Ex smoker Jellies, may I pick your brain?

Have you considered the serious health issues as being more important than cost or smell?

I stopped on a dime after an oncologist called me and said, “Your biopsy came back positive..for breast cancer.”

I never lit up again and never missed anything about it.

I quit cold turkey 40 years ago after smoking for 15, mainly because I couldn’t stand the ashtray smell on my beard and hands, but also because my doctor had spotted a small scar on a lung which he felt was vulnerable to cancer.

At the same time I stopped biting my nails, a lifelong habit. I’ve always cold-turkeying both habits created some kind of motivational synergy.

I’ve never smoked or chewed my nails since.

I wish you good luck.

The prescription Chantix worked for me. It was a miracle drug. May 1 made on year since I smoked. I wanted to stop though. I hated every aspect of the nasty, smelly, expensive, deadly habit. I had hated smoking for a long time but continued buying them and lighting up. I knew I wanted to stop and I knew I had to have determination. I got the determination with I had bronchitis twice in six months. I knew smoking was killing me. I’d never suffered from bronchitis before in my life and then to have it twice in six months! And to watch my hands light a cigarette after that was too much. My husband and I both got the pills and stopped May 1 one year ago.

Brushing your teeth and using mouthwash is a good trick to use when you want to light up. Also, Tootsie Pop suckers or something else in your hand and mouth will help relieve the physical oral fixation part of the habit.

I really made up my mind I would not allow a 3 inch piece of paper with tobacco rule my life.

PS. For some people, having worry beads in your pocket can give you something to fiddle with.

I quit cold turkey 25 years ago, from a two-packs-of-Marlboro-a-day habit.

The thing is to get through the first few days. So yes, chew some good sugar free gum like Dentyne white.

Do something different and physical, like go on a walk in the afternoon. It will help to clear your head and the breathing will make you feel better. (I started riding my bike a couple of hours everyday).

Set a reward goal. I promised myself a trip to the East Coast for a bicycle vacation.

Think of something to keep yourself distracted/busy when you would normally go on a smoke break.

Remember the withdrawal cramps/discomfort will only last about 72 hours. And the hardest times are 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months. As it was explained to me, I had chemicals at the cellular level that needed to get out of my body, and the discomfort was my cells and muscles getting healthy clean again.

After a week or so clean all your clothes and your beddings and anything else you can air out to get smoke smell out of your living quarters.

@gailcalled That’s really scary. You’re ok now?
I do think about the health issues that come with smoking, I admit that I don’t think about them as much as I should. I’m not even sure why. Especially since I have chest pains a lot and I’m forever coughing. Pretty stupid.

@Pachyderm_In_The_Room I wash my hands all the time and can never get the smell off of them, and I hate that my hair smells. @gailcalled quit and never looked back, which is what I’d like to do. Where you able to do that as well? Or did you have a hard time with it?

@bkcunningham I’m glad that Chantix worked for you! I’ve heard good things and bad things about that particular medication. Unfortunately I don’t have health insurance at the moment, so a trip to the doctor and filling the prescription are out of the question.

@zenvelo I average about a pack a day. Sometimes a little more.
Did you have mood swings?
I like the idea of going for a walk. That’s something that I used to love to do, I just don’t do it anymore.
I think the hardest part is going to be when I’m driving or talking on the phone. I tend to chain smoke at those times.
It’s funny though, while I’m at work I rarely even think about smoking until about a half hour before my shift is over, then I can’t wait to get outside and light up.

We had to pay for everything ourselves too, @Katniss. Including my two trips to urgent care for acute bronchitis. My urgent care doctor actually wrote our scripts. He was a blessing to us. Considering what we were paying for a cartoon of cigarettes, it was worth the small investment. If you go to the Chantix website, you can print a coupon for a discount on the drug. I found it too late to have used it myself, but I would love to see someone take advantage of the offer. Best wishes to you.

I know a number of people who have had a lot of success with e-cigarettes.

