Now since I smoke I have a smokers voice. If I quit smoking would my voice still be a little raspy? -
Any tips I can have to quit smoking as well. Now I come from a family where my parents are basically up my butt on everything and are very annoying and stressful what should I do when I quit smoking. How do I not let that bother me? Thats the main reason why I smoke.
Cold Turkey: A guide to quitting smoking
Have you ever tried to quit smoking? Have you ever known a smoker who tried to quit? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you know that quitting smoking can be extremely difficult. I am not here to tell you that it isn’t hard. When properly prepared, quitting smoking can be easier if you quit “cold turkey”. I have tried to quit many times over the nine years that I have been smoking, and I have finally discovered the secret to putting out the addiction for good without the use of nicotine supplements. My family is full of ex smokers, and many of us have decided to take a chance with this great technique. You must have good reasons, reward yourself when you reach a goal, have a good support system, be educated about what difficulties you may face and know what to do when you have a craving. All of these things will help you on your way to quitting smoking.In order to quit smoking for good, it is best when you have a reason. I thought for so long that my health was the best reason of all. Then I thought to myself, “I am still alive and walking around. I don’t need to quit for my health.” Because of this, I was never really determined enough as my reasoning was not solid. Three months ago I got into a car accident and had to buy a new car. When I drove off the lot, I was so happy with my new car, the way it drove, the way the heater kicked in just right and that new car smell was great. Before I got out of the car, I took one deep breath to smell that new car smell and got out. I then lit up a cigarette. I looked in my pack of cigarettes and realized that I only had about ? of a pack left. This would last me through one more day if I was lucky. I went into work the next day and was so proud of my new car; I was showing it off to anyone that would look. Every single person who sat in my car mentioned the new car smell. Now, keeping the new car smell in my new car wouldn’t last for forever, but if I smoked in my car, I knew the smell of cigarettes would. Smelling cigarettes in my car everyday for the next 8 – 10 years might not seem like a big deal to many smokers, but think about the $16,000.00 I spent to have this new car. If I smoked in the car everyday, 8-10 years from now, I won’t be able to sell it for much simply because of the smell. Speaking of money, I also calculated roughly how much money I was spending on cigarettes in a year. I was spending roughly $1500.00 a year on cigarettes alone. That is almost 1/10 the cost of my new car and about 1 ? paychecks, gone. Then I also thought about the things I bought impulsively every time I would get a pack of cigarettes. I would buy a Coke, a bag of chips, a candy bar, a lotto ticket or even a magazine or two. This added about $700.00 a year. As you can see, saving money so that I can afford nice things for myself, is a really big reason that I cannot turn a blind eye to.Now you may ask what are you going to do with all of that money you are saving? Well here is the answer. You spend it! Buying yourself nice things is very important when quitting smoking. I don’t mean that you should go spend thousands of dollars on stuff you don’t need. Instead, use a portion of the money to reward yourself when you reach a starter goal. When I quit for one month, I took myself and two friends out for a night on the town. When I reached two months, I took myself on a mini shopping spree. I picked up a few movies and some facial stuff. That night, my best friend and I had a night in and pampered ourselves. I recently reached my three month mark and I decided to get myself a gym membership. It was a little more expensive than dinner, movies and pampering, but three months is a big mile stone when quitting. Not only that, but I am now going to the gym everyday with a friend of mine. This is a constant treat. When you set a goal and plan on rewarding yourself, you work harder to reach those goals. This is a very important step in quitting smoking. If you don’t have something to look forward to, you lose determination.Another important thing is a good support system. Your friends and family are some of your strongest tools in this journey. One of my friends set a challenge for me. She said “Tell me you still aren’t smoking in three months and I will congratulate you then.” It made me mad at first that she wouldn’t congratulate me on my decision to quit, but then I realized what she was doing. She was telling me that I could get to three months and she wanted to see it happen this time. When I finally got to my three month mark, I called her up and told her the great news. She said the greatest thing after that. She said “Call me again in three months for your congratulations.” However, if your friends and family say things such as “I bet you can’t do it,” it could put a damper on your challenge. Constructive criticism is a key element. Talk with your family and friends about the ways that they can help you through this tough time.