Anyone else trying to quit smoking?

I've decided that it's time for me to quit smoking! It's a big step for me since I've been smoking for almost 6 years. I've always thought that I could quit whenever I wanted, but I found that not to be true when I had Pneumonia in November. I had stopped smoking for 10 days and it was the hardest 10 days! I'm hoping that I can completely stop and never go back. The hard part is going to be seeing my folks smoke since I'm still living with them. I know I'll have a better shot at it when I move away in September since it'll just be me living there. At least I won't have the temptations like I would here.
The cost of cigarettes are becoming outrageous even in a small town like Fairbury. We only have 4000 people living here and the cost of smokes are just as high as bigger cities in Nebraska. I don't know how people could afford to buy them in New York or big metro areas. I've heard that packs of them are over $6! Last night when I bought a carton, the price jumped up $10 bucks from last week and it will definitely hurt my wallet if I continue. I think I paid $38 for a carton last night! That's so stupid...all that money wasted being turned into smoke!
So, wish me luck. I'm going to need it. If there's anyone else trying to quit, maybe we could encourage each other to be smokefree!
Thanks for everything!

Shell!
I hope you quit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good thoughts heading your way!

Thanks Kellye!

I don't smoke..steve does though..about a pack a day or more...he says he wants to, and the times he has tried..omg....it is a nightmare..I won't be supporting him until he makes a promise to quit..things have not been good around here anymore so I haven't bee the supportive wife I should be....

shell.. i quit smoking this past december.. I had been smoking since I was 16, so that made it over 6 yrs. I didn't think I'd ever be able to quit but I did and you can too. I set a date well in advance (in sept I decided to quit by new years day).. In the months in between i would cut down little by little.. On december 23rd I smoked my last cigarette. I'm not gonna say it was easy.. The first 3 weeks were BAD. I was having withdrawal and crying a lot.. Week two was like hell week. After 3 weeks I didn't have any physical urges but when things sucked I would want one to comfort me. After about a month and a half to two months I started relying on myself, family and friends for comfort rather than an inanimate object. i feel so much better I can't believe it. The smell of smoke makes me ill now, I'm sickened by the fact I once relied so heavily on something so dangerous and disgusting.. I know you can do it too!! I have no will power and I made it

best of luck, Shell, I'm cheering for you! You can do it!!!!

I've smoked for 13 years I enjoy it too much to quit Bad bad I know. And there's a liquor store by my house that I get buy one get one free so they only come out to like $2.50 a pack that helps. lol.

I quit seven years ago. I had just met my now hubby and he has asthma. I found that I wanted him more than the smokes.

You could try thinking of something you want but can't afford. A cashmere sweater or silk blouse, whatever, and every time you want to smoke a cigarette, put a dollar into an enveloupe. At the end of two days look in the enveloupe and see how much time you have spent thinking about cigarettes. I think you will be amazed at how fast the money will pile up.

You can also grab a calculater and add up all the money you have spent this year on ciggies. It could be as much as a down payment on a nice car, or a mini vacation.

Think of a substitute for smoking, straighten an area that is getting cluttered, dust a shelf of nick-nacks and make them sparkle, take a walk or work out for 20 min, try a new look with make-up or change the way you wear your hair. Still need a smoke? Drink water and picture it washing the "want" out of your body. Just do whatever you can to distract yourself from the dreaded SMOKE.

Think of how much better you will smell to your furbabies, and how their health will benifit from living smoke free. You will be able to get the cat tree of their dreams with the money you save.

Just try to keep it positive and fun. I'll be rooting for you!

carrot sticks saved my life!! When I had a craving I'd eat as many carrot sticks as I wanted. And hot hot showers. Nothing feels better than taking a hot shower and feeling fresh.. I was taking like 3 showers a day and eating a bag of baby carrots every 3 days lol..

I quit about 10 years ago when too many family members died at a young age directly related to smoking within a year of each other. I still get the occasional urge, but I did it cold turkey. My aunt has quit using hypnosis - she tried everything from the patch to cold turkey and this was the nly thing that worked for her. Good luck - it really is worth it, but it is difficult!

Thank you all for the encouraging words! I'm not going to quit cold turkey, it was way too hard on me when I did that back in November. I'm going to gradually cut down and eventually will stop all together. I'm hoping to be smoke free by the end of October. That will give me plenty of time to cut back from over a pack day to nothing. I do think I'm going to talk to my Dr about taking Wellbutrin (Zyban). It is supposed to help kick those nasty urges. So I'll be thrilled if I quit before my deadline, but I've promised myself that I won't procrastinate & keep moving that deadline.

Thank you all for the great suggestions and ideas. They all sound like great ideas and I'm sure I'll be putting them to good use. I apologize WAY in advance for being a complete & total B**** while I'm going through this.

well so far i have been off cigs. for 2 years this mast may, i still want them though, it is still hard, i just go see my dad which has 19 percent lung capacity from silocoses and then i dont want them any more, i smoked since i was 16 and quit at 42, long time, and my dad has been sick for a while now and i never really paid the much atten. but he is really bad now and it jsut woke me up to it. but my mom still smokes and my sister, they dont around him but they say they enjoy smoking, and it has to be your decision to quit, not someone eleses. good luck and hang in there, tip--- in the evenings was worse for me, but i would get a water bottle and sip on it and chew gum it hepled....

I quit smoking 3 years ago. Craig wouldn't have me if I smoked and he is definitely more important than the cigarettes.

My mother quit smoking a month or so ago, and she smoked for 28 years.

You can do it, my mother used niorette or something like that.


We're here to help ya through Shell, you can do this!

Congrats for making a decission to quit smoking! I'm an ex-smoker. Quit about 15 years ago and it was the hardest thing I ever did. If you slip, don't kick yourself. Just keep trying. I heard a report on a new study the other day where they said cutting down gradually seems to be more effective in quitting smoking. I quit cold turkey but you'll have to figure out what is going to work for you! And I quit many times before I quit for good. So the moral of the story it, don't quit quitting!

Feel free to pm me or email me if you need support!

Thanks everyone for the support! Do believe I'm going to need it! You guys are the greatest!

I see so many posts here from people who have quit smoking, and I really wish I could say the same thing. I was trying to cut back gradually, but unfortunately, when my employer's situation became very unstable, all the stress I had as a result caused me to start smoking more instead. However, that situation is now a little more settled, and Shell's thread has inspired me so I am going to try to quit again.

Thanks Ty for making me open my eyes to what I am doing to my cats. That truly was an eye openner! Thank you!

Lorie, I'm so glad that I've inspired you to quit also. Maybe we can encourage each other while we're going through this. I can completely relate about the stress issue. Some people eat when stressed (I do that too! ) and smokers smoke a lot more when stressed. I wish you luck Lorie! Lets do this thing together!

I quit twice.
Once when i was at university.
And then on the 1st of January this year.

This may sound weird but i used to LOVE smoking! I mean it was something i really liked. And i always used to say that, a cigarette punctuates an outfit. I used to smoke camel non-filtereds, then i swopped to mild seven lights...

But now, since quitting... you know ic an't even imagine what was going through my mind... what on earth possessed me to ever start ...

It's so senseless to me now. But i think you have to quite before you have these feelings. While i was still smoking, it made perfect sense!

Good luck, Shell. I've been smoking, for 33 years. Yeah, I know better and I'm the only one in the family, who smokes. Since I don't smoke in the house (Bill has respiratory problems), I sweat all summer and freeze in the winter, out on the patio.

Maybe, one of these days, I'll make it. Cold turkey, the patch and Zyban haven't worked. I'm looking into Commit lozenges and/or an inhaler.