How I quit smoking ........

[Stinky The Clown]

..... It has been two years since I had a heart attack and a month or two less since I quit smoking. In light of all the recent smoking threads, I thought I'd share my rather unusual quitting method. This worked for me. I have no idea if it will work for anyone else. But maybe it will.

My heart attack resulted in nothing more that the placing of five stents, the prescription of a boatload of meds, and instructions about changing my diet and lifestyle.

Like anyone else, I was a basket case, emotionally, in the days and weeks immediately following. But that also gave me the key to quitting smoking. I developed a totally irrational fear that, were I to run, or jump, or even walk heavily, the stents would fall out and lodge somewhere south of my knees. I pictured my insides in much the same way a cartoon would. Complete with imaginary cartoon graphics. This kept me pretty much in the fetal position on the couch for the better part of two weeks, chewing Klonopin for the extreme anxiety. (You don't know me, but this is completely out of character for me.)

Through all of this, I am getting up and going out ....... to SMOKE.

What the hell?????

My daughter-in-law, who is a cardiac recovery nurse who takes care of patients in the minutes and hours after they get out of cardiac surgery, was an angel and with me, literally, from the time she met Sparkly in the ER when I went to the hospital.

I asked her about the immediate effect of having a smoke. I had the sense that the rush we feel when we take that first drag had to be not all good.

That 'rush', it turns out, is the result of our arteries dilating. Less blood flow everywhere. the actual buzz comes from the arteries feeding the brain, but the heart gets the same sort of hit.

Reduced blood flow is precisely why I had my heart attack.

And I'm smoking again?

I'm a moron.

My mine went to work. I imagined my arteries as big, cartoon rubber hoses being held in many hands. As I take a drag, I imagine the hands squeezing off the flow in these arterial hoses, just like we squeeze off the flow in a hose in the summer time. SQUOOOOSSSSSHHHTTTT!! FUMP!!

No flow! "I'll make it" "I bet I live through this" "Oh My God I Am Going To Die" "My Blood Flow Has Stopped"

That same cartoon view of my innards.

In my head, that whole silly cartoon played out non stop. Of course I knew it was a cartoon. But I also knew my mind had constructed it as a visualization of the actual facts.

Soon enough, the idea of squeezed off arteries - cartoonish though it started - became my personal fear factor. Every rush of a new butt was proof it was real.

I lost my taste for them soon after.

I have been totally smoke free with no relapse and no desire to relapse, ever since. I still have cravings. They come out of nowhere. But they are easy to sublimate and last only seconds. And I haven't even had one of those for a few months now.

I had tried all the usual ways to quit.

None worked.

But my simple, clownish brain worked out its own way when faced with the need.





Smokers ...... I don't hate you and I would never, ever presume to condemn you. I know you won't quit until you decide that you want to quit. You'll get no cluck clucking judgments from me. But neither do I welcome you. Leave it outside. My world is so smoke free that I can't even stand the smell of it anymore. But that's me. Not you. I **really** do understand you. I was you for more than 50 years (I started smoking at age seven.) I understand and wish you nothing but the best.

[Earth_First]

1. I have set a quit-date of my 30th birthday next month...

I am going to try the Chantix method.

I'm so glad to hear that you've quit! Good luck!

Here's to better health for the both of us!

:hug:

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. Make sure it's covered by your insurance.

Otherwise you'll get sticker shock (the whole program costs more than a grand). I had that happy surprise a month and a half ago.

[ejpoeta]

5. yep, we found that out when my husband went to get the script filled

over $100 for a month, and NO coverage. so that ended that.

[dflprincess]

57. I was fornutate in that my insurance paid for it

but I only used it for about 4 months - so even if I had paid out of pocket, it would have cheaper than smoking.

[applegrove]

61. I was only on Champix/Chantix for two months. I had a good quit under my belt by then. So it didn't

end up costing so much.

[lunatica]

14. Compare the sticker price to how much you spend on cigarettes

That should help if the price of a drug to quit smoking is high. Cigarettes are pretty expensive, and in today's economy if you can stop buying cigarettes that's another benefit economically.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

17. Well, frankly, I don't smoke that much.

2 packs per week, maximum. It's way, way, way cheaper for me to keep smoking. I can see, however, for many people it would be worth it regardless. Plus, you're not considering the difference between laying out the money up front and paying for it a little at a time. If you don't have the $400 upfront fee, it doesn't matter whether or not it's a long term investment.