@bkcunningham Thank you! I will have to check that out!! My ex husbands cousin took Chantix and it worked for him. I had my doubts at first because he was a pretty heavy smoker.
I’m moving to New York at the end of the summer, I’d like to have quit by then. Cigarettes are over 10 dollars a pack there.

@nikipedia Did they use the actual E-Cig? Or was it one of the other brands? I just wonder if there is a difference between them?

@Katiss:I’m fine. Officially in remission for 17 years.

The thought of lighting up now makes me gag. When i pass some benighted person smoking on the sidewalk, I have to cross the street because the smell, even in the open air, disgusts me so.

If you have the intestinal fortitude to go cold turkey & stick to it no matter what, then go for it.
Worked for the wife & I, the withdrawal symptoms subside significantly after only a couple of weeks or so.
Set yourself a target date of around a month & the rest is easy, praise yourself a lot throughout & remember, if you can do without for a week/month then you can do without forever. Good luck & don’t punch too many doors :)

Everything I tried, failed, until I tried electronic cigarettes, That was last July, I’ve now been quit almost a year and if you put both an e-cig and a pack of real ones in front of me, I’d pick the e-cig. I’ve worked my way down to zero-nicotine and now I just use it for the yummy flavours.

And if you have any questions regarding e-cigs @downtide is the one to consult…freakin expert on them :P

@Katniss No, I didn’t have mood swings. I was a little edgy the first few days, but that calmed down pretty quickly.

My smoking was beginning to affect my breathing, but within a couple weeks I was feeling so much better and I could tell it was because the smoke was cleared out.

@gailcalled I’m so happy to hear that! I understand about crossing the street to avoid smelling cigarette smoke. I hate the smell too. It really is gross.

@ucme It’s not the doors I’m worried about punching! lol It’s the people who annoy me. I’m not a violent person, at all, so I’m sure I’ll be able to keep myself in check.

@downtide Are all of them the same? Do the less expensive brands work as well as the more expensive ones? I’m going to be pretty strapped for the next couple of weeks so I won’t be able to spend a lot of money on one.

@uberbatman Thank you for the tip. :0)

@zenvelo I can handle feeling on edge, I just don’t want to be bitchy. lol
I’ve heard that drinking a lot of water helps to flush out the system faster. I’m hoping that it really works.

One of my favorite things is having coffee and a couple cigarettes in the morning. I really hope I can do the coffee without the cigarette. There’s no way in hell I can give up my coffee.

@Katniss I quit 26 years ago with hypnosis. Three pack a day to ZERO. One evening of group hypnosis and a cassette tape of the the lead-up to the actual hypnosis. Cost was equal to the price of two cartons of cigarettes.

My boyfriend has smoked since he was 16. He stopped 2 years ago, just like that. He said if he didnt go cold turkey, he would never properly stop. So he’s stopped.

Rather than retyping everything, I’m going to offer you a link back to my previous answer, one in a chain.

Also see the post about crabbing, just below that.

There’s lots of good ideas on these various threads, but “cold turkey” is still simple and clear.

May I add that it’s harder when there are smokers around you who don’t quit. That was—and still is—my case: you get the withdrawals, but you don’t get the payoff of a smoke-free atmosphere. I live with four smokers at present, and I’ve been off cigs since October of 1989. I hope you have lots of support for your effort.

@Headhurts, we don’t know how old he is. How long did he smoke?

@Jeruba He’s 47 on Saturday. He smoked from 16 to 44.

@Jeruba: Four smokers under your roof? That must be challenging. Hats off to you.

Haha, those multiple links are like infinty, something outta The Matrix.

E-cigs worked for me. I spent all my cigarette money on my first kit, so I had no choice (ha-ha). That was 2½ years ago. From the day my e-cig kit came in the mail until this day, I have not had a real cigarette. They have improved a lot since then. Any smoke shop should have the new system – the “tank”, which is the best and most economical system I have used.

It is, @gailcalled, in more ways than one. They all have the courtesy to take their tobacco habit outside, but in the warm weather, with windows open, there are always fumes wafting in. I can’t escape them or defend against them.

My partner is in early thirties and she quit a few years ago. She had been a heavy smoker since her early teens. A good 20 years. She quit cold turkey.

