Kicking the habit - any suggestions?

[Dr Mordrid]

The FDA just approved a promising med by Pfizer called Chantix, which works by blocking nicotine receptors in the brain;

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/11/AR2006051100620.html

look very promising....

[Marshmallowman]

Well , what worked for me.

The patches helped to get me out of the habit of smoking, a couple of weeks and I would no longer unconciously reach for a cigarette. It also helped get the amount I was smoking down but I started smoking again. A month or 2 later I went cold turkey and quit them for good.

For the actual nicotine craving, 2 weeks holiday and keep away from people who smoke. Sleep get lots of sleep, no craving while you are sleeping I kind of forced myself to sleep in a extra couple of hours each day. I also found cutting down coffee weeks before hand and while I gave up helped. It seemed I kind of associated the nicotine rush with the coffee rush. eg having a cigarette made me want a coffee and visa versa. I have heard people call coffee bad habit glue and I think they are kind of right.

[Jessterw]

It's the caffeine in coffee that does it. You can develop an addiction to it which in turn gives you cravings that you then associate with whatever else.

The problem I've seen with any sort of medication that helps control nicotine urges is that they don't help solve the long-term addiction. As an aide to quitting the habit they're fine, but by no means would I ever recommend someone rely on them as the sole solution.

[lowlifecat]

i quit smoking everyday

[Helevitia]

I quit smoking by tapering off over a 4 months period. At some point, I was down to smoking 1 maybe 2 cigarettes a say. I finally asked my self, "Why even bother with one or two a day. And then I was "done". The reason I put done in quotes is that I have probably smoked about a pack a year for several years after that. This year, finally told myself that I shouldn't even be smoking a pack/year. So I can now honestly say that I am smoke free this year. I think every person needs to figure out what works best for them.

[VJ]

My dad has stopped smoking years ago.
He says the best way is to have some personal reason that motivates you (not the general knowledge, as that isn't really noticable personally). This can be something silly in the eyes of others (I have to repaint my walls every x years, I have to ask people for sigarettes, ...)

Just find some detail that you consider to be a personal downside to smoking, and focus on that.


Jörg

[az]

I forgot to mention that I of course quit cold turkey. I don't think there's any other reliable way, and any other way would also honestly be too much hassle and require too much attention and discipline for me.

[cjolley]

...
It worked before - I had stopped for a year a few years ago, but fell off the path on a Stag weekend and never fully recovered.
...

It didn't work then.

I was a 4 pack a day smoker (lit the next one off the last) untill about 10 years ago.

The way to quit is to stop smoking and start thinking of yourself as a non-smoker.

But, you will most likely ALWAYS want a smoke for the rest of your life.
You changed your brain when you started smoking, and there ain't no going back.
Just get used to that idea and live with it.
My grandmother died of emphysema. It was horrible. don't take a chance.

Just start thinking of yourself as a non smoker.
You will know you are there when you see a pretty girl light up and it strikes you the way it would if she had just pulled a great big booger out of her nose.

[edit] sp [/edit]

[Fat Tone]

You will know you are there when you see a pretty girl light up and it strikes you the way it would if she had just pulled a great big booger out of her nose.

I'm already there! It doesn't matter how pretty she is, once I see a fag in her hand I go right off! Yuck! And theres the thought of what it would be like to kiss an ashtray...

[NetSnake]

You will know you are there when you see a pretty girl light up and it strikes you the way it would if she had just pulled a great big booger out of her nose.

Yuck! And theres the thought of what it would be like to kiss an ashtray...

now you both exaggerate...

[Fat Tone]

Nope, not for me, anyway!

[cjolley]

It's really not an exageration, even though I long for a smoke pretty much all the time.
At least for me.

[Wombat]

Not an exaggeration for me, either. I've dated one smoker, and she'll be the last. Kissing her tasted foul. And seeing a girl smoking a cigarette is an instant complete turn-off for me.

[NetSnake]

Nope, not for me anyway!

It's really not an exageration, even though I long for a smoke pretty much all the time.
At least for me.

I didnt mean you exaggerate about your personal experience. Generaly this does not happen though. I started smoking at the age of ~18, relatively late for greek standards back then, and many of my friends started even later (~23). I cant recall any of us looking at a girl who was smoking like you described. Actually, I've only heard this kind of statements from only one person who quit smoking.
maybe its some kind of "defence" some ppl develop that keeps them from relapsing.
I just dont want somebody who will manage to quit smoking for, lets say, 4 months and think thats something is wrong because "that amazing and gorgeous girl in the corner that slowly leaves the smoke flow through her beautiful lips looks very sexy"

[Wombat]

In the US, about 1/4 of the population smokes (though I think that's declining). I've never been a smoker, except for a few cigars here & there. Smokers are just unattractive - they taste bad, they reek, and they are willingly throwing their health away, and spend a good bit of money to do it.

I can easily ignore 1/4 of the women out there for such reasons. Colorado is going smoke-free next month, and I can't wait to visit some of my favorite places again. However, now that nobody's going to smoke in the bar, it will be harder to glance at a girl and dismiss her, since I can't tell if she'd smoke if she could.