Not trying to be critical of you, and I do indeed appreciate the nature of the post. I just wanted to say it's not quite that simple.

[lunatica]

32. I wasn't trying to make it 'simple' because it isn't

I'm an ex-smoker. And I was smoking two packs a day in the last few years, which is something that happens frequently with smokers. A little bad habit can eventually be a very big bad habit when it comes to addiction. And life threatening to boot. Money, on the other hand doesn't kill you directly.

[Pharaoh]

4. Zyban really helped me

The nicorrette lozenges also were helpful at first,

Don't hesitate to ask for support earth_first!

Maybe we should have a stop smoking forum?

I would think the support might be good

:hippie:

[Stinky The Clown]

6. We have such a DU group, but it moves very slowly. Here's the link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=326

[ejpoeta]

7. isn't zyban the same thing as welbutrin, only more expensive?

my husband was on wellbutrin for depression a few years back and a side effect was that he quit smoking. he just stopped one day. he quit for a whole year. and then he started again. man did i wanna kill him!! he tried it FOR smoking and it didn't seem to work. i don't know if it was because it was conscious or something. the first time was a side effect. but he is going for the chantix if we can afford to get it filled. but it worries me because of all the side effects and stuff.

[lunatica]

11. See reply # 10

[Pharaoh]

12. Zyban is wellbutrin

or budepriopon, yes there are generics, but easier to spell zyban O8) O8)

I would stay away from the chantix. I am prone to depression as it is.

And you know the FDA is owned by big pharma and they don't really do all the testing and trials anymore. It's all about money.

[Stinky The Clown]

26. Welbutrin made me absolutley crazy. I had to stop taking it.

My doc prescribed it at the very beginning.

I was also taking Klonopin for my hyperanxiety resulting directly from the heart attack.

The Welbutrin made me even more anxious. I was almost incoherent for a time. The doc told Sparkly to make me stop taking it.

It was kinda scary. may have been an unforeseen drug interaction, but the doc said Welbutrin, in some cases, could have this effect.

[Gman]

13. I'm doing it now with Chantix and Nicotrol

Nicotrol is the nicotine inhaler. I transfered from the cig to the nicotrol inhaler. Now I'm weening rather quickly off the nicotine thanks to the Chantix.

[cat1985]

27. New methods

My partner is trying a new method to give up too. I will pass this on and good luck to you

[LynneSin]

31. Try some Hypnosis too - it helped my friend (along with the Chantrix)

Good luck!

[dflprincess]

59. Good luck!

Chanitx worked like a magic bullet for me. Though, I disobeyed the instructions and took it for nearly a month before I quit. One morning I woke up and realized that I was smoking less than half a pack a day and not finishing the cigarettes I did light so I just stopped. It's been nearly a year and half.

Take it after you eat in the morning. The side effect I had was awful nausea (both before & after I quit) which eased quite a bit if I took it immediately after eating. I also stuck it out through that because even before I quit I just knew this was going to work.

[applegrove]

60. Champix/Chantix really worked for me. I had none of the side effects except good dreams.

You smoke for a week while you are on champix and you don't get the nicotine messing with your brain so when you finally do quit smoking it isn't all that different from the week before. I went for walks every time I had a crave and bought a popsicle. I failed one time..but since I kept taking champix while I smoked those cigarettes..none of the nicotine got to my brain and ruined my quit. I have been quit for 8 months and only once had a puff. I'm really proud of my quit. I couldn't have done it without Champix. I hope it works for you too.

There is also the quitnet.com website to go to when you have a crave. It is a great source of support.

Best wishes on your quit.

[Pharaoh]

2. Good for you Stinky!

I will be 4 months quit on feb 12th.

It has been a long struggle, I had quit for over a year and slid back again.

I don't appreciate the 20 pounds I've put on , but I too was facing death.

