| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/27/2008 11:57:57 AM | So I've planned a date to quit smoking for good. June 2nd to be exact but basicaly I am looking for some good pointers if you will that would help assist with that "craving" when consuming alcohol.
Just a footnote: I enjoy my occasional adult beverage so thats not an option:) | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/27/2008 4:23:51 PM | | Pretzels. The kind that are long and round, kind of like cigars. Also, I've heard that drinks that use o.j. help ward off cravings. The biggest problem is that alcohol lessens your self-decipline and you can convince yourself that "only one or two" won't hurt. | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/28/2008 11:31:41 AM | quitting smoking is sooo diffucult, and congrats on taking the first steps.
i think the best tip is to avoid situations for a while that involve friends smoking, or places you associate smoking. and depending on how intense your craving is in the morning for a cigarette (indicator of physical addiction), you can try the gum or lozenges when you wake up. If you dont crave that "morning" smoke , you're probably not that addicted and quitting will be easier (pure will power) good luck babes
i'm speaking from experience.
oh and if you dont quit the first time dont be too hard on yourself:)
AND my last advice, do not replace food with smoking (oral fixation) and start working out right away. I lost a lot of weight the first time i quit smoking (haha the FIRST time) and kept it off because i replace cravings with cardio  | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/28/2008 8:16:20 PM | Give up alcohol for six months at least.
I had this discussion at the weekend, or listened in as two people who are close to me discussed the exact problem. One has successfully given up (years ago now) and he did so by giving up alcohol for 6 months too. The emotional associations are too strong. The other, who can go weeks or months without smoking so long as no emotional triggers (work-stress) occur was begging for a cigarette after he got drunk. The craving is too strong to beat when your resolve and your capacity to think straight is weakened by alcohol. Otherwise, take a very reliable friend with you who will be willing and able to stop you smoking even if you beg them - and make sure you thank them the next morning. It seems that the hardest part of giving up smoking is finding a new way to cope with the emotional trigger situations which you have learned to cope with by smoking - that and the alcohol connection. | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/28/2008 11:05:40 PM | When i quit, going to the bar was the worst.
So much temptation, and everybody says 'Oh here hold my smoke when I run to the bathroom'
Try ordering a veggie platter and snack on something healthy but not salty or carbalicious. Gum helps, sipping on water, and when in doubt..drink some more? | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/29/2008 7:36:11 AM | I have quit many times throughout my life and than even after many months would light one up. I have used the patch and gum in the past. A year ago {last july} I started to look into alternative health. I started to eat more healthy and decided to quit smoking. I read that for any bad habit you wish to break it is important to replace it with something else. That is so you don't feel that negative feeling of something being taken away from you. In thinking of what to replace the smoking with I came up with deep breathing, so every time I wanted to smoke I would take a deep breath of air. It usually takes three days to get the nicoteen out of your system but the habit is still there and you will miss having something to do with your hands. I have been smoke free for about a year now and when I see someone smoke I don't wish for a cig I just feel happy that I don't feel so crappy and stink like a ash tray. I thinnk it looks so unatural to smoke now that when I see someone with a cig I think it is an odd sight and just looks stupid.
Best of luck on this, you can do it. | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/29/2008 1:57:59 PM | Thanks Guy's I really aprreciate the feedback!  | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/29/2008 3:14:09 PM | i quit 2 weeks ago, I went out drinking last night and had a couple of drags from my friends ciggies, got a few cravings today because of it but so far no problem.
It's okay to have a couple of puff's while you're quitting as long as you dont go back to smoking normally.
Chew gum, drink lots of water and exercise lots to curb cravings. Good luck! | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/29/2008 3:54:03 PM | lol...Just noticed my typo above...
Anyway, all good suggestions and I think I'll be fine, It's mind over matter and I'm just disgusted with them already!!
Thanks Again! | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/29/2008 4:28:48 PM | I quit about 9 or 10 years ago. Tried everything & not a damn thing worked. I was smoking 40 Camel/day. Then I tried a local hypno. BINGO!
