# Quitting Smoking



## patmcf (Jan 13, 2011)

I do not smoke very much, but I am indeed a smoker. Is there anyone out there that won the battle with cigarettes? If so, I would really like some tips on how to quit. 

Here goes nothing...


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## bigguyDK (Jan 16, 2011)

patmcf said:


> I do not smoke very much, but I am indeed a smoker. Is there anyone out there that won the battle with cigarettes? If so, I would really like some tips on how to quit.
> 
> Here goes nothing...



When I gave up smoking I used nicotine gum for a week and then slowly switched it out with ordinary gum. it worked against all expectations


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## FatAndProud (Jan 16, 2011)

I've recently quit (3 weeks without one!). The best advice I could give is: tell everyone your intentions of quitting smoking. Everyone will bug you about it if they see you light up. Problem solved...unless you LOVE to hear a bajillion people nag you about the cons of smoking.


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## patmcf (Jan 16, 2011)

Thank you bigguyDK and FatAndProud those are both helpful suggestions. I will likely try both at the same time!


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## CastingPearls (Jan 16, 2011)

I successfully quit smoking 15 years ago, cold turkey. I smoked a pack (20 in the US) a day of Parliament Lights 100's which to me not only tasted great but were also aesthetically pleasing and elegant. I had a good role model in my mom who quit after smoking since 12-years-old so I would suggest you find someone who quit to be accountable to, preferably someone you know personally and trust.

I also cut drinking straws down the the exact size of my cigarettes and picked them up and played with them whenever I got the urge because to me it was never the nicotine addiction--it was the emotional and sensual enjoyment (and oral fixation)  of the hand to mouth, the smoke rising up, the feel of it between my fingers, etc.

Every now and then I 'smoke' an e-cigarette which contains no nicotine....it's entirely water vapor (also called vaping) which helps especially at a party or at a club, where when I was smoking, actually could chainsmoke a whole pack in a night. 

When I get an urge for a real cig, I remind myself of how much my clothes and hair reeked for days, how I was chronically sick with laryngitis, tonsilitis and bronchitis and was always obsessed with how many were left in my pack, not to mention the rising cost.


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## cinnamitch (Jan 16, 2011)

I used to smoke menthol light 100's. I just loved them. What made me quit? Truthfully i refuse to pay the price of a pack of cigarettes now. It wasn't health, or how others hated the smoke , it was money. I hate off brand cigarettes so that wasn't even a choice to me. It was hard and to this day i can smell someone smoking one and i want one so bad, but not bad enough to pay that kind of money. Every once in awhile i will take a drag of my daughters cigarette but it isn't enough to make me want to pony up those bucks again.


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## patmcf (Jan 16, 2011)

CastingPearls said:


> I successfully quit smoking 15 years ago, cold turkey. I smoked a pack (20 in the US) a day of Parliament Lights 100's which to me not only tasted great but were also aesthetically pleasing and elegant. I had a good role model in my mom who quit after smoking since 12-years-old so I would suggest you find someone who quit to be accountable to, preferably someone you know personally and trust.



When I was born, my dad quit smoking after 15, or so, years. Despite this valiantly paternal decision, he now has leukemia. I know he would be happy to guide me through quitting, especially because he would be horrified to hear I was following in his footsteps. However, stress is something that can cause the cancer to advance more quickly and I refrain from seeking his assistance for this reason. My own personal situation aside, I admit that finding someone who knows what it is like to quit and relying on them for support is a fantastic idea. Unfortunately, aside from my father, the only friends I truly trust are either full blown smokers or self-righteous non-smokers. 

Sorry I am being difficult CastingPearls


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## bonified (Jan 17, 2011)

I gave up once, for over a year. Everytime you want one, go clean your teeth. That fresh and so clean clean feeling will prevent you wanting to light up.


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## CastingPearls (Jan 17, 2011)

patmcf said:


> Sorry I am being difficult CastingPearls



Naah....it's cool. What works for some might not work for others.


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## Saoirse (Jan 17, 2011)

Its kinda pricey, but my friend swears by his e-cig. the nicotine liquid he uses smells so good!


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## patmcf (Jan 17, 2011)

Saoirse said:


> Its kinda pricey, but my friend swears by his e-cig. the nicotine liquid he uses smells so good!