Fear is a great motivator :toast: :toast: :toast:

[Le Taz Hot]

8. It took an upper respiratory infection

to make me finally quit smoking. I'm an asthmatic AND I had an URI AND I was still trying to smoke. I say trying because I would take one drag and cough for 5 minutes. I had it all worked out. While I was coughing, I would put out the cigarette so I wouldn't waste any. When the coughing fit was over, I'd light up and the whole cycle would start all over again. I mean, really, can it get any more insane?

At one point I ran out of cigarettes and I thought, "Well, I can go get a new carton OR I can go get the patch." I chose the patch and, for me, it worked like a charm. About 6 months later I had to get a 'script for some Wellbutrin because my cravings, out of nowhere, were like I was on Day 2 of a quit-smoking campaign and I was doing it cold turkey. Weird. But the Wellbutrin did what it was supposed to do and I remain smoke-free 5 years later. I smoked for 35 years.

One more thing: I tried to quit smoking probably 20 times, maybe more. But all it took was ONE time to succeed. So smokers, if you've tried in the past and failed, just keep trying. Use whatever method works for you. The OP found his/her method, I found mine and you can find yours. Try EVERYTHING but please, keep trying.

[eilen]

9. Great post, good for you!

just a little quibble. When you smoke, your blood vessels don't dilate (dilate means to get larger), instead, they constrict. Constricted = get narrower. But you had the right idea after that. That raises your blood pressure which can cause some damage to the vessels in addition to not providing enough or as much oxygen to the cells of your organs (including your brain). The brain gets served first, that's the body's rule. It is not unusual for the legs to hurt when walking due to the damage in the blood vessels from this and the cyclic or chronic oxygen starvation to the nerves.

My parents were both heavy smokers, my mother still is and she can't get across the room with out getting out of breath. My dad had vessel disease and stents placed in his heart too but it was the lung cancer that got him. Out of the three of us kids, only my brother smokes still.

Some people are very fixed and find it extremely difficult to change, their personalities are not flexible, it is just not part of their character. I do not fault them for not being able to quit, I feel sorry for them because it is like being in a prison. Smoking is so addictive and there is no good detox and recovery program for it like there is for other drugs. It is legal and the states feed off it for funding which I find morally indefensible, especially as the funds are not used to help smokers recover.

I have taken care of lots of cancer patients and a large number do not quit smoking. Times of great stress and anxiety are not always the most optimum time.

Anyway, I wanted again to congratulate you. I quit in my 20's and it resulted in a similar response to the smell of cigarette smoke-- I became very hypersensitive to it and it turned my stomach.

[Stinky The Clown]

15. You're right ...... "constrict" not "dilate"

I knew that .... really I did. :)

[ejpoeta]

22. my mom smoked. she had a cigarette going in every room.

she was a chimney!! The funny thing is that I remember when she would pick through the butts when she was out. and we hid her cigarettes on her once, and it was like she turned into a demon!! I thought it was awful!! she was sick for several years with kidney disease, a kidney transplant that failed, she had pancreatitis, several strokes.... at the end she was just skin and bones and I remember helping her go to the bathroom. she smoked through all of it. her doctors would tell her to quit, and she wouldn't. she smoked until she died. of pneumonia.

I don't know if it would have done anything had she quit. would it have extended her life? her last pregnancy did a number on her, and from what I've heard it was suggested that she abort the baby for fear it would be dangerous to her health. she had my little sister. and then she was ill for five years before she died. and she smoked through all of it. well, except when she had all those tubes sticking out of her arms and an oxygen mask on her face. but I have to believe that she just couldn't quit. when i quit, it wasn't as hard as it seems to be for others.

[lunatica]

10. I did it by being part of a double blind study group

I heard on the local TV that there was a study group asking for volunteers who were smokers to see if a drug worked to helped them quit. I volunteered and haven't smoked for over 10 years. I was a two pack a day smoker when I volunteered.

