My tips and ways to stop

[nsd_user663_11989]

I stopped on 7/6 this year so into my 5th day, i know that is me stopped completely now. I had stopped for 5 months before and thought i could have one at a party....big mistake.. I started at 11 years old and i just turned 30 two weeks ago.

Anyway these are my tips followed by the different things that can help

1. NEVER ever think "i will never smoke again" this is a horrible thought when you first try to stop. Always say to yourself "its just one day" and do the same the next day and on and on

2.Change everything you do, change your morning routine, drink different drinks etc. This will help break the habit.

3.Staying away from people and things that smoke or make you want to, is great if you can....just for the first few days as they are the hardest.

4.Get exercising....it releases endorphins in the brain which smoking does to, thus minimizing the cravings.

5.Write a list of all the reasons its good to stop for, and a list for why you shouldnt. You will be very lucky to find a reason not to stop. Look at this often.

6.Take deep breaths if you get a craving and remind yourself it wont last long, take nicotine chewing gum,lozenges or a puff on your inhalator to ease it away.

7.Get a quit buddy or join a smoking cessation clinic, much easier and more encouraging if you arent alone.

You can use patches, inhalators,gum,lozenges,herbal ciggies and medication in the form of tablets to help you stop.

Patches can itch at first and they can keep you awake and give you vivid dreams. This wears off, so persevere.

I tried the herbal cigs, they stink and only replace the habit of holding and breathing in the smoke. An inhalator is just as good for that and is far better for your health.

The gum is good for an instant hit, but dont chew it too fast or you will end up with a horrible trapped wind feeling.

Lozenges are good aswell but i am having to run to the loo alot, not for a number1 anyway lol. I also have a cough, but they really work better than anything else i would say. I dont care about the side affects as it is better for me in the long run.

The inhalator is much like the herbal cigs but far better.

The tablets are the only one i havent tried, i have heard some bad side affects from them but some folk stopped no probs.

Just find a way or two that suits you.

Always stop when you want, not because you have run out of cigs, if your heart aint in it, it wont work. Set a date and get rid of ashtrays, cigs, lighters etc.

The craving feeling you feel without a cig is the same way a non smoker feels when they get stressed, so do something to relax. If they can get through it without smoking, so can you.

P.S Quitting requires willpower and the desire to stop must be higher than the desire to smoke. Willpower is something that needs to be built up, so the first few days will be the hardest, after that, it only gets easier. I'd say 4 days then your on the road to complete freedom but continue to use the NRT. Dont give in to the cravings, you need to break the habit, dont feed it by 'just having one more'. Keep a diary so you can check your progress or download the wee stop smoking program from nhs choices. It tells you how long you have stopped, how much money saved and gives you tips.(I might be able to email it to you if you cant find it).

Dont give up, it will only get easier and easier

Goodluck guys

[nsd_user663_7469]

Hi Kittykate I am not sure how to respond to your thread but didn’t like to see it with no responses, I think that the majority of what you have posted is sound but you seem to be going off at a tangent on so many different forms of quitting, maybe you should pick one and then see how you go on that or you could end up confusing your body and feeling worse than you should, I think the herbal cigs are a bad idea as they keep the habit in motion and that’s what as none smokers we are trying to stop, we don’t need to have a ciggie in our hand because eventually you will need to take the hit from one thing to another i.e. back to smoking nicco cigs, I wish you well in your quit and hope that you find a quit formula out of all the ones you have mentioned that suits you, keep posting and getting all the support you could need from this forum you couldn’t have chosen a better site.

[nsd_user663_11989]

Hi

Thanks for your reply.....um think you may have gotten a little mixed up with my meaning.

I already have my way of quitting.....i have had many failed attempts and a few that worked. I always went back to smoking but through that i have learned what gets me smoking again. Last time it was i went to a party, had a drink and had forgotten my inhalator. The company i was with were all going out for smokes and i joined them then had a ciggy. That was me after 5 months of no cigs. Each time i stop, the duration gets longer....i knew when i stopped this time, that all i needed to do is get over the first few hardest days and thats it. I have my patches and if i get a bad craving i use a lozenge.

The reason i listed all the different methods is because i have tried them all, not because i am using them all. The herbal cigs i used in order to get through the first days, they obviously arent the way to go, but they are far better for your health than regular ciggies are. They dont contain tobacco or nicotine or any other addictive substances.

