I've been wanting to quit smoking cigarettes for awhile and have tried to quit several times before. Each time was very hard and didn't last very long. I think the longest time that I lasted was one month maybe a little longer. then I would get that craving and end up going to the store and buying another pack. I would just tell myself "I'll just smoke one or two it will be ok"

I have been smoking for a few years and find it very difficult not to go a day or even few hours without a cigarette. I think I started when I was thirteen or fourteen. I would take cigarettes from my parents but never enough to be noticed. Or I would pay bums to but me packs. I would just smoke them by myself so I wouldn't be caught. Even my friends didn't know that I smoked. I would change before I went over to their houses and never smoke around them.

I don't want to smoke anymore, but I don't think I can do it on my own. Does anyone have any suggestions for me to help me quit? I would really appreciate any advice.

Cheers,

Little Jon

Well, there is that terrible Nike slogan from the late 80's and 90's, it works for some. ...

But to be honest the one thing that works best is not to get on yourself for having failed to stay quit. If you do slip up and buy a pack don't start by calling yourself names and don't toss the pack away with 19 smokes left in it. Let yourself get to a point where you are willing to go again and then carry the pack as a reminder that you don't need cigarettes you already have some. Then as you get the point across you just don't need them say a few months down the road then you can toss the pack. Not to mention the cigarettes in the pack will begin tasting different to you the longer you go with out.

But, oddly those that I knew quit with a pack in their shirt pocket tend to actually loose the desire for them faster. Reverse psychology or something. I quit with 18 left in my pack and had gone a week before realizing I had not smoked them. I gave them to my room mate and let him have the rest of the carton in the fridge too. He thought I had gone mad....

Hi Jon:

Doctors all around the world would tell you the number 1 thing you can do to increase your life is quit smoking. This however when started is not easy. Have you ever asked yourself why? Oh you might lie to yourself, saying you like the taste, saying it brings you pleasure, or a whole host of half truths or bold face lies.

We are a dule nautred creature Jon. We have a illumanated (spiritual) side and an evolutionary animalistic side.

It is that beast, the animal skin we flesh as a robe that has happy rewards in store as a chemical cocktail of brain chemicals. To quest after the happy brain chemicals we will eat ourselves past 5 times our natural body weight.

There was a lab test of a white rat that could phyical intreject this joy to itself by pressing a red button. That white rat lost all intrest in anything having to do with life activities such as eating and sleeping and that little white rat pressed that red button until it died.

That white rat and red button is the smoker taking another drag. And the smoking companies know this. That's why they lace that natural tabacco with more nicotine and chemicals to help you get your poision and fix quicker.

Lets not forget the taxes.

Don't think this comes from a nonsmoker. I am a twice recovered nonsmoking person.

You have to plan your attack. You have to make up your mind. You have to make up a list. You have to give yourself everything you need.

A list is something like 3-5 reasons you're quitting smoking. My number one reason is that it is a huge waste of money. I put a picture of a diseased lung on my desk top to look at every time I wanted to smoke. And I used nicotine gum, not as directed, but just a bare minial about to take the edge off. I quit years ago now, and every once in a while when I start to want to romance the idea of smoking I'll pick up a couple pieces of that nic gum.

Once you start smoking you'll want to do it till it kills you. Push that red button one more time?

Dear Jon;
I quit nearly 10 years ago and have never picked up again. But this success was not without its numerous failures. But what finally worked for me was to acknowledge I was turning power and control of my entire being over to a 3 inch tube of tobacco. It made me angry that I could be so weak to allow tis drug to control my life. I combined this notion with the fact that it was an offense to the spiritual nature of my being as well. And it was there I recognized the inherent evil of the addiction. And just like taking the alcohol away from the alcoholic does not make him sober, you must identify the "-ism" of the problem which is the psychology of why you do what you do. And once you decide to take on the adversary, you must also prepare to do battle with the cravings and withdrawals from the substance. Recognize you will be uncomfortable for awhile and be willing to accept that as a part of recovery or overcoming the addiction with the knowledge that, in the end, through perseverance, you will reap a lifetime of benefits being free of the monkey on your back.....Good luck to you ...and stay strong in the spirit as you endeavor to remove this terrible addiction.....God's Peace....To`na Wanagi

I have never smoked, so I can't be much practical help. However, I remember hearing this story from Kirk Douglas about smoking, and remembering how his own father had stopped smoking.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/16/opinion/16DOUG.html

Thank you all for your kind words and advice. So far I haven't had a cigarette since I posted last night. I have one more cigarette left in a pack and I'm just kinda looking at it. I'm going to give what Br. Joseph said a try. So far I don't feel like I need a smoke yet. I hope I can make it through the day without having one. I'm going from over a pack a day to cold turkey.

Cheers,

Little Jon

One way I have avoided addiction is by looking at it as a kind of “demonic possession.”

For some, treating it as such has helped them to break the cycle of addiction.

I do not think that the addiction is totally the fault of the substance or activity, but rather is in the mentality of the addict/abuser. Not that I am placing blame on a person, or saying that people choose to become addicted, that would just be plain stupid of me. The chemical aspects certainly play a part as well. Rather, the main part of the addiction maintains it’s self, like a parasite, in your mental habits.

We get into this feedback pattern in our mind. We associate the negative activity with something we label “good.” Tobacco is one of the worst about this. Ok, it is not even really the tobacco, it is all the extra crap they add to it. For many years, our culture has been bombarded with pro-tobacco propaganda. Famous actors smoked in movies, alluring commercials reminding you of how great it is, campaigns lead to make smoking seem sophisticated. Tobacco is everywhere, or at least it has been. They even push “smokers rights” like it is some kind of lifestyle choice, religion, or whatever. “Smokers rights” are being violated! Where are the crack addicts rights advocates?

