Sorry about my Ross-centric posts of late (I think I truly am embarassing him) but this will be my last one for awhile...um, until I write about New Years Eve in Paris.Anyhoo, the reason for this post is simple. Ross - a moderate smoker - is giving up smoking, cold turkey, as of tomorrow, and I was wondering if there are any smokers or ex-smokers out there who have some good advice. I'm mainly looking for the advice of the ex-smokers, because let's face it, if you are still smoking the advice probably isn't very good.
Regardless, any hints or tip or stories about how you quit is much appreciated.
15 comments:
Nicotine patches, normal chewing gum, change some of your routines (eg have your mid-morning coffee at a shop that doesn't allow smoking), asprin and will power.
I went through it in January. Get through the first three days and it will get better.
You (Him/ross) CAN do it.
One question before I go technical.
You've heard of
Alcoholic Anonymous
AL_ANon
Overeaters Anonymous
Why is there no "Nicotine Anonymous"?
or SMOKERS ANONYMOUS??
Because of the TOBACCO Industry
In other words, the MAIN way Millions of people quit other bad habits IS NOT supported because they are afraid IT WILL WORK TOO WELL
First things first:
Just tell yourself You're through.
For good.
Never again will you take a drag of someone else's cigaette, or bum one off a friend at a bar. EVER.
Once you make that commitment, and understand that 99% of quitting is WILL POWER, and that even ONE slip up is fatal
(I quit smoking the first time after 12 years, and remained smoke free for 5 years, and then had ONE drag bummed off of someone...
I was smoking for another 7 years before quitting for good that time.)
So< if you know that it's will power, what about the gum, and all that shit???
Tools, to occassionally (say in the beginning) help you get over the NICOTINE Addiction that cigarettes cause.
Highly advised to go cold turkey.
If you NEED help with the withdrawals, yes, asprin, and perhaps some nicotine pills
would help with the SYMPTOMS.
Kick the NICOTINE as FAST as possible.
it will help
Good luck Russ, I hope that this helped!
Verification Word:
JAUGCBQB
WHICH means
J ust
A llow
U rself
G ood
C lean
B bronchitis-Free
q uitting (so you can
B reathe
(and visit the Automated Poetry Machine
to help me write more poems!!
BTW, it's over 16 years since I quit the second time. ANd there are STILL times when the old internal body tells me to INHALE that damn cigarette from the bar..
It's much easier here now that ALL restaurants are smoke free... But once in a while it is still hard. It always will be!
Good Luck
Apologies in advance for this comment being nothing to do with smoking; I've put a link to your "Three days of solitude" post on my blog about the motivation to write. Hope you don't mind :-)
When I quit smoking there were times that I was desperate for a smoke.
This is digusting but I would go and take a deep whiff of a dirty, nasty ashtray.
It worked every time.
I used the nicotine gum and then slowly switched over to regular gum. It took a long time, but it worked. Offer whatever positive efforcement you can think of... =;-)
When I quit, I would chew on anything, gum, straws, pen caps, anything to keep me busy. I also stopped my routine things I did while I was smoking....talking on the phone, reading, stuff like that. The biggest thing though, before I did the actual quitting, I would tell myself how nasty the cigarette tasted and tell myself I was gonna throw up it smelled so bad. Wierd, I know. Worked? Yes. Everytime I smelled cigarette smoke after that, I'd gag, even during the first few days.
BUT I did go back to it six months later. By choice, not lack of willpower. I like smoking.
Please refrain from barraging me with anti smoking comments and how I'm killing other people too, not just myself. I already know this. I just don't care. Sorry.
My OH gave up smoking about 4 months ago - thank god! Never having been a smoker myself I don't have any tips - though I remember a friend who kept gum with her all the time.
Best of luck Ross!
Yay Ross!! I myself have set my quit date for February the 14th...I figure I'll take a day I already hate and make it even worse by giving up my only vice.
Here's to a better smelling Scot!
go Ross! I've never smoked a day in my life so I have no idea but I think it's absolutely awesome that he's doing it. As a non-smoker sometimes I find that cigarette smell is a bit icky - so he's heading for lovely freshness 24/7 :D
Well I smoked like hell for like 2 months and suddenly I just stopped. I noticed that my skin got so dry and quite older-ish. My vanity just saved me becoming a chain smoker.
Congratulations on your choice to quit! I smoked for 5 years and gave up cold turkey too.
The first few days were sooooo tough but you can get through them! I did and I have the worst willpower in the world!
I too chewed on a lot of pencils...I also ate a lot like a cow. Carrots were a diet friendly choice...and celery sticks...sugar free lolipops...cheese strings...beef jerky. But your lucky you are man and probably wont gain weight.
Keep your mouth and fingers busy and youll be fine. I took up knitting! Play video games, solataire....write...guess you cant paint your nails tho!
Coffee is good for the nic withdrawl but not good if you associate coffee with smoking.
Dont go to bars or restaurants that allow smoking.
And cook! That way you keep busy and feed yourself while you at it! I made so many recipes...and the BEST part was that I could REALLY taste them! You forget that smoking kills your taste buds...so take advantage of your new found sense!
Good luck!
Thanks all!
But did anyone experience really severe withdrawl syndroms, like nausea or vomiting?
ok... I've quite a few times.. don't know if it's too late to post since you wrote this post long ago, but anyhoo.... I couldn't drink booze, becuse I associate drinking and smoking..and I couldn't "smoke, smoke" because I associated that with smoking too...haha sounds too funny!! I had to hang around non smokers and when i finally did hang around my "smoker friends" I had to give them the heads up not to give me a drag or smokes...cuz I knew I wanted them!! I still want them.... I chewed mints for a while... It's the oral fixation... the motion..so if you can get gum or mints..I think it'll be easier! GOOD LUCK!! after three days, three weeks, three months it gets easier!
not vomiting or nausea..but really REALLY tired, short tempered and cranky 24/7. Especially for the first few days!
Sorry I'm late; I'm catching up. Um, maybe Ross could get pregnant? Yeah, I know. But that's the only thing that made it stick for me. At least for 9 months. It was my easiest of several "I'm quitting" tries and I'm still pissed off at myself every single day for starting again...
Anyway, sunflower seeds may help and also exercise and avoiding anything that "triggers" a smoke (morning coffee, evening beer, etc.)...or maybe have him carry a colored, graphic, realistic picture of a cancerous lung around in his wallet and every time he wants one, look at it? hey, I should try that..
best of luck and keep us posted!
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