Tips on quitting smoking?

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styl3s

styl3s

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So i bought a week box of nicotine patches instead of a larger supply because i didn't know how well they would work. Well, i am snowed in and my last patch literally peeled off as i took my hoodie off so here i am stuck in a house with no nicotine but a gas station within walking distance.

I don't want to smoke, i can't smoke. I have a lot of problems going on so anyone who has quit and has some suggestions to get my mind off smoking would be greatly appreciated. I figure it's a good a time as any to just cold turkey it but since i am snowed in and probably will be for another 1-2 days i am pretty much stuck either reading, watching movies or playing games and i don't want to play anything stressful. Any techniques when the craving hits? gum? reading? do some push ups?
 
got anything like carrots or trail mix? Taking care of the oral fixation helps.

and maybe consider ecigs in the future? They're good though it might take a while to transition.
 
I'm on day 30, not a single smoke. Cold Turkey is the only way that seems to work for me. I've tried E-cigs, patch, meds and gum.
 
I do have carrots but no nuts or anything.

I haven't been able to go to the store or anything so i am stuck with carrots, turkey, soup, water and some gum. I could walk to the gas station to get some stuff but i am afraid i would cave in and buy a pack.
 
Yea, everybody is different, I used the patches to help quit smoking and they worked with me. It has been 2 1/2 years since I quit and no desire to ever return.
 
Do some exercise. Get down on the motherfucking floor and do some pushups. Jog in place. Cook some food and eat it. Be a goofy fuck, it's OK.

Anything at all that you can do to pass through that craving, do it. You're going to crave, it's normal and it sucks, but you can get through it.
 
I've never smoked but I remember that there was a very good "game" for it on the original Nintendo DS according to the old 1UP Show. It was supposedly incredibly helpful iirc. Don't know the name though.
 
I would say exercise for sure. I quit 'cold turkey' but didn't realize I was consuming a lot more food than normal. In the 6 months that I weaned off cigarettes completely I probably gained 40 pounds (that was before I started exercising). I'd rather be a little heavier than still a smoker though. Make sure to exercise.
 
Do some housework. It's pretty easy but requires enough focus to keep your mind off cravings, it's time-consuming, and it's not really a waste of time since your house will be nice and clean when you finish.
 
Yeah, read or play video games when you are indoors and eat gum when you are outdoors. That's what I do and I quit 'cold turkey' back in Sept - Oct 2013. And I would advise agaibst getting those nicotine patches or those weird 'E-Cigarettes'.
 
I had to get over the habit of putting a cigarette in my mouth when I quit. So what I did was buy some mint Snus and used that for a month, and the switched to gum.

The patch didn't work, and the nicotine gum tasted horrible to me.
 
I just quit recently completely by accident, so hear me out. I had no guilt about smoking nor any desire to quit. I had no qualms chain smoking if that's what I felt like doing. Then I got an e CIG. But not like the blu ones or any of that bullshit. The ones where you can customize the pen and fill with your own flavored e juices. The other ones are ass. But these. Dude. I'm telling you. Find a nice e juice like this G2 Vazilla. Omg. Its like eating cake all day. And the nicotine buzz is so clean and doesn't make you feel all dirty. Well anyways. Needless to say, when you're tasting blueberry cake and mango tobacco and sugar cookie flavoslrs all day, when you do go to smoke a CIG, it tastes like a raccoons taint. So I only smoke the e CIG now. And being able to smoke indoors and not have old people telling me to stop before I die is so cool. You can also get zero nicotine juices which taste even better, so you can ween off if you want. It satisfied me as a smoker too. The throat hits are great.

I'd recommend against 18mg nicotine levels tho. Way too much. More than cigs. 12 -> 6 -> 0
 
kick51 said:
got anything like carrots or trail mix? Taking care of the oral fixation helps.
Click to expand...

YES. I went the sugar free popsicle route. 100 calorie Jolly Time popcorn. Sugar free gum has also helped me plenty. Obviously want to keep an eye on what you're consuming..it's can be a rough ride and shoving crap in your mouth comes by default. Good luck to you..I'm about to hit my 3rd year of being clean.
 
Omegasquash said:
Do some exercise. Get down on the motherfucking floor and do some pushups. Jog in place. Cook some food and eat it. Be a goofy fuck, it's OK.

