Quitting smoking on the spur of the moment may be more helpful

[Warpy]

LONDON, Jan. 27 - The spur-of-the-moment approach to quitting smoking may be more successful than advanced planning, at least for some nicotine addicts, a study here has suggested.

In fact, unplanned quit attempts were more than twice as likely as planned attempts to last six months or more, reported psychologist Robert West, Ph.D., of University College London, in a study published online by BMJ, formerly the British Medical Journal.
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“These findings do not necessarily imply that planning quit attempts is counterproductive,” the study authors said. “Use of behavioral support and nicotine replacement therapy are known to improve the chances of success even though they generally require planning ahead.”

More likely, whether a quit attempt is planned or unplanned reveals something about the state of mind of the smoker at the time, which has importance for whether the attempt will last, they said.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/Smoking/tb/2570

It may also reveal that the planned cessation is based on "should" and "ought," predictors of failure in most behavior modification, while the spur of the moment quitting is based on, "this is expensive, disgusting, and nuts, and I've had enough."

It certainly explains why my mother was immediately successful when my dad told her she didn't have the guts to quit. She put her cig out and never picked up another one.

[DemInDistress]

1. too tough and I know for I am currently using nicotine patches

far to many triggers had caused me to continue to smoke but now with the help of sustained nicotine I have a fighting chance,I smoked cigarettes for 44 yrs. and believe me its difficult. at first every 5 minutes were trying, today I go for hours before I cheat and have 1 smoke. Hell, I also had numerous days now where I hadn't smoked at all and all to my benefit. I signed up with a local smokers' clinic and received these patches for free and I'm trying. Tell your mom she's a brave soul with great fortitude,will and desire to quit.
I as soon as I an will try to help my mom also quit smoking..
thanks for the link..

[Warpy]

3. Any way you quit is the right way, IMO

I had a friend who tried everything and finally managed on acupuncture, other friends who swore by drinking a glass of water every time they got a nicotine craving (OK, I was selling health foods at the time) and others who swore by hypnotism once a week.

Whatever works, do it. We need DU folks alive and healthy for the fights ahead.

[DemInDistress]

6. thank you for the ENCOURAGEMENT

I need all the support I can find for nicotine is an insideous drug...

^5 to you...

[henslee]

5. Why don't smokers realize IT IS THE 500+DEGREE TEMPERATURES

of cigarette they are smoking that does most of the damage to their lungs. If that smoke was delivered at a lower temperature -- like say, through vaporizer -- 95 % of carcinogens would be neturalized. The tobaco would only be heated up to about 105 degrees. Sure vaporizors became popular due to marijuana users but tobacco users could take a few puffs a day and in conjunction with the patch -- save their lungs!!!!

http://cannabisheaven.co.uk/vaporizers/how-vaporizes-work.html

[DemInDistress]

9. cigarette smoking all my years became an unconcious habit

5 times an hour I'd reach for a smoke. Aggravation and sometimes boredom were my biggest enemies but thanks to the patch (I once tried a pill) I been doing better than well. Down from 40 cigarettes a day to sometimes 2-3-maybe 4..some days I had none,now if I can string together a number of days without smoking I'm off the habit. Another thing deterring me is NYC's high price of smokes,7.25 cents a pack today I'd rather eat that cost than smoke.
BTW,I had a duel habit,I was a weed smoker for 42 years,sad !! But I still endorse weed smoking over cigarettes my recent health kick is not due to smarts but due to finances. Nothing like being broke to help curb bad habits..
thank you too for the postiive feedback !!!

DU ROCKS ...

[Historic NY]

11. I'm in my second week smoke free............

I went for laser acupuncture in NJ.....didn't have any craving like I had in the past. Your right its that habit thing, sitting and lighting up whi.le at the computer, watching the boob tube, having cocktails at the bar, etc. I've tried the hard candy and it was so-so, found that cocktail straws or coffee stirrers worked better. I keep a couple next to the computer and reach to chew on them instead of lighting up. I hope I'm done forever. I do find I am beginning to hate the smell of smoke but could easily be enticed by the allure of hanging out with the outcasts having a smoke.

