[Guest]

I'm 19, smoked since I was 14, and it's the shittiest thing ever. If you're inclined to start, dont.

I repeat - DO NOT. DOUGHNUT. DON'T. IF YOU SMOKE, YOU WILL INADVERTENTLY CRAP YOURSELF.

The last part may not be true. But it might be...

Okay, so for all of you EX-smokers out there, any good methods on quitting? This is my week and a half in cold turkey and I'm gonna murder my boss today.

[Guest]

I'm 19, smoked since I was 14, and it's the shittiest thing ever. If you're inclined to start, dont.

I repeat - DO NOT. DOUGHNUT. DON'T. IF YOU SMOKE, YOU WILL INADVERTENTLY CRAP YOURSELF.

The last part may not be true. But it might be...

Okay, so for all of you EX-smokers out there, any good methods on quitting? This is my week and a half in cold turkey and I'm gonna murder my boss today.

A week and a half already? You're out of the woods, chemically speaking. The physical addiction is usually over in 7ish days. The problem is that your brain REALLY likes nicotine, which replaces neuroreceptors. Those should be back in shape and you're down to the hard part. Now all you have to do is retrain 5 years of a habit which developed during your most formative years.

I would suggest an Omega-3 supplement to help with general brain health. A quality fish oil supplement or adding flax seed to your diet(easier than you think, you can put it in just about anything in ground form) are the easiest ways.

Next, keep your hands busy, find something to do in those times you used to ALWAYS smoke, i.e. first thing in the morning, after meals, when you're stressed. I would recommend exercise in the A.M., gum after meals(sugar free helps to clean your teeth too.), and a squeezy stress ball that can fit in your pocket for work. (A crumpled peice of paper works suprisingly well, also. That muscle between your thumb and forfinger will become formidable, as will your grip.)

Also, try to remember that it's not your boss' fault. Talk to him/her and explain that you're trying to improve your quality of life and how that affects your stress level. If they're interested in keeping their investment around(and they usually are) then they may be willing to make temporary concessions in support. You might be surprised.

Also, keep this in mind: My grandfather quit smoking over 50 years ago. He has stated many times that he still craves a smoke. The craving may never end, but if you're serious about quitting, that's usually 90% of the battle. If you don't TRULY want to quit, you probably never will. It won't be constant, but it could definitely be forever.

[Guest]

Very good tips, man, but I think smashing the hell out of somebody might soothe my savage beast. In a way?

Hm...

Well, either way - the Omega 3 tip is new to me, and I'll try that for awhile. Slip it in with my eggs, give it a little extra crunch combined with the burnt

"Now all you have to do is retrain 5 years of a habit which developed during your most formative years." Hm... This maybe a textbook example of easier said than done

Thanks for the help, though, support highly appreciated, eh! Mostly a smoke after yelling at some the kids I'm working with gets the job done, but I'm trying to be a role-model citizen, y'know?

Thanks for the advice, Gravy!

[Guest]

I didn't smoke near as long, only 4 years off and on. However to curb the anger, I'd suggest investing in a punching bag. It helped me a lot through the withdrawal phase. The best thing to do as well is to find something to replace the urge to smoke with. every time you want to smoke drink a glass of water. it switches one habit with another, but one that's beneficial to you.

[Guest]

On a psychological note, I think it helps to be clear about the reasons why you're quitting. For me, I had a change of workplace where I had no mates to smoke with, and found that I was going outside just for a smoke when I wasn't even enjoying it. Even counting the minutes to the next one. That's when I knew it had a grip on me and I'll be damned if I'll let something get that kind of a grip on me. But what really tipped the balance was my sister telling me she was going to have a baby. Being an uncle-to-be meant I had to set a good example (had to shame her into giving up too), so I had a very specific reason. From the moment she told me that, I decided I had finished, no last cigarette, no relapses, no nothing. Just a firm resolve. Let the reasons pile up and know what they are. Be sure of yourself. Don't be someone who's "trying to give up". They have already failed.

[Guest]

"Don't be someone who's "trying to give up". They have already failed. "

True to the core. Especially with the "no last cigarrette" thing. If you decide to quit, and are determined as such, than quit now. My reasons are personal, but extremely valid.

Thanks

PS - PUNCHING BAG. GOOD IDEA.

[peace*out]

Ok, so im not a smoker, hopefully will never be one (im a 13 year old girl), but here are my ideas. They have never been tested so i dont know if they work - but they're the close to the other's ideas, and they're kind of like theropy help.

1) Write down your reasons on a piece of paper. Anytime you want a smoke, write down those reasons AGAIN on another sheet of paper. keep both. Look at those reasons. Write a list of what a cigarette will cost you. Write down those reasons. Take out a cigarette. Is it REALLY worth it?

2) Like Impervious said - Drink a glass of water, brush your teeth, take a jog - basicly, do a good habit every time you want to smoke. Replace a bad habit with a good one.

