's encourage her.

You can do it, mom. I'm so proud of you!

:bounce:

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

1. wooohooo!

That is great! Good luck, flama!! :toast:

[bigwillq]

2. Go Mom!

I wish I could be next. Bad, Bad habit.

[Ramsey]

3. WooHoo!!!

Good for her. Now she can actually see her grandchild, right?

[rbnyc]

4. No doubt!

Now if only my dad and my best friend would quit.

[BigBigBear]

5. I quit in June

32 years.

Yes, I gained weight.

[rbnyc]

6. Good for you!

You can get the weight off in time. In the long run it's much less healthy to smoke than to be a little overweight.

Wat to go!

[bigwillq]

9. How did you do it?

Cold turkey?
The patch?
Gum?

Let me know, I want to quit badly but every time I try I start again. I quit for a year when I was 20 but when I turned 21 and started to go to the bar I started again. Six years later, I'm over a pack a day.

[wryter2000]

7. Yippeee

She needs to do this for you, your baby, and herself.

Goooo, mama!

[BurtWorm]

8. Congratulations to her

for quitting. :thumbsup: Congratulations to you for being enceinte. :thumbsup:

I quit smoking a week ago, believe it or not. It was a Valentine's Day present to my two girls. So far so good. Tell your mother to keep a cigarette-sized straw handy, something to hold and inhale. It's incredibly helpful. I've also found sitting quietly when real strong urges come up helps. Good luck to her. And to you!

[rbnyc]

11. Good tip!

Thanks. And congrats to you too.

[BurtWorm]

17. PS: Putting pressure on a smoker to quit doesn't work!

Tempting and noble as it may be to try to coerce someone you love to stop killing themselves. It just doesn't work, in my experience. Although, truth be told, I did finally get totally bothered by the idea that by not quitting I was giving my little 8-year-old the idea that she had no power to do good for me. That really is what finally drove me to try to quit. But it also has to fundamentally make sense to the smoker. It has to feel like the time is right, and no amount of guilt-tripping or lecturing from others can take the place of self-motivation to quit.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

10. She BETTER! ;)

Don't want to harm Little Rbnyc, do we?

[gypsy11]

12. I quit 6 years ago

in May... It was the best thing I ever did for myself... I did it cold turkey. I craved a cigarette quite a bit for at lest the first year, especially when I was drinking... but it got better over time and I KNOW I will never smoke (a cigarette) again. What helped the cravings was tootsie pops and just getting through it. The first three weeks were hell, it got much better after that.
Good luck, and positive quitting vibes your way! :hi:

[everythingsxen]

13. You can do it.

I quit in October.

[flama]

14. I need all the help I can get.

I know you don't want to hear this and it sounds frivolous and downright wacky - but I had another vision on the road the other day. Unlike the vision that told me GWB (that's what I saw on the pavement - I ran over it with glee) would live in the White House and the one that told me I would live until 2032, this one was not in front of that Baptist church on US 41 in Venice. This was on I-75 at about mile marker #111. It was a warm day in February and I suddenly got the chills when my radio sang "American Pie." I took that as a sign that something dreadful will happen to me some February 3.

The only way I'll make it to February 3, 2032, is if I quit smoking. Well, I might make it that far anyway, but don't want to be one of those folks I see in the grocery store pulling that little carriage that holds their oxygen tank.

Now when I get the urge for a cigarette (which is at least once every half hour), I'll pull one from the pack and turn it over in my fingers. I'll remind myself that it's really stupid to take dried up leaves rolled in thin paper with a hunk of fiberglass on one end and light it up so I can inhale the dirtiest part of the smoke. If I take my time reminding myself, that should cut my intake by half.

I'm going to start chewing on pens. (I've got a million of 'em.) I'm sure chocolate will play a big part in my quitting - and probably on my hips, too.

I tried cold turkey once. I became a maniac. Could have ripped the heart from anyone who had the audacity to smoke in front of me. Many people are grateful that only lasted a day and a half.

I did quit for six weeks once by cutting back. I quit for someone else, though, and not for myself. That's why it only lasted six weeks.

Think I'll cut back slowly just like I did the last time I quit. It may take until September to be smoke free, but if it works, it's worth taking the time.

I'm opening a new pack tomorrow morning. When that's gone, I'll go to bed. Then I'll try to smoke one less cigarette every day until I'm down to somewhere between five and ten. Then I might be ready for cold turkey (warmed over turkey?). Does that sound like a sound plan?

Maybe I can give up cigarettes for Lent and have it be easy. (As easy as kicking an addiction can be.)

You know I'll appreciate any hints, tips, and kicks in the butt that I can get.

