Regarding Not Smoking (For the Smoker)

[Big Don]

One of my cousins quit using the gum, now, he and his wife are hooked on the gum...
I bought a box of the ($40!) gum. It made me light headed and feel like I was about to puke. OMG that crap tastes horrible!
Anyone need 99% of a box of nicotine gum?

 

[kaizasosei]

i hope that when i quit, it wont be too late to purify. it's not just cigarettes. there are a plethora of hazardous materials out there often invisible.



j

 

[Kacey]

I've never been a smoker - but my mother quit through hypnosis, after several failed attempts; it was the only thing that was effective enough to get her through the first several months. She quit with a friend... sadly, her friend already had (then undiagnosed) lung cancer and died from it several months after they had both quit, which, I suspect, is part of why my mother didn't start up again. Then my grandmother (a lifelong smoker) died of emphysema complicated by pneumonia, and I don't think my mother has ever looked back since. My step-father is also a former smoker, so they both stay out of places that might tempt them back into smoking - neither of them like bars, and most restaurants and other public places are now smoke free, so I suspect that that helps also.

 

[Jade Tigress]

One of my cousins quit using the gum, now, he and his wife are hooked on the gum...
I bought a box of the ($40!) gum. It made me light headed and feel like I was about to puke. OMG that crap tastes horrible!
Anyone need 99% of a box of nicotine gum?

Right? I bought the Commit lozenges, they taste like ****. The first one I took I had to spit right out. Anyone need 99% of Commit lozenges?

 

[theletch1]

Right? I bought the Commit lozenges, they taste like ****. The first one I took I had to spit right out. Anyone need 99% of Commit lozenges?

See, things like the gum, lozenges and patches never worked for me in the slightest. I got truly reamed by the wife when I was using the patches and she saw me chain smoking with a fresh patch on my arm. :whip1:

 

[tellner]

Anyone need 99% of Commit lozenges?

I could use as many as you've got. Grind 'em up with a few other odds and ends. Spray 'em on the flowers and most of the veggies. They make great bug killer.

Which should tell you something you already knew about breathing the stuff directly into your lungs

 

[MA-Caver]

None of the "stop-smoking" techniques will work ... unless you WANT to quit.

I'm a recovering alcoholic and drug addict... I don't drink/use because I don't want to... I WANTED to stop drinking/using.

Now going on 19 years. :asian:

Far as smoking goes... I'm at the I know I should but still don't WANT to or at least part of me does and another part of me doesn't. It's all or nothing.

 

[Tomu]

I smoked from 15 to 32. Been almost 3 years now. There are still times I want a smoke. The gum worked for me, but it does taste like crap. I gained a little weight but I think the benefits far outweigh the weight gain. I never realized how bad cigarettes stink until I quit. YUCK!!

 

[Tomu]

Hey, MA-Caver I just saw your last post. Same here. Are you a friend of Bill W. or Jimmy K.?

 

[Jade Tigress]

Some will tell you that acupuncture will work others will tell you no. Acupuncture did wonders for me for a back injury but I have to wonder if some of that wasn't psychosomatic. As I understand the smoking cessation aspect of quiting smoking the needles are put in the outer ear for consecutive days for awhile. It's time consuming and expensive. Cold turkey was the ONLY way that worked for me but individual results will vary.

None of the "stop-smoking" techniques will work ... unless you WANT to quit.

I'm a recovering alcoholic and drug addict... I don't drink/use because I don't want to... I WANTED to stop drinking/using.

Now going on 19 years. :asian:

Far as smoking goes... I'm at the I know I should but still don't WANT to or at least part of me does and another part of me doesn't. It's all or nothing.

You're both absolutely right. NOTHING is going to help unless you are really committed to do it. I agree that cold turkey is really the only way, though I know many people have had success with Chantix, and that's fantastic. But for me, deep down I know, it's gonna be cold turkey. As Caver said, it's all or nothing. *sigh*

 

[MA-Caver]

Hey, MA-Caver I just saw your last post. Same here. Are you a friend of Bill W. or Jimmy K.?

