HELP!! How did you quit smoking? -
Any suggestions please. I am trying my hardest because I have a baby on the way (my wife) and I have got to quit!
I would firstly suggest that you stop thinking of quitting smoking as a difficult thing, unfortunately we now have an anti-smoking culture, people think of smokers as some great evil rather than victims of an addiction they do not choose to suffer from. This culture has influenced how we approach quitting, people think if smokers continue to suffer in order to smoke then they must enjoy smoking thus quitting will deprive them of something so will be difficult, when logically the fact smokers suffer should make quitting easier. There are actually laws and policies in place so methods that don-t require willpower are restricted, it-s believed huge willpower must be required to break away from smoking, being told this is hardly motivation to quit! It-s less about willpower, more about understanding the nature of the addition to overcome it.
I-d recommend EASYWAY, sure it sounds like some lame form of self-help, I suppose it is, however it has a - 90% success rate - and once quit with Easyway very few go back, I-ve yet to meet someone who didn-t agree that this was the best method they had found. Easyway like it says is -easy- as there is no willpower required, there is no suffering weight gain or bad moods after quitting, and no constant longing for a cigarette, instead you feel positive from the first day you quit. The method works by dealing with the mental addiction rather than the chemical, after all smokers can go all night without being woken up by cravings, nicotine may be highly addictive but the withdrawals and cravings are minute, it-s all mental. A lot of it is really common sense but it-s that common sense that the addiction cancels out, sure you know it will kill you and it costs a fortune but you still continue, that darn addiction is overriding your own brain. Easyway program kicks that addictions grasp on your logic and deprograms the brainwashing about quitting being difficult or social dependancy on having a cigarette in your hand, you can then quit successfully and happily without and ill effects or feeling deprived of your cigarettes. The course comes in different forms, you can by books from Amazon used or new from another seller for practically nothing, I tend to buy copies for ￡3-￡4 to give away, the books also give you a 20% discount from the clinics. The clinics are the main program, they cost around ￡220 but they offer a full money back guarentee and you can go back as often as you need to, the books contain the same information as the clinics but the books are in a different format and without the one-to-one support.
http://www.allencarrseasyway.com
There are of course other methods, tips to help you quit, most are about as much use as, well, as continuing to smoke is to your health. Sure some methods work for some people, it-s just luck to find one that works for you...no, strike that, with the right mental attitude anything can work, thus it is luck to be able to find that mental attitude because heaven knows it can be years between attempts to quit.
If you go cold turkey then I recommend coffee as it feeds your bodies addition to caffeine so gets rid of the caffeine cravings which in turn takes the edge off nicotine cravings, the bitterness puts you off smoking, and coffee is good for helping clear all that junk that will be coming off your lungs – don-t try this if you-re used to a smoke on your coffee break. Avoid quitting with friends, if one of you fails then it just gives you an excuse to stop trying too, by all means find a local support group with other smokers trying to quit to give you some support. If you find yourself laying in bed reflecting on how much you want to quit then get up and write it down because in the morning you are sure to forget those thoughts and feelings.
There is nicotine replacement, there are various nicotine replacement methods, lozenges, patches, gum, inhalator, these are expensive buy try discount stores as these sometimes stock them cheap, or if you live in the UK you can get them for free on the NHS. Although be warned as on the NHS you have to go to smoking clinics, they control the doses and if you fail you have to wait another six months before you can try again, and in reality once you fail if you don-t try again right away it can take years before you-re in that mindset again. There are various drugs such as Zyban which act on your brain to help stop the cravings, you start them a few weeks before you want to quit smoking to help ease off the cravings. My friend-s parents used one of these drugs, they were actually disgusted by cigarettes so much after using these drugs that his father threw up at the mere smell of his cigarette tin. You can get this on the NHS in the UK, again if you fail you have to wait another six months before you can try again, some doctors may not prescribe it as there are some side effects.
Other methods include the mouthwash, this is otherwise known as evil juice of doom, it is like the bad tasting stuff you put on your nails to stop you biting them, you use this sprayed onto your tounge so when you smoke it makes it taste disgusting. Herbal cigarettes are totally great as they keep your mouth and hands busy, they look like normal cigarettes although are lighter and don-t contain the million or so additives of normal cigarettes that would probably kill you faster than the tobacco itself. The problem is that being a smoker your sense of smell would likely be a little off, when smoking around other people they will soon make you aware that these herbal cigarettes smell like excrement.
http://www.costofsmoking.com
http://stopsmokingcoach.ca
http://www.megalink.net/%7Edale/quitcigs…
I have known friends to quit by using Chantix. If you are uninsured, and underpaid, the company may provide you with assistance. I got mine for free, but have yet to start it. I am waiting until we move (soon) so I am not in a home that smells like cigarette smoke. I-m afraid it will tempt me or smell really bad after quitting.
My Dr. told me not to quit. Quitting causes stress and will harm the baby. So I cut back to 5-7 a day. The result. 3 pregnancies, 3 big and healthy babies. All because I listened to my Dr. His advice benefited my children.