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I've been smoking for a few years now, and I really want to quit. It's a bad habit that has only negative repercussions on my life. I have tried to quit several times before, but have not succeeded in staying clean. This time I really want to succeed.
For those who have tried and managed to quit, what is the best advice you have? Also, what should I do in the times that the temptation becomes too strong? I know its going to be hard, but I also know I will end up quitting in the end. I just need to strengthen my will and focus on what I really want. Here's to a smoke free life!
EDIT: If none of you smoke, but have other addictions you are quitting/want to quit, post your advice. Quitting addictions in general is tough, so post how you got over your addiction if you have.
[UPDATES]:
Day 1: Success. This was the easiest day.
Day 2: Success. Did not succumb to cravings. Not as easy as day 1, but not too hard either. The day I am fearing most is day 4 and day 5. I have to hold out no matter what.
Day 3: It is 6:30pm. I am feeling mega cravings right now. I am trying really hard to resist. I'm going to go play some iccup in order to distract myself. I can't fail this early, crap. I MUST HOLD OUT!
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If you drink you shouldn't drink in social settings for awhile. I find it's the hardest for me when I'm around other people that are smoking when I've been drinking. Other then that it is really a matter of will power. I've never used any patches or gum. Just seer force of will.
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I personally have no experience with trying to quit cigarettes, but a few of my friends have been able to drop it by simply changing their addiction to caffeinated drinks for a little while, and drop those.
I guess it depends on how you smoke, and at what frequency you do.
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On November 17 2009 06:16 tonight wrote:
If you drink you shouldn't drink in social settings for awhile. I find it's the hardest for me when I'm around other people that are smoking when I've been drinking. Other then that it is really a matter of will power. I've never used any patches or gum. Just seer force of will.
I don't drink, so I won't have any problem with this. Ya, I think having a strong will will help me more than anything.
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Well when I quit smoking it was pretty much I had to sort of admit defeat in the fact that I can't smoke "in moderation."
So I had to convince myself that having one was just as bad as having a whole pack, and having one was eccentially starting from scratch.
Then I just paced myself with the "day at a time" sort of thing, like "if i can just make it all day without one ciggarette I'll be good."
But as we both know a day is a long fucking time when you want nicotine, so do it hour by hour and pace yourself. The cravings go away after a while, I havn't smoked in 8 months and it's great! no more getting winded walking up stairs!
Best of luck, and yeah I would recommend not drinking as tonight said. Don't drink for a while because that's just setting yourself up for failure lol.
Edit: Drinking not joking
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Although I agree that quititng smoking is all about will power, other addictions have very little to do with will power =]
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I just hope you have a strong will. That seems to be what actually does it for people.
Also If you have a lot of stress in your life it's probably going to be a lot harder for you to quit. Maybe then you should try using patches and things of the sort. There are sooooooooooo many different methods nowadays that I think you should find the one that is most appropriate for you. Unfortunately a lot of them are very expensive. If you're an oral fixate like me, then I would personally recommend gum. It doesn't even have to be nicotine gum. If you're seriously, seriously addicted to nicotine then you might want to just try the patches.
Orrrrrrr, you could try dip. :D
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Russian Federation1208 Posts
My advice: always remember the exact date when you stopped smoking. And count days since this date: "I'm not smoking for 5 days", "I'm not smoking for 26 days".
And if you have a desire to smoke again, tell yourself: "I decided stop smoking X days ago, and I will not smoke today and I'm becoming stronger and more free each day".
This really helps me to get rid of one of my addictions.
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The not drinking thing should really help then. That is always the time when I want to smoke the most. Social drinking settings.
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Man, i dont understand why smoking is so hard to quit. When i smoked i could quit at any point, I did so a few times and picked it back up just because i wanted to, when i finally didn't want to smoke anymore I simply quit and haven't started again. WILLPOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR
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Try replacing it with something else. I've never smoked, but this is how I cut down on things. Most smokers seem to just find a replacement as well, some quit easily, others have a really hard time. In my experience the people who've quite relatively easily have very busy days with not alot of down time.
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The longest I've gone trying to quit was about a month.
The biggest thing is probably to not drink too much, lol. Cigarettes are just TOO good with alcohol, dear god.
Good luck. (:
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Well, I'm an ex-smoker so I know what i'm talking about...
When I was a smoker the first thing I did in the morning, after waking up ofc  , was getting a smoke..