At the time the drug was called Wellbutrin and it was an anti-depressant drug which, when they were testing it as an antidepressant had the significant side effect of smokers just spontaneously being able to quit smoking. After it was approved they decided to test it as a drug to help quit smoking. It worked. It bears for me to repeat myself here. I was smoking two packs a day and had been for many years when I became part of this study group.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bupropion#cite_note-Tonnesen2003-22

And smokers must understand that once you're a smoker you're always a smoker, just like being an alcoholic. When you quit the best is to stay quitted. Sorry, I made up the word but it's to make a point. Thinking that you can control your smoking by just having one or two doesn't work. Fight the occasional urge and you can continue to be a non-smoker. Not a day goes by that I don't feel really good that I don't smoke anymore.

[Kalyke]

16. I don't want to quit because it's even harder for me to lose weight.

Men can seem to quit without gaining much weight, but women balloon up like, well, a zeppelin when they do.

I have had two large children, two C-sections and now am battling to loose skin/fat collected around my stomach and chest from these children (and I know it was from that - even my doctors have told me). I can't lose a pound. I can go on a diet, strict, for a month and not lose one ounce. I've had thyroid checks, diabetes checks - everything.

But, if I quit smoking - as I've done before (with both pregnancies and once on my own before returning) I always gain weight that I can never take off.

I'm not horrendously overweight now, but I would be if I quit. Therefore, for me, it's six one way and half a dozen the other. Either die from a lung disease or die from obesity. Sigh. :(

[Stinky The Clown]

18. I have a similar issue, actually ......

That part remains unresolved.

My doc wants me at 190. He's okay with 200. I'm at 208 and have been for over a year and can't lose that last 8 pounds.

[lunatica]

19. I get what you're talking about but your priorities are skewed

Being thin is not that all important, all consuming, or all anything. Take a good look at people in your life around you who are overweight by your standards. Are they less human? Less deserving of the right to pursue happiness? Are they un-American? Are they less decent? If you hate them for being fat, or overweight then you are as prejudiced as if you hate people for being black or aliens or gay. The people who matter in your life will love you just as much no matter what you weigh. And you really shouldn't care what anyone you don't know thinks about you.

Smoking to stay thin is really bad for you on all levels. No one has become obese by quitting smoking. But many have become premature corpses by continuing to smoke.

[Kalyke]

24. Um - it has nothing to do with that.

Being obese is MORE unhealthy than smoking. New studies are proving that daily.

You simply read what you wanted to in my post - that mentioned NOTHING about looks or humanity. I SPECIFICALLY mentioned that I could chose to either die from lung disease or obesity - not that I could die from LOOKING fat.

:eyes:

Oh - and many, many, many people gain a lot of weight when they quit smoking. I'm not sure what planet you're on, but that's the No. 1 complaint of ex-smokers.

Here's an article: http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Quitting-The-Habit-Of-Smoking-Can-Make-You-Fat&id=772299

And, most of those drugs for smoking cessation don't work on me - much the same as diets don't work for me. I have a body that simply doesn't want to be controlled. :shrug:

[LynneSin]

33. If you want to quit you can

Yes some people may gain weight the secret is starting a health eating regime before you start quitting. I gain weight after every bad breakup but that doesn't keep me from dating.

I've had a friend who had the same complaint - everytime she quit she put weight on.

So the last time she quit she started going to the gym and changing her eating plans about a month before she quit. A year later she's put on about 5-10 pounds but with all the time she spends in the gym it's mainly muscle.

Saying you won't quit smoking because of weight gain is just another crutch to keep you on cigarettes. When you're ready to quit you'll make it happen - you'll know what your issues are that keep you from sucessfully quitting and you'll make a plan as to how to address those.

I work with 2 ex-smokers who are in the best shape of their life because they decided to go totally healthy when they quit smoking. Both of them are women and one quit when she was 45 and the other when she was nearing 60.

I have addictions too, mine is food. When we stop making excuses we can achieve everything - that's my problem with losing weight is that I find excuses to eat. But in 2009 I decided that I need to fight those excuses and make it happen if I'm to lose weight.

[Kalyke]

45. I already walk daily and eat about 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day.

And I'm not losing weight. (I can't go to the gym - no time with two kids, a full time job and a husband who works until 8 p.m. - but I do walk a mile or two almost daily). I can only imagine that if I quit, I'd have to walk four miles a day and eat 500 calories a day - that can't be healthy.

