quitting smoking

[Ashes]

I have been smoking 17 years.   My son is in 5th grade and 11 years old they just discussed how bad smoking was for you and that it would kill you and he in tears almost unable to talk asked me to quit.  I got the gum anyone have any advice?

[Butterfly3]

I don't have any advice because I have never smoked.  That is why my parents both quit though.  My sisters and I asked them to because of stuff we had learned in school.  Good luck to you!

[Phyllis]

I just saw a nifty poster at the Dr.'s office. It pointed out all the things that quitting smoking does. Like for example one day without smoking and all of your blood vessels go back to normal size, One week without smoking and blah blah blah happens, etc etc...

[SmilingElephant]

Both of my parents quit smoking years ago. I HATE smoke. I actually went to the hospital after a dude whipped out a cancer stick in front of me while i was waiting to get on a bus a few years ago...i ended up having a panic attack. And i just hate how ppl smell when they smoke. Smh.

[Dreamline]

I would find something to replace it with.  What they say is true, if you replace an addiction with some kind of fulfilling activity, it works.  I used to do all kinds of drugs, but I've replaced them with, a healthy diet and exercise.

[sine]

I quit smoking about 3 years ago and haven't smoked since, don't want to for that matter.  I used the patches.  But for me it was most important to have some daily encouragement / enforcement from the people around you.  This helped remind me just how important it is to kick the habit once and for all.  Cool thing about the patches is they gave me the most awesome dreams.  Good luck, it's not easy but the struggle gets better with time I assure you.

[Butterfly3]

Ashes- So, how is it going?  Today would make the fifth day, right?

[cadno]

I'm watching this thread closely as like Ashes I'll soon be giving up the dreaed cancer sticks, my problem isn't simply addiction, I like to smoke, may sound odd and also typical of addiction but seriously, it is the wanting to smoke that is the worst part.

Rich

[Paz]

 I know a few people who have had success with the nicotine gum.....and even if you wind up needing to chew it for a long time, at least you are not breathing in the chemicals and polluting the air, and you are getting pure nicotine, which is what you really want out of the cigs anyway, right?

[Ashes]

"Ashes- So, how is it going?  Today would make the fifth day, right? "
its not going yet.  I tried with  the gum, not much success.  still smoking but i have cut back some i may try the patch at a later date.

[Ashes]

good luck when you try Rich

[Ashes]

out on my last pack, so i really have no clue how bad its going to be.  so far just trying to cut back has beat me down  .  i do have the gum and thanks for the encouragement.  rich i am like you i want to smoke and have to.  i feel like i smoke because im board, mad, happy, talking anything makes me want to smoke.

[Paz]

 When you get to your last cig, start the gum, and please make sure you eat healthy foods, take a bunch of vitamins, and maybe even buy a body flush at the drugstore...that will help to get the stuff you are craving out of your body quicker. DJ used to smoke, he quit in 2001, and he used the gum for a long time afterward...but he did eat really well, and took vitamins and flushed out his body, and he felt a lot better. Eventually he gave up the gum, though I think he chewed it for about a year before he did.
 If you smoke when bored, find something else to do with your hands, I know a Girl who used to buy huge boxes of straws, and she would sometimes just bend them and twist them to keep her hands busy when she felt the urge to smoke. She used the gum also, and it took her a few months of messing with the straws and chewing the gum before she finally calmed down. Good Luck and Be Well. ;

[christian.156]

Plan it out just like a General charged with invading a country. know or identify your weak points, when you will most want a smoke, and plan to counter the craving. when you have to go someplace new, brace yourself for craving. find your favorite hard candy and stock up on them. Avoid smoky friends. you can do this--this war can be won.