Quit at 3pm on a Friday afternoon after a 1hr session. Was in a local bar that night where everyone was smoking & it didn't bother me at all. Never had any cravings, mood swing or any of the otehr probs with qutting,. It was like I'd never started in the first place.
Only strange deal was that if I had a bad day at work or was stressing about something I would have a dream where I would smoke a cigarette... & in the dream I'm thinking to myself "well crap, theres goes $180, have to go back to the hypno again"
Then I'd wake up & realise it wasn't going to cost me $180 (actually she now charges close to $450 & claims 100% success, she was only at 98% when I went). Haven't had that dream for years now, but...
I'd been stopped for quite a while & my parents came to stay for a month... the night before they showed up I had a dream where I smoked an entire pack...
I've refered several friends to her (& 2 lawyers..) & they also all stayed off the cigs.
If anyone in the LA area wants her phone # just msg me. | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/29/2008 7:25:44 PM | It's okay to have a couple of puffs while you're quitting as long as you don't go back to smoking normally.
Personally, I think convincing yourself that a couple of puffs is OK is a bad idea.
The next stage after that is "well, I am not smoking as much as I used to", followed eventually by "I really should try to quit"
Not that you should give up if you do have a relapse, but the most important thing I have learned about my addictions is that "one is too many, and a thousand is not enough."
I think the single most important factor is a successful quit is your attitude.
Peter Gzowski, a famous (and heavy smoking) Canadian radio broadcaster wrote "How to Quit Smoking in Fifty Years or Less," in the anthology Addicted: Notes from the Belly of the Beast that: ''If you've decided to quit, you will''
I quit the day after he died of emphysema on Jan 24, 2002. | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/30/2008 3:18:27 AM | I think it's great you are going to make an effort to quit, although I know so many people who quit, but end up smoking again,
as a guy, I find smoking a total turn off in a woman, and many guys agree with me. By quitting smoking, you also increase your pool of dating options,
good luck | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/30/2008 6:01:35 AM |
Personally, I think convincing yourself that a couple of puffs is OK is a bad idea.
The next stage after that is "well, I am not smoking as much as I used to", followed eventually by "I really should try to quit"
Not that you should give up if you do have a relapse, but the most important thing I have learned about my addictions is that "one is too many, and a thousand is not enough."
I think the single most important factor is a successful quit is your attitude.
Well it works for me, I had a couple of puffs and no desire to buy or smoke more afterwards. If you decide to quit outright and say you'l never smoke again but have a couple of drunken puff's you can end up back to smoking as normal - Ive seen it happen. The most important thing is that you smoke less and less. You shouldnt expect yourself to just stop a long term habit, short term goals in situations like this are much better - in my opinion. | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/30/2008 2:07:01 PM | When I first quit (although I don't really smoke any more at all unless I'm around people who smoke or I'm drinking at the bar) I used gum and sun flower seeds as a substitute to break the habitual side effects of wanting something in my mouth or hands...
Spitz were a life saver as it gave me something to do but they'll make you gain weight and are also very addictive and hard to kick.
Gum is great cause it cleans your teeth, keeps your breathe fresh and maybe even strengthens your jaw muscles. haha.
I quit cold turkey...personally I can't gradually do anything...it's either all or nothing.
Good Luck, it's a disgusting habit. | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 4/30/2008 7:27:00 PM | Well I smoked for 26 years and now have not smoked for 2 years.
I tried many times to quit but really deep down did not want to..I liked smoking.
I tried patches , gums, inhalers and pretty much everything on the market.
Basically you wont quit till you get sick 0f it and are really ready to want to actually be healthy. Also it can take more than one time to finally quit but the more times you try the more chance you will succeed one day.
