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I see that I posted in this thread 13 weeks after quitting smoking.

It's now over two and a half years. !!!

I just want to encourage those who are still struggling.
It was SO DAMN HARD on me. I tell people that it took me three and a half years to quit. (Back and forth, on again / off again.) It was psychological torture.

Just KEEP quitting. Talk to yourself about WHY you want to quit. Remind yourself of your strengths while knowing the weakness.

And just KNOW that you CAN do it. You can. We all can.

I can hang out with smokers now, after having some cocktails even, and I'm
1) not grossed out or offended
or
2) jealous, wishing it could be me
or
3) tempted.

None of the above. I do not smoke. I am not a smoker.

That's it.

Hallelujah.
I wish you all the best success. Don't quit quitting!

I smoked a pack-a-day. To quit, I did the following:

First, I took stock of the triggers that created a craving for a smoke, namely: coffee, following dinner, while driving, when drinking, and when I was on the phone.

Then I picked one trigger that I thought would be easy to quit. I started with the car, and slowly weaned myself from the habit of smoking while driving. It took 6-8 months to cut it out of my life completely.

Once I accomplished that, I picked another trigger and followed the same process until all of my associations with cigarettes were broken.

THEN I quit smoking cold turkey. I waited until I was going on vacation and quit--that way I had no triggers and was in an environment completely disassociated with smoking.

The two weeks away from home were really easy--it wasn't until I came back that I had a desire to smoke, but even then it was manageable.

That was almost two years ago, and while I have cheated here and there, I have conquered my addiction. It feels better than you could ever imagine.

I had throat surgery for cancer. Stuff
was removed so that I can't smoke anymore.
That was 2 years ago. I don't think I had
any major withdrawl in those 2 years.

Maybe if your mind knows that you can't, then
it's easier to "fo-gid aboud it".

I always hated smoking when I did it.

Joe

The superior qualities inherent in Sarah Perl (clarity, knowledge, confidence and intelligence) show whay the Bloomberg administrations is a striking success. Why can't this talent be transferred to Washington. I noticed that Perl sai at the end, "Thank you for having US." What a difference from the ruffians around Giuliani and the hacks around Dinkins. Thanks for the interview Mr. Lehrer.

I switched to a smokable nicotine patch that is not an actual patch but a dried plant rolled in paper which you light. Can't even tell the difference!

2 years on the patch. 4 years off now, no prob at all. Never. Smoked Drums too.

im 39 and smoked over a pack a day for 25 years. i DID NOT want to quit. i liked smoking!! but my doctor (1) told me it was an emergency (think about it, it is, a smoker is slowly poisoning him/herself); and (2) prescribed CHANTIX, an amazing new quit-smoking drug designed for long-term, heavy smokers like me (and you!). i feel like a prescription medication commercial, but considering the fact that i did not want to quit, and was almost in the stage of "whatever, you only live once", the medication helped me drop from one pack a day to three cigs a day in less than a week, and in a total of 2 weeks i was totally done. its been over 4 months now. i dont want to smoke, but sometimes i remember how "neat" it was to have a cig. still, its not worth it... in truth i never wanted to quit because i thought i would continue to fail (patches, gum, hypnosis, accupuncture, cold turkey, running marathons and bronchitis never helped me quit before this). now im a non-smoker (or ex-smoker). the medication gave me a bit of nausea when i took it in am/pm, and see your doctor, but i consider this to be the biggest best thing i have ever done for myself. and i didnt even get cranky with people!!! i gained focus and just totally forgot -- imagine, forgetting about smoking after all those years -- to smoke. literally FORGOT. good luck, you can do it!!!

I quit smoking through a combination of using a nicotine patch and fake plastic cigarette (the brand is escaping me at the moment) which you put a nicotine cartridge in and take "puffs" from when you feel you need a cigarette. I haven't smoked in over 5 months! Not even a puff. I never thought I would be able to quit, it became so engrained in my daily habits I couldn't even imagine myself not doing it. I think something changed in my brain because I don't even think about cigarettes anymore

I quit smoking cold-turkey while writing my doctoral thesis. I figured that if I could quit during that stressful time, then I would never need to smoke again. It will be 10 years in August. Even through 9/11, law school, and the Bar Exam, I have not relapsed.