I am not addicted to food. I barely eat - and, in fact, I am getting to the point where I HATE food. I've been to the doctor and they can't find a thing wrong.

Therefore, it's not an excuse. It's really become a problem for me.

[LynneSin]

48. Well then weight gain isn't your problem

you don't want to quit - call it what it is.

[Kalyke]

49. No - actually, it is.

I need to lose weight. I can't.

If I quit, I'd pack on more pounds that I can't lose.

They really are tied together for me. I'm a very small person, otherwise. Gaining another 10 to 15 pounds would put me in the obese category because I already need to lose 20 pounds.

For the record, I'm only 5'1".

[LynneSin]

50. As someone who has dealt with her own addictions - trust me it is

When you want to quit you'll stop making the excuses and do it.

That's half the problem with addiction.

You're not ready to give up the cigarettes, if you were you'd figure out how to overcome the excuses.

[Kalyke]

56. How do I overcome the weight gain?

I'm already having back problems.

Let me backtrack a second.


I've had two very large children for my height (10 pounds 2 ounces and 8 pounds, 11 ounces). Both had to be taken by C-Section. My stomach protrudes awfully as a result - some of it's fat and some of it's just skin. The skin, alone, probably accounts for about 10 pounds of the weight I'd need to lose. The other weight is generally located in my chest and neck. My arms and legs stay relatively thin. My OB/GYN ran panels because he suspects it's hormonal - given that my weight is so concentrated in my trunk area. He could find no signs of thyroid problems or diabetes (I had gestational diabetes, so I went to him for the panels - plus, I just like him better as a doctor).

So... back to what I was saying - the extra weight is causing me to have lower back problems and sleeping problems. I simply don't know what I'd do if I packed on another 10 to 15 pounds because I quit smoking.

I keep hearing here that I can do anything if I put my mind to it, but, trust me, short of going anorexic or bulimic, I've tried to lose weight so that I could then quit smoking, and I can't. :(

[LynneSin]

58. I've had problems with weight loss and I've worked with a nutritionist

I'm not a weight loss expert, trust me I have plenty of weight to lose and it's not easy for me. But I'm not about to take up one bad habit to rid another one.

When you're ready to quit you'll find the means to make things happen. You're not the first person that has had these complaints but for some of my friends who had similiar issues they made it work because they really wanted to quit smoking.

[Mamacrat]

62. OT

Kalyke, Have you seen an endocrinologist? Sounds like it might be a good idea. There is a condition that sounds like yours (the central weight gain), but I can't remember what it is.

[Kalyke]

63. It's a thyroid condition - but since my panels came back

correctly, I can't get referred to an endocrinologist. I know some of the conditions to which you're referring. I've been researching this for months.

I hate health insurance.

[roguevalley]

67. you might want to check for diabetes. Also, you might want to

get something to hold in your hand. cigs are a hand held habit and sometimes it helps people to get a fake cigarette. it can help you not put a donut there for the cravings. :) I salute everyone who tries, fails or succeeds. This is hard and I salute all of you.

[lunatica]

34. Obesity is not a side effect of quitting smoking

I'm sincerely sorry if I misread your post but I wasn't even talking about DYING. And yes, it was an excuse I use too. The fear of gaining weight is a common excuse. And yes, I gained weight and I also have a genetic pre-disposition to gain weight. I also can't lose it anymore but I don't regret quitting for an instant. But no smoker becomes obese just because they quit smoking.

[Kalyke]

47. I would - and have.

Not obese, mind you - but couple a 10 to 15-pound weight gain on top of the 20 I already need to lose to begin with and, yes, on my small frame, that would be dangerously obese.

The last time I quit (not pregnant), I gained 10 pounds - never came off. Then I gained 10 pounds when I quit with each of my two children (and it was immediate, so I know it was weight and not baby).

[grace0418]

dupe

delete

[grace0418]

35. Believe me, I feel your pain about losing weight, but you seem to have a lot of

reasons and excuses why you can't quit smoking or lose weight. I'm telling you from experience that those excuses become self-fulfilling prophesies. I'm not trying to bag on you, it's just that I recognized some of my own past excuses in your words. It took me a long time to stop saying "I've tried everything and I can't _______," or " ______ doesn't work on me," or "my body doesn't want to do _____..." and to start facing what I knew I needed to do and what I had to make myself BELIEVE I could do. My natural cynicism made that very difficult, but eventually I started to see results. And those small results are what made me realize it's true that you can do anything you set your mind to do. But you have to believe you can do it.

