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I am neither a smoker or ex-smoker. But since so many of the first category wish to join the second, thought I would ask folks to share thier quitting tips.

My niece quit. She used cinnamon flavored toothpicks to help her.

I quit for a year! I belive I had a lot of those Dumm Dumm suckers. That was then, I started hanging out with friends that smoked and got started again.

It's been over 20 years since I smoked and I quit the first time I tried, so I feel successful.

First, you really must learn to hate smoking and everything about it.

I've already said here that I filled a coffee can with butts, added some water and put on a plastic top. If I ever even THOUGHT longingly of a cigarette, I popped the lid and breathed deeply from that can. :yh_sick

I used the patch and it worked very well.

Finally, MTAL can tell you...you can never, EVER smoke another cigarette! I've seen so many people who quit and then, one night at a party, tried one on a whim....and wound up buying a package the next day! If it means giving up parties for awhile or not drinking coffee or whatever you did in concert with smoking...give it up for a few months.

Lead yourself not into temptation!

This is what I posted almost exactly one year ago:



Accountable wrote: I come from a family of smokers. Some of us quit; some of us haven't. A smoker needs 2 things to quit:

1. The desire to quit.

2. The belief that one can quit.

Neither of these things can possibly come from the outside. Smoking is a behavior. The addiction is not. Lots of steps involved in smoking, especially if there are none in the house. One possible scenario of many:



1. Get dressed.

2. Find the keys.

3. Walk to the car.

4. Enter the car.

5. Start the car.

6. Leave the house.

7. Drive to the store (numerous substeps involved here).

8. Park the car.

9. Get out of the car.

10. Enter the store.

11. Approach the cashier.

12. Take a breath of sweet, clean, nicotine-free air.

13. Ask for a pack of cigarettes.

14. Pay for the cigarettes (possible substeps here).

15. Exit the store.

16. Tamp the pack (we used to call it 'pack' but I'm trying to avoid confusion).

17. Open the pack (several substeps here).

18. Remove a cigarette.

19. Place the cigarette in the mouth.

20. Find fire (undoubtedly many substeps involved).

21. Light the cigarette.



Every one of these steps and substeps involved a decision toward behavior. Each of these decisions is an opportunity to behave differently.

Smoking is a decision to behave. Stopping smoking is likewise a decision to behave. It's not an easy decision, but the responsibility lies completely and absolutely with the individual - no one else.

I smoked for quite a few years. I smoked cigarettes, including black russians, and little cigars too. Somewhere along the line I realised that I'd lost my sense of wellbeing. I couldn't run up stairs any more and I ran out of breath when playing my flute. My life at that time seemed punctuated by smoko breaks, and I felt controlled by this. Resented it. I smoked not because I enjoyed it, but because I had to. I tried a couple of times to give up, but it didn't last.

Then one day I decided that I wanted to be in control again. I wanted that feeling of wellbeing back, and I wanted fitness back and I wanted to play my flute. I wanted these things a lot.

I threw away my cigarettes and went totally cold turkey.

I shook for two days and felt like death. Then things got better. For a couple of months I missed the habit pattern. A coffee, a smoke. A meeting, a smoke. A phone call, a smoke. But that didn't last either. The only time I've smoked since was after my dad died. Someone lit a cigarette and stuck it in my mouth and I inhaled without thinking, and threw up. Could taste that nicotine for days. YUCKO.

I have friends who smoke. It doesnt bother me at all. I know I will never smoke again. Two of my kids smoked for a while, then tossed it in. My younger daugher - who'd been an elite gymnast - found she couldn't run after a soccer ball, and quit on the spot. Cold turkey. Why draw out the pain with patches and gum and half way measures? You want out of the habit. For yourself. YOU REALLY WANT IT. Just do it!!!

I was a on again /off agian smoker for a long time,then I was casual smoker from there,Then i put a pic of my daughter behind the plastic in my ciggy pack so i would have too look at her face everytime I wanted too light up.Never touched a cig ever again.

Accountable wrote: This is what I posted almost exactly one year ago:


I remember this post ACC....I printed it and have still got it......that was when I was losing my resolve in my quit-smoking endeavours....there are always excuses and I don't know why

Bez wrote: I remember this post ACC....I printed it and have still got it......that was when I was losing my resolve in my quit-smoking endeavours....there are always excuses and I don't know why
Because it's a little scary. What'll you do when the stresses get to you? Will you gain weight like they say? Lots of silly questions.



The stresses never have gotten to you. You're still here, right? And the fags never really helped, trust me.



Sure you'll gain some weight. So? It's a chance to buy new clothes.



My offer still stands. I'm here to beat you up if you want me. :yh_hugs