quit smoking, need help with the best method?
709051
Quitting smoking is a great opportunity to learn about ourselves.\nCongratulate yourself  on having the desire to stop - then you are over the worst, but still need to maintain your resolve. It's just so easy to start thinking that just one won't hurt, but it does. Just one achieves nothing except feeling the need for another. Whatever you do, don't have just one. Beware - alcohol will weaken your resolve.\nHere's a few home-brewed tips that might be useful.\nIt's not just nicotine addiction - there are 50+ chemicals in cigarettes. Also the main problem is habit.\nWe have been used to having body sensations which we translate as 'my body needs something', which we have attempted to satisfy by having a cigarette.\nWhen we try to stop smoking, we still get these 'my body needs something' sensations, and we still feel that we want a cigarette. We have to train our body to be more selective. When we feel we need something, we have to work out what it is that we actually need.\nA glass of water is an excellent substitute if nothing else comes to mind, as it helps with the clearance of the toxic substances in our body. Another good substitute is a bag of salted peanuts, used in combination with the water.\nAnother thing to do is to find an activity which occupies the mind or body. Go swimming - nobody wants to smoke while they are swimming. Slowly, as our body adjusts and translates the 'want something' feelings into something other than cigarettes, then the feelings begin to go away. We know its not a cigarette that the body really needs, because as soon as we've had one we still have the feeling, and want another!\nWe will have a few bouts of feeling or even being short tempered. We must try to bite our lip, and control; ourselves. Recognise the short temper as being the removal of toxins which are trying to find a way out. They went in through the mouth, and they try to get out that way to. We must learn to keep our mouth closed, and force the toxins out the other way.\n\nAfter we have stopped for a while we will begin to feel that just one wont to any harm.\nAll that leads to is a desire for just another one. We must guard very strongly against the desire to have just one.
919032
Yup, cold turkey, with drugs, alone or with help.  There are lots of ways.  My personal way is Wellbutrin/Zyban.  I hardly know I am quitting with that stuff.  The first time I did it, I was a 2 pack a day for 22 year smoker.  I dint even notice cravings.  I quit for a year and only started again because I did not handle stress well.  I just quit again using it and did not notice a craving.  It keeps me from being a raving lunatic and violent when I quit (punching things etc from aggrivation).\nSmoking cessation is like dieting, the best plan is the one that works for you.  You will get each person to say something different is better if you are looking for the 'best' method.  The best one is the one that works for you, whatever will do it for you, go for it!  Try them all if you have to, I did!\nGood luck!  Quit now, quit for you, quit for life.  It feels GREAT on this side of the fence, I promise.
933383
The best way is cold turkey and suffer through the first 10 days until the nicotine is out of your system.  Then it is just mind control after that.  You control your mind.  It doesn't control you.\n\nCoach
618716
I smoked for 11 years at it wasn't easy to quit.  What I found worked best was to make a list of all the time throughout the day when you usually have a smoke.  Take a good look at the list and decide which one you don't 'need'.  Cut that one out and do it for a week.  Then take another look at the list and cut another one.  Keep going as long as you have to to get down to none.  By the time you get to one, you usually have enough confidence in yourself to look at it and think "I don't need this - it's not worth it."  It took me 11 weeks to quit that way because my average intake was 11 cigarettes (just over half a pack) a day.  By doing it this way, I didn't feel deprived because I knew my next smoke was just a few hours away.  I hadn't quit cold turkey and I made the decision as to which one to cut out and when.  It gave me a great feeling of empowerment.  I know it sounds like it would take forever this way, but slow and steady really does win the race.\n\nBest of luck!
34522
Quit smoking?  The best is to cut down at first.... only smoke when you drink or if you are stressed-out or something.  You soon begin to realize you don’t need it. \nIf you want to quit cold-turkey - all at once - it's something you need to DECIDE to do.  Chew on some pencils and play with a rubber band.  If you are really physically addicted, the best is a nicatrol in haler.  It is something to do with your hands, feels like smoking (almost) and you get the nicotine.\nQuitting smoking is mostly mental.  You have to decide to do it and just do it.