However, I do recognize that my "old friend" nicotine addiction is waiting for me to slip. So I do avoid all tobacco products.

I got cancer. Not sure I can recommnend this method, but it helped me quit for sure.

Take II

The quit date is Feb. 18 2007. Sorry for the typo

A faux heart attack I can’t recommend highly enough. Last summer I spent a weekend in the hospital after what was either sunstroke or a massive PANIC ATTACK. With a weekend in hospital awaiting a stress test on the Monday morning I had plenty of time to reflect upon my upcoming 50th birthday. I tossed my cigarettes away and haven’t looked back since. John

This is my second serious bout with the quiting and I dont believe in the patches and all the gadgets they have out there. I have been going cold turkey and its been a battle. A battle I won for a year and half to only break back down. Know I am in another battle to quit and I am trying to make it stick, so for 6 months. Quiting is not easy when you are constantly thinking about it but it is possible. Stay strong to all my fellow quiters.

I went cold turkey and it has been several months now, this is not my 1st time trying to quit so hopefully I will stay strong this time. This habbit is a raging bull trying to break out all the time. So to all the quiters stay fucos and leave the smokes alone.

I quit on February 18, 2006 after almost 40 years of smoking. I'm nearly 55 years old, in surprisingly good shape and just had enough.
I've tried numerous times and never made it for more then a day or two.
I used the patch, followed the suggested directions to the letter and just held on. Yikes, it was tough!
After the 10 weeks of step-down, I managed to go without any nicotine at all.
One thing my wife and I have done is began putting an additional $42.00 per week in our savings account. We're going to take an extra annual trip somewhere with the money. Finally, my clothes are a bit tighter these days but nothing a little more exercise and "comfort waist" pants won't cure.
Good luck,
sjc

I got pregnant! and I quit, forever

I set a quit date. I knew that certain events were coming up that I would have a hard time not smoking and so I set the date after those events. After that, everytime I had a cigarette I concentrated on how horrible it really made me feel. It got to the point where I couldn't wait until the quit date but I kept smoking until the very last day. By the time the quit date came I was completely disgusted by cigarettes. Then I used nicotine gum for about a week, only in those emergency can't concentrate moments at work. Then I switched to regular gum, just keeping it in my pocket was security enough. I carried the stuff around with me for a few weeks and never even used it.

After 22 years of smoking (pack a day) I am now at week 13 of no cigarettes, no patch, no gum - I am nicotene free. It's actually been pretty easy. HOWEVER,

All the leg-work and mental preparation was done over a very tumultuous three year period of quitting / starting again / quitting. It was a HUGE psychological roller coaster ride that I found very stressful.

Every time I quit and then 'failed' by starting again, I reminded myself that I hadn't met my goal THIS time, but that one day I definitely would succeed!

It doesn't matter how long it takes or what path you take - just keep your hope and faith in yourself and you'll get it right one day.

lovelovelove

I am an ex-smoker and this is my third time quitting. I got hooked without knowing the dangerous powers of addiction in middle school. The first time was for 2 years, cold turkey, second on patch for 4 years and now going on 3.5 years from gum. Now that I'm in my late 30's, I don't think I'll be dumb enough to start again but I do know that nicotine is an addiction for life.

I quit when I was 20. I started as a kid - peer-pressure. When I was 20 my girlfriend broke up with me and I realized my career and life needed work. I quit smoke, started exercising and recommitted myself to school. Within a month of quitting I was running and a month after that I was running 5 miles. I haven’t stopped for 25 years. I quit by switching brands, not inhaling and dumping my smoker friends.

I've been a pack and a half smoker for 40 years. My cardiologist recommended Chantix as alot of women in the medical building were happy with it. I started Chantix about 8 days before my quit date while continuing to smoke. I quit cold turkey 2 days ago. The urges are there, but not terrible. I'm a litte light-headed and a little sad. All in all I'm feeling markedly better. Whatever it takes, it will be worth it. I will continue with Chantix for 3 months. I do believe it has a calming influence.