No breakfast or anything, and I used to smoke those 100% cigarettes (Twice as long as regular one)..
Pretty crazy now that I look back at it.. None of my smoking friends shared that crazy habit. They can at least wait until after breakfast..
An other thing I remember was that I didn't have any appetite at all.
One of the main reasons why I even did eat was that the smoke after wards tasted so much better..
I've tried a couple of times to quit smoking with different mindsets and with different strategies
(I think it's a good thing, but only if you can learn from your mistakes!).
I mean if somebody tell you, do this and do that only then you'll be successful.
Sometimes it's not until you made those same mistakes on your own you can really learn from it and try again with a different mindset etc .
The thing that worked for me was simply just to quit (sounds so fucking easy, and still it was one of the hardest things I've done in my life so far).
Work on your mood, get into that right mindset, be motivated and be strong.
And stay strong no matter what!
I failed many times by trying to smoke less and less..
Doesn't work, at least not for me or any of my friends (none of them has actually manage to successfully quit with any strategy :/).
And for me it didn't either work with 'only' to smoke when you're at parties and on special occasions, the cigarette will win in the end.
The thing is that you have to see the cigarette as your enemy (yeah I know that it sounds crazy, but it isn't. It's the nicotine's fault) but it will trick you by using your own mind, but only if you let it.
If you give in to those thoughts..
The nicotine will play with your emotions, for ex. like when I did a really hard test in school and afterward I just had to 'reward' myself by smoking a cigarette even tho I was supposed to quit. Another time I had a problem with a GF and I started to smoke again because 'I had a hard time'.
It can be as sad as "that guy DT-dropped me and I lost, DT:s are so imba I need some kind of comfort)." Well you get the point, and you'll have to get used to those thoughts as the will appear all the time (at least when you're really in a need of a smoke)..
Please don't think, "One little smoke wont make a difference" etc.
My friend who's failing to quit somking regular thinks like that and, he always start to smoke after that that one decision.
And oh, it's really hard to go to parties while drinking and trying to stay away from cigarettes, but it's not IMPOSSIBLE! Be strong!
For ex. I was at small party with my friends and we all was drinking and having a good time..
Then after awhile everyone needed to get a smoke (yes every single person smoked there, except for me who was trying to quit).. Btw we was like 12-14 ppl, and everyone got outside and I stayed inside all by myself just struggling.. I've never felt so alone in my whole life, but I kept being strong and resisted the temptation! And today I've been a non-smoke for more then 2 years! 
That's every bit of advice I can give you.. I hope you'll make it too!
It's has so many benefits being a non-smoker if you compare the two of them, you'll really be graceful to all those small things ppl take for granted etc. !
And oh, I'm a really strong person, not to brag.
But I feel like I have to mention it if anyone's wondering. Maybe that was the key to successfully managed to quit, I don't know..
GL, HF ;D!
+ Show Spoiler +
Edit:
Haha, I broke my keyboard while playing SC when I was trying to quit
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When temptations got too strong, I would think about how other people were able to quit. I'd say to myself "what makes them better than me? I'll prove they're not I can do this"
I'm a very competitive person so challenging myself like that really helped when it got rough.
If any of your friends smoke stay away from them for awhile, and try not to drive long distances. If you can Id try and find a time where you will have the least amount of stress as possible. Take vacation/sick days if you can, and just chill at home for the first couple days. I found it best to relax as much as possible.
I also took up chewing pens, pencils, toothpicks, whatever I could find, which is a habit that persists to this day years after I quit.
On November 17 2009 07:46 wifebeater wrote:Well, I'm an ex-smoker so I know what i'm talking about... When I was a smoker the first thing I did in the morning, after waking up ofc , was getting a smoke.. No breakfast or anything, and I used to smoke those 100% cigarettes (Twice as long as regular one).. Pretty crazy now that I look back at it.. None of my smoking friends shared that crazy habit, they can at least wait 'til after breakfast..
I used to do the same thing, one smoke the moment I got up, brush my teeth run out the door. Then I'd have a smoke on the way to work, it tasted so horrid after brushing my teeth, but I still did it every day.
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If you're going to be using something like gum or patches, I would suggest BlueCigs. Electronic cigarettes. I imagine they would be more effective than gum/patches. Good luck!
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Thanks for all the great advice guys, I really appreciate it.