I also know from experience that people can tell you this shit until they're blue in the face, but it won't mean anything until you're ready to hear it. So I apologize in advance if this is not what you want to hear right now. Good luck whatever you decide. :hi:

[Kalyke]

46. I've tried that in regards to losing weight and it doesn't work.

There is something physically wrong with me that prevents me from losing weight. I keep telling myself if I could lose 20 pounds (which is all I need to lose), then I'll quit smoking.

Read my post above for more details about the eating/losing weight issue.

[pipi_k]

37. Diets are not the answer

Strict diets are even worse.

If you severely restrict your calorie intake, you know what happens? Your body goes into "starvation mode" whereby everything it takes in turns to fat because it's trying to save itself from what it perceives as impending famine.

If you go on a "strict diet" for a month, you are setting your body up to do that, so that when the diet ends (as it must, because diets are so goddamned boring) your body has already been conditioned to store fat.

The best way to lose weight isn't "dieting". It's lifestyle change that doesn't last a month or a year. It's intended to be forever. And it doesn't have to be a drag.

And even if you DO gain a bit of weight after quitting smoking (because, let's face it...food is so much better when you can actually taste it!), so what?

I don't know if you've ever seen anyone waste away from cancer, but believe me, dying from lung cancer or emphysema or any other lung disease is NOT pretty. You don't want to go that way, trust me...


Yeah, I'll admit I gained weight after I quit this time, but it's because I exchanged one addiction (cigarettes) for another (jellybeans). I know it sounds funny, but there ya go...Pipi the Jellybean Junkie...

Seriously, though...please reconsider your decision. You can be overweight (we're not talking grossly obese here) and still be healthier than a thin person who smokes.

:)

[janx]

43. Not necessarily!

If you make regular exercise part of your quitting regimen and you use the patch, that won't happen. The last time I quit for six months or so, and I didn't gain any weight. (For the record, I've had three C-sections and a hysterectomy.) I exercised. Also, you'll be more active generally because you're not smoking. Smoking is a sedentary activity. You'll have a lot more time on your hands, and you'll need to do something with it!

I'm trying again--putting on a patch tonight. My point is, don't think that you're going to gain a ton of weight. That's not necessarily the case. :hi:

[Subdivisions]

20. Here's how I quit:

I decided, upon a compendium of the evidence that cigarettes are bad for one's health and a growing personal disgust with them, to set them down. For good.

That was a single day some 12 years ago and I never looked back.

[eilen]

23. My husband quit for New Years 17 years ago

and I kept feeling guilty that I was making it harder for him while I still smoked. I became disgusted with the mess, the film of ashes everywhere etc. So I quit cold turkey. A few weeks later, I got pregnant and the smell made me throw up. That sealed it. Of course I gained crazy weight though.

[ipfilter]

21. I've lost count, but I think my last cigarette was twelve years ago.

I quit smoking at the same time tobacco executives were testifying to Congress. I'll never forget the lying assholes sitting there telling Congress they had no conclusive evidence that nicotine was addictive. I was literally shaking from the withdrawal and watching this at the same time.

I used the patch for a few days. This helped keep the nicotine cravings in check while I dealt with the psychological aspects of the addiction. After going several days without using any tobacco products I was ready to take off the patch. The process of breaking the nicotine addiction was a day at a time affair...sometimes an hour at a time. The cravings were intense but I was determined to overcome them. After about three months the cravings subsided. My thought processes changed. My mind cleared and I could feel my body detoxify. This was a cleansing experience and it felt very good. There were still situations where my mind would go through the motions of getting a smoke. However, the thought of inhaling smoke was nauseating and I didn't want to go back. After about six months I considered myself permanently smoke free. I had no cravings and the occasional triggers were becoming few and far in between. I knew I could never take another drag or I would relapse. There was no way I wanted to go through the withdrawal ever again.