Thats my opinion :) | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 5/1/2008 3:05:02 AM | | Good luck! I cant offer advice because when I quit something, I just dont do it anymore. I realize most people are different, but that's what works for me. Just stop doing it. | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 5/1/2008 5:05:33 PM | Get a prescription for Chantix from your doctor. This stuff is amazing! It blocks the receptors in the brain that nicotine targets so you don't get cravings. Its usually a 3-4 month program. You're supposed to keep smoking while taking it the first week then pick a quit date and quit. Depending on the type of smoker you are (heavy; light) you may want to smoke a little longer. I smoked for the first month but let me tell you by the end of that month I was down from 18-20 cigs a day to about 6. The change is so subtle you don't even notice that you're not craving a cig. I would go hours & hours without a cig and then it would hit me "wow, I haven't had one in 4 or 5 hours." No cravings means you're not eating everything that isn't nailed down, hence no major weight gain.
Now of course the insurance companies have our best interest at heart so the medication is not covered, lol. It runs anywhere between $110 to $120 per month, but think how much a month u spend on cigarettes, and this is only for 3 or 4 months. Anyway, I've been smoke-free for 4 months now The only side effect of the medication is it gives you some very bizaare dreams (this is the most common reported side effect) but nothing horrific, just really weird BUT WORTH IT!! | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 5/1/2008 9:32:38 PM | congrats on your accomplishment and no I dont believe insurance comapanies pay for it..I work for one so that doesn't surprise me, lol...
I'm dead set on doing it so i know it will happpen:)
Thanks for the advice:) | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 5/1/2008 11:03:05 PM | Good luck ciaobaby, I know you can do it.
Everything will smell and taste better and you'll feel so much better too. | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 5/2/2008 1:39:42 AM | Good luck!
Get some Champix from your Gp and you'll be stopped in now time! | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 5/2/2008 11:49:03 AM | Congrats on quitting.
I think the easiest thing to do is keep something in your other hand to occupy it. A pen or pencil, a straw, those garnish swords. That is the only thing that has helped me. I have a harder time after large meals or when I get stressed with the cravings for a smoke. I keep a bottle of water near by and take a few sips. Keeps me hydrated and avoids the panic. | |
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_JAFO_
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Joined: 11/9/2007
Msg: 23 | |
| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 5/4/2008 9:27:07 AM | My suggestion is to systematically cut out each "habit".
For me, I used to smoke in my car. Reach for a smoke when talking on the phone. Reach for a smoke first thing in the morning, etc.
I would focus on ONE habit and completely be rid of it then move on to the next habit. I started with smoking in my car. After many months of not smoking in my car I moved on to the habit of lighting up after a meal. After eradicating that habit I moved on to the next. Eventually, WAY down the road I had alot of the habits broken. I bought my last carton of cigarettes and smoked until I had 1 left--I never targeted a quit date.
I put that last cigarette pack with the one cigarette in a drawer and kept it "in case of emergency."
That was almost ten years ago.
In response to your need to smoke when drinking. I'd suggest when you're out drinking and you feel the need to smoke -- force yourself to go home at that point. Conditioned response is a wonderful thing. | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 5/5/2008 7:08:40 PM | From my experience it was the boredom fags that I missed most, the drinking fags were easy in comparrison.
Anyways good luck | |
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| Quitting Smoking
Posted: 5/6/2008 9:55:41 AM | it's been 2 years i quit cold turkey. What worked for me
your going to need some support and will power so find yourself a non smoking support buddy.
Second your going to need to replace your "killing time smoke" with something (this is where your buddy can help some but not all the time, take up something like drinking water, talling yourself i'm aiding cleaning my system.
Thirdly, if your dedicated to making the change it's because your ready, and really want to not for someone else.
Forth and last this is the hardest part, your going to have to change your habbits, remember your technically giving up a lifestyle. The people you hang around, places you go, and way you react to things will all have to change to some lesser degree. I found it easyer to isolate myself from these situations intierly (the one's you can) by explaining to people what's going on and they'll stick by you
Keep busy, and don't worry, be prepaired your time of need doubles, eg you'll get through day one then day 2 is tough, then 4, then week 2, then month ect, be stong, start a new hobbie and tell yourself something like ok, i'm joining the gym and with the money i'm saving i'll be in great shape and able to go on vacation this time next year | |
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