@wifebeater, thanks for providing all the examples and such. It gives me inspiration to hear these stories and know that I can accomplish it too if I set my mind to it.
@klapdout, I am also really competitive, and I really like your strategy. It just when temptation time comes around all I think about is one thing, and don't try and compare myself. But now, I am going to stop and think about everyone else who succeeded and know that I should be able to succeed too if they can as well.
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My dad had been smoking since he was about 18 or so, and had tried everything to try and quit but nothing was working. So he was basically resigned to the fact that he was a smoker. And then about a year ago after a visit to the doctor, he suddenly just... stopped. No joke. He wouldn't have told me then, but a few months ago we were talking about it and he said that the doctor had said there was a good chance that he had cancer. It turned out it was actually a mistake and he was completely cancer-free, but the thought scared him enough that he hasn't touched a cigarette since. He still has cravings, but I guess the thought of having to deal with cancer is just too scary for him.
If you really want to quit you should do some research on the reason why you are quitting. You won't develop the willpower to suddenly stop indulging in an addiction without a reason. You might want to visit with a cancer patient sometime, and take a good hard look at what their life is like. Some of those people go through hell everyday, and a lot of them have smoking to thank for it.
It can be a tough battle but it's definitely worth it. Every time you think about how hard it is to fight that urge, just remember that in a few years you could be fighting a life-threatening disease in it's place. Good luck and I hope this goes well for you.
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one thing that i'd add is not to think it's a bigger deal then it is. millions of people quit smoking. it's not easy, and it takes lots of willpower. but there's no reason you can't quit as well.
a side effect of whole "smokers are evil" campaign is that we constantly are told how hard is it to quit smoking. there are the numerous products, seminars and other tools marketed under a big "because you can't do it by yourself" banner. likewise the "zomg nicotine is more addictive then heroin" routine ends up convincing people that they can't quit. thus when you try to quit and about 3-4 days in you feel shitty, you perceive it as so much worse then it is.
tldr; it's going to be hard, but it's not impossible, and you'll have gone through worse things in your life. just start day by day, making sure you don't slip up and say "fuck it" when you're already in a shop buying a newspaper. stay focused, but don't let it own you, and welcome the withdrawal, because it's proof that you're doing it.
{motivational speaker] you can do eeeeet {/motivational speaker}
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Remind yourself why you are quitting first:
1. Your health will improve greatly especially in long run
2. You will save more money
3. Its nasty, and you stink when you smoke!
4. add more
The hardest part for me after that was... identifying and overcoming my "habit" smokes, for example.
1. Always lit a smoke whenever I drove anywhere
2. Always lit a smoke after every meal, even snacks
3. Always lit a smoke on work break or doing homeworks etc.
4. Always lit up a smoke with my friends when they arrived.
If you can identify the times where your body will want that cigarette EXTRA bad, getting over them is really the key. For example I started drinking hot tea after meals instead of running out for a smoke, really helped. The car one was a pain but I got over it eventually.
Remind yourself why you are quitting and also constantly remind yourself that it WILL get easier.
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Always have a reason to quit, and a solid reason, not "just because I want to". So often that will fail.
Try replacing it with anothe addiction, like chewing gum, since chewing gum is easier to kick than smoking once you're there.
I don't know what else to say, since there are so many people with good advice here already. GL
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Simply "wanting" to quit is often not enough for people.
You need to find some other reason. These can come in many forms, such as:
Discovering how disgusting the habit is.
Your girlfriend doesn't like it.
You realize how much money you spend on it.
You realize the negative health effects of it.
Etc.
Good luck!
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Stay away from convenience stores, and pay at the pump when you go to buy gas. Don't keep them around, at all. Actually if you have any in your house, go toss them right now.
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It's 7pm for me on my first day of quitting. I still have not succumbed. I must hold out for today no matter what. Tomorrow will be harder. T_T. fighting.
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you can do it!
GrayArea fighting~
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MrHoon
10183 Posts
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Day 1: [11:22pm] I am still holding out. I am afraid that if I stay up too long, I will eventually fail. Going to sleep now would be the best option, however I am not remotely sleepy. The minutes tick by, yet I shall not give in.
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Awesome, keep it up and keep us updated!
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Korea (South)11597 Posts
On November 17 2009 12:08 GrayArea wrote:
It's 7pm for me on my first day of quitting. I still have not succumbed. I must hold out for today no matter what. Tomorrow will be harder. T_T. fighting.