3) Take a cigarette throw it on the floor, then smush it with your shoe. Then pick it up and throw it in the garbage to keep the floor/Earth clean. DO NOT LOOK BACK.

4) Remember what your going for. If you can do this, you can do anything. Say, "I am _____ and I can DO THIS!!"

[Guest]

"Don't be someone who's "trying to give up". They have already failed. "

True to the core. Especially with the "no last cigarrette" thing. If you decide to quit, and are determined as such, than quit now. My reasons are personal, but extremely valid.

Thanks

PS - PUNCHING BAG. GOOD IDEA.

I'm not going to lie to you, quitting smoking is HARD. It is not something you just decide to do whimsically; in order to really quit you must have a strong resolve and a demanding focus on your goal. I smoked for over 5 years and it was very very hard to quit, indeed I tried multiple times and failed. The thing that really helped me get over the addiction was quitting with a friend. It may sound weak-minded, but it helped to have someone else that I'd be failing by smoking again, so quitting with a friend is like having another hand on your back helping to push you.

Otherwise, take Grayven's advice to heart. He's absolutely correct about everything, especially the diet advice, and gum was a huge help to me as well. But to reiterate what he said, you MUST find something else to be doing during those times that you would be smoking. For me, it was gum, and if I was just sitting in my apartment doing homework and wanted a smoke, I'd just go for a run. Just make sure you have something consistent (and healthy) to do for each of those evil cravings.

If it hasn't been said to you yet, then "Congratulations!" No, not "Good Luck," because that implies an attempt. It sounds to me like you have your mind made up and I'll believe that you're a strong enough will to carry it out. You can do this, no matter how hard it can be sometimes.

[Guest]

Never really smoked myself. But the ideas already given are good. PsychobillyJekyll makes an excellent point; tell yourself that you HAVE quit, not that you are TRYING to quit, it may seem a small thing, but remember there is a strong psychological element involved, and simple things like this can have profound effects.

Also a little fear never hurt; keep in mind, especially when you see a cigarette or someone smoking, the harmful effects they have:

They contain:

Hundreds of poisons, remembering Arsenic, Cyanide and tar (the same stuff as laid on roads) should be sufficient.

The contain a number of carcinogens - cancer causing agents, but worse; on top of that;

They damage the P53 gene, this is the number one gene that fights cancers in the body! So smoking is like deliberately going into a firefight (the cancer causing agents) after deliberately removing your bullet proof vest (Damaging the cancer prevention mechanisms in your body!) And thus opening yourself up, not just to the carcinogens in the cigarettes, but all the other ones as well (like that from the sun etc. everything.)

In that light: The Smoking lobby legal ploys that "You don't know that it was the smoking that caused your client's cancer!" Is an atrocious piece of dishonesty. It doesn't matter what carcinogen caused it, the smoking made them more susceptible to its taking hold, making one less able to fight it off.

And that the only 'good" smoking does is relieve, temporarily, the withdrawal symptoms it causes (while being the cause of that addiction for 'the next time' as well,) nothing more. It does not relieve stress, just the stress caused by nicotine withdrawal.

[Magic_luver101]

do what my grandpa, grandma,great-grandma, grate-aunt,brother, ant to meany more to list did every time you want a smoke chew on a tooth pick/straw/redvine/ect. for your hands stress ball/trnnis ball/pen/ect. mess around with them draw throw them up in the air and ceath them these help you with the need to do somthing that most people have when they quit if you are a musion pratic your insterment

[akaslickster]

do what my grandpa, grandma,great-grandma, grate-aunt,brother, ant to meany more to list did every time you want a smoke chew on a tooth pick/straw/redvine/ect. for your hands stress ball/trnnis ball/pen/ect. mess around with them draw throw them up in the air and ceath them these help you with the need to do somthing that most people have when they quit if you are a musion pratic your insterment

Okay, I hear what has been said, throughout this entire thread. Now, I'm not going to beat up on smokers! I will only provide them with a better option, such as some type of healthy way to stop.

I was born into the cig life and it was never a big to-do until the 1990's. People still smoke, as back in the 1400's. That does not make it right or in any way an excuse. It simply cannot be wiped away overnight.

I will not crab about something that has been traditional for many, and I stress, many years. I would ask that people have a little understanding that some others were born into it as no big deal and are not able to just stop in a heartbeat. Many smokers have quit and myself included but, there is no reason to crap on the ones whom are not able to at this very moment.

Every smoker that I know is a beautiful person inside and out. They are victims of such tradition and however it began.

I believe that in time, that a quick cure for this craving will be found and enable all to quit. Meanwhile ,I will only hope that everyone will have the patience that the older people have had in the past.

Stop crabbing and if they don't die then leave them alone. It took years of smoking so, don't think it will end so quick! BTW, I got fat from quitting. Not healthy to be that way either.