Now, twelve years later, I cannot imagine how I ever smoked. The smell is very offensive to me, but I understand why smokers smoke. To anyone who wants to quit, all I can say is that I'm living proof that it can be done. I suffered for a few weeks, but that was a small fraction of time in my life.

[MadHound]

25. I'm glad that you quit, sorry that it had to take that brush with mortality to do so

I don't condemn you however, never will. I was a smoker myself for twenty nine years. It didn't take a heart attack for me to stop, just the realization that if I continued smoking I would kill myself, like smoking killed my uncle and helped kill my father.

I've been smoke free for six weeks now, and I really didn't have that much difficulty. I used the gum for about a week and a half, but really couldn't stand the stuff, reminded me too much of chewing tobacco. Dropped the nicotine gum and now just chew on toothpicks when I need to.

I'm torn though, I really did enjoy smoking, the taste, the effect, the calm it could bring. However I also like having my taste and smell back, better circulation in my extremities, and getting back my wind.

But all in all, smoking is a young person's vice. One should really quit on your thirtieth birthday if you ever do start.

[reggie the dog]

28. here is how I quit tobacco

I bought a quarter pound of weed, and I rolled a joint whenever I had a fit too strong and really needed a ciggie. I smoke a lot of grass for one or two weeks and then went back to my normal quarter ounce a week cannabis habit. It took the edge off the nic fits. I have been tobacco free for nearly 12 years now.

[SammyWinstonJack]

30. Do they random drug test at work in France? Can't risk losing a job over a joint here.

Random hair testing is hard to pass. Can't 'study' for that test. :evilgrin:

[reggie the dog]

54. no random, no pre employment drug testing

only kind of test you can get is if you look wasted at work and even then it is not likely. Drug use is a health issue in France. So long as you do good in the interview, or pass the exam to get a public sector job, the job is yours, no pee or hair involved, that would be an invasion of your medical privacy over here. I remember drug tests back in the states, I had to get jobs that did not test. Interestingly enough most teachers have no drug tests in the USA so I was ok after the university, but then I left anyway.

[tjwash]

39. Dude...I'd weigh like 400 pounds from all the munchies if I tried that.

nt

[reggie the dog]

55. ah, I forgot to mention the sports

I played a lot of basketball too, then got something to eat. I gained about 5 pounds when I quit.

[tjwash]

69. Well...there is a reason Michael Phelps can consume 12000 calories a day.

nt

[progressoid]

29. Friend of mine quit when he saw the $112,000 hospital bill for his heart attack.

Took me a dozen years of off and on trying.

[pipi_k]

36. Thank goodness for mind cartoons

because that's how I quit the first time, in the mid 1980s.

I kept bombarding my mind with images of tarry, blackened lungs. Similar to meat burnt to a crisp out on the BBQ.

It worked so well I was able to quit cold turkey even though I lived with someone who still smoked.


Went back, unfortunately, but was again able to quit in '96. No images this time...I had made a promise and intended to keep it. Smoke free for 13 years.

:)

[tjwash]

38. Tried the hypnosis, patch, gum. Hell, tried them several times.

No workie.

Within 3 months each time I was back to my usual 1-1/2 packs a day.

Then one day, I just said fuck it, went cold turkey, and suffered through maybe the second longest 3 months of my life (the longest was when I kicked heroin, but that's another story). Since then it's been 10 years since I had to wrap my lips around a cigarette.

I came to the stunning realization, that the nicorette gum, and the patch are most likely just scams. Fucking drug companies preying on people's addictions.

[Bake]

40. Good post Stinky, and congrats on quitting.

I however have not quit. But at one time, I had a patch on each arm, two pieces of Nicorette in my mouth, and was smoking at the same time. Sigh.

Bake

[Stinky The Clown]

41. Been there and done that ......

.... those never worked for me at all.

The solution is inside each one of us. Finding it is the hard part.

I know what you've been through, Bake.

[Bake]

42. Yeah, I just don't want to have a heart attack to find mine.

Of course, I tell myself I'm bulletproof.

:hi:

BAke

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

44. Congrats! One Large Critique Though:

"I know you won't quit until you decide that you want to quit."

That's hogwash. Many people want to quit but can't, regardless of how hard they try.

