Quit Smoking? -
I-m finally ready to quit smoking. I-ve been a smoker since I was 14 year old. I-m now in my early 30-s. I-m so disappointed in myself for smoking. My children tell me every day to stop. (both my husband and I are smokers...we only smoke outside)
Has anyone sucessfully quit? My quit day is May 1, 2008.
I have NEVER given it an honest effort to try to quit. There-s this really nieve/stupid part of my mind that says -if 50% of smokers die...I-ll be part of the other 50% that survives. Why can-t I get it through my head that this sh*t is going to kill me AND I just hate myself for setting such a poor example for my children.
I wish I could actually see inside my body and understand exactly what I-m doing to myself. I was thinking of volunteering in the cancer ward at our local hospital. But again...my mind will think...-that-ll never happen to me-
WHY am I so ignorant when it comes to this?
I-m a bright person, self employed, do quite well for myself....HELP!!
I smoked for 25 years and quit. It wasn-t as hard as I thought it was going to be. For me, the patch and gum were helpful. I used the patch until I had a skin reaction to the adhesive (this happens to me fairly often), which was about 3 weeks, then I switched to the gum.
I had tried quitting in my 20s and it was too hard for me. In the ensuing 20 years, as I lived through many things, I found that quitting smoking was a challenge, but nothing compared to some stuff I had endured.
I always reminded myself when I got the urge while quitting that whether or not I smoked the cigarette I wanted right then, the urge would not be fulfilled. If I smoked it, I-d want another in an hour. If I didn-t smoke it, I-d want another. So why give in, if it wouldn-t fulfill me?
The other very helpful thing I did, was to say to myself when I wanted a cigarette, -I want a cigarette, but I CHOOSE not to smoke one.- This does 2 important things psychologically: 1) it acknowledges the desire. Suppressing a desire often only makes it come back stronger. Acknowledging it disempowers it. 2) It empowered ME instead. It said that I was stronger than the desire to smoke ... that I always, every minute, every day, had the power not to smoke.
Best of luck to you. It-s never too late, and it-s a brave task to undertake.
There is a prescription drug which finally worked for me. It is called Chantix. My insurance wouldn-t cover it and I paid $100 a month. I think that it was the biggest help for me.
I had to go in for a tonsillectamy(not sure how to spell that but its when they take your tonsils out) So because of that i had to refrain from smoking for 2 -3 weeks. I did and god was it hard at times when I got stressed out and eventually i didnt need it at all. Its been a month now and i tried smoking a cigarette again and god did it taste disgusting and i could actually feel it hurting my lungs. I didnt get it so i had another after throwing the half finished first away and still hated it. I just realised today that i didnt need it and im so happy and i feel happier and healthier already. Im glad i quit young but i dont think i could have quit without that 4 weeks of not having any.
You should try to get a prescription for Chantix. It will make you feel a little nauseous the first week of taking it, but it gradually makes you smoke less and eventually make you not want to smoke at all. My stepdad had been smoking since he was 14 years old too, and he is now 42 and has been quit for 2 years due to taking Chantix. Hope this helps. Good luck!!
one of my relatives has been a smoker since 16 and she quit this past year, and she looks so much better, and she said she just FEELS better. and i think that if you feel that way, that you set a bad example. then you would be setting an example by quiting.
i hope that helped your decision.
I-ve tried Champix. you need a prescription for it. I-ve actually found an easier way to quit smoking but i-ll get to that in a sec.
Champix, I think it was available before this year but i think it was only until Jan 1st this year that the Australian Government decided to subsidise it.
It is designed to be a nicotine receptor for the brain. Make your brain feel like it-s getting nicotine, hence remove the cravings. As a former smoker myself and having tried the champix drug, i-d just like to say, that the drug is not very effective. Reason being is that there is nothing that helps you address the psycological aspect of quitting smoking.
I-ve tried calling the quit smoking hotline for support but i-m afraid that they aren-t much help. Well they weren-t for me. I was still struggling after 3 weeks, i was getting stressed at everyone, stressed at work, had poor concentration and was getting depressed. What many non smokers dont understand is that smoking had become a social part of my life. It-s kinda like taking away a day off.. Sunday from your normal life.
Try this new product called the electronic cigarette. It’s a new non burning device with no tobacco or any other harmful chemicals. It does contain nicotine and it emits -smoke- in the form of vapour. I don’t think they are readily available in Australia yet, but in Europe it looks like it’s a big hit. I bought mine online and I must say, it actually feels and looks like a cigarette, but it isn’t. I paid $50 for mine but after that I only have to change the cartridges at $2 each. So im still saving a lot of money. Much cheaper than those patches and gums on the market, not to mention much more effective.
It-s a nicotine delivery device that imitates the same sensations as a real cigarette but without the risks. I think this helped me stay off tobacco for now. I find the hardest part is not just quitting the nicotine, but quitting the habit.
Its now nearly 3 months on the electronic cigarette and im down to low strength cartridges. They even got nil nicotine cartridges.
I hope i this information helps you all trying to quit as it sure has helped me. Quitting smoking
one of the many video clips available on you tube..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ9CjC-rBAw
There’s also lots of articles about it on google.
Quit Smoking? -