@Katniss you should also check out this old question of mine. Lots of good info on e-cigs there.

I’m very happy for everyone who has stopped smoking. Extremely proud of you all. I am leery of the e-cigs though. Please, I’m not criticizing you in any way, shape or form. I’m just giving voice to some thoughts. I know it wouldn’t have worked for me. Number one, I tried the electronic cigs when they first came out. So I am speaking from experience.

After I got over the physical withdraw and real cravings of tobacco, the biggest thing for me was the habit part of the addiction. The part where I would automatically reach for a cigarette when I picked up the phone or when I got in the golf cart to drive somewhere or after I ate. That bothered me.

I thought about not smoking constantly at first. “It has been 8 days since I smoked. If I wake up in the morning it will be the start of day 9.” It started to wear on me. I went to bed thinking about not smoking. I wanted to be rid of the entire process of the horrible habit.

I just don’t see that happening with the e-cigs because you aren’t breaking the physical habit. Does that make sense?

@bkcunningham I see what you’re saying, but if you replace the physical habit with one that isn’t harmful isn’t that fine as well? I mean we all have habits no matter what it is, it’s just a matter of measuring whether or not they do harm to us/others which determine if we should break said habits.

I stopped smoking within a couple of weeks of starting with an e-cig. I started off having the fluid with nicotine and then dropped the nicotine down to nothing. After two weeks of vapor I tried to smoke a normal cigarette and I couldn’t stand it.

It wasn’t one of the gas station disposable ones, though; it was a fairly costly Ego set up. After the initial purchase, though, the cost drops quite a bit when you’re only buying fluid.

I introduced a co-worker to my e-cigs (he used to use the disposable ones and wasn’t happy with them, so he continued to smoke) and he quit within a month or so.

It wasn’t for me because of the place I’m at in my life, @uberbatman. Please, don’t think I’m putting e-cigarettes down. I’m not. It is up to you as an individual to decide what is or isn’t fine for you.

It is a slow process for me, but I’m trying to change a lot of things in my life. I don’t want to replace one habit with another. I wanted to be completely free of that habit and not allow something to control me. It is sort of like an alcoholic drinking Near-Beer. I just never understood that.

I noticed you have already gave some good motivational points to help you. Every time you are going to smoke or feel like smoking, try to remember how you felt smelling like an ash tray. Tell yourself that you are an adult, and that a part of your personality is when you say you are going to do something, you do it that means that you say you will stop smoking so keep your promise. And remember that whenever you reject the urge to buy a cigarette and smoke you make the addiction weaker and one day it will become so weak that you well never feel to smoke again.

@bkcunningham totally understandable, thanks for elaborating more, makes sense. FWIW I never understood non alcoholic beers myself. Then again I think that’s because I think beer tastes bad in general, I only drink it for the effect :P

I lost my taste for cigarettes over time. So I stopped gradually, a couple of drags, half a cigarette veered off my favorite brand for lights or cheaper brands. Give away packs that I had given in and bought. Enough where the nicotine wasn’t the reason I was smoking, social smoker, oral habit, reward etc. Chewing gum helps there. But when in company of smoker I would chain smoke wake up almost hung over my throat felt nasty.

This continued with on off occasional patterns. Then I got sick. It wasn’t advised that I smoke though it wasn’t imperative I quit. I stopped then.

Some people suggested putting the money they saved not smoking into a bank account. They said they eventually had enough for a downpayment on a house. This didn’t work for me because I was so erractic a smoker. But it may for you.

During my extremely early 20’s I used to smoke. I fucking hated how everyone around me was always like, “Damn, I need a cigarette, I need a smoke, I need a drag.” For me it was just whatever. I wanted a time out and I wanted to buy them and I wanted to stand in a place in public and smoke. That’s all it was. That’s all it is. It’s all image. It’s all stupidity. It’s all killing.

My grandpa died of lung cancer. He barely made it home to the Philippines from the U.S. before he died. The next morning he was home in the Philippines, he passed away. Quit smoking. It’s ridiculous. You’re pumping poisons into your blood stream by inhaling all that crap. It’s not just the lungs that are affected either.