642398
Cold turkey is the only way.  Cigarettes have been proven to be more addictive than heroine but you can quit.  I did--10 years ago after smoking for 26 years and my husband also did after smoking for 34 years.  For me, I realized that I was more addicted to the oral fixation part.  I simply quit lighting the cigarettes.  This way, I could go through the motions of smoking (holding, puffing, flicking pretend ashes and blowing no smoke out) and still get rid of the addiction.  It was weird in a way because people would ask me if I needed a light and I would say, "No thanks, I don't smoke." even though I had the cigarette in my hand.  It took a year (the carton lasted that long) but I have no desire to smoke anymore.  My husband, on the other hand, went to a religious convention one weekend and purposely left his cigarettes at home.  He never smoked again.\n\nWhich brings me to a second point--it really helps to be seriously motivated and include prayer in your struggle.  Both of us did this and feel it would have been much harder (maybe impossible) if we hadn't.
873695
I think you know very well that how to give up cigarette. i.e. strong will power.\nStrong will power..just spread your finger when you hold cigarette it will fall down..hahah..If you want any medical help try a nicotine chewing gum, definitely it would assist to give up smoking but it also required strong will power.
522741
The following will work for you. You don't even need good luck.\nLocal hospitals offer week-long programs to make you quit smoking. Then you'll need this trick to not go back to it: Don't have that one cigarette for the rest of your life!\nPeople buckle under the intense urge for a cigarette and think that their problem will go away with one cigarette. But that just makes the problem go away temporarily, only to come back with a higher intensity.\nQuitting smoking feels like a loss of a loved one because to the brain it is just that - a loved one. So be prepared for the longing and the pain. Just endure it. It won't kill you. Actually, it will make you live longer.\nAdapt a new lifestyle i.e. eat fruits, go jogging, etc. Do whatever, but once you have gone through the week-long quit-smoking program, DON'T HAVE THAT ONE CIGARETTE NO MATTER WHAT. If you have that one cigarette, you fail and if you don't then you succeed. It is that simple. You do need that week-long program to launch yourself into the wonderful world of non-smoking though. \nOne more thing: you may need to keep the company of non-smokers for a while i.e. at least one year.
316642
Put the cigarettes down, throw away everything pertaining to them, and then walk away. Do not gravitate towards people who do smoke, don't have long fantasizing conversations about how you used to smoke, and do not give in to the urge to smoke. Just say NO!\n\nThink of it this way: When you put a cigarette in your mouth and start to smoke, and then after a while you get the urge to do it again, and you can't control that urge, who is really in charge of your life? A little rolled up ball of tobacco? Give me a break, I used to smoke and I could never stop until I decided to walk away. It was a life changing moment, and between me and God, I told Him I would not smoke any more. That was over 6 years ago, no patches, classes, gum or anything! Every time I saw a smoke, I told my self "You will not smoke that." \nI can honestly say that it did take a few months for the thought of smoking to go away, but it was nothing I could not handle, and after 6 months I realized I do not even like the smell of smokers around me. And I haven't considered picking up that nasty habit since. Thank God!
771869
I recommend using an alternative to the tobacco.  There are products out there that are meant to help you stop.  If you use snuff (Copenhagen, Skoal, etc.) you should try Hooch Snuff.  You can get it at http://www.hoochsnuff.com/.  It feels the most like real tobacco and will help you get out of the use of real tobacco.  If you use chew (Redman, etc.) it is a little more difficult as there are few products out there that can really mimic the tobacco.  \n\nOverall use of an herbal substitute (without nicotine) will reduce your withdrawl symptoms, but not the cravings for a dip / chew.  That will only take time.   Using nicotine replacement through herbal substitutes with nicotine, nicotine gum or patch, do not have as good a success rate as just plain herbal.