Some people find it easier to smoke something when they try to stop, some dont....everyone is different. You wouldnt get addicted to herbals, but you can get addicted to NRT's, i suppose its up to the person stopping, how they choose to do it. As long as the outcome is they have stopped smoking, then thats a good thing. None of the methods i have said are worse than smoking regular cigs.

I am merely listing the different ways of stopping and my experiences of using them over the last 15 years

[nsd_user663_7469]

Hi Kittykate, yes I did understand your post, I was just stating what I thought to be a response to it, I agree whatever way gets you quit is an ok way other than the herbal cigs which actually I myself see as a dangerous substitute as they still contain carcinogenic herbs when drawn into the lungs as smoke, I just didn’t want any newbie’s seeing this as a good way to try to quit, they are none addictive as in they don’t or most don’t contain nicotine but it is proven that they can become habit forming when used to replace ciggies as a quit method, ok if you have decided that you still want to stay a smoker then it is possible this will be slightly less harmful than real cigs. But we all have different opinions on these points and this site is good for discussions as well so I hope we can have some health friendly debates on many things during our quits.

[nsd_user663_11989]

Yip your right

You just said exactly what i did in a round about way....Just so you know, i dont take offence to anyone replying to anything i say, yes we all have our opinions and yes we all have different ways of quitting smoking. I used herbals for the first few days and they were a last resort. Just to get me over the initial difficulties as in the past year i have tried to quit smoking again atleast ten times. So almost once a month since i started again, i have tried to quit and failed til now. They may have helped me this time after i lost my inhalator, but i had never tried them beforehand. I even bought the allan carr game for my ds lite lol, i suppose that opened my eyes a little and made me look at smoking differently. (should've added that to my list lol).

As i said before, herbals stink..and i mean STINK!!! they are worse for you than NRT and they only do the same job as an inhalator. Just to reinforce herbals arent a good way to quit and i only used as a last resort and through desperation. If i had not have had them at the time, i wouldve gone and bought a packet of cigs and i wouldn't be on here today.

Curious as to your method of quitting....the last time i quit from 20 plus a day, mine was large patches for 4 weeks with occasional use of an inhalator and chewing gum, then the medium patches for all of 2 days(yip 2 days) then using the inhalator about 10 times a day, down to rarely using it, and only when i was in a position where i wanted to smoke. Had i had it out with me that night, i would still have been quit now i guess.

Currently using the patches(large) and taking a lozenge when i get a craving. I also find the lozenges are good at fighting off the desire to put food in my mouth and since im still trying to lose the weight from last time, that cant be a bad thing, i might just get back into my clothes again lol

[nsd_user663_7469]

I quit CT cold turkey on Christmas Day, don’t ask, reckon I had a brainstorm or a no brainer, I decided for me that the reason I was stopping temporarily was because I had swine flu and was getting a cough and I don’t do coughs. So I quit while cough cleared up and here I am nearly 6 months and still smoke free, so I seem to be the only nutter to quit Christmas day, mind if it had been a conscious decision to stop it would still have been cold turkey as I hate drugs LOL now I have quit I don’t think I dare smoke again cause I know too much about nicotine and what it does to the heart and lungs etc so that was my way, if you have made a decision this time to stay quit and actually want to, I’m sure that with this forum and a bit of that illusive will power you will and if you want a quit buddy say the word

PS I know all about trying to lose the extra weight

[nsd_user663_13698]

Training your sub-conscious mind to control thoughts, feelings and behaviors, most of these programs is to listen to the series or CD-ROM drive faster than hypnosis, and is very effective. Hypnotherapy - Treatment is based on the use of hypnosis. Cold Turkey - a sudden process, it is abandoned at this time, showed some of the highest success rates in people stay smoke-free, waiting time has been shortened. Acupuncture - an ancient Chinese practice, according to the strategic positioning of the pins on the body, without drugs or medication. Laser therapy - similar to acupuncture, but uses a laser instead of the low frequency pin on the target "to stop" centers of the body.

[nsd_user663_8421]

How long have you been quit Alan?

I've suffered and struggled through 66 days. It's getting a lot easier now but the early days were pants.

[nsd_user663_14716]

get rid of all your cigarettes don't buy any cigarette or if you have then throw it away.

that is so simple....isn't it?

Or, or... don't smoke. Even simpler

[nsd_user663_19514]

A quick search on Google Images for the search term "smoking lungs" should give your motivation a little boost.