serious question? QUITTING SMOKING
- Thread starter LemonAden
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I know this is way easier said than done,
but this is what worked for me:
After smoking for 6 yrs and trying to quit at least a dozen times,
one day I just woke up and made myself believe that I am not
a smoker. I know that sounds overly simplistic, but I really made
myself believe that I AM NOT A SMOKER. I was no longer one of
THEM. It's like I gave myself a new identity. I have not had
a drag in 10 years.
I should email my mom this thread, cuz she's been smoking for
about 30 yrs, and there is a helluva lot of good advice here.
But then I'm afraid she'd start browsing the other threads and
die of shock.
Seriously though, I wish your mom the best.
but this is what worked for me:
After smoking for 6 yrs and trying to quit at least a dozen times,
one day I just woke up and made myself believe that I am not
a smoker. I know that sounds overly simplistic, but I really made
myself believe that I AM NOT A SMOKER. I was no longer one of
THEM. It's like I gave myself a new identity. I have not had
a drag in 10 years.
I should email my mom this thread, cuz she's been smoking for
about 30 yrs, and there is a helluva lot of good advice here.
But then I'm afraid she'd start browsing the other threads and
die of shock.
Seriously though, I wish your mom the best.
I'm not a smoker, but I've heard of that book too. Richard Branson, Johnny Cash, Anthony Hopkins, and Ashton Kutcher are a few famous people that have endorsed that book after using it to kick smoking.
A friend of mine quit by chewing gum (normal gum not nicotine gum) and mints (strong mints - like altoids) everytime he had a craving (which was every 10 minutes). He went through a shitload of mints and gum but he's no longer a smoker. I think it took him 3 months.
My grandparents died in their 50's from lung cancer, they were chain smokers. Don't give her a choice. Throw away her cigs. If she doesn't have enough willpower to do it herself, you have to step in.
Well i would duggest showing them pictures of lungs being all covred up in black residue.
or:
Get a plastic bottle
make a hole in the bottom
tie a tissue around the hole..
blow smoke from the top and wait for a few minutes..look at the smoke change color and the tissue residue tell her thats only from "1" cig!
or:
Get a plastic bottle
make a hole in the bottom
tie a tissue around the hole..
blow smoke from the top and wait for a few minutes..look at the smoke change color and the tissue residue tell her thats only from "1" cig!
Well, I actually read this book by Allen Carr and it worked - at least when I quit smoking for the first time at the age of 18 (yes, started quite early) :anon.sml:
I think it lasted for 2 years, then I started smoking again. Now, at the age of 25 , I'm smoke-free for over 3 months. This time, I used the nicotine patches. Well, only the first week... After that I had no cravings I couldn't deal with all by myself.
Back to the book: I think it's really good because it shows you the mechanisms behind your addiction. Besides that, the author repeats the pros of quitting so often that you wonder why you smoke in the first place. After all, I'd say: give it a try. (I'm still convinced that there are subliminal messages hidden in the book - that's why it works so well!)
P.S.: Is she still in hospital? If yes, just bring her the book and she can read it while she actually FEELS what Allen Carr is writing about (i.e. the dangers of smoking)
I think it lasted for 2 years, then I started smoking again. Now, at the age of 25 , I'm smoke-free for over 3 months. This time, I used the nicotine patches. Well, only the first week... After that I had no cravings I couldn't deal with all by myself.
Back to the book: I think it's really good because it shows you the mechanisms behind your addiction. Besides that, the author repeats the pros of quitting so often that you wonder why you smoke in the first place. After all, I'd say: give it a try. (I'm still convinced that there are subliminal messages hidden in the book - that's why it works so well!)
P.S.: Is she still in hospital? If yes, just bring her the book and she can read it while she actually FEELS what Allen Carr is writing about (i.e. the dangers of smoking)
yes on a serious note: i feel ya here man. i have been addicted to everything you can imagine including tobacco. she needs to replace her old bad habit of smoking with new good habits and repeat these good habits almost mecahnically until they become ingrained in her life.
new ones like walking, yoga, meditate, support groups etc. and your ass needs to quit with her and be by her side during his whole process to benefit the both of you.
i used working out, my new business and surfing as my new good habits. once i was into it a month or so, I felt so good that I didn't want to smoke anymore and it makes me want to puke now.
been a year. yeah i smoke the herb but only once or twice a day to calm my hyper ass down. it's either that or valium:rasta:
new ones like walking, yoga, meditate, support groups etc. and your ass needs to quit with her and be by her side during his whole process to benefit the both of you.
i used working out, my new business and surfing as my new good habits. once i was into it a month or so, I felt so good that I didn't want to smoke anymore and it makes me want to puke now.
been a year. yeah i smoke the herb but only once or twice a day to calm my hyper ass down. it's either that or valium:rasta:
I have an uncle that was diagnosed with [SIZE=-1]emphysema a couple of years ago. He smoked 3 packs a day and that time. His kids begged him to quit. Bought him the pack, gum, etc. But he still hasn't quit. He told me that he doen'st want to. He said he had he has smoked since he was 16 and he doen'st want to quit. I've heard him say the doctor is probably wrong. He has cut down to 1 pack a day. But I dont' think he is trying to cut down any further. I couldn't think of anything to get my uncle to quit so sorry I don't have more to suggest.