My successful recipe to quit:

1) Drop from your diet, at least temporarily, food that affects your mood. This includes caffeine, sugar, starch, etc.; this is because fluctuations in mood make it tougher to stay away from cigarettes;

2) Remove refined foods from your diet and add plenty of fiber and water to help remove toxins from your body;

3) Start an exercise regimen; remind yourself that cigarettes don't just cause lung cancer; they damage eyes, skin, teeth, etc., and every puff is really an insult to your body;

4) To the extent possible, avoid situations or people that make you want to reach for the cigarette;

5) Avoid smokers;

6) Nicotine withdrawal can lead to depression in some people; be prepared for that; remind yourself that the world hasn't changed, your brain chemistry has;

7) The daily routine of a smoker is punctuated with cigarette breaks; creating a new routine is very important. Longtime smokers may experience a period of almost existential emptiness in their life while they are adjusting to a life without cigarettes. Remember: the process of quitting is similar to ending a relationship; a period of mourning may be involved;

8) Be prepared for all the reasons that your mind keeps coming up with to continue smoking; this is nicotine playing with your head. Counteract that by reminding yourself of all the reasons for not smoking;

9) Be prepared to try to quit and fail half a dozen times or more;

10) Accept that for the rest of your life you'll be an ex-smoker, not someone who never smoked; therefore you'll need to remain vigilant.

I’m a medical editor, and I’ve worked on studies of programs to help smokers quit. The 2 things I've learned from this that I’d tell every smoker are (1) that you have a better chance of quitting successfully if you work with a doctor, whether or not you use a prescription product, and (2) that most smokers need to try several times before they quit for good. Too many smokers feel they’ve failed when they go back to smoking and give up on trying to quit again. But (endorsing Jason here) it’s not a failure, and it's not something to beat yourself up about; it's just part of the process. So please, for yourself and others, keep trying until it takes for good.

i smoked 1-2 packs a day for almost 25 years. about a year and a half ago i quit cold turkey and have not had a cigarette since. before that i'd tried hypnosis, patch, and gum. i'm not a big fan of nicotine replacement therapy; i think the cessation rates are higher in the short term, but that patch quitters are more likely to go back to smoking in the long term. and many nicotine gum users end up chewing the damn stuff for years. the best thing to do is just suck it up and get psyched for 96 hours of hell followed by one to three months of diminishing episodes of unpleasantness (yeah!;). after that you're pretty much home free. one great site with *lots* of *very helpful* information is http://www.whyquit.com (joel's book, called _never take another puff_, helped me out tremendously -- it's available for free on the site in pdf format).

And i've also heard great things about Allen Carr's book (some commenters were recently talking about it in this fun article about quitting by the guardian's charlie brooker -- http://www.guardian.co.uk/smoking/Story/0,,2078800,00.html ).

i think the key is to get thru the first 3-4 days, by any means necessary. go to bed as early as possible. if you know someone who has the flu, go to their house and kiss them on the mouth, hahaha. but no kidding -- i got strep throat on the second day and it was the best thing that could have happened to me.

after you haven't smoked for a while, you realize that quitting is really just a simple adjustment (and simple does not mean easy), and not the big huge monstrous thing it felt like when you were stuck in the grasp of withdrawal! good luck!!!

I had always hit a wall two years after quitting cold turkey. Then I heard about an internist/medical acupuncturist in New York who pioneered a smoking-cessation technique using acupuncture. He inserted press needles into the tragus point of my ears and instructed me to make circles over the press needles whenever I craved a cigarette. I returned to the internist's office once a week for 4 weeks to have the needles replaced. My doctor explained that stimulation of the tragus point releases endorphins in the brain, leading to feelings of pleasure and satiety. The results? I neither experienced psychological nor physical withdrawal, and haven't wanted nor smoked a cigarette since. And treatment was fully covered by insurance!

