How long have you been smoking and why or what caused you to start?
961385
I am an ex-smoker.  I started smoking once in a while when I was 15, and progressed to smoking all the time by the time I was 17 or 18.  I quit when I got pregnant with my first child almost 11 years ago, but started right back up after I had him due to stress.  Now I quit again almost 2 years ago when I got pregnant with my second, and am still not smoking.  \n\n  Smoking is a stress reliever, and it does cause you to lose weight and/or keep weight off, but it also makes your teeth yellow, your skin wrinkle easier and your clothes and hair smell bad, not ot mention all the health factors.\n\n  Don't start, the few positives are not worth all those negatives.
704964
No I haven't but I thought I would tell you how I finally managed to quit smoking.  I smoked for 14 years very heavily and I tried everything to  stop, I didn't even manage to stop when I was pregnant and now I really wish I had had the will power.  After several years of trying to stop and failing miserably, I took Zyban and I have now been a non-smoker for over two years and have never dreamed of starting again.  It is available through your GP.  Good luck in your quest to quit - I know how tough it can be, so perservere and you'll manage it.\n\nBest wishes,\n\nLucy
990392
I'm there with you! I actually quit about 2 months ago, and then 2 weeks ago I was under a lot of stress and started back up again. I kept smoking one or two a day and kept telling myself, I'm not smoking again, I'll quit tomorrow, but I haven't. I think that you really, really have to want to quit. Not for your family, or your health, but just because you don't want to do it anymore. My dad, who is 54, quit a few weeks ago, and he has smoked since he was 16. He is using the patches. I'll pray for you and you pray for me! Good luck!
604025
I started at 11yrs old and quit 22 years later with self-hypnosis tape by Donald J. Mannario, "Become A Non-Smoker". Tape was made 1988. Mayby find it online. about 20mins long and he won't make you cluck like a chicken.
974969
hmmm well i smoke 2 cigarettes a day but sometimes i can chain smoke a couple.  Ive been doing this on and off for about four years. \nOne day i hope to stop.
181070
you started on your own no one to help you pick up that first one and Now the only way to stop is to STOP... I quit 9 weeks ago and feel great I tried the commit lozenges, the patch and all of it was an excuse to need one more cig. Finally one night in my EMT class this girl looked at us when we came in from break and said why do you do that yourself and your children... I quit I am not saying quit for someone else that won't work, but find something in your life that would be better or happier if you would quit and QUIT the first 3 days are rough, but trust me you make it through those 3 and your are GREAT....
4547
I like FirstL's answer.  I found some tips:\nhttp://www.insuremylife.org/quitsmoking.html
758613
Yes, many things in the past have driven me to smoking.  One thing that really helped me quit was a free website:\n\nwww.whyquit.com\n\nI've discovered after 15 years of smoking that I'm calmer now when I don't smoke than when I did.
487074
Make sure you surround yourself with support from before your quit date arrives.  I found online forums most useful as we were all experiencing the same thing.  I'm proud to say I'm now over 3 months quit.\n\nGood luck with it and below I've provided a link to one of the great sites I found most helpful.
428712
I fail to comprehend why anyone would start smoking? I challenge you to name me one benefit to smoking.
290565
Smoke..It is a nasty habit..I am down to 1 cig. every four hours now.  So the next step is to quit altogeather!!!Do not ever start smoking.  It is a very addictive habit!!
185075
3 months in your system, probably longer in your hair.\n\nBest to admit to health professional conducting test that you are casual smoker, or have stopped.\n\nGood luck.
311666
Cold turkey. I did and yesterday was my 3 year anniversary with no smoking. My sister has tried with the patches and gum, but since it keeps giving you nicotine, she can't quit that way. It really isn't that hard to stop on your own, the cravings will stop after four or five days. Have confidence in yourself!
712866
Your risk of several types of cancer are increased, and more so if you have a genetic predisposition to cancer causing cells. Besides that and, of course, the fact that it isn't legal for you to smoke, you are young and the damage you do to your body will reverse itself if you quit. Your are changing your body's ability to breathe, distribute oxygen to your brain and other organs, circulate blood properly and about thirty other things that your body does involuntarily to keep you alive. So, you need to ask yourself, why do you smoke? While at your age some people (also mostly your age) will form a certain opinion about what kind of person you are, once you hit about the twenty to twenty-two age group and older, most people think you just look weak and ignorant for not knowing what you're doing to your body and too lazy to help yourself (much in the same way most people view those who are morbidly obese). The fact that you're smoking such a small amout says to me that you don't need it, you just like it. I know. We can smell our own. When I quit I promised myself I would light up one or two whenever the mood struck me-this idea helped me quit cold turkey. I had one a couple of months later, a few a couple of months after that, another one about six months later, etc. The more time that passes the less I feel like I like it so the less I smoke. But the only reason I ever did smoke was because I liked it, the feel, the flavor, the smell even. If you can't pinpoint why you do it at all-then why do you do it at all?
184129
My dad smoked for 35 years, went to a hypnotist, and hasn't smoked a cigarette since.  That was over 10 years ago.
707104
Credentials: I used to be a heavy smoker (3 packs/day, menthol). Quit previously 3 times. The last time took. Non-smoker for over 15 years.\n\nFor me, the hardest part about quitting was removing all of the associations around smoking. Example, whenever I had a beer, I had a cigarette. Whenever I finished eating, had a cigarette. You get the idea. I purposely and deliberately "weeded out" all the associations I had with smoking until I only had a few. In other words, I consciously did not smoke after each of these other co-occurring activities, until the urge was diminished. Once this was done, I had already reduced my smoking to a few cigarettes a day. To completely quit, it was a combination of negative imagery and getting the flu. I imagined coating my lungs with a thick goo of tar and nicotine while I smoked. I was never able to smoke when I had a cold or the flu, so after 5 days of various orifice purging, I realized I could probably go another few days without. Bottom line for me: discipline of living how you want.\nAs for the stress, good time to involve yourself in a very detailed kind of hobby, like model rocketry or exercise like biking. If you can weather through the first few days, you'll start to feel the benefit of being able to breathe without getting winded, and smell wonderful scents of nature and/or aromas of baking and cooking seemingly for the first time! Good Luck!
91023
What have you been smoking?