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My last day of smoking a cigarette was Aug. 8th. It has been 10 days, today!!
I am using the pill chantix to help me. It seems to be working great with taking away the cravings and withdrawals.
Quitting smoking is actually very easy (I quit after 30 years)-- at least *the directions* are very easy:
1. Don't buy any
2. Don't bum any
3. Don't be near anyone who smokes, either by disallowing it in your home and other places where you can enforce control, or by not hanging out with anyone who smokes; in other words, don't let anyone blow smoke on you or near you.
I wouldn't smoke cigarettes now under any circumstances, and I tried and failed dozens and dozens of times. But behavior modification was the best way for me, based on the above three rules.
This is a rather vulgar analogy, but pertinent to the discussion. If (for example) a male has a compulsion to show his genitals to unsuspecting women (a "flasher"), this problem can be cured for the most part by having him wear slacks which open from the side, rather than the front.
For a less vulgar example (sorry), Dr. Phil, in his materials about dieting, states that you need to remove from the home any foods which are not acceptable on your more healthy program.
So, in short, behavior modification works better than bare-knuckling it, while all around you are continuing in the behavior. Assertiveness from ex-smokers is well known, but probably necessary to avoid lung cancer and the other ill-effects from smoking cigarettes.
Three other things also helped me:
1. Replacing the behavior (smoking after coffee, with a drink, on the phone, studying, etc.) with a better, more productive behavior - such as lifting weights. I have a set of weights, two each 4 lb., 5 lb., etc., which I use constantly, especially watching tv. For a 60 year old woman with MS, I'm as strong as a horse. It's never, ever too late to improve one's health and mental attitude;
2. Focus mentally on the pleasures of life; how beautiful the sunshine is, the pleasure of good food and good company, the beauty of nature, just breathing clean air. Life is very short, and it's sad when you discover (as so many smokers and others do) that yours will be cut short and you will have to leave the beauty of this world. We too much focus (IMHO) on the job, money, getting ahead, etc., and not nearly enough on the free, every day pleasures of just being alive; and finally
3. Become tired of injuring yourself. Cigarettes are a man-made product designed to relieve you of your money. Refuse to be used in that fashion. The people who make this product do not care about you, are proven liars, and the worse sort of people in that they manipulate children, even, and would do worse if given leeway.
HTH
Addendum: Thinking that "I will die anyway 'when my time comes'," or that "everyone has something they do which they shouldn't," or any of the other remarks that people make to justify the behavior, is just nonsense. These are excuses, and intellectually not respectable. If you're making these excuses, get real (as Dr. Phil would say). Life without cigarettes is much better than life with them!
Last edited by scsigurl3000; 09-26-2010 at 09:14 AM..
I quit cold turkey 12 years ago. What helped me was every time I wanted a cigarette instead of trying not to think about it and pushing those thoughts away I used those times to change my thinking. I would tell myself that I was glad I quit smoking and proud of being a nonsmoker. I also used a McDonald's straw cut in half for while. It had the same weight and feel of a cigarette and I could blow air through it and inhale and exhale (sounds weird but it did help). I have heard some people say drinking orange juice helps cravings but you want to be careful about weight gain. It would help if you made a list now, before you quit, of the reasons you want to quit smoking cuz during those first three weeks it is hard to remember why you wanted to quit. Be prepared to be emotional, tired and have body aches as your body gets rid of the poisons. Oh ,and don't think you can ever smoke again. Before I quit this time I had quit once before for 7 years and then had "just one" which took me right back to smoking each day before I quit again 12 years ago.
3. Don't be near anyone who smokes, either by disallowing it in your home and other places where you can enforce control, or by not hanging out with anyone who smokes; in other words, don't let anyone blow smoke on you or near you.
^^^This is my biggest challenge. I've smoked off and one since I was 18 (17+ years). At 35, my husband and I are trying for our first baby and are having problems. I only smoke about 3 cigs per day, but he smokes a pack. When I try to stop altogether, he pressures me to smoke. It isn't just the fact that they are there, that is hard enough. He actually encourages it.
A few months ago I told him I wanted to quit and was preparing to set a date within the month. I did need a pack though (1 pack per week usually) so I sent him off to get it. He came back with a carton of my brand (we smoke different brands)!! I was livid. His excuse was that they are cheaper by the carton. That was his way of ensuring I'd be smoking another few months, during which time I suffered a miscarriage which I partly blame on smoking (I quit once I found out, but was constantly around second hand smoke).
I ran out yesterday as did he. On his way to the store he asked me if I wanted him to get me some and I answered no. He laughed and said, "you sure about that?" Neverending discouragement.
I understand the health effects. I lost a friend and coworker to lung cancer one year ago. I know it is aging me and affecting my fertility and I feel like I don't have much time to have a child. But I also feel like I can't do it alone. Any attempt he has made to quit he gives up on. He has a stressful job he hates and uses that as his excuse. That job is going to end up killing him.
I only smoke after work and I really have come to depend on that first post-work cig. It is my relaxation moment when I unwind. That is the hardest one to give up. I'm trying again today, after yet another month without successful conception, to quit. I have made a sign with pictures of all my motivators for sticking with it. I have lifesavers and lollipops to keep myself busy.
Like many, I love smoking too. But it isn't worth the risk anymore. I keep telling myself if I can't quit for me and my future, then I don't deserve to be a mom. Unfortunately, my husband is not on the same page.
As a quitter of 3 or 4 weeks now I am dealing with this too redjan and he doesn't want to quit even though he's puffing on 2 inhalers to catch his breath. He tried 2 hits off my e-cig and claims it isn't for him. If I had said that at that point I would still be smoking cigarettes but I am determined not to give my money to the government and cig companies anymore. I like not coughing all the time and he sees the difference not smoking has given me but its not enough for him. So I deal with it. Unfortunately he just lost his job so now I get to deal with cig smoke 24/7 now.
One thing you can do to seal your success is take responsibility for buying your own cigs from this point forward and tell him you don't need him to buy them for you anymore. Now that I don't smoke them he's responsible for getting them on his own when he runs out because I just don't notice but if I do I might get them occasionally.
As a quitter of 3 or 4 weeks now I am dealing with this too redjan and he doesn't want to quit even though he's puffing on 2 inhalers to catch his breath. He tried 2 hits off my e-cig and claims it isn't for him.
He tried Chantix in September 2009, but stopped because we couldn't afford the 2nd month. In 2010, I put $$$ into a flexible spending account specifically for the Chantix, which he has been reluctant to renew and start again. He tried Commit lozenges in 2009 and got mouth sores (because he was smoking at the same time) which is what prompted the doc to give him Chantix. He tried the lozenges again in August 2010 and got the sores again even though he'd stopped smoking. Since then, work has been extra stressful and he's back to over one pack per day.
He spends $15 every other day on cigarettes and the money flying out the window is unreal. Makes me want to cry actually. I am guilty of contributing to this as well because my one pack per week is usually $7-8.
He will not try the e-cigarettes. He says they are just a mask. I am at a loss.
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That was his way of ensuring I'd be smoking another few months, during which time I suffered a miscarriage which I partly blame on smoking (I quit once I found out, but was constantly around second hand smoke).