In my opinion you should quit cold turkey. I did it. You have to have a strong will though. You have to realize how stupid it is. You have to campaign to yourself for yourself.

Let me tell you my opinion about it now. I fucking hate it still to this day. The guy downstairs smokes and I always have to close my windows upstairs. There’s nothing good about it. Realize that. Realize you’re better than that.

You don’t have to be “religious” to understand this philosophical line but remember this: Your body is a temple, treat it that way.

By this it means your body holds your thoughts, your spirit, your energy, your existence on this earth. Get on this next level of consciousness. And as soon as you quit, start up a healthy based diet. More fruit smoothies (sugar free natural ones) etc. Don’t let, “Big Tobacco” define/kill you. They don’t care about you! I know this for a fact. A friend of mines graduated UCSD and works court cases that deal with large industries/companies getting sued. It is all a business to them. They don’t care about your feelings. And this is common sense. If you don’t want to smell like cigarettes, don’t be around cigarettes.

Sorry if my tone sounds aggressive. Think of my overall message to you as being vibrant and a positive one.

If I could quit you could do it to. If you don’t believe in you, you think to yourself and you tell yourself, “Well hey? At least Whitetigress on Fluther believes in me, I’ll do it for that guy.”

And this will help you for the rest of your life! You won’t regret it! There’s nothing to regret about quitting!

“Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times.”

@uberbatman Exactly!

Oh hey after you quit smoking your taste buds start replenishing. Food tastes better then it used to.

Course this may be a contributor to weight gain. However, healthy food fruits and vegies taste great so it is not a given you will gain weight. If you have enough self control to stop smoking you have enough to eat moderately.

Good luck!

I quit smoking with the e-cigarettes. It has been 4 months and a week now. Since it is illegal for stores to sell the nicotine fluid in Canada, it was harder to find at first.

If you choose to go the e-cig route:

The biggest thing about e-cigs is that they are not a way to quit nicotine. They are an alternative to smoking tobacco. People need to remember that. While people can quit nicotine with the help of e-cigs, most don’t seem to. They tend to give up tobacco cigarettes though (analogues). Again, remember, e-cigs are meant to be an alternative (not a smoking cessation aid) to smoking tobacco. Anyone who’s tried e-cigs, even over 2 years ago, can give them a try again. The technology is always improving and they’ve come a long way since first appearing in the market.

Since my first puff on the e-cig, I have not looked back. I had a hard time quitting tobacco cigarettes because, once the nicotine withdrawals wore off, I could not seem to get past the habit of smoking. I enjoy the act of smoking. I enjoy the feeling at the back of throat. And, my goodness, e-cigs taste way better. I am very happy with the e-cig and fluid I finally settled on, after trying so many different varieties and accessories. And, my partner is completely fine with me vaping in the house (a nice bonus). I think many people don’t seem to understand how big of a life-changer e-cigs can be.

As for the e-cigs themselves, there are so many varieties that you really do need to try different ones until you find what works for you. There are ones that look very similar to tobacco cigarettes (even in size) – these ones can be disposable or rechargeable. There ones which look nothing like cigarettes. These ones tend to have more power and last longer (and are usually rechargeable). There are ones which are manual, automatic, and/or variable voltage. You can get ones that are pre-filled or ones you refill yourself (with fluid you purchase separately). There are different sizes, accessories or cartridges available. It all depends what the person likes. The prices are as diverse as the products. It is very worth it to read up on them first. There are also even more flavours (and you can even make your own flavour mixes). There are different percentages of the fluids (one provides better throat hit, the other provides more vapour). There different levels of nicotine (usually 8, 12, 24, 36 milligrams). Trying the different e-cigs and flavours can get expensive if you don’t find the perfect fit but does not compare to the cost of tobacco cigarettes (especially in Canada).

Since I quit tobacco cigarettes, I can actually breath like a normal person. My skin looks healthier and I don’t stink like smoke. E-cigarettes (or PV – personal vaporizer) have about 4 ingredients. Compare that to most tobacco cigarettes which have over 4000 ingredients. Nicotine is not the cancer villain people once believed it to be. It’s a lot of the other crap in tobacco products that are.