[DemInDistress]

12. good for you NY...your doing better than me..

I still smoke albeit,90% less. Maybe 2-4 during a bad day. its not like a boozer who is on the wagon where just one drink leads to a day's worth of booze. hell, I'm amazed that I could live now without a daily diet of nicotine. I'll keep pushing myself to have more smoke free days and applause to you for the effort your making.
BTW,how long have you smoked? How many smokes a day?

[Historic NY]

17. Over 30yrs and was up to 2 packs a day.......

sometimes more.

[DemInDistress]

18. good for you quitting that is !! me too...

over 40yrs religiously smoked. now almost free !!

[Warpy]

15. If you have access to a herb store

go buy yourself some whole licorice root. It's the right size and shape and won't pile the pounds on. It doesn't taste like licorice, it just has a vaguely sweet flavor.

It can raise blood pressure in large amounts, though, so if you find yourself chewing your way through four or five sticks a day, maybe you'd do better with the straws.

You can get them online, too, just Google "licorice root."

[Warpy]

14. That still gives them the nicotine, though

which is why smokers do that to themselves in the first place.

What the nicotine does (among other things) is to cause smooth muscle to spasm and contract. That's the type of muscle lining the arteries, folks, meaning smokers who have a little clump of platelets traveling through their coronary arteries when they light up and that nicotine slams the arteries nearly shut can give themselves either small, silent heart attacks or big, ugly heart attacks. The connection between nicotine and heart disease is a proven one. It's quite clear.

Nicotine affects nearly every body system, either directly or by reducing the blood supply to that system. That's why smokers age so much more quickly than nonsmokers.

No vaporizer in the world is gonna do a thing about that.

[kurth]

2. Very true

I know someone who, upon hearing that she MIGHT have breast cancer, decided right then and there to end her 25-year smoking career, and has never touched another cigarette since. Her final diagnosis was she didn't have cancer, but the whole episode was a blessing in disguise.

[pretzel4gore]

4. hit or miss is never better then a plan...

banking hours as a non smoker is better way, you start when you get up, with 8 hours already, you never use anything that inspires craving, such as coffee, for breakfast stick to oranges or grapefruit etc...drink only water during first days. The idea is to build up a 24 hour smoke free 'investment' isn't impossible, then build it up to 2 days, a week, 2 weeks etc, with each block of time considered an investment, which is lost if give in to cravings...btw, does bush smoke?

[LiberalPartisan]

7. Dubya doesn't smoke but Laura Does....like a fiend n/t

[zanne]

8. I have an awkward question about smoking and lung cancer.

First of all, let me say that I quit smoking three years ago and I'm glad I did. Now, here's the question; I know what the statistics say about quitting smoking and your chances of getting lung cancer, but how do you explain the number of lung cancer victims who quit smoking ten, or even 20 years ago? I know five people who've died of lung cancer, and every one of them had quit smoking years before they died. Quitting smoking is definitely the right thing to do, but I've always wondered about this. Anybody got any ideas?

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

10. This was in the news years ago so unfortunately I

don't have a link. But, a study was done that showed if you smoked one pack a day for 20 years then the damage was done (if a smoker was prone to lung cancer). If someone smoked 2 packs a day then the damage was done after 10 years of smoking. A half a pack a day would give you 40 years of smoking before triggering cancer. So, it didn't matter when the person had quit, it was how much s/he smoked & for how long. And of course the big one, if the person was genetically predisposed to getting it.

[zanne]

13. Thanks, wakemeup......

Wow. Good, but depressing, information. (I asked for it, right?) I actually quit because of heart disease, so quitting was a good thing for me to do, even if I'm doomed :)

[Warpy]

16. If you quit, your risk is dramatically lowered, but not abolished

so yes, you'll still have a small risk of developing it.

However, lung cancer is the easy way out. Much more difficult are the deaths due to cardiopulmonary disease, a nasty vicious circle with heart disease contributing to lung disease and vice versa. You can live for more than 20 years, getting a little worse every day, struggling for every single breath you take. It's a rotten way to die. I watched my mother die like that. She didn't quit soon enough.