This is where awareness comes in. Like any suffering, addiction causes a form of suffering. We can try to repress or ignore this, or we can focus on it, and go deeper into it, and through it deeper into ourselves. When the suffering of the addiction arises, do not judge yourself! Relax, breath, and watch it. You may want to replace the habit with some positive activity that you can do when this arises to help you to focus until it passes. Remember, “This too will pass.”

One of the best sources of info on this I have seen was Shinzen Young’s Breakthrough Pain, book and CD. Though any kind of awareness training will help. You can try reciting favorite scriptures, breathing deeply, repeating an affirmation, or some physical activity. Healthy snacks and gum are said to help with the oral fixation.

Quitting 32 years of smoking was the hardest thing I've done and I've done a lot!

After 72 hours, the nicotine addiction is broken. Nicotine is out of your system, but the psychological addiction is still there. Everybody is different. My wife quit for 6 years, began again after her father got sick, then quit again with relative ease 5 years later. I was like you, "quit" several times for 1-3 months then began again.

The good news is that the more times you quit, the more likely you will succeed so keep trying!

Quitting is all in the head. You have to want to quit. Quitting because of fears of cancer, because it's good for you, because packs are $5 each, because it smells, because it's a fire hazard, because it's a health hazard to those around you, because it sets a bad example for kid, blah, blah, blah don't work. Many people can't be intimidated into quitting or quitting because "it's the smart thing to do". They quit because they want to. It's clear you want to quit, but, like me when I was cycling between quitting and smoking, you still want to smoke too.

For me, it was turning 50 that finally convinced me to get my head straight. My job as a pilot requires a medical certificate every six months. If I want to remain healthy enough to fly until I am 65 years old, I needed to reevaluate the unhealthy activities in my life such as drinking and smoking. Quitting excessive drinking wasn't a problem, but smoking was truly tough.

While most smokers do shave time off their lives due to their habit, the worst thing is the deterioration of their quality of life for the last 10 years or so of their lives. My dad's poor health was one of the factors which convinced me. I want to be active and healthy in retirement, not dragging an oxygen tank behind me to Wal-Mart.

Quitting smoking is a life style change. In losing weight, people can't go on a "crash" diet for a month or six then go back to their old style of eating pizza and Big Macs every day. They'll just cycle between being overweight and dieting. Dieting is a temporary measure to lose weight, but staying at a healthy weight requires a lifestyle change of eating healthy, preferably with an exercise program.

The same goes for quitting smoking. It's a lifestyle change. Look at those things you do in your life that promote smoking in order to find those things that will have to change. If hanging out in the park smoking with your friends is a habit, then quitting smoking while hanging out in the park watching your friends smoke is probably not going to work in the long run. You may have to find new friends or at least avoid those activities which promote smoking. This doesn't mean you have to give up your old friends, but it certainly means a lifestyle change in what you do with your time.

The most important advice I can give you is KEEP TRYING! Never give up and, eventually, you will succeed.

Quitting has proven hard yet again. I would love to be able to say "I haven't had a cigarette since Sunday". But it would be a lie. I've had five or six since then. I haven't bought a pack just bummed one every now and then. I still have my last pack of cigarettes with one in it. When my craving gets really bad I take it out and pretend to smoke it. Doing that for a few minutes gets me through the craving. I wont let myself smoke that cigarette because it makes me get a different one. I don't always get a cigarette and the craving passes after awhile. So far this is working out ok for me. I'm getting less cravings right now and haven't really liked the taste of them either. Well that's how it has been for me so far.

Brother Yukio thank you for your encouragement and sharing you experience of quitting. Reading what you and everyone else have been posting here really helps me a lot.

Cheers,

Little Jon

I am a professional holistic health care practitioner, and one of my modalities is hypnotherapy according to the AMA hypnotherapy has a 89 percent success rate for quitting smoking try that I do so with a program, and do so long distance if you should be interested otherwise look up the Hypnotherapy accreditation boards.

Well everyone I've been doing good. I've been down to one cigarette around noon or so. I only take a few puffs of it before I put it out. I still have my last cigarette I didn't smoke it. Hopefully by next week I will be smoke free.

Priestofthemoon thanks for your suggestion it was interesting. I read a little about it, but I think what I am doing is working out ok for me.

Cheers for now,

Little Jon

I quit after 20 years of smoking back in '95 -- I had some help though, I got the flu and could not smoke without getting into coughing fits that would almost make me black out.....after 4 days the fever left, I looked at the pack and said to myself "I can stop now or start up again at this moment." I chose not to smoke but I did gain some weight -- I prayed to the lord to help me to stop and I haven't used tobacco to this day. I don't miss it at all.

You notice after a bit of time, climbing stairs no more pausing to "catch your breath" or taking a deep breath too - you can't believe how much breath you can take..... No more morning hacking when you get up, and also your taste and sense of smell return. Just that alone was worth stopping - it has been said that after 5 years your lungs heal up.

And since I have an addictive personality I kept a new pack in sight to "argue" with. I always believe it is better to have something and not want it, than want something and not have it.....I kicked some serious drugs with that same attitude (also faith in the lord) and have been clean and sober for over 20 years without slipping up.

Hang in there brudda, you can beat anything if you have the will power and faith....