Now, of course you don’t have to go the e-cig route. I’m just saying what worked for me and giving you a bit more information. I did a ton of reading and research on e-cigs before deciding to try them out. I hope I didn’t go overboard with the information. It’s only the tip of the iceberg with e-cigs.

Everyone is different. Some can go cold-turkey.. some wean down, and others use smoking cessation products. If your goal is to completely quit nicotine, e-cigs with nicotine fluid may not be the way to go. You can get zero-nic fluid instead. Or try the many other various ways to quit smoking.

Best of luck to you in your journey to quit smoking. If you are looking for more information on e-cigs, please send me a PM (no, I don’t sell them or anything like that). I’ve learnt a lot in the 4 months of trying different types.

I quit cold turkey just over 10 years ago. I replaced a pack of smokes with a pack of Tic Tacs. Now I’m addicted to Tic Tacs. I can live with that

I smoked more than a pack a day many years ago. I used patches and that helped take away the physical addiction. I then tried to avoid doing the things that triggered the ‘habitual’ addiction for a while. For instance, I did cross-stitch projects because it kept my hands busy. I avoided sitting by the phone because during a long call I would smoke. Mostly, I was adament I couldn’t ever smoke again and I haven’t. I know I’m an addict and I am scared just one cigarette will lead me back to smoking again.

Good luck!

I started smoking in college when out drinking with friends and ended up smoking about a pack a day for nearly 15 years. I’d manage to quit when pregnant and also sometimes for a few months here and there, always using the patch. My husband smoked too and we both had the same problem of failing at quitting. The way we managed to finally quit for good sounds too good to be true but neither of us has had a single cigarette for three years.

I heard about a book called The Easy Way to Quit Smoking and ordered it from Amazon because the reviews were so positive. We read the book and haven’t had a cigarette since. It isn’t a book about why you should quit and doesn’t use scare tactics or talk about cancer or health. Everyone already knows why you shouldn’t smoke and the diseases it can cause. Instead it talks about the addiction process, the withdrawal process, and how to think differently about the way you feel when you smoke and when you quit. This book says to quit cold turkey but we’d already bought the patch so we used that too (which in the past had failed for us repeatedly). I seriously can’t stress how helpful this book was in giving us the mental tools to get past the withdrawal. I don’t often think about smoking now, but when I do I feel such an immense relief to be rid of that addiction. Me and my husband were skeptical to say the least, but it was the best ten bucks we’ve ever spent.

I have actually quit niocotine as well using the e-cigs. I now make up my own nic-free juices at home just for the fun of it.

@momster I bought that book too and found it didn’t help at all. It would be fine while I was sitting there reading it but half an hour later I’d find myself instinctively lighting up without even thinking about it.

If I remember correctly, the book instructs you not to quit before reading it but to actually continue smoking as you read. I think the idea is that by the end of the book you will want to quit and will throw out your cigarettes. You can’t just light up out of physical habit if there isn’t a pack of smokes in your pocket.

Hmm—is that ^^^ an example of what I think they call paradoxical therapy? Is the idea to show you first that you have control over the behavior (by performing it at will) and then guide you to control it by not performing it?

The hardest thing for me was the ritual of smoking, and the fact that nearly all my peers smoke.
I got an ego clearomizer ecig (the ones with a clear top so you can monitor the liquid) and used that.
I would fill it in the morning, and make a the tank last me for the day.
Then I gradually reduced the strengths of the liquids I was using.
Now I have a nicotine free liquid, and only use my ecig when I’m at the pub with my friends, so I have something to do when they all go outside for a cigerette. This way I can get that social smoking experience that I miss, without actually putting nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide in my body.

I’ve never heard of paradoxical therapy but that does sound like what the book does. Whatever the term for it is, I will always be glad we did it because I think quitting was the best thing my husband and I could ever do for ourselves and our kids.

Patchers, prayers partner, prescription,perseverance and still puff. I fight the battles I can win!