The first day is easy, the second and third you have major hardcore cravings. You can do it! After 4 or 5 days you have no more cravings and you don't need a cigarette. You just want one because you're bored or whatever. Just don't let yourself succumb to it.
You can do it!
I BELIEVE!
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Have a hypnotist convince you that cigs are actually little dicks. You don't want little dicks in your mouth, do you?
Doctor can give you a script for some stuff too, that's how most people I knew that quit did it.
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1. cold turkey
2. set a time limit (say 10 days)
3. realise that your urges after 10 days are PURELY psychological urges and you are NO LONGER physically addicted
4. live with psychological addiction for the rest of your life (sorry!)
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oh and dont even bother if you arent 100% certain you're gonna want to smoke because you're spending time with smokers or drinking etc
and NEVER try to quit "slowly"
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Personally I have never had trouble dropping this habit. I'd go out to a friends, have a few smokes, and then stay clean for a few weeks. It's more of a habit thing. The easiest way to quit I'd say is to just throw out your smokes, lighters, and just do something you find fun. It'll take your mind off of it.
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I'll tell you what worked for my parents both whom had been smoking 30 years. Going cold turkey. My dad carried around a toothpick to keep his hand entertained and to replace it in his mouth when he was getting stressed. after about 2 months you'll never have a craving again. btw They tried EVERYTHING to quit. Cold turkey was the absolute only way they finally managed.
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When moving from Bangladesh to USA, I realized cigarettes here cost 8 times what they do there. I've been smoking for 5 years, but I still quit cold turkey after finding that out.
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I smoke a pack a day. One when i wake up, two on my way to work (its a 10-15min commute...), 2 on break, 2 on lunch, 2 on 2nd break, 2 more on my ride home, and then 1 after every of sc i lose. When im home the smoking seems endless and when im drinking I can smoke a pack in just 1 night. So i truly understand how diffucult it is, when you KNOW in your head you DO NOT want to smoke anymore, because i feel the same way.
I once made the decision to quit on my own, I lasted 13 months smoke-free and it felt so good. I literally challenged myself, I would taunt myself, "you are weak if you cant resist" which was kind of revserse psycology, because i know my mental reaction to "you are weak" is to prove "i am strong, stronger than you know". thats just me personally. I think the only thing that pushed me through that period was my mentality, something clicked and said you CAN do it. So i did it
My 13-month streak ended when I decided it would not hurt to bum a smoke off a friend who would typically taunt me to smoke. This time he hadn't even asked but I did. The cycle began
quitting is so hard because its a habit, the kind of habit thats been made a part of every activity you do on a daily basis. I had to make a TON of changes to my daily activities 1)never go outside at work while on break, 2)refill my drink after a meal even if im not thirsty so i can hold something that isnt a ciggarette, 3) go to bed super early to resist at-home temptations, etc etc. I just made shit up to get through the urges, it varied greatly how. the devil (nicotine) is constantly invading your thoughts. Its wildly similar to heroin addiction
The best advice i can give is, when you decide to quit, the best thing you can do is never pick up another cigarette. but Easier said than done
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I smoke since i was 15 years old. Now i am 26
Is a really bad habit, and i have change the rates many times, but never really decided to quit.
Two months ago i was smoking 1 pack a day. Not the first time in my life I smoke that much, but i hope the last.
Today i smoke not more than 5 cigs a day, some days i dont smoke at all. And all because i changed the public transport for my bike. Now i go in my bike everywhere, like 1 hour trip to work, anything between 1 and 4 hours a day, everyday. And i dont really feel like smoking during the day.
Anyway, i dont want to quit, just telling you that when I am doing more exercise I dont want to smoke. I think it could help you to fight the anxiety if you start to do some routine exercise everyday.
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thats interesting, i also found when i exercise I limited my smoking
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I've been semi trying to quit smoking. What I mean is trying not to smoke so much that I feel the negative effects. I used to smoke at least a pack a day and I've been able to get by on 2 packs a week now.
My approach has been to not carry a pack of my own. I know I don't have enough self-control to quit on sheer will so I leech off my friends (I buy them a pack occassionally ofc -_-). This only works if you have a lot of friends who smoke but I figure it worked for me since I only started smoking because it was kind of boring to just stand there when all my friends were smoking.
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EPT
