How To Quit Smoking....

[drahcir]

What is the best method for helping a friend quit smoking cigerrettes?

[Cadence308]

I heard stopping cold turkey is the best way. Sometimes it's best to substitute a healthier, newer habit for an old, negative one.

 

When I was trying to give up caffeine (frappuccinos and soda pop) I didn't know how. I have sugar cravings, but wanted to cut back and give up caffeine because it was giving me sleeping problems. I substituted Gatorade for those things. So instead of going to the gas station or Starbucks for my normal drinks I stop by the gas station and get a 32 oz Gatorade on ice. So far so good. I haven't had a frappuccino since Aug. 15 and can't remember the last time I had a soda pop. It's now Nov. 22 and I don't really miss those things.

 

Maybe your friend should start exercising instead of smoking. I know people who have done that and are now marathon runners.

[ForAnother]

Get them really really sick... so that they can't even think about smoking for 3 days, then after 3 days tell them to never smoke again... and they won't

 

ForAnother

[VANISHED TOO SOON]

Dude its tough to quit smoking, I smoke, not excessively but man its a ..... to quit. Matter of fact, ive tried that working out thing but right after the workout I feel the crave, I quitted Herb cuz it was messing up my grades in college but cigarettes seem to have no immediate consequence so its hard to quit them...its all self determination, trust me quitting Herb was defenitely not easy now my challenge is cigarettes but i know i can conquer them.

[Switch187]

The best way for me was cold turkey. I stopped smoking cigz and herb 2 years ago, and I havn't went back to cigz since then (I made the mistake of smoking some herb 4 months ago, but wont be making that mistake again). It is very hard, and you need to have someone there to really support you and give you that boost of "you can do it" confidence the whole time. Luckily for me my g/f was right by my side helping me, and my friends (who all smoked) made the effort to help me by not smoking when I was around them, or going somewere else to have a smoke. But you can't force someone to quit, they really need to make that decision on their own, and once they do then you can step in and be their support. Try getting them on something else to help them stop thinking about cigz (such as chewing gum, or sunflower seeds, or red vines, or red bulls, or whatever), and whenevery they have a craving just keep telling them (and make sure that they can tell themeselves) that "it's just not worth it anymore", and hopefully they can turn away. If all else fails, just show them their bank statement and tell them how much money they will save if they stop smoking.

[MaoMao]

i havent had a smoke for 1 and half years now. I just woke up one moring and said im going to stop smoking( quiting/giving up is negative) and that was it. The first 2 days are ok but when the 3rd day hit it was bad for me. It takes alot of strength for the first week but then its ok.

The way you could help would be not to smoke in front if your a smoker, but otherwise its really up to him/her to want to give it up and how willing they are to make it work.

[lil_unique_me]

there are a number of things on the market at the minute. i cant say that i smoke but my mum did and she used some patches and shes been stopped successfuly for 7 years.

but any thing that takes away the craving is good like gum or patches or pens. some people even say that if you suck a lolly then that helps. i dont see how but if it worked for them.

but i dont think they should go cold turkey cos that is just hard man really hard.

Hope this helps and good luck with helping your friend

Catie xxx

[DragonSlayerX]

well try slim jims u bite on it and pretend ur smoking just dont light it on fire!!!

[dirtbubble]

Quitting is not the same for everyone.

 

Cold turkey works for some people, but it also sets others up to fail if they backslide. For others, such as myself, it was a gradual process of cutting down over years, reminding myself that I don't want to smoke anymore, even if I am currently smoking.

 

I think this notion of "either you're a smoker or you're not" is a stumbling block for some people, because it is really hard to quit. Smoking tobacco is an insidious addiction because its powerful physical craving is reinforced by a combination of habitual oral fixation, and social and self-image issues. When someone wants to quit and they fall back into smoking again, the hardcore attitude tells them they have failed and that they ought to give up quitting and just smoke. That's too bad. When you realize you really want to quit, don't give up.

 

You will experience cravings after 3 days, after a week, after a month, after 3 months, after six months, after a year, and perhaps after 3 years. You will want to reward yourself with a smoke once in a while, or you will excuse yourself in extreme stress. You will think you can get away with just one smoke after a long period of not smoking. These are the main traps, and ultimately you must deny them to escape the addiction. You must eventually stop rewarding yourself or "getting away" with an occasional cigarette. You will dream of the best cigarette in the world and wake up needing it more than sex. You must deny that, too. You must be able to hang with your smoking friends without thinking about it. You must be able to do your favorite things without lighting up before, during or after.

 

If you can lick smoking after about four years, you may have escaped all the significant traps. But you can never smoke again, unless you want to start all over.