Cigarettes - how did you quit?

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

On another forum I use, a lot of smokers used willpower, patches and the Allan Carr book (apparently the book has a mild flavour:D )

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

Hi,

I gave up about 18 months ago - patches for a couple of days, then as they made me feel giddy and dizzy, i went cold turkey.

Also joined [link= http://www.ivequit.com ]www.ivequit.com[/link], which provided me with great support. Alot of the other members there used Alan Carr. I think he works because he concentrates on getting the right mindset, which for me is the most important thing in quitting.

Anyone thinking of quitting - all i can tell you is that it is the best thing i have ever done:)

annie

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

I echo Annie...Combination of patches for first 4 weeks to take the edge off, followed by cold turkeyand great support from people at ivequit.com... Two months smoke free yesterday so it must be working 😀

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

Congrats on 2 months Oli:):):)

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

by wanting to stop...quite simply. one year & one week ago, having smoked for 34 years.

by wantiung i mean wanting totally, no 'it would be better in this or that way'.... if you have really decided there is no will power required at all, thus it is incredibly easy to do. plus there is no inner struggle.

allan carr makes a lot of sense, i read his book aimed at women once. definitely worth a go to instill the abundance approach.

going for it becasue you 'should', you feel disgusting, a leper, hate wheezing, etc is unlikely to work becasue of the huge tension built up in deprivation & white knuckling. using will power, you will almost undoubtedly fail eventually & spend even more time beating tyourself up for being so weak & pathetic.

mel x

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

I gave up7 years ago, stopped first time. I wasa heavy smoker and smoking was a huge part of my life.

I had just metmy 'now hubby' and was in a new circle of friends none of which smoked, which meant a lot of pressure and it also made it easier to stop as there was never any temptation. When you're a smoker you go to the pub a lot and tend to be friends with smokers. I didn't go to the pub for 6 months and I embraced my new friendships.

In my experience I think your primary influence group is the biggest factor. It's a big change in your life that is like other big changes eg having kids, leaving Uni, moving towns etc. Smokers and non smokers have different hobbies, interests, motives, hang outs etc. So if you want to join the non smokers I think it helps if you're prepared to change other areas of your life too. Stop going to pub and start a new sport like walking or rock climbing. Also don't hang out with smokers.

I know it sounds harsh but it worked for me. Also be prepared to suffer a bit .. i still wanted a cig every day for at least a year. Just find an alternative (i chose a steaming hot cuppa tea), distract yourself andf brave it out.

The benefits come thick and fast ... more energy, better health, more money, more time, nicer lifestyle, fitter, less gunk in throat, live longer, not going to die of nasty disease and you feel a massive sense of achievement that gives you tons of self confidence.

Sally xx

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

I read the Allen Carr book 11 years ago and have not smoked since.

Hugs
Steve

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

Personally I used willpower years ago but, as you know J, I have treated several people successfully using EFT.

Love and Reiki Hugs

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

:)Hi all,
I have been off the ciggies for just over 4 years now! I was a medium to heavy smoker for approx. 17 years. Having neuro acupuncture was one of the best things I ever did. I travelled to Halifax in Yorkshire to see a 'world renowned' Doctor. I think I paid approx. £70 at the time (two weeks ciggie money).I felt full of vitality and had boundless energy. No nasty withdrawal symptoms. It was a breeze.
Tracey.x:)

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

Hi folks,
I gave up smoking 6 months ago because I figured I would be a bit of a hypocrite advising my clients to cut down if I was popping straight out for a fag after so this was a great incentive.
I knew what I would miss the most was having nothing to do with my hands so I took up lollipops to get the same hand to mouth action!! Decided then that although it was great to have my lungs back I didn't really want to loose my teeth in the process, so I swapped to sugar free lollipops. Unfortunately, these have a laxative effect after about 2 packets (plus it was costing as much as the cigs!!) so, although I figured I'd be the first person to give up smoking and loose weight, it was not a valid alternative. Then I took up Knitting!! Great! Made xmas presents for people and even sold some to other people for presents. Bonus!!
Has taken me a while to get off said knitting addiction but life has now resumed normality in a non smoking way!!

Good luck everyone!!
Nyree xx

PS £100.00 bet with friend kind of helped put me off as well.......