Yes

 

[Tomu]

Sweet.

 

[BooBoo]

@Jade,

I was a heavy smoker too, but I've been smoke free for 4 years now.

I think I was successful the last time because I made a complete lifestyle change:

(1) I became more religious and gave up alcohol (a smoking trigger) and other substances, even some friends!

(2) I increased my training (which at the time was Muay Thai)

(3) I read this website inside and out www.whyquit.com

That site helped me quit because it helped me understand in depth the tricks my body uses to get me to smoke. You should check it out, but you must know there is no easy way, Cold Turkey is the best way, because nicotine addiction is the fundamental problem.

After 2 weeks of quitting or so your body psyhiologically adjusts to being nicotine free. However, the psychological addiction doesn't normally ever dissapear. The psychological addiction results from your brain associating nicotine and cigarrettes with satisfaction, since you are satisfying an addiction by smoking.

But you have to be aware that the psychological addiction that stays with you is just a mind trick! If you get the urge to smoke after the first few weeks of quitting you have to know that it won't make you feel better, until you get your body addicted again, in which case you will resume to the regular cycle of smoking to satisfy the nicotine addiction (which your brain will trick you into thinking that it's making you feel good).

Personally, when I took Tai Chi and Chi Gong training more seriously, it helped me visualise my body as clean and pure, and any it actually made me despise and not crave cigarrettes at all. That might help you deal with the long-term psychological addiction. I even quit smoking flavoured tobacco from hooka pipes (hubbly bubbly as some call it), which I used as a temporary replacement for a while.

Now I despise all artificial substances, I don't even like taking regular day to day medicine unless I have to.

Anyways I hope my post helps you out, good luck.

 

[Jade Tigress]

@Jade,

I was a heavy smoker too, but I've been smoke free for 4 years now.

I think I was successful the last time because I made a complete lifestyle change:

(1) I became more religious and gave up alcohol (a smoking trigger) and other substances, even some friends!

(2) I increased my training (which at the time was Muay Thai)

(3) I read this website inside and out www.whyquit.com

That site helped me quit because it helped me understand in depth the tricks my body uses to get me to smoke. You should check it out, but you must know there is no easy way, Cold Turkey is the best way, because nicotine addiction is the fundamental problem.

After 2 weeks of quitting or so your body psyhiologically adjusts to being nicotine free. However, the psychological addiction doesn't normally ever dissapear. The psychological addiction results from your brain associating nicotine and cigarrettes with satisfaction, since you are satisfying an addiction by smoking.

But you have to be aware that the psychological addiction that stays with you is just a mind trick! If you get the urge to smoke after the first few weeks of quitting you have to know that it won't make you feel better, until you get your body addicted again, in which case you will resume to the regular cycle of smoking to satisfy the nicotine addiction (which your brain will trick you into thinking that it's making you feel good).

Personally, when I took Tai Chi and Chi Gong training more seriously, it helped me visualise my body as clean and pure, and any it actually made me despise and not crave cigarrettes at all. That might help you deal with the long-term psychological addiction. I even quit smoking flavoured tobacco from hooka pipes (hubbly bubbly as some call it), which I used as a temporary replacement for a while.

Now I despise all artificial substances, I don't even like taking regular day to day medicine unless I have to.

Anyways I hope my post helps you out, good luck.

Thank you. I'll check out the website. I am just so mad at myself for picking it up again after quitting for so long. What a stupid thing to do. *sigh*

 

[MA-Caver]

Thank you. I'll check out the website. I am just so mad at myself for picking it up again after quitting for so long. What a stupid thing to do. *sigh*

What might help is to lookit at WHY you picked it up again Pam... you didn't JUST pick it up again for the helluva it, nobody JUST does anything, you had something prompting you to do so. Find out what it is and ponder on what you need to do to NOT do that again...