642276
giving up smoking is HARD.  I have done it several times, this last time for several years.  I am still smoke free, but it's kind of like being a alcoholic.  You need to just quit cold turkey.  No patches, no gum, no tapering off.  It's nonsense.  Just don't light a cigarette.  You will need something to replace it with.  People will tell you exercise, walking, etc.  People are crazy.  You aren't ready for that.  I recommend baby carrots.  No, i'm not kidding.  Eat a baby carrot everytime you want a cigarette.  They take about the same amount of time to eat and they will give you something to do.  Baby carrots cost about 1.50 for a plastic bag of them.  It's cheaper than cigarettes and no one ever got fat eating carrots.  And they are even healthy.  I quit for my son too.  I want to hold my grandchildren someday.  You CAN do it.  Congrats on your decision.
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The Allen Carr Method\nHOW THE METHOD WORKS\n\nUsing psychotherapy, the method works in the opposite way to the “willpower” method. It does not concentrate on the reasons the smoker should not smoke : the money, the slavery, the health risks and the stigma. Smokers know all that already. Instead it focuses on why smokers continue to smoke in spite of the obvious disadvantages.\n\nIt is fear that keeps smokers hooked!\n\nFear the smoker will have to give up their pleasure or crutch. Fear the smoker will be unable to enjoy life or handle stress. Fear the smoker will have to go through an awful trauma to get free. Fear the smoker will never get completely free from the craving.\n\nThe Method removes these fears \nSmokers quit with the Allen Carr Method as happy non-smokers, not feeling deprived but with a huge sense of relief and elation that they have finally achieved what they always wanted….\n\nTO BE FREE!\n\nWhat about the terrible withdrawal pangs from nicotine?\n\nThe physical withdrawal from nicotine is so slight that most smokers don’t realise that they are addicts. What smokers suffer when they try and quit using other methods is the misery and depression caused by the belief that they are being deprived of a pleasure or a crutch.\n\nThe Allen Carr Method removes this feeling of deprivation. \nIt removes the need and desire to smoke. Once the smoker is in the right frame of mind and they follow the simple instructions, the physical withdrawal from nicotine is hardly noticeable.\n\nNo Gimmicks!\n\nThe Method does not use any gimmicks, useless aids or substitutes. No nicotine gum, patches, lozenges, tabs, inhilators or nasal sprays! No needles! No lasers! No drugs! No herbs! No shock treatment! \n\nThe Allen Carr Method is successful because:\n\nIt removes the smokers’ conflict of will. \nThere are no bad withdrawal pangs. \nIt is instantaneous and easy. \nIt is equally effective for long-term heavy smokers and light smokers. \nYou need not gain weight. \nYou will not miss smoking. \n\nMedical Endorsements\nA personal view from Professor Judith Mackay MBE, JP, FRCO (Edin), FRCP (Lon), World Health Organisation Advisory Panel on Tobacco and Health\n\n“I have no hesitation in supporting Allen Carr’s work. Many clinics use some of his techniques but it would appear that few do it in quite such a successful package.” \n\nCarole Johnson, Coronary Heart Disease Prevention Unit, Tyne Tees \n\n“his success rate was such that, when budgets allow, we continue to use Easyway for work with specific groups and individuals.”\n\nDr Anil Visa BSc, MBBch., FRCA, Consultant – Royal Hospitals NHS Trust – Royal London Hospital\n\n“I have observed the Allen Carr method at first hand and have found it to be very successful and I wholeheartedly support it as an effective way to quit smoking.”\n\nDr William Green, Head of Psychiatric Dept, Matilda Hospital, Hong Kong\n\n“It is a remarkable fact that Allen Carr, on his own admission a non-professional in behaviour modification, should have succeeded where countless psychologists and psychiatrists holding postgraduate qualifications have failed, in formulating a simple and effective way to stop smoking.”\n\nDr Martin Jarvis, Principle Scientist, Imperial Cancer Research \nFund and Reader in Health Psychology, University College London\n\n”...I am more than happy to testify to Allen Carr’s enduring involvement and to recognise the value of the kind of behavioural and cognitive support he provides.”\n\nDr PM Bray MB CH.b., MRCGP\n\n“I was really impressed by the method. In spite of the Allen Carr organisation’s success and fame, there were no gimmicks and the professional approach was something a GP could readily respect. I would be happy to give a medical endorsement of the method to anyone.” \n\nCelebrity Endorsements\n\n"His method is absolutely unique, removing the dependence on cigarettes, while you are actually smoking. I’m pleased to say it ha
