advice on quitting cigarettes?

[Moogyboy]

This may be an old topic but I did a quick search and came up with not much...

I'm not what you'd call a heavy smoker--maybe six or seven a day average, with occasional spikes in consumption--but I would of course like to quit completely. I actually did once, for a few years. Just quit cold turkey. But job stress brought it back on about six or seven years ago, and I've never completely quit since then. It seems that the habit is more tenacious than it was when I was younger, and cold turkey is a LOT harder.

As an aside, I'm also taking Wellbutrin for both that and, ahem, other reasons. I don't know how well it's helping with the smoking.

Any help from current quittertryers and successful ex-smokers would be VERY appreciated. Thanx in advance

cheers

Billy S.

 

[Moogyboy]

If anyone's curious, my brand of choice is Pall Mall Lights.

Also, I thought I'd mention that I had a period in college, when I was living in Germany as an exchange student, when I was doing 1 1/2 packs a day easy. And ciggies cost 5DM. And there were "Tabakwaren" machines every half a block. Ahh, the good old days...but then again I hadn't discovered diving yet...

cheers

Billy S.

 

[H2Andy]

well... after trying three or four times, this is what worked for me

1. i used the patch (they are expensive, but worth it. you get what you pay for)

2. for the first two weeks of using the patch, i smoked herbal cigarettes. they
are foul, but force yourself to smoke them. also, i found that my body
associated "smoking" with the "foul herbal crap" so my craving for cigarettes
lessened (my body just didn't want anything to do with it)

after a while, you are so sick of the herbal cigarettes that you don't want to smoke
them anymore.

BUT your nicotine craving is being taken care of by the patch, so you don't crave
nicotine.

the rough spots are when you change your dossage on your patches. be aware
that you'll get irritiable and generally unpleasant to be around (so says my wife).

i smoked for 16 years and quit one year and nine months ago. i don't crave
cigarettes anymore, don't even think of them except maybe now and then,
very rare.

when you are first quitting, it seems like you'll never stop thinking about it.
that you can't live without them.

trust me, it gets LOTS better. lots and lots better. just hang in there

one other thing: once you quit, do not, under any circumnstances, smoke even
a single cigarette. if you do, you are in grave danger of going back to smoking.
(i know... i quit once for 10 months... and... alas... smoked "just the one" at
a party... next thing i knew i was back to my pack-a-day habit)

by the same token, if you do smoke a cigarette, remember, it's not over yet.

just quit again right away, forgive yourself, and move forward.

 

[dlndavid]

The patch! Still on it, still working. Except when I'm in Mexico, but that's my choice.

 

[Rick Inman]

I quit 9 years ago (haven't had ONE since). Anyone can quit. The hard part is not starting again.
I like everything H2Andy said. I, too used the patch. At night in bed it was like smoking all night long, kinda' buzzy and irritable. I sucked on spaghetti sticks for the oral thing.
It isn't easy, but it IS do-able. You need motivation. I hear cigs are 5.00 a pack these days. Sheesh! A year's worth of cigs could pay for a trip to Cozumel - that outta' be enough motivation for anyone!
I applaud your efforts. You can do it!

BTW, dlndavid, watch out for those Mexican cigarettes. :11:

 

[dlndavid]

I quit 9 years ago (haven't had ONE since). Anyone can quit. The hard part is not starting again.
I like everything H2Andy said. I, too used the patch. At night in bed it was like smoking all night long, kinda' buzzy and irritable. I sucked on spaghetti sticks for the oral thing.
It isn't easy, but it IS do-able. You need motivation. I hear cigs are 5.00 a pack these days. Sheesh! A year's worth of cigs could pay for a trip to Cozumel - that outta' be enough motivation for anyone!
I applaud your efforts. You can do it!

BTW, dlndavid, watch out for those Mexican cigarettes. :11:

Yah I know, but after over 25 years of smoking, a few Mexican cigarettes won't kill me, or maybe they will. Just feel great about not smoking every 45 minutes. And yes people who smoke stink, and so does there exhaled smoke.

 

[Dive-aholic]

For me it was more of the habit of smoking than the nicotine. I'm not discounting the patch. I've never tried it, but at 7-8 cigs a day, I think the nicotine addiction is the least of your issues. You need to break the habit - easier said than done.

Here's how I quit:

Think about your smoking habits. I'll bet your smoke your 7-8 cigs at about the same time everyday following the same activities. Next time you go on vacation, leave the cigs behind. It's a change of routine and the quitting will be easier. If your vacation is only a week, that's fine. It's a smoke free week. Now comes the tough part, staying away from it after you get back home and into your old routine. With that old routine, you'll want to bring back the old habit. Resist the urge. The longer you last, the easier it'll get. I heard somewhere once that it takes 21 days to break a habit. I'm pretty sure if that has any merit it's just a ballpark. But I can say that the ballpark fit me and will probably fit most.

The key is to change your routine and avoid doing the things you normally do associated with smoking...if you can.

Good luck and keep us posted of your efforts and results.

 

[SoCalOffshore]

pills, patch and then quit. I took the pills for 10 days and then put the patch on the night before I quit and it worked. I had smoked for over 20 years and up to 2 packs a day.

 

[JustinW]

I have no clue how to help and I don't have any advice but perhaps some encouragement. Congrads on your choice to kick the habit. Your life will be better for it, and it won't hurt your diving either.

 

[mania]

OK but my major question is - how to quit and not put on weight?????
Mania