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

Allen Carr book for me too... gave up October 2003 😉

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

Hiya,

I just used willpower, but then I was never a particularly heavy smoker in the first place... 10 or 20 a day at the most. I found that I smoked more at home and when out with friends (coffee shops, bars, etc.) rather than in the workplace.

I did not find that I had much of a physical craving when I stopped smoking, but found that I did not know what to do with my hands when I was socialising with friends.

Stopping smoking was one of the best things I ever did.

Love & Blessings! 🙂
Lisa x

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

I stopped smoking 7 years ago. At first I tried to stop using patches and gum, but they didn't work, they just reminded you that you didn't have a cigarette; really I wasn't ready to give up, coz I didn't REALLY want to.

I did read the Allan Car book, which helped and we also banned smoking in the house, which made a huge difference because we both adhered to the rule.

Next time round, I'd had had one miscarriage a few months before and was pregnant again. I didn't blame the cigarettes as I was only a light smoker, but it did make me stop dead, when I found out I was pregnant again.

I also didn't tell anyone I was quitting. This helped me enormously, no fuss being made was great.

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

I was hypnotised. Strangely by accident (long story), and I first noticed something had happened when I went to replenish my cigarettes. I was on the gum, patches and cigarettes then. I just couldn't buy any. Quite handy really, as I already had smokers lung and was desperate to stop!

If I were to go back in time, I would use EFT to resolve the issues why I smoked in the first place; but then again EFT wasn't around in those days. Now I use EFT to help me cope with the daily effects of having smokers lung and to increase my personal optimal health.

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

Well done all of you! I cant imagine what it must feel like 'cos I have never smoked, although my mu m did (so I guess i did in a round about way!) I abhore smoking, almost as much as a reformed smoker! I 'found' EFT (just finishedmy training)and would use it for ANY craving, it is fantastic.
Again, well done,
Penelope

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

Well I'm stopping this week. I have my goal set for Saturday as I can keep busy and won't be on my own all day so will be well and truly occupied.

I have used patches before, and they worked wonderfully for me but due to circumstances - very very stressful i lapsed.

So I'm going to use the patches again and do a dettox at the same time with Chlorophyll, I did a short one day dettox on Monday and i felt amazing, so on Saturday I'll get the green water out and do it properly for a week to get all those nasty toxins out of me.

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

Good luck with your quit Aroma,

If you need a chat withfellow quitters or just a general rant, try the forum on [link= http://www.ivequit.com ]www.ivequit.com[/link]. I found it very helpfull in the early stages of my quit. Also [link= http://www.whyquit.com ]www.whyquit.com[/link] was an eye opener whenever I had a crave.

Love and light
Fafinka

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

I gave up 8 years ago - cold turkey. I just decided I was giving up and so I did.:) I have to say IMHO and experience you have to really want to give up to be able to do it, 'cos the other times I tried it didn't work! [:@]

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

I gave up 6 years ago and had been smoking up to 40 a day. I had tried to give up lots of times so had a real desire to do so. When I stopped I put the money away each day that I would have spent on fags and I ended up with enough to go on holiday to Greece and that was a great positive reward. Then about 6 months after I gave up my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer and that experience has kept me off of them ever since. His cancer was thought most likely smoking related, he had cancer of the oesophagus. I do still get urges to smoke but the thought of my dad and how difficult things were for him during his illnes really keeps me off them.
Biggles

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

I gave up 7 yrs ago this month.Best thing i ever did.
For me the only way to give up was will power,it took me several attemps but i did it eventually,thank god.

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

hi all an well done!
I quit 12 days ago, cold turkey, the first 3 days are the worst, still pretty bad though! i found the whyquit.com website a real inspiration, whenever im feeling weak i just log on and draw strength and determination from the wise writtings on the site! if your thinking or giving up or just quiting take a look its a real eye opener!
all the best
Ruth x;)