“But how will I know what to expect when I quit?” I have been asked this many times. The best thing to do to is ask someone who has tried to quit before. You may be cranky, you might have mood swings, you may even feel like being violent to those who care and just want to see you quit. You will have cravings, and in order to quit, you must not give in. I do not know one person who has been truly addicted to cigarettes that has not had a craving when they tried to quit smoking. Why do we have these cravings? Why do we get cranky when we quit? Why can’t I just put out this cigarette and be done with it? These are all questions that you need to answer before you are ready to quit. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance, if it wasn’t, we probably wouldn’t be addicted to cigarettes in the first place. When we cut off the supply of nicotine, our brain goes crazy and starts telling our body that we need nicotine. Your brain will play many tricks on you to get you to start smoking again. These tricks include but are not limited to crankiness, headaches, cold sweats, cravings, shakiness, etc. Some people will experience all of these while others will only experience one or two of these symptoms. These are all things that you need to know about before you try to quit. If you do not plan for these things before you quit, you will have a less likely chance of quitting. Don’t be discouraged if you quit and then start back up again. Lots of people fail when trying to quit smoking. Someone once told me that it can take up to eight tries before you can actually quit for good. This will be my 10th try at quitting smoking. Every time that I have tried to quit, I have given in within a month because of these seemingly minuet challenges. The reason I feel that this will be the final time, is I have dealt with all of those challenges and had a few other challenges head my way. My good friend called me one day about a month after I quit smoking and told me that he had just got back from boot camp. We went out for dinner to celebrate, and he informed me that he will be shipped out to Iraq sometime in the middle of February. That night was the hardest night that I could have imagined. I was sure that when I got in the car, I would drive to the liquor store and buy a pack of cigarettes. When I drove him home, I gave him a big hug and sent him on his way. I had to drive right by the liquor store to get home and it as really hard to not turn in to buy cigarettes. Then I remembered all the money I would be wasting, all of the challenges that my friends had put me up to, all I had already been through with cravings and mood swings, and all the rewards I am looking forward to in the future. After I thought of all of that, it was easy to keep driving. When tragedy strikes, you must not give in. It is tough but I can name one thing that is tougher. Cravings are the leading cause of downfall for all of the smokers in my family. We all have had cravings that drive us to the edge and most of us started up again. The reason we failed so many times, is that we had no defense against the cravings. There are two types of cravings that I have seen. There are chemical cravings and habitual cravings. Chemical cravings happen to pretty much anyone who is addicted to nicotine. However, these are the easier of the two types of cravings to get past. In my experience, each chemical craving lasts for about three minutes. Everyone I asked when I was looking for help, said that the cravings lasted anywhere from 2 – 5 minutes. Once a chemical craving has passed, there is usually not another craving for at least an hour. The other thing that makes chemical cravings easier is knowing that within a few days, you won’t be craving for the nicotine anymore. Here lies the reason that nicotine supplements only make quitting harder. When you use things such as “The Patch” or “The Gum”, they slowly release nicotine into your body, allowing you to have a steady flow of craving free days. I am not saying that the patch does not work. However, the patch can draw out the nicotine cravings for longer than necessary. After the chemical cravings have started to pass, the habitual cravings really start to kick in. If you are a social smoker, or if you have a set smoking routine such as smoking in the car, or after a meal, these may be the hardest times of the day. You will constantly be reminded that you want a cigarette. If you are a social smoker, this can be especially difficult. When your friends smoke around you, you become attracted to the idea of smoking. You may want to hold a lit cigarette and bring it to your lips and take a nice big drag. During the first month, anytime my friends would smoke around me, I would reach into my pocket looking for my cigarettes and lighter, only to realize that they were not there. After dinner, I would get up to go outside, and then r