Help me quit smoking *NOW 6 WEEKS*

So tomorrow is my b'day and I have decided at the end of the month to quit smoking which is something I have wanted to do for awhile but have been putting off. I caught the flu last November and struggled with the cough for WAY too long. I've been smoking since late high school and have never really seriously tried to quit but I have to say I am nervous at the prospect. No, I'm scared. I would rather face an armed home invader than this. It would be easier. And quicker however it turned out.

I interviewed several people who have successfully quit and they used different methods but they all seemed to say one thing commonly:

TELL THE WORLD. You will feel honor bound to at least give it your best effort and will feel ashamed and weak if you must confess to failure.

I am telling this part of the world.

Thank you for your support.

New: One slight slip. I took a drag of a cigarette a few days ago. Other than that, haven't touched one. There are lots of foods I no longer like which is kind of a bummer but wtf can I do. I'm a big fan of old movies and have avoided, for the most part, TCM since all of these guys smoke like chimneys. Thank God we don't have smellovision.

No more slips. No more smoking.

Start chewing gum every time you feel like having a smoke. Honestly though, you will never be able to quit smoking unless you REALLY want to. I smoked for many years and got real sick one day from my morning smoke and just quit. Now whenever I smell cigarette smoke I get sick because it smells so disgusting.

No I really really do want to quit. My Waterloo was that flu but I've been putting it off. Now I really do. I will be exploring gum and patches.

Good luck, the first 30 days are the hardest because you will still have those cravings. I would try to avoid hanging around people smoking as much as possible for the first 30-60 days in order to not relapse and light up one of those cancer sticks.

Godspeed

Use vaping for cessation.

You keep the oral habit/fixation, and you start at a high nicotine level (~18mg/ml). Over time, you step the nicotine down to 0mg/ml.

You can even wean yourself onto vaping by mixed-use vaping. Vape while at your desk at home or driving, smoke outside/at bars. Over time you'll find yourself not wanting to go out of your way for analogs.

That gets you off the chemical dependence, then you just need something to do with your hands and mouth. I recommend chewing gum or eating licorice.

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Wraeclastian wrote:

Start chewing gum every time you feel like having a smoke. Honestly though, you will never be able to quit smoking unless you REALLY want to. I smoked for many years and got real sick one day from my morning smoke and just quit. Now whenever I smell cigarette smoke I get sick because it smells so disgusting.

Whenever you have feel of wanting to get cigar just chew gum. If you have feeling you want to buy cigars, simply go out, and buy chewing gum instead of cigars. You can go to place you usually smoke cigar and take a chew gum there. Realizing, that you are in crisis helps a lot too.

gl :)

Kudos! Keep it going, and keep us updated. Love to see you conquer that addiction. :-)

I just quit them cold turkey, same as my dad years ago.

I think all these coping techniques have a weakness - when you're doing the replacement action, you're thinking about cigarettes.

When I quit, I made it a point not to allow the thought of cigarettes in my mind. How this works is, the moment you catch yourself thinking about cigarettes, you redirect your attention to something else. You can't light up if you aren't thinking about cigarettes. You need the intent first, and intent is a kind of thought.

Having some experience with meditative technique helps. I don't know how useful it will be for you, as I typically have a firm hand on whatever's happening in my head. Most people don't.