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

I was a smoker for 15 years having smoked the strongest unfiltered brands during that time (Chesterfield, Marlboro andPall Mall). I smoked 2-1/2 packs a day. I was so addicted I got up everynight, actually very early morning, just to find a tiny part of a cigarette remaining so I could take one puff.I had to have a root canal and asked the dentistif it was ok to smoke. He said it was up to me. I decided that might be a good time to quit. I started off by putting a pin hole in the puffing end of the cigarettes. I reasoned that if I could slowly wean myself off inhaling so much nicotine, I might succeed at quitting. I did this for a week, then put an additional hole in each ensuing week. As I continued to do this, I found that I could get by smoking milder and milder brands. Eventually I was smoking the mildest brand that was made in the U.S. My next step was to stop inhaling the smoke, soI started smoking a pipe for one year. After that, I quit the pipe smoking and kept a full pack of cigarettes with me at all times, for several months. I found that it was easier to refrain from smoking if I knew I could have one anytime I wanted. My final test was to crush a new pack with my foot and not feeling any remorse for having done it. Did all of this work for me? That was 30 years ago and I haven't had a desire to smoke since. In fact, the smell of cigarette smoke is an annoyance for me now.[:'(]

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

I stopped 22 years ago. It was a foggy damp winter and I spent a lot of it at the doctors getting the same message, 'you've got an inflamed trachea, you'll have it till you quit smoking'.
One really foggy week, I took to walking with a chiffon scarf over my nose and mouth to stop myself coughing.
Ilooked like the Lone Ranger without his horse but didn't care if it kept me ok.
Walking up a route back from the shops (known locally as 'Angina Hill'), even the scarfcouldn't stop me coughing, wheezing and generally feeling like I wasn't going to live to see my family grow up. Stopped that day, never looked back.

One interesting thing about how we are all different - I stopped by chucking the things away, my father in law had to keep an 'emergency' couple of ciggies in a packet on the mantelpiece, because he couldn't cope with the thought of not being able to have one if he really needed to. They stayed there for years, got dried out and useless, but he kept off them.
They got thrown out when he died many years later.

A friend used the patches and had three goes at it before she succeeded, so the NHS tag line thing is really is valid: 'don't give up giving up'!

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

Had too much to drink and smoke on Dec. 31, 1975. The next day I took a puff on a cigarette and threw it down, never realizing that I would never smoke again. Believe it or not, after almost 31 years, I still get a twinge, but I've never been tempted to go any farther than that. I guess it just shows what a strong addiction it is.

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

Had tried to quitseveral times before - patches, gum, even hypnosis - but nothing worked.
Then, at the beginning of May, I went for my Reiki I attunement. We were asked to refrain from stimulants for24 hours before hand. So, decided that if we were going to give up, now was the time!
The following week, I used patches for a couple of days (still had some in the draw from the last attempt!!) and gum for two or three days, then just will-power. So far so good!No climbing the walls, no huge cravings and feel great. Don't know whether that's down to the 21 day Reiki self-heal regime, or ifit was just the right time and I really wanted to do it this time.
Quite honestly, 24 hours without tea was harder! 😀
Lou

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

I can't comment because I've never smoked myself, I can vote on behalf of my dad, who has shared his story with me numerous times! He gave up smoking cold turkey, though did start eating a lot of winegums at first to satisfy his oral fixation! Eventually he weaned himself off them and hasn't smoked for over 20 years.

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

I was always a light smoker, more a social smoker than anything else, gave up after two bouts of bronchitis, (all by cold turkey), now wish I never smoked in the first place.

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

8 yrs and counting after 2 unsuccessful tries.

but when my freinds light up a menthol marlboro, i still have the craving,and i know if i gave in i couldn't stop again.
i know it is a conscious decisioni have to make for the rest of my life ,every time someone lights up next to me.
i suppose it is my punishment for getting hooked in the first place.[:'(]

RE: Cigarettes - how did you quit?

ORIGINAL: kb
but when my freinds light up a menthol marlboro, i still have the craving,and i know if i gave in i couldn't stop again.
i know it is a conscious decisioni have to make for the rest of my life ,every time someone lights up next to me.
i suppose it is my punishment for getting hooked in the first place.[:'(]

Hi KB and welcome to Healthypages.

I'd have to disagree, it's not something that you have to live with and you don't deserve any punishment.
There are various treatements out there such as Hypnosis, NLP, EFT, FREEWAY-CER etc. that can totally remove that craving you get when you get that nice smell of cigarettes (and for those who aren't aware there is a nice cigarette smell (fresh tobacco) and a nasty cigarette smell (thick smokey stale pub)).

Love and Reiki Hugs