I sampled my first cigaret at 11 years old, and developed a full-fledged addition at about 15. I watched two relatives die from lung cancer and emphasema and attempted to quit no less than 20 times over the years. I was temporarily successful after going to the "crazy Russian". Even after being smoke free for 8 months, I craved cigaretes and began "social smoking" and bumming whenever around them because I truly loved smoking. Finally, two things helped: the ban on smoking in bars (and most everywhere else) and getting free patches by calling 311. The patches were a useful step, not the final factor, which remains a mystery and miracle. me: I'd finally had enough of being enslaved, spending so much money to maintain an addiction, and feeling like a pariah. Cigaretts weren't my friends. I finally had enough! This month marks my two-year anniversary.

I quit 20 years ago with Smokenders. Basically they work on the habitual aspect of smoking which becomes an emotional crutch. It involves group meetings, takes 6 weeks and like the book mentioned earlier you "smoke as much as you want" the whole time while whittling away at the habit. I.e.: No cigarettes for 15 minutes after a meal; no smoking while on the phone; no smoking while driving... Since you can smoke as much as you want and the changes are gradual, they don't seem so insurmountable, and when you finally quit, you can face the loss of these "important smoking times" because you've already conquered them. The method worked for me, and all my friends who used it (including my daughter who did it more recently) Unfortunately; they seem to only be holding corporate classes now. I have a friend who really wants to use this method, Does anyone know of a similar program?

I went away to an expensive spa where smoking wasn't allowed so I didn't smoke for 6 days, and on the plane on the way back I got a terrible cold which kept me from smoking for another 10 days. When I started to feel better, I though "hey! why not try quitting?" I did and I haven't smoked since. That was only 4 months ago so I'm not out of the woods yet! I wish my family would give me some support. It actually helps for people to say "wow! you quit? how great!"

Is there not anyone there to represent a pro-smoking view? Some people actually enjoy smoking in moderation and choose tobaccos that are less dangerous than mass-marketed cigarette products.

There are risks to most activities; the number of people who die each year from alcohol-related activities is huge, yet we aren't proposing BANNING alcohol for a general public that can learn to use the potentially dangerous substanse in a more responsible way.

I'm just worried that tobacco is the new marijuana: another plant that is gaining stronger taboo as "the devil's weed." Where today we propose these bans and taxes as in the interest of the general public, in the future we'll likely see the criminalization of users, and the options of connoisseurs to this special plant will be severely limited.

what ever happened to letting people live their lives as they see fit? for some, quitting may be the best choice they will ever make but it is still a personal decision. the mass attention the anti-smoking campaigns have been receiving scare me more than the number of people that die directly from smoking. Too much government attention means there is and ulterior motive. i'm all for making the medications easily accessible and free, but that goes back to the real problem, health care. it is a bad thing to demonize any group of people, even the dreaded smoker!

I smoked a pack a day for 23 years. I quit by making quitting a birthday gift to my wife. I was already motivated but it made process that much easier.

The key for me was breaking the psychological addiction, which meant quitting smoking several times for several months at a time and then relapsing. The important thing was not to beat myself up too bad when I did relapse. After doing this about 3 or 4 times I was finally able to quit for good (3 years and counting).
The other thing that helped me was to substitute activities that I couldn't do (easily anyway) while smoking--running, biking, swimming, etc. Gum or the patch didn't help me because it just confused my body and made me want to smoke more, so substitution was the best thing for me. I found I just had to suck up the first 4 days--which were the worst--in order to get nicotine completely out of my system.

I quit before I moved to NYC (so no help from 311), but the smoking ban has definitely helped me from relapsing. That and the high price of a pack of smokes.

I couldn't see using a nicotine patch since nicotine was what I was addicted to. I took Wellbutrin instead. You take 2 pills a day and smoke all you want. After about ten days you find that you've lost all desire for smoking. Keep taking the pills for a few more weeks and you're cured for life. Such was my experience, anyway.

I quit by going to a hypnotist for two sessions. It didn't magically make me not want to smoke anymore but made it much, much easier to tell myself that smoking wasn't an option anymore. It has been ten months now and I'm doing just fine still.

My brother, a heavy smoker, quit painlessly (he says) with one session of hypnosis. He said he had NO cravings after the session. He stayed smoke-free for 6 years (till he moved to France where he succumbed again to the total smoking environment that was Paris at the time).