Anything at all that you can do to pass through that craving, do it. You're going to crave, it's normal and it sucks, but you can get through it.
Click to expand...
I can't really jog right now because my sarcoidosis is in full blown flare up mode which is giving me breathing problems.
 
styl3s said:
So i bought a week box of nicotine patches instead of a larger supply because i didn't know how well they would work. Well, i am snowed in and my last patch literally peeled off as i took my hoodie off so here i am stuck in a house with no nicotine but a gas station within walking distance.

I don't want to smoke, i can't smoke. I have a lot of problems going on so anyone who has quit and has some suggestions to get my mind off smoking would be greatly appreciated. I figure it's a good a time as any to just cold turkey it but since i am snowed in and probably will be for another 1-2 days i am pretty much stuck either reading, watching movies or playing games and i don't want to play anything stressful. Any techniques when the craving hits? gum? reading? do some push ups?
Click to expand...

What's the trigger that tells you to smoke?
Is it stress? Some anxiety?

When I had withdrawal after the first 2 weeks, what made it over the hump when at home was getting chores done. Sounds novel but you'll forget about the craving once you have to focus on emptying your room or some other chores your home may have.

Good luck quitting. The first couple of weeks eat away at you. After a few months it's almost like you never had them in your life.
 
DoktorEvil said:
What's the trigger that tells you to smoke?
Is it stress? Some anxiety?

When I had withdrawal after the first 2 weeks, what made it over the hump when at home was getting chores done. Sounds novel but you'll forget about the craving once you have to focus on emptying your room or some other chores your home may have.

Good luck quitting. The first couple of weeks eat away at you. After a few months it's almost like you never had them in your life.
Click to expand...
Both.

I am a really anxious person and my anxiety can be triggered by very small things along with stress and it's why i plan on taking a few days off work. I plan on doing a full house clean today to get my mind off it. Again, it's hard to do a lot of physical things right now because my sarcoidosis is in full effect and it's really hard for me to breath. It's so bad i am using my nebulizer 4 times a day along with an inhaler(i also have asthma but it's not super serious) and i haven't had to use my nebulizer in years and rarely have to use my inhaler. I know, it's stupid for someone with asthma to smoke and im sure down the road i will pay for it.

I am just trying to map out things to do to completely get my mind off smoking.

snacknuts said:
When I was a kid they always told me that the easiest way to quit smoking was to not start. You should try that.
Click to expand...
Sure let me hop in my deloreon and go back 15 years.

Gordon Shumway said:
YES. I went the sugar free popsicle route. 100 calorie Jolly Time popcorn. Sugar free gum has also helped me plenty. Obviously want to keep an eye on what you're consuming..it's can be a rough ride and shoving crap in your mouth comes by default. Good luck to you..I'm about to hit my 3rd year of being clean.
Click to expand...
I believe i have popcorn, no popsicles but i do have gum.
 
Oh you need a quick fix. Just realize that a nicotine craving is really nothing in the grand scheme of things and you are without a doubt able to be bigger than it, unless you actually sort of DECIDE to cave. Tell yourself you'll forever look at yourself as a weak little bitch if you can't distract yourself and find satisfaction without responding to that weak ass nicotine craving. There are much more powerful cravings out there, and even those can be beat. Your mind is only as strong as your self discipline .
 
taddy77 said:
Try this book...It worked for me almost 1 year smoke free...You want to avoid nicotine as that's the drug in the cigarette...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0615482155/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Read this book over and over. An amazing book!

Good Luck
Click to expand...

Listen to this guy. This book is what helped me quit. You say you're snowed in, so buy the Kindle version right now, and read it on your computer or whatever. You can probably get through it all today. It really, really helped.

Don't worry about when he says you should keep smoking while reading the book. I had already quit for a couple days before I read this. It won't hurt you any to read it if you've already stopped.
 
El_Gato said:
Yeah, read or play video games when you are indoors and eat gum when you are outdoors. That's what I do and I quit 'cold turkey' back in Sept - Oct 2013. And I would advise agaibst getting those nicotine patches or those weird 'E-Cigarettes'.
Click to expand...
I am on a Skyrim workshop rabbit hole right now so that plus playing it should keep me busy for awhile.

If the craving gets bad that's when i am gonna get up and move around and clean my house. The only thing that really sucks is i can't drink any coffee today or i know i will give in because coffee has always been a trigger. The second i finish a cup i have to have a smoke.

taddy77 said:
Try this book...It worked for me almost 1 year smoke free...You want to avoid nicotine as that's the drug in the cigarette...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0615482155/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Read this book over and over. An amazing book!

Good Luck
Click to expand...
Later this evening i will get the kindle version and read it.