I think the person just has to want to quit. Maybe begging, nagging a smoker just isn't the way. Maybe try that first. Then maybe try to plan with her what she wants for the future. Other family members involved maybe. Discuss what insurance she has and what will be covered. What she is going to need as the copd progresses -oxygen is very expensive. Discuss as the disease gets worse who will be her caregiver, does she eventually need to go to a nursing home. Ask her about funeral arrangements and what she would like done.
I know that all seems terrible. But maybe that will scare her enough to quit.
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I think the person just has to want to quit. Maybe begging, nagging a smoker just isn't the way. Maybe try that first. Then maybe try to plan with her what she wants for the future. Other family members involved maybe. Discuss what insurance she has and what will be covered. What she is going to need as the copd progresses -oxygen is very expensive. Discuss as the disease gets worse who will be her caregiver, does she eventually need to go to a nursing home. Ask her about funeral arrangements and what she would like done.
I know that all seems terrible. But maybe that will scare her enough to quit.
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An extension of this theory is that people looked up in a room have to smoke as many cigaretts as they can....remember there are no indows in the room!!!
So the smoke rem,ains in the rooms....the air gets thiker and thiker... moee nausea will come.... eyes will hurt.....
THis is reveresed psychology, you basically recondition your mum.... she will hate you, her and everithing else... but most of all the poisenous smoke in every pores of her body.
Stargazer
Smoking is tough. I've smoked since I was 15, I'm almost 25 now. The only time I've ever quit was for about 3 months when I first joined the Air Force, and wasn't allowed to smoke. I remember how good it felt to be in shape and smoke free.
The second I could get my hands on cigarettes I started right back up. I hadn't smoked in 3 months and still had crazy cravings. I'm smoking about 2 packs a day right now.
Since then I've tried quitting with patches, gum, zyban, cold turkey, just about everything really. I haven't tried to quit lately, but this thread has got me thinking about it again.
I'm going to have to check out that book that Laura recommended.
Good luck with this. Both of my parents smoke as well. It sucks.
The second I could get my hands on cigarettes I started right back up. I hadn't smoked in 3 months and still had crazy cravings. I'm smoking about 2 packs a day right now.
Since then I've tried quitting with patches, gum, zyban, cold turkey, just about everything really. I haven't tried to quit lately, but this thread has got me thinking about it again.
I'm going to have to check out that book that Laura recommended.
Good luck with this. Both of my parents smoke as well. It sucks.
One thing I learned from the book: It's not the physical addiction that causes the cravings. The physical addiction is very small compared to the psychological effects of nicotine. Your cravings never stopped because you have been FORCED to stop, you didn't want to. If you really WANT to quit, the psychological effects are much easier to deal with.
Really, read the book. From what I remember, Carr deals with all the excuses smokers come up with and the bunch of "advantages" smoking seems to have.
Like: "I can concentrate much better when I smoke a cigarette." Bullshit. Really.
Aden, I wish your mother the best and hope she recovers soon and finds her way to finally quit smoking.
If you have the willpower and don't mind suffering, willpower is a great way to go.
But I'm telling you from experience -- Habitrol nicotine gum will absolute kill the craving for smoking. Plus, you'll like the gum after a couple days and fucking love it after a week.
Some people like it right away.
Most gum you find at the pharmacy is disgusting, gotta get Habitrol.
But I'm telling you from experience -- Habitrol nicotine gum will absolute kill the craving for smoking. Plus, you'll like the gum after a couple days and fucking love it after a week.
Some people like it right away.
Most gum you find at the pharmacy is disgusting, gotta get Habitrol.
I agree 100%, everyone I know wants me to quit smoking but I really just don't feel like it and I've tried to quit in the past with all of that crap they can give you but if you don't have the will power to say NO, or if you truly don't want to quit smoking then its not going to happen or it won't be a pretty site trying to quit.
I'm in the same situation as a few of you - smoked for over 10 years, a couple of half-hearted attempts at quitting.
So far I've found - the gum & inhalators taste like shit! (will see if can get habitrol here though - sounds like it's worth trying, good tip!) and the patches are great - for long flights! They don't deal with the psychological aspect of it at all - half the time I'm smoking for something to do when I'm working, driving, reading, thinking, etc...
A lot of us work for ourselves from home - so it's a lot easier to smoke as and when we want than if we worked for someone else. For me that means I get through 50 a day. I smoke rolling tobacco from Belgium - a bit less of the crap that's in normal fags and not £6/$12 a pack! (20 a pack - that's the same in the states isn't it?).
That book sounds worthwhile, but does it deal with one of the biggest issues for me and some mates - how do you stop smoking cigarettes/tobacco but continue enjoying smoking joints? Pipes, bongs and neat spliffs are too... intensive - get ya too wasted way too quickly.
Aden, I think a lot depends on your mum's personality. She might respond to shock tactics and guilt trips, she might not - I don't know her. From reading this, the advice that would benefit most people seems to be about the habitrol gum and that book. I've no experience with either, yet. But this thread and the ban in pubs coming in here in a few weeks have motivated me to check them out!
