[ScarredAndLost]

i really wish to stop smoking but i dont know how.can anyone help me please???

I started out by cutting down. I got down to about 5 a day after smoking for 30 years. Then my mother called to tell me she had lung cancer. I stopped at that very second.

I did use the Nicorette gum occassionally. It helped take the edge off the cravings. It's been about 9 years that I'm smoke free.

I know it's hard, if not impossible for some. Hang in there. Just thinking about quitting is a good first step.

[snowflakes]

All I can say is that it is just a matter of conditioning and a test of will power. It all goes down as to how much you really want to stop smoking and what you will do. But here's my suggestion though, try substituting candy or perhaps chocolate whenever you crave to smoke. Or perhaps, start by limiting yourself to smoke, say from 5 stick daily to 4 and then 3,2,1 and eventually substituting it into eating candies... You can do it, I know you can. Just believe in yourself.

>>>snowy...

[MyHeadHurts]

Scarred,

I smoked for 35 years -- told myself a bazillion times that I had to quit, but couldn't find the willpower.

In June, I had pain in my chest/rib area that I convinced myself was probably cancer. In July, after all the test results were in and I found out I DIDN'T have cancer, I asked immediately for a prescription for Zyban. The doctor told me that Champix was better (I think it's called Champax or Chantax in the US?) so he gave me a prescription.

I started taking the pills that day, and set my target quit date for July 22nd. I am incredibly proud to say that almost four months later, I still haven't lit a cigarette (though there were days when the stress was so bad that I sure felt like it).

The first day was absolutely the worst for me -- I ended up going to bed at 8pm just so I could go to sleep and get day one over with. Day two was better. Day three was hard, but after getting two successful days under my belt, I decided I didn't want to have to go through them again!

It has been the smartest health move I've ever made. I no longer wake up with a smoker's cough. My house smells nicer.

To try and ensure I didn't go back to smoking, I bought myself a new car. The monthly payments cost just a little bit more than I was spending on cigarettes every month. And I have something to show for it besides a hacking cough and shortness of breath! (And I know I can't afford both the car payment and the cigarette habit, so it was a good incentive for me.)

Chew gum and drink lots of water -- it helps.

Wishing you much determination (and luck!) to ditch this habit...

MHH

[notz]

My last cigarette was January 21, 1997. It has been the hardest thing I've ever done. If I can do it, so can you! I agree with everything that's been said. I'll add that I read everything I could get my hands on about stopping smoking. I listened to anything anyone had to say remembering that I was the pupil and they were my teachers. I made a plan based on all I had considered. I didn't use everthing, just what I believed would work for me. I'm rooting for ya! You will smell sooooooo much better!
notz smoking no more

[ECHOES]

Wanting to be a non-smoker is a good place to begin.

I no cleared my PM's but jbug might still have the one I sent her with my tips. I quit 3/1/05 after 30+ years.

It's wonderful to not have my hair, clothes, breath smell horrid.
It's very freeing--the habit takes a lot of money, energy, and time.

Things that helped me:
Think of it as becoming a non-smoker--gaining something rather than losing something.
I realized that smoking was how I handled anxiety and especially peaks in anxiety, so I had to find other ways to react to that. Crisis is the most common reason a non-smoker returns to smoking.
Realizing that the first 2 weeks will be the hardest. Sometimes it's just good to know what we face.
Cut down before quitting.
Drink a lot of water. I had about a cup every hour at work, less at home.
Get the rest you need. Very important to feel well rested and have the energy needed to go through this.
Time the cravings. They come .. and then they go. They are limited and they don't have to be acted upon. We can just experience them, note what we're feeling, and how long they last. (also a good time for a glass or bottle of water to remember how fresh we want our mouths to feel). Knowing a craving will be over in minutes helps get through it.
The cravings will lessen in frequency and duration.
For now, avoid places and activities where you smoked. I liked to sit outside and smoke while doing crossword puzzles. Smoking was a part of that routine and I had to disrupt the whole routine for a while.
At the same time, increase time spent in places (bubble bath!) and activities (swimming, crocheting) that you don't associate with smoking.
At the same time, add a healthy food or two to your diet.
When I went out for breaks at work with my smoker friends (I would have had to avoid them if their smoking made me want to smoke too), I would stand with my arms folded across my chest--because not having something to do with my hands drove me nuts. Might have looked funny, but it worked.
I also ate blow-pop lollipops. (I liked the stale ones I could chew on before I even got to the gum to chew!)

You'll find thngs that help you. Make note of them to remember if you need them during a particularly hard time, and as a reminder that you have been able to get through hard times before and you can do it again.

Good luck to you!! You can do it