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STEP 1\nNOT ALL SMOKERS ARE THE SAME\nIf you've had enough of being a smoker and just want to stop, then just do it! You will improve your chances of success if you get help as soon as possible. Ring Quitline on 0800 00 22 00 or email stopsmoking@quit.org.uk to find out what support will suit you best.\n\nIf you prefer to plan ahead, then that's fine too. Set a date not too far ahead and stick to it. You can use the time to find out what help is available and what should suit you by calling Quitline 0800 00 22 00 or email stopsmoking@quit.org.uk\n\nThe most important thing is that you are committed to your new life as a non smoker!\n\n \n \n    \n  Step 2\nCHOOSE THE RIGHT SUPPORT FOR YOU\nOnly 3% of smokers succeed by willpower alone\nBoth Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and Zyban have been proven to double a smoker's chance of quitting successfully. If you take NRT or Zyban AND get support from a local stop smoking group you increase your chances by up to 4 times!\n\nCigarettes deliver nicotine very quickly, which contributes to their addictive nature. However the nicotine in NRT is supplied in a slower and more controlled way. This is because NRT is designed to help you quit smoking and so reduces your need for nicotine, until you don't need it anymore.\n\nThere are a wide range of NRT products available. If you are having trouble deciding which product to use, give a QUIT counsellor a ring on 0800 00 22 00 and they will give you independent advice to suit your lfiestyle.\n\nYou could also try www.Click2Quit.com for a free personalised quit plan to help guide you through your quit attempt and a discussion board to talk to others who are quitting too. \n \n  \n All NRT products are available on prescription and can also be bought over the counter at pharmacies and large supermarkets. It's important to complete the full course of NRT as this increases your chances of quitting successfully. Some NRT formats may also help reduce weight gain associated with quitting smoking. Here's a brief description of the range of products available, to help you decide if NRT is right for you. Refer to individual packs for further details. \n  \n \n    \n  NICOTINE PATCH\n(NicAssist® - only available at Boots, Nicorette®, NiQuitin CQ®) \nPatches are most helpful to people who like to feel protected from cravings throughout the day. They are easy to use and should be applied to dry non-hairy skin such as the upper arm, thigh or chest. The patches offer a continous supply of nicotine throughout the day to help relieve the withdrawal symptoms and physical cravings you'll experience. You may still get urges to smoke but these will not be as strong.\n\nA patch lasts either 16 or 24 hours, each of which will come in three strengths delivering different amounts of nicotine, which is absorbed slowly through the skin. You are recommended to use them for up to three months depending on the brand you choose, starting off with the most appropriate strength for you. Always follow manufacturers' instructions. Some people experience a slight itching or redness of the skin and this can be lessened by varying the position of the patch when you apply a new one. \n  \n \n    \n   \n  NICOTINE GUM\n(NicAssist®, Nicorette®, Nicotinell®, NiQuitin CQ®)\nNicotine gum helps you to control your cravings whenever you feel the urge to smoke. It is different from ordinary chewing gum and can have a bitter taste, especially to begin with, so you may have to persevere in using it. It is important to use it properly to get the full benefit. Theh gum comes in two strengths, regular (2mg) and maximum (4mg) and in a choice of flavours. The brand you select will determine which strength you use. The gum should be chewed slowly and then rested between your gum and the side of your mouth, repeatedly, for about 30 minutes. You should gradually reduce the number of gums you chew after a period of about three months.\n\nMaximum strength NRT
1099484
and your question is what?\n\nkudos to you, though. stay strong. smoking is super hard to quit
357538