[Stinky The Clown]

52. "Hogwash"

mmmph ..... 'kay

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

53. Yes. Need A Definition?

Often times lack of ability to quit has not a thing with 'wanting to'.

You said you understood the plight. I guess maybe you actually don't.

[Lilith Velkor]

64. Many people SAY they want to quit

but deep down, they actually don't want to. What they really want is for the judgmental shitstains around them to get the fuck off their back. This is true of many substances, and a wall I have hit a few times myself.

There are also people who really want to quit, and can't because they lack the emotional support to keep trying, thanks to the aforementioned judgmental shitstains. One of these days, we as a society will have to figure out what to do about THEM, because letting them write and pass stupid laws is not working out very well.

[bevoette]

51. Chantix

Zyban, lozenges, gum, lollipops, etc. - all failed

two years ago, gave Chantix a try - quit cold turkey after 6 weeks, not one single relapse, not even a puff

my mother, who smoked for 45 years, tried it soon after i did - and also quit completely

quite literally, the craving just disappeared.


there are side effects - CRAZYass dreams, and my mom swears she 'lost time' somewhere along the way. i have seen stories about depression, suicidal thoughts, etc. didn't experience any of that, but who knows. i am grateful for it - it worked like a charm.


congratulations on quitting! :)

[RushIsRot]

65. I managed to stop smoking after 18 years, 23 years ago. I used

acupressure. I do not expect that method to work for all, but it worked for me.

[Starry Messenger]

66. I did a week on the gum, then cold turkey.

Quitting is the hardest thing I ever did. I've gained some weight, but I's still glad I've managed to stay quit. I don't really judge people who are still smoking. If you have few pleasures in life, smoking is legal and not too expensive (compared to trips abroad and other luxuries). I was just tired of *needing* to smoke. My whole day was centered around when and where I could smoke. Since that was mostly at home, I didn't go out very often. We had to throw away two couches after a few months of not smoking! They reeked! But with the money saved from not smoking we got a new couch.

It took about six months before my brain accepted the fact that a cigarette wasn't coming that day. Or any day. I craved for a long time. It's different for different people. It will be a year in April. Hopefully I can start losing the 10 pounds that have settled on my frame.

[Mira]

68. A desire - and a crutch. That's how I did it as well. 10yrs-3mo-18hrs-12min ago

And I am not really counting any more; I am all done with cigarettes.
I am so glad for you Stinky, and all of you who quit. A few thoughts and confessions.

I am a veteran smoker - I smoked more than 30 years; 2 packs on a good day.

I tried Hypnosis, Aversion Therapy ( three separate courses), the gum, the patches, cold turkey, trickery and games, but would not stop smoking for any serious length of time.

I once sat down and made a list on how to improve my life, step by step.
I did it in a rest area, in the mountains at the side of I-40, wrote: Stop Smoking at the top of the list and then came to the realization that if i did not stop smoking anything that came after that was simply an exercise in mental acrobatics.
I might not live to be able to do any of it, so why bother to plan for it.

Therefore I wrote under that, for a second time,
Stop Smoking.

I took a photo of the picnic table, and drove home, working out a quit date, and which crutch to use.
It ended up being Zyban, and a mental image that this antidepressant was going to keep me up and happy, sort of like in that old joke:
What's your favorite drug: Transpan.
It's a combination of Tranquilizer and Spanish Fly, makes you want to romance but you don't give a damn whether you do or not.

I hung the photo up at my desk, and stopped at midnight on my quit date.
Never ever to take another drag.

I never thought it would be easy, if it were easy, everybody could do it.
On the other hand, we do see much less smoking going on these days, so it is possible.
There is life after cigarettes.

The reason this is pulling my string is not only to tell that stopping smoking did the most for my self esteem anything ever did, but also to report that I have in the last 2 years lost 2 smoking brothers to lung cancer / smoking related brain cancer. And last night, at 11:30, my ex- husband, father of my son, was diagnosed with it as well.

Cigarettes are a product that when used as intended will kill you or cut your life short and make it less worth living every time.

Thanks, if somebody reads all this.

Cigarettes and the thought of them simply makes me miserably sad.