Watch me now! ;-)

[BurtWorm]

15. Did you see my suggestion above?

Keep a cigarette-sized straw handy. And I do mean handy. In the hand, morning, noon and night. When you want a cigarette, "smoke" the straw until the urge goes away. Draw that fresh air in, and breathe it out.

Also, invest in one of those environmental sounds CDs from RykoDisk. I have Midnight Rainshower--60 minutes of "shhhhhhhhhh" that calms me right down. I also have Cape Cod surf, which is really good for dreams.

In my humble opinion, cutting down one cigarette at a time has never worked for me. I had to pick a day and jump into it, ready or not. I didn't believe I was going to succeed when I picked last Saturday, but so far I've succeeded beyond my wildest imagination. In the past when I've quit, I've eventually been tempted back by the idea that I'd buy just one pack and take a year to smoke it. Of course I was back into the habit within a week. But while I cursed Bloomberg's obscene cigarette tax (making poor addicts pay for what rich commuters get scot free!) when it became law, I have to admit, it's having an impact on my desire to buy even one pack now that I've stopped again. It's actually a strong incentive to keep away from cigarettes, thinking about the thousands of dollars I'll be saving annually.

It's extremely hard to quit, as you well know. People who have never smoked don't realize what a presence smoking is in a smoker's life. When you're trying to quit, it feels like you're getting ready to shoot a friend dead. You're going to need a lot of support. I wish you the best of luck!

[flama]

18. I'm going straw shopping!

The straws I have are way too skinny. They might work if I still smoked skinny cigarettes. ;-)

I may go shopping for anything since you can't smoke inside a store. Hmmm, the mall would work.

The doctor just put my larger half on Wellbutrin to help him quit. As soon as he gets his prescription card in the mail, he'll be getting a nicotine inhaler. He's going to be the most obnoxious ex-smoker ever. That's my prime motivation to quit. (I will be quitting for me and not for him. I'll be quitting to preserve my sanity - if I've got any left.)

I went to a stop smoking clinic years ago and learned that nicotine is a harder addiction to break than heroin. And there's no methadone for nicotine either.

All of you who have quit should be mighty proud of yourselves. I know I'll be when I can finally join your ranks.

[Stephanie]

24. Wellbutrin really worked for a friend of mine who had tried many times

She really quit this time. Then after she had been off cigs for a long time she started a diet plan and has lost about 40 pounds. She's so much happier. Wellbutrin really worked for her.

For me, I finally quit when I found out I was doing serious damage to my TEETH. I had to have periodontal surgery. Repeatedly. No fun, and more importantly my gums looked really ugly until they got healthy again. Took a long time to get them back to normal. Caused by smoking, according to the dentists. So that was enough for me. I'm done smoking.

Chocolate is a really good plan. I'd recommend good dark chocolate, and any herbal refreshments you enjoy.

[Stephanie]

26. Nicorette is really good too

If you can't give up the nicotine, Nicorette is a really enjoyable drug experience, without the lung damage. It's a good way to get started.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

25. May I make a suggestion?

Ask your doctor to prescribe you Welbutrin, it will take some of the anxiety out of quitting.

[Insider]

16. three tools

1. you WILL stop one day. you might want to be alive when it happens.

2. think of it as kindergarten. you HAVE graduated to non-smoker. even if you have fond memories, it just does not work going back (nobody fits in those little chairs again).

3. you were born free. live free now.

good luck, flama.

[flama]

19. Think I'll print this out

and hang it on the cabinet where we keep the cigarettes. It might make us think before we reach for another pack.

Maybe I'll put a copy near all the ashtrays, too. And one on my desk at work.

Thanks!

[soleft]

20. Yay! No second hand smoke for RBNYC Jr.

[BiggJawn]

21. Cool! I quit 11 months ago.

I can now climb 2 flights of stairs without getting winded.
I also have $120 extra every month to buy "toys" with...

Just bought a set of Continental tyres for my bike yesterday...Only $10 more than what I would have spent on cigs this week.
See how easy it is to rationalize things? :-)

Good luck, you can do it!
Just think of ALL that tax money NOT going into the pockets of ReTHUG politicians!

[Bertha Venation]

22. Go flama go! You can do it!

Don't fear asking for help! Mrs. V. used the patch 12-13 years ago to quit. My father quit, too. You can do it!!

[jonnyblitz]

23. year 6 for me with no cig, flama!

And I LOVED my Marlboros but wasnt about to pay the price anymore for them. I quit about the time they started jacking up the prices! For me it had nothing to do with health issues. If I can do it anybody can.