So far I've found - the gum & inhalators taste like shit! (will see if can get habitrol here though - sounds like it's worth trying, good tip!) and the patches are great - for long flights! They don't deal with the psychological aspect of it at all - half the time I'm smoking for something to do when I'm working, driving, reading, thinking, etc...
A lot of us work for ourselves from home - so it's a lot easier to smoke as and when we want than if we worked for someone else. For me that means I get through 50 a day. I smoke rolling tobacco from Belgium - a bit less of the crap that's in normal fags and not £6/$12 a pack! (20 a pack - that's the same in the states isn't it?).
That book sounds worthwhile, but does it deal with one of the biggest issues for me and some mates - how do you stop smoking cigarettes/tobacco but continue enjoying smoking joints? Pipes, bongs and neat spliffs are too... intensive - get ya too wasted way too quickly.
Aden, I think a lot depends on your mum's personality. She might respond to shock tactics and guilt trips, she might not - I don't know her. From reading this, the advice that would benefit most people seems to be about the habitrol gum and that book. I've no experience with either, yet. But this thread and the ban in pubs coming in here in a few weeks have motivated me to check them out!
Just read a bit about that book - going to order a s/h copy, but concerned I might be a bit immune to the 'marketing techniques' used!
I remember reading one of the Carlos Casteneda books a few years ago, and thinking that's what I want - the guy wasn't addicted, but chose to enjoy a cigarette every now and then.
I remember reading one of the Carlos Casteneda books a few years ago, and thinking that's what I want - the guy wasn't addicted, but chose to enjoy a cigarette every now and then.
Check your local public health department, they may have a program with support group for quitters.
My great grandfather quit after his doctor told him he would not be around long if he didn't. He told him to eat a couple tic-tacs whenever he wanted a smoke. Worked for him.
My great grandfather quit after his doctor told him he would not be around long if he didn't. He told him to eat a couple tic-tacs whenever he wanted a smoke. Worked for him.
I think that video thing is a cool idea..
I'm going to be quitting this Fall.. maybe we should make it into a betting pool so that if I break it, then I have to pay someone a certain amount of cash that was pooled and fell onto that date. That would be one hell of a motivation for me to not go back to it! Because if there's one thing I hate, more than losing, it's losing MONEY!
I quit last year for 3 months.. easiest thing in the world. Granted, I had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled so any smoking would have caused infections and a shit ton of pain. But that first cigarette was unreal. I had such an amazing rush, and got that sorta parched feeling in my throat that you get for your first 6 months to a year of smoking. I miss that. Now I just smoke cigarettes to relieve stress. If I didn't smoke, I'd have to jerk off 43523562356 times a day for the stress release.. good thing I wash my hands too.. or do I? Bwahahahaha!!
I'm going to be quitting this Fall.. maybe we should make it into a betting pool so that if I break it, then I have to pay someone a certain amount of cash that was pooled and fell onto that date. That would be one hell of a motivation for me to not go back to it! Because if there's one thing I hate, more than losing, it's losing MONEY!
I quit last year for 3 months.. easiest thing in the world. Granted, I had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled so any smoking would have caused infections and a shit ton of pain. But that first cigarette was unreal. I had such an amazing rush, and got that sorta parched feeling in my throat that you get for your first 6 months to a year of smoking. I miss that. Now I just smoke cigarettes to relieve stress. If I didn't smoke, I'd have to jerk off 43523562356 times a day for the stress release.. good thing I wash my hands too.. or do I? Bwahahahaha!!
Guys. Thanks so much for all the kind PMs emails, post and IMS. i plan on making a visit to see my family ASAP and will take all of your advice. ill do anything to help her, just hope she is willing to help herself. THANK YOU GUSY for all of your help, it means a lot
i smoked socially in college - and kept smoking when I drank for a couple of years after... damn was it hard not to have a cig after a few beers. two things made an impact - my fiancee hates smoking and yelled at me whenever I lit one up (did not do much in the way of keeping me off them when she wasn't around though- in fact I would still have a few regardless) and the fact that New york city bars do not allow smoking anymore.
I think the 2nd reason is the real reason I rarely light up anymore - not being around cigs while drinking really helps. Also the fact that you have to head outside by yourself - especially in the winter - if you really need one sucks as well. Not being around the influence of seeing people smoking and having fun was a huge help - I might smoke 1-2 cigs a month now if that, and only when I'm really wasted and around other people who are smokers (not too many anymore).
I never realized how bad cigs smell until then either - now if I head to a bar out of state that allows smoking, I can't stand my clothes and need a shower afterwards!
I think the 2nd reason is the real reason I rarely light up anymore - not being around cigs while drinking really helps. Also the fact that you have to head outside by yourself - especially in the winter - if you really need one sucks as well. Not being around the influence of seeing people smoking and having fun was a huge help - I might smoke 1-2 cigs a month now if that, and only when I'm really wasted and around other people who are smokers (not too many anymore).
I never realized how bad cigs smell until then either - now if I head to a bar out of state that allows smoking, I can't stand my clothes and need a shower afterwards!
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