Please? Help me quit smoking?

please. i need help, suggestions, input.

i need to quit, now, before 20 years go by and i am smoking through a
hole in my throat

i need a plan, a course of action!

i imagine my lungs are completely black by now, and i hate being this
dependant on something, something, in fact, that i know is slowly killing
me... i hate over-flowing ashtrays, and ash, i hate smoking outside in
the cold & rain, or the scorching sun, i mostly hate the dependance & health aspect, i think.

and i hate using the word "hate" especially this much, but, i have to
be convicted here.

i feel very nauseous all the time, out of breath, lathargic... i think
i've even lost a big portion of my sense of smell & taste.

i need help here, i've never tried to quit smoking before because i knew
how hard it was going to be, eesh, it's gotta be up there with heroin & alcohol.

i am afraid of failing, and i'm deathly afraid of being a smoker for
the rest of my life.

those of you who have quit, how did you do it? what methods?

those of you who want to quit, want to join me?!

I just quit in October. I smoked when I was 18 (1994) til I was 19 (1995), then quit for a year in august 95, then smoked from about August 1996 to last October. I just quit, cold turkey. I only smoked in my room and I started thinking about what harm I must be doing to my poor cat, who doesn't have a voice to tell me to not smoke around him.

I don't have any surefire method for this, other than that I just quit. I didn't smoke for a week because i got busy, then I sat down to have a smoke, and it hurt so bad that I only took a couple of drags, then after that I just didn't want to smoke any more. About a month ago I was outside with a friend who smokes and I took a drag off her cig, which just reinforced my not smoking since it was just gross and it hurt my lungs and throat really bad. I also hated the way my room smelled rank all the time, and I probably smelled rank all the time, my cat wheezes sometimes now and I am convinced it's my fault, ash would get all over my end table and sheets, etc., and damn do those cigarettes cost a lot of money--money better spent elsewhere.

Does your roommate smoke also?

They helped my friend quit. She had been smoking over 20 years and now has emphysemia. But, this website helped her to quit.


http://www.theplacetoquit.com/

Blue, perhaps you should enlist him to quit with you! It would be difficult to quit with him around you smoking, and having cigs in the house for you to access, etc. Plus you could use his support. If he is not into the whole quitting thing, try and find pictures of smoker's lung and such on the net to show him. Email him a few pictures and links a day and if you have a printer, print out some photos and keeep them posted around the apartment.

I quit smoking ten years ago - my mom died of lung cancer - I had been smoking for 25 years - it was really hard, but I knew I had to quit because I did not want to die at 53 like my mother did. I started working out in martial arts at the age of 40 - I worked out every day, five days a week to help me not want to smoke, not gain weight and feel good about myself. I also bought a new car because without smoking I could afford the payment - if I went back to smoking I would not be able to afford my new car. I ended up with a new car and a black belt and I hate the smell of smoke now.

That was one of the reasons I quit - when I got my green belt my instructor called me over and said that I will not pass the next step if I don't quit smoking. I had a really hard time getting through that test - I remember it quite well. Tae Kwon Do did a lot for me and I did not gain wait either.

I have tried numerous times, but stress gets me everytime and I go back. I found the patch helped alot, but the bottom line is your will power. Best of luck, we will support you all we can!

I don't smoke but my dad did for 35 years. one day he just stopped. cold turkey. he says it was a mental thing & though it was hard at first he eventually got used to it. I know this isn't much help, I just wanted to give you another story

I am too a smoker and I really should not be - my grandmother was a heavy smoker......alas she died December 27th of last year after fighing a terrible illness for years which was smoking related - I should also quit but I know now is not the time for me. I know it sounds stupid and daft and I am sure that people will have a lot to say about that one but I there are too many things going on at the moment that I am not happy about and slowly I am changing that and then I will be happy and comfortable with my life and ready to take on the challenge of quitting. I will keep all the suggestions to quit and I will too get there one day soon. Good Luck Blue!

This is something a friend of mine did a few years ago: she paid herself not to smoke. She figured out how much each cigarrette cost by dividing the cost per pack by number of cigarettes per pack, and then put that amount in a cookie jar every time she wanted a ciggie but didn't have one. The jar was her vacation fund. If she felt the urge really badly, she'd count the money in the jar to see how many days of beach time were there, and it made her feel like going on with the fight. She taped a picture of the beach to her jar. When she went a whole month with out smoking, bought a new outfit to wear, or some other item for the trip. She had some setbacks, but she eventually went, and her breathing was good enough that she could go snorkeling.

Blue....I hope you succeed in quitting! I too smoke...so I know what you will be going through...it is so hard to even try!!!!! Good luck to you!!!

BTW, how's the quitting smoking thing going for ya?

illusion

i am waiting till after my birthday so, next week i have a
doctor's appointment and i am going to start Zyban ? i think - which
allows you to keep smoking till it's in your system and makes quitting
easier. i wish i could go cold turkey, but, i know it would be too hard.

Debby

thanks for the encouragement !

Good Luck - I am also stuggling with the wanting to quit thing. I really like parts of smoking and hate others....so am in a war with myself. I have failed in the past at the patches, nicotine gum. wasted $90 on hypnosis and more on zyban - sure hope I am not hopeless. Am currently in the process of setting another quit date - all the 'experts' say to just keep trying!
I plan on checking out that web site - maybe????????
I just want to go to bed for about a month - maybe that would help?!

How about everytime you want a cigarette, you go lick your ashtray?