I quit with acupuncture. I sat in my car outside the acupuncturist's office just before my appointment and smoked my last cigarette and threw away the rest of the pack. That was on October 27, 1987 and that was indeed my last cigarette. I had tried many times before and nothing else had worked. However, I believe that you really need to know that it is time to quit. The person who recommended acupuncture went back to smoking within a couple of weeks. Ultimately, you need to motivated, acupuncture, hypnosis, gum , etc. are all only aids to motivation.

I quit six years ago this Independence Day after three attempts - two cold turkey, one with the patch. Finally quit with Wellbutrin that my doctor prescribed. I took it for six months to be sure I'd never smoke again. Now I'm the worst reformed smoker. Can't stomach the smell!

I had to try several times over a period of about two years to quit smoking. I haven't smoked for a year and a half since finally successfully quiting. I first tried cold turkey, and when that didn't work, I successfully tried the patch. I think those who quit once and are successful the first time are loudest, and therefor misrepresent what it actually takes to quit: multiple attempts and dogged persistence. The best advice to give to someone is that if you fail quiting, immediately try again until it works. For me, it took two awful years of this. Most people fail the first or second times. You will eventually do it as long as you don't mistakenly label yourself 'hopelessly addicted.'

Chantix, Chantix, Chantix!!!!!! I smoked for 45 yrs & tried more times than I can count to quit. This stuff works!!!!

My sisters gave me a season pass at Rockefeller Center and revived a childhood sport I loved for which I needed lung power. Interestingly enough, I jad started smoking at age 13 or so behind the skating club just before quitting skating! I was a serious addict and so had to do all manner of things to stick to the decision to quit (and i think the firm decision was of paramount importance,) including a daily ride to Brighton Beach to swim every day followed by a trip to Chelsea Piers to skate afterward for an entire summer. I had succeded for 4 years using meditation mostly but one upset and I started lighting up again. It took another 5 years to stop for fourteen. I also had a list of vitamins - B and C - cysteine was important - it was a long list. I never lost the weight. I learned that smoking causes you to lose half the nutrients you ingest so no wonder smokers can tend to be svelte.

As your last caller mentioned, I too quit from "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking", written by Allen Carr. I stopped after being a heavy smoker for over 15 years and was amazed when I went one day, then one week, then one month, etc. Now I've quit for over 7 months. I'd recommend this book over patches for any smoker who wants to quit.

The current ad campaign starring Ronaldo Martinez are also an effective deterrent for me start up again.

Back in 1981, at the age of thirty three, I was a one-pack-a-day smoker. I became very concerned about health effects, in general, and the severe cough I woke-up with each morning, in particular, and resolved to quit. I tried going cold turkey, which didn't work well at all. I then tried rationing and got myself down to a half-pack-a-day, but couldn't do much better, so I came up with the following: I did a little research and settled upon Lark as the cigarette brand I liked the least. I then took the Larks out of their pack and left them on the counter to get stale. When I wanted a cigarette, I'd try to smoke one of those and generally gave-up after three puffs or so. Using this method, I cut back to three-cigarettes-a-day immediately and, within a few days, I'd quit altogether and haven't had a cigarette since. I still crave them, for one generally doesn't get over an addiction to nicotine, but all I have to do is think of those stale Larks and I'm OK.

I quit 21 years ago.

I had a mantra of sorts: no nicotine, chlorine.

That got me to the pool. A little bit of substituting one poison for another, however, at least now I am fit enough to be a competitive swimmer and triathlete.

I quit by slowly working down from Winston full strength, to lite cigs. I also started a new exercise program - yoga and swimming. These gave me a high that replaced that of the cigs, and also motivation to quit, for health reasons, and to perform better in my new sports.

I had smpked 3 packs/day for 20 years. I quit cold turkey. The first day I simply went to bed as though I had the flu. The 2nd day I was massivly depressed. After that I was totally wretched to everyone around me for about a month; then I was fine But, this was 18 years ago and despite being tempted, I have not had a cigarette since.

Does anyone know about an Injection, which enables people to quit smoking easily.
It was aired on a radio station in Florida.

Thank you,
Jodi