This looks awesome! I am hoping Health Canada has legalized them by this point.


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## patmcf (Jan 17, 2011)

Saoirse said:


> Its kinda pricey, but my friend swears by his e-cig. the nicotine liquid he uses smells so good!



This looks awesome! I am hoping Health Canada has legalized this product by now.


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## Arlen (Mar 25, 2011)

I am also regular smoker but i am fed up with my habit and i want to 
quit smoking. i think thees tips for quit smoking will help me.


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## Sydney Vicious (Apr 10, 2011)

I smoked about a pack a day, and I bought an e-cig about a week ago. 
I can't say enough about it!! This thing is amazing, it feels like your smoking, and like Saoirse said, the drops you can use in the filters smell great!! I'm still in the beginning of quitting, but I've unintentionally succeeded so far. I didn't want to go out for a normal smoke NEARLY as much for the first day, maybe 3 regular cigerettes? Day two was about the same, day 3 I was stressing over stuff (you'd think I'd smoke much more that day) and still only had 5. Days 4 and five I had 2, last night I had one, and so far today I haven't even wanted to! 
I've got two batteries, 5 filters that I can add flavour to, a wall charger, and a USB charger. I love this little thing!
*puffs on strawberry/mint mix*
ahhhhhhhhhh!


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## CarlaSixx (Jul 18, 2011)

The e-cig sounds awesome. I'll have to look into seeing if it can be available for people in Canada. I sometimes crave cigarettes, so this would be a good thing to have handy when that craving would come along.


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## Darell (Sep 28, 2011)

Hi patmcf,
Some tips for you to quit smoking.
Makeup your mind of quitting and stick to your goals,
Do consult your doctor and follow doctor's advice,
Ask your family and friends to support your decision to quit,
Keep your teeth clean,
Keep money you would spend on cigarettes in a saving jar and plan for a treat tomorrow,
Set a quit day,
Make your quit day special,
Avoid going to places where you might find smokers,
Do start some physical activity.


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## FatAndProud (Sep 28, 2011)

Get laid...


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## CarlaSixx (Sep 28, 2011)

FatAndProud said:


> Get laid...



This sounds like a good idea...


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## CastingPearls (Sep 28, 2011)

I remember brushing my teeth every time I had an overpowering urge to smoke but I also remember for a couple of weeks I almost overdosed on toothpaste. LOL


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## Paul (Sep 28, 2011)

FatAndProud said:


> Get laid...


Never been a smoker but doesn't getting laid increase the urge for a smoker to light up?


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## CarlaSixx (Sep 29, 2011)

Paul said:


> Never been a smoker but doesn't getting laid increase the urge for a smoker to light up?



Only if it was really good  lol.


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## Paul (Sep 29, 2011)

CarlaSixx said:


> Only if it was really good  lol.


OH!..........


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## Webmaster (Oct 3, 2011)

I stopped smoking cold turkey a long time ago. When I did it, I had half-heartedly tried a couple of times, each times knowing that it was probably just a trial run. But when I finally did it for real, it was very clear to me that it'd only work if I never, ever touched another cigarette. No exceptions. None. 

I remember that in the beginning it was hard. There were just so many situations where I'd smoke a cigarette, and the social habit of doing it was almost harder to break than the addiction itself. In fact, while the physical withdrawal lasted just a month or so, the "social" withdrawal went on for at least a couple of years.

I am convinced that cold turkey is the only way. Nicotin is a powerful addiction, and continuing to feed the addiction with smoking substitutes makes zero sense to me. It's priming oneself for failure because the need continues to be fed and makes it much more likely to fall back to cigarettes. 

It's now been decades, and I never touched another cigarette. And I am so glad I stopped when I did. In those days, smoking was still much more widely accepted. You stayed in a bar until the smoke became too thick to breathe. Everyone smoked in movies. Smoking breaks were the norm. As was smoking a cigarette after making out. The world sure has changed (why do they still proclaim on every flight that it is a smoke-free one decades after that's been implemented?), and with regard to smoking certainly for the better.


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## cobalt_butterfly (Oct 13, 2011)

i don't know if this is any use to you guys across the pond but here on the nhs you can get pills to help you stop. As i understand it they make you sick when they react with nicotine. My colegue has recently given up even though i'm not sure she really wanted to but it helped that we stopped selling them to her on her quit day.


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