Just quit myself
 

I quit smoking on Dec 26th, with a small relapse (3 drags). I do 10 push-ups or crunches every time I feel the urge to smoke. The quick boost of energy and the knowledge that I just did something good for my body kills the urge to harm my lungs and heart with smoking. Exercise also helps when I get depressed, although I usually go for a run or walk my pup. It is really hard to stay depressed when I watch Lick tear around sniffing and exploring when we go on a long walk.
The hardest part of quitting is when I go out with my friends, the majority of who smoke (an army thing), and after a couple beers it is really tempting. Believe it or not, once I start craving I chew on a piece of mint gum and think about how much smoking makes my breath stink. After that, smoking loses all appeal.
Don't let a setback ruin all your progress either. One cigarette is not the end of quitting. Just start fresh.
Good luck.

Don't beat yourself up! Pick yourself up and start all over again.

Look for that sheet that I sent you about all the tips.

Remember to do your deep breathing, drink lots of water, go out for a walk, etc., etc., etc.,

I know YOU can do it - you're a tough cookie to crumble.

Today is another day - start fresh today.

I'm with you, girl! You know that. It's all working toward you being a healthier person. Don't ever forget that point.

Good luck!

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to say Good Luck and Congratulations to everyone who has taken the first step in trying to quit or is even thinking about it. I am a Tobacco Cessation Counselor with a degree in Psychology and I work for the CSH. I talk to many smokers who are trying to quit everyday. So I hear a lot of stories and have some tricks that are beneficial to people. If any of you need any advice or have any questions on products like NRT (nicotine replacement therapy i.e patch,zyban/wellbutrin,nasal spray,etc) Free free to ask me. Just know that if you were to quit w/o any nicotine products, the nicotine is free from your body in 72 hours. Nicotine has a half-life. It doesn't stay in your body forever no matter how long you have been smoking for. After that, any cravings is due to habit and psychological needs. Any withdrawls such as mood swings or headaches normally last for 3 weeks then it will get better.
Good Luck Everyone!!!

We are so pleased to meet you. What a nice gesture you're making? We do have several that are trying to quit and some thinking about it.

Whatever advice you can give would be greatly appreciate.

I myself quit in the hospital the night before my quadruple bypass!

Thank you kindly for the offer.

BEWARE of Smoke Away Pills
 

I am please to meet all of you. YT is such an awesome site. Everyone is so warm and welcoming. I know from reading some of the post, some people may use the Smoke Away pills. There's been a lot of talk about this product. First off, these pills are NOT FDA approved. There has been NO SCIENTIFIC DATA to support that these pills work. Although the product claims to be "herbal" a lot of herbal items aren't really healthy. In the smoke away pills, there are a lot of chemicals and ingredients that are harmful to your health and can instead pollute your lungs with other carcinogens. Recently there have been a LAWSUIT AGAINST SMOKE AWAY. Just google it up and you'll find the news on it. The lawsuit against SMOKE AWAY for MISLEADING INFO. A lot of the result is just placebo.The best thing to do for herbal remedy is to drink tea with licorice root to satisfy cravings and to clean the body of things like nicotine and tar faster from the body. We get rid of nicotine through various methods i.e sweating and urination. Sinc tea is a diuretic, it helps speed up the process. Avoiding caffeine and sweets helps to decrease cravings from happening because quitting smoking affect your blood sugar level. So stick to things like decaf teas and beverages. For people that smoke menthols, rubbing vicks vapor rub onto the chest area provides a menthol sensation to satisfy cravings. Sucking on menthol cough drops gives the throat a cool menthol sensation...as if you're smoking. A lot of times when you have a craving, it's not the nicotine that you want, it's the sensation of smoking. Most cravings last on avg of 7mins whether or not you smoke. But the episode may come every half hour or so. The main thing is keep yourself distracted/busy and it'll happen less often. I hope some of these advice help. If anyone need more tips/advice or have any questions. Feel free to email me. There's a lot of NRT out there that isn't advertise but is via rx only..i.e nicotine nasal spray and inhalers
Good Luck!!

I'm not a smoker, but I have a friend who quit, and she would go to the health food store and buy sticks of licorice root to chew on. I can't remember what benefit the herbal components offered, but she said that the stick itself made a good substitute for holding a cigarette. And she did quit with just those sticks to chew on...

BTW- New York has a bunch of great commercials about stopping smoking called NY Quits. They're gross enough to make you think twice!

Good luck everyone!

NY Quits

I went on line to see if they had the commercials, and found their site. Maybe it can help....

Maiflower: Thanks for all the wonderful information, tips and advice. I like the bit about the menthol cough drops. That's what I did when I was cutting down. It works, too.

I know everyone is appreciative of your help.

Thanks again.

You're welcome Muffi's mom. By the way, your baby is adorable!! I love the pic that you have on the avatar. Did you make it yourself? My husband made mine but wish I knew how to make it more "interactive" I work for the California Smoker's Helpline and so I talk to people all day long. It's a nice to be on YT where everyone is so caring. Everyone's advice and encouragement to others have been amazing. Especially you (Muffi's mom) your words of encouragement and kindess I'm sure is making a big difference for a lot of people. All of your advice has been awesome!! Well, I better get to work. Talk to everyone later :)

Thank you for your sweet kind words. I, personally, love to help people. I told my husband the other day that maybe I've found my purpose in life!*!

YOU are in a great position to really make a difference to a lot of people that are trying to quit smoking.

Go ahead and post some things so everyone here can read them. Anything that will help.

There are a lot of people still smoking and are reading this thread not knowing what to do or how to go about quitting.

Go ahead and put whatever you can on the thread - it would be better - you could help more people that way.

Thanks, Sweetie!

well Im currently waiting for some pamphlets and information on how to quit smoking that Maiflower has so geneously offered to send me.. :thumbup: Im also waiting for a stop smoking Hypnosis Cd I recently ordered, so Im going to make the attempt again! But I am going to wait awhile before I jump on this thread again saying I quit!! wolf wolf :rolleyes: but I will post again once I really feel that the spell is truly broken.. So until then. And
To all those wanting to quit talk with Maiflower she has some really good advice and information on this subject!!

I will admit that I smoke and I know I shouldn't but you have to really want to stop smoking to try to stop. Any ways my brother in law used the 7 day smoke away and he had been smoking for 12 years. He said he got addicted to the smell of the stuff in the kit but he did stop smoking.
Good Luck

Oh Joann, I'm truly sorry to hear that "you've fallen". But the time will come when you can pick yourself up again and you will succeed. Perhaps the timing wasn't right or you weren't prepared. Anyway, your time WILL come.

Keep the faith, Baby! Maiflower will come through for you and anyone wanting help from her. Just keep thinking positive and get ready to try again.

God bless you.

Hi Joann,
I can't really write too long since I'm at work...but I sent you a packet of materials to you already...hopefully by today or Monday you'll get it. I sent you 2 packages. They may come on different days though. PM me when you get them and let me know what you think. I have other stuff to send to you or anyone else also if you want. Let me know how the first packages are helping. Joann, quitting smoking is hard. It takes an avg person about 8-14 attempts and sometimes even more. Just try and not get discourage and keep on trying. Like they say "tomorrow is another day" :) I'll write more later when I'm not at work. Have a good day everyone :)

Thank you - that was very kind and sweet of you.

I imagine there are probably several others here that may be asking for your help.

I know you - all they need to do it ASK!

God bless you.