This method works for me and is the only money back guaranteed.\nI quite smoking 2 years ago\n\n\nGet the Facts\nEasyway, founded by Allen Carr in 1983, has the highest independently verified 12-month success rate (75.8% for a smoker completing the program) of any quit smoking technique and a 90% satisfaction rating.\n\nCompare Easyway to other methods and see for yourself why Easyway is called “The Cadillac of quit smoking methods.”\n\nThe Allen Carr Method\nHOW THE METHOD WORKS\n\nUsing psychotherapy, the method works in the opposite way to the “willpower” method. It does not concentrate on the reasons the smoker should not smoke : the money, the slavery, the health risks and the stigma. Smokers know all that already. Instead it focuses on why smokers continue to smoke in spite of the obvious disadvantages.\n\nIt is fear that keeps smokers hooked!\n\nFear the smoker will have to give up their pleasure or crutch. Fear the smoker will be unable to enjoy life or handle stress. Fear the smoker will have to go through an awful trauma to get free. Fear the smoker will never get completely free from the craving.\n\nThe Method removes these fears\nSmokers quit with the Allen Carr Method as happy non-smokers, not feeling deprived but with a huge sense of relief and elation that they have finally achieved what they always wanted….\n\nTO BE FREE!\n\nWhat about the terrible withdrawal pangs from nicotine?\n\nThe physical withdrawal from nicotine is so slight that most smokers don’t realise that they are addicts. What smokers suffer when they try and quit using other methods is the misery and depression caused by the belief that they are being deprived of a pleasure or a crutch.\n\nThe Allen Carr Method removes this feeling of deprivation.\nIt removes the need and desire to smoke. Once the smoker is in the right frame of mind and they follow the simple instructions, the physical withdrawal from nicotine is hardly noticeable.\n\nNo Gimmicks!\n\nThe Method does not use any gimmicks, useless aids or substitutes. No nicotine gum, patches, lozenges, tabs, inhilators or nasal sprays! No needles! No lasers! No drugs! No herbs! No shock treatment!\n\nThe Allen Carr Method is successful because:\n\nIt removes the smokers’ conflict of will.\nThere are no bad withdrawal pangs.\nIt is instantaneous and easy.\nIt is equally effective for long-term heavy smokers and light smokers.\nYou need not gain weight.\nYou will not miss smoking.\n\nMedical Endorsements\n\nA personal view from Professor Judith Mackay MBE, JP, FRCO (Edin), FRCP (Lon), World Health Organisation Advisory Panel on Tobacco and Health\n\n“I have no hesitation in supporting Allen Carr’s work. Many clinics use some of his techniques but it would appear that few do it in quite such a successful package.”\n\nCarole Johnson, Coronary Heart Disease Prevention Unit, Tyne Tees\n\n“his success rate was such that, when budgets allow, we continue to use Easyway for work with specific groups and individuals.”\n\nDr Anil Visa BSc, MBBch., FRCA, Consultant – Royal Hospitals NHS Trust – Royal London Hospital\n\n“I have observed the Allen Carr method at first hand and have found it to be very successful and I wholeheartedly support it as an effective way to quit smoking.”\n\nDr William Green, Head of Psychiatric Dept, Matilda Hospital, Hong Kong\n\n“It is a remarkable fact that Allen Carr, on his own admission a non-professional in behaviour modification, should have succeeded where countless psychologists and psychiatrists holding postgraduate qualifications have failed, in formulating a simple and effective way to stop smoking.”\n\nDr Martin Jarvis, Principle Scientist, Imperial Cancer Research\nFund and Reader in Health Psychology, University College London\n\n”...I am more than happy to testify to Allen Carr’s enduring involvement and to recognise the value of the kind of behavioural and cognitive support he provides.”\n\nDr PM Bray MB CH.b., MRCGP\n\n“I
1072612
pour some water on whatever is smoking and it will extinguish the fire , if your talking about quitting smoking in a more normal sense here is the next best sarcastic answer I can come up with, don't buy any more, don't take any from your friends, don't pick them up. don't put them in your mouth, don't light them, and if you do put them out, don't breath them in, because if you do you are smoking and you should stop immediately, because they are bad for you, the best way to stop smoking is to just stop, anything else is the same thing as that just a varying version of it, you know what you have to do, I wanna quit as well, go get on the patch ask your doctor hell, I don't know but I am sure the answer is in there somewhere
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The best way to stop smoking, according to randomised controlled trials, is counselling plus nicotine replacement therapy (ie nocotine patch 21 mcg per day). Zyban (oral tablet-bupropion) is the second most effective treatment.\n\nall others may work but have not been shown to be more effective than above.