Thanks for taking the time to help me out and thanks to everyone else in the thread.
 
styl3s said:
I can't really jog right now because my sarcoidosis is in full blown flare up mode which is giving me breathing problems.
Click to expand...

Then do anything productive that you can think of. Like...prepare your lunch for a week and organize it so that it's grab and go in the morning. Clean your house so that it's spic and span. Organize something to the point where it's so satisfying to look at that you want to touch yourself.

Doing things that aren't smoking is doing things that are better than smoking. Deep breaths, yo...deep breaths.
 
Keep your self busy and also take it one day at a time. So today promise yourself you wont smoke today...Then tomorrow same thing day after day...The first 3 days are the toughest. If exercise is an issue for now due to asthma/sarcoidosis just do some light work around the house...Also eat healthy meals vegetables, quality protein and drink lots of water...It may sound like a huge task but small steps and I have no doubt you can do it...

If you have ios/android get this app

NCI quit pal. It keeps track of your quit date, how much money you saved, you can also set goals too. The key part is everyday you must tell the app if you smoked or not..It's very useful and will serve as a reminder to keep going.

http://www.smokershelpline.ca/




styl3s said:
Both.

I am a really anxious person and my anxiety can be triggered by very small things along with stress and it's why i plan on taking a few days off work. I plan on doing a full house clean today to get my mind off it. Again, it's hard to do a lot of physical things right now because my sarcoidosis is in full effect and it's really hard for me to breath. It's so bad i am using my nebulizer 4 times a day along with an inhaler(i also have asthma but it's not super serious) and i haven't had to use my nebulizer in years and rarely have to use my inhaler. I know, it's stupid for someone with asthma to smoke and im sure down the road i will pay for it.

I am just trying to map out things to do to completely get my mind off smoking.


Sure let me hop in my deloreon and go back 15 years.


I believe i have popcorn, no popsicles but i do have gum.
Click to expand...
 
Cold turkey. It's really not as hard as people say it is.
You feel bad for a couple days, light headed, dizzy, shaky, anxious. If you think about it it's not worse then having a cold. To think that grown ass men struggle with it is a bit silly.
Imo it's only hard for people who deep inside don't really want to quit.
 
Omegasquash said:
Then do anything productive that you can think of. Like...prepare your lunch for a week and organize it so that it's grab and go in the morning. Clean your house so that it's spic and span. Organize something to the point where it's so satisfying to look at that you want to touch yourself.

Doing things that aren't smoking is doing things that are better than smoking. Deep breaths, yo...deep breaths.
Click to expand...
wow thanks for reminding me. I just bought a new dvd shelf last week and completely forgot about it so i can put it together and organize my massive dvd/blu-ray collection.

That should easily kill half the day. My mind has been all over the place i completely forgot. This day is pretty much planned so im gonna take a shower and get to work on this shelf before the cravings start. Thanks again for all the help you guys/gals gave me.
 
Honestly you just have to develop the will to do and keep doing it. I did it by counting the days since I last smoked (wrote the date down and made one bar for one day). Eventually I stopped counting, maybe one or two months in. It was that simple. It worked until now (more than three years). The lust for a cigarette can overcome you somtimes, though. But it's never that bad as in the first few days, promised!
 
My little brother tried the e-sig and said it was too weak and expensive. He's now buying sunflower seeds in bulk and says that really helps him cut down. He says he's so busy with the seeds that before he knows it he's gone as much as six hours without a smoke.

Good luck, man.
 
I used that chantix stuff a few years ago and it worked like a charm. It makes smoking unpleasant and unsatisfying.
 
I quit smoking on Friday morning. It's the second time I quit - the first time I stayed off the smokes for about 2 years before starting again last January when I split up with my ex.
All I'm doing is taking it one day at a time - don't think about never smoking again in your life, just think about not having a cigarette for the next 24 hours. If you can do that, try for another 24 hours. Repeat.


It's working for me, but then I'm on my second time quitting, so maybe it's not perfect.
 
J-Rod said:
I used that chantix stuff a few years ago and it worked like a charm. It makes smoking unpleasant and unsatisfying.
Click to expand...
About how many pills or boxes did it take you and how much time?