 

[Jade Tigress]

What might help is to lookit at WHY you picked it up again Pam... you didn't JUST pick it up again for the helluva it, nobody JUST does anything, you had something prompting you to do so. Find out what it is and ponder on what you need to do to NOT do that again...

Oh, I know why I picked it up again. Major long term stress and depression. I didn't start again for stress relief though, I started up again because I just didn't care about anything anymore. So I thought, eh, what the hell. I'll have one here and there. Well, here and there turned into hooked again.

 

[MA-Caver]

Oh, I know why I picked it up again. Major long term stress and depression. I didn't start again for stress relief though, I started up again because I just didn't care about anything anymore. So I thought, eh, what the hell. I'll have one here and there. Well, here and there turned into hooked again.

:whip:

 

[jkembry]

I've talked to folks that stopped 20 years ago that are "still" working on it. It's an addiction like any other. You're always a recovering addict. Keep on keeping on, my friend. I wish you the best of luck.

True...but it does change a bit. I quit in 1976 (Oct. 13th) after a 2 1/2 pack a day habit for 4 years...and only in the past couple months had it gotten to the point the 2nd had smoke REALLY irritates me...eyes start itching and I start sneezing...almost like an allergy. With all the new chemicals that are used in tobacco processing I guess I could be allergic to something.

 

[bowser666]

I smoked for over 10 years and have been smoke free for 5 months or so now. I honestly don't even think about it anymore. The thing that people miss is that YOU CAN ONLY QUIT IF YOU WANT TO. I simply did it cold turkey, no patches, no gum , etc...... It is all in your mind that you need one. That is what it all boils down to. It is not a chemical addiction , it is a mental addiction. Just liek having a cup of coffee in the morning, or if you get up and jog 2 miles every morning and can't break the habit. LOL It is all about changing your routine. If the first thing you do in the morning is have a coffee and a smoke , then wait until you get to work to have the coffee and have it at your desk. That way you can't smoke while you drink it. You need to change your patterns. If you have a g/f or wife that smokes, then get them to quit too!!! Friends that smoke ? Just politely ask them to not smoke around you until you can break your habit.

Just remember , you have to want it. Otherwise any other reason you come up with is just a excuse.

 

[Jade Tigress]

:whip:

I know. Right? :wah:

True...but it does change a bit. I quit in 1976 (Oct. 13th) after a 2 1/2 pack a day habit for 4 years...and only in the past couple months had it gotten to the point the 2nd had smoke REALLY irritates me...eyes start itching and I start sneezing...almost like an allergy. With all the new chemicals that are used in tobacco processing I guess I could be allergic to something.

Congrats!

I smoked for over 10 years and have been smoke free for 5 months or so now. I honestly don't even think about it anymore. The thing that people miss is that YOU CAN ONLY QUIT IF YOU WANT TO. I simply did it cold turkey, no patches, no gum , etc...... It is all in your mind that you need one. That is what it all boils down to. It is not a chemical addiction , it is a mental addiction. Just liek having a cup of coffee in the morning, or if you get up and jog 2 miles every morning and can't break the habit. LOL It is all about changing your routine. If the first thing you do in the morning is have a coffee and a smoke , then wait until you get to work to have the coffee and have it at your desk. That way you can't smoke while you drink it. You need to change your patterns. If you have a g/f or wife that smokes, then get them to quit too!!! Friends that smoke ? Just politely ask them to not smoke around you until you can break your habit.

Just remember , you have to want it. Otherwise any other reason you come up with is just a excuse.

You're exactly right. The first time I quit I did it cold turkey. It was the only way, and I REALLY had my mind set to it. I had tried quitting a couple times before then unsuccessfully. I was smoke-free for 17 years! It took a long time to lose the urges, but they were completely gone for years when I picked it up again. Stupid, stupid, stupid Pam.

Congrats to you too!