I'm thinking about picking some up for my brother if it's over the counter.
 
identify your smoking habits especially when and where you buy them from , and when you always smoke them . For some its in the morning before work others its after dinner etc and people have their go to stores where they pick up a pack. First step is to stop buying them, smoking the last ones / pack isnt as big a deal as cutting off the finances from the habit. Next is make it 3 days to get all the nicotine out of your body. After you've had those last smokes , and wont dedicate money to it, you will notice that you wanna hold the pack in your hands all the things associated with smoking were real too. Relish these moments and in your mind observe as your body cries out for cigs and packs to pack and something to have in your hand and the oral fixation. And tell it fuck , no

few weeks and your body will get the picture and fall in line. Take note of smokers and cigs after a few weeks how they smell and how people shape their behavior around them. Its interesting now since people cant just light up anywhere these days. Its Jan so watch as they huddle up in congregations in the freezing cold to get their hits. hahahahahahaaaaa

E cigs are also cool imho , zero combustion in your lungs. nicotine in mist form if you even have nicotine in the juice.
 
Shadybiz said:
Listen to this guy. This book is what helped me quit. You say you're snowed in, so buy the Kindle version right now, and read it on your computer or whatever. You can probably get through it all today. It really, really helped.

Don't worry about when he says you should keep smoking while reading the book. I had already quit for a couple days before I read this. It won't hurt you any to read it if you've already stopped.
Click to expand...

BOOM!!! Great advice grab the kindle version now or torrent it...whatever and read it!!! It's addicting and you'll wanna read it through!!
 
vape finally worked for me; I have used chantix in the past which helped me quit for a year, but stress would always bring them back somehow.

The e cig for me wasn't as much about the nicotine as it was about breaking the habits built around smoking (smoke breaks, having a smoke with coffee or after dinner, smoking when I drink). The easy access to nicotine helped me break these habits and slowly over about a year having easy access to nicotine, my use has tailed and now I only use it when I go out with friends.

the most important thing is if it doesn't work this time, keep trying.
 
15% minimum

seriously tho, running helps. since exercise n smoking counteract, the more u run, the more you'll notice that cigs inhibit ur endurance. that's what helped me anyway
 
styl3s said:
Both.

I am a really anxious person and my anxiety can be triggered by very small things along with stress and it's why i plan on taking a few days off work. I plan on doing a full house clean today to get my mind off it. Again, it's hard to do a lot of physical things right now because my sarcoidosis is in full effect and it's really hard for me to breath. It's so bad i am using my nebulizer 4 times a day along with an inhaler(i also have asthma but it's not super serious) and i haven't had to use my nebulizer in years and rarely have to use my inhaler. I know, it's stupid for someone with asthma to smoke and im sure down the road i will pay for it.

I am just trying to map out things to do to completely get my mind off smoking.


Sure let me hop in my deloreon and go back 15 years.


I believe i have popcorn, no popsicles but i do have gum.
Click to expand...

I also smoked with a case of mild asthma( we all do stupid things to fit in/look cool.)

Take it one day at a time. You know yourself better than any of us will OP. When a trigger goes off, have something that will keep your mind away from the sticks. It's a mind over matter deal that will eat your willpower. Don't allow it.

If you'd like some encouragement or conversation, send me a PM.
 
Can't really give you any tips, I think each persons approach to quitting an addiction is unique to some degree.

Me? Whenever I thought I wanted a smoke I told myself to stop being such a f***ing weak c**t. I didn't change my routine, cut down on drinking or anything like that, I basically bullied myself out of the habit.
 
I smoked a pack a day for about 14 years and went cold turkey.

Just keep in mind how disgusting smoking is. You stink. Your lungs are black, you are sucking in poison. Basically you are a drug addict. Once you stop and clear your system you will have this amazing feeling of purity. Feels great to have beaten it too. As others have said keep busy and before you know it a day has passed, then a week, a month, then you are free.
 
It's the hardest easiest thing to do. Make it your mental priority. Focus, and become self-aware of your habits. Block every urge by saying no in your head. Do this every single time for two weeks. Keeping on top of your habits with a strong mental block every single time you reach for one, or think about bumming one, will lead to a smokeless life.

Good luck, OP. I haven't had a single smoke since New Years. The first time kicking it is the hardest. My last piece of advice is to avoid going outside with your friends for a smoke wherever you are. Just sit patiently where your at until they come back. You will forget about the cravings once they rejoin you and restart the conversation. It's all mental, which means it's under your control. Rely on that inner voice.
 
Go cold turkey.

BUT, and this is the big but, don't get cocky a year and a half down the line, and think "oh, just one at [insert social event here] will be fine. I'm not going to start again" - because really, you will. That one becomes "well, I did one at that party, I'll do one at this party" then it's evenings only, then you're buying a pack to give to the people that you're bumming from, then really why not just have a pack for yourself...

That first one after quitting tastes awful, but before you know it you'll be back, crying for more.
 
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