Dirty little white sticks

I gave up smoking when I was 19 Munchkin and helped my wife give up when she was 28. I was a competitive oarsman - i.e. I rowed. Our coach who came to us having coached the Dutch national squad, was a stickler. He called me and a couple of other guys in and gave us an ultimatum. We could smoke or we could row. But we couldn't do both. We all quit on the spot. My wife asked me to kiss her. I said not unless she cleaned her teeth first. We were quite loved up in those days. Every time she had a ciggy, I said "now clean your teeth. I might want a kiss". She got so tired of cleaning her teeth that she gave up. Now neither of these are necessarily options for you. So here's what I suggest. Go to wherever you buy your ciggies. On the counter there will be a charity tin for something or other. Pay for your ciggies and then put an identical amount of money in the tin. If you don't have the will power for that then send the money to me!! I'll put it in the building society for you or buy you perfume and fun things with it. But you will only get access to the money or the goods when you have given up!

Always take a bath.. Use an alternative like lollipop. Walk for a while or jog. Do some exercise and work out at the gym..

I quit smoking ten years ago, and honey, if I can do it, anybody can do it!!! It took me five tries over the years but I finally did it. I tried the patches and almost everything else I could think of but when something stressful came up, I started smoking again. Finally, I decided one day that this was it and I was going to quit no matter what so I threw them all away and just went cold turkey. That is what worked for me. Plus the fact that I had decided to quit and I had no one deciding that for me. I think it's all in your mind...if you want to quit bad enough, you WILL do it..if your mind isn't totally made up, you won't. Simple as that. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor to quit. When you do quit, you will see that food tastes better and you will realize how much smoke is in your clothes and hair. When someone walks by you, you will be able to tell whether or not they are a smoker...your sense of smell will be a lot keener. You will just feel better overall...healthwise and mind wise.

I used to smoke. Back in college and 9 months ago. I decided to quit last January and i never touched a single stick again. There arent any secrets to quitting successfully, i think. It's just your personal choice. Good luck on quitting.

I used to be a smoker, I used the patches because I personally felt that I didnt have the will power to do it cold turkey. But you do have to really want to quit. otherwise you will just rip the patch off and light one up again. It is very hard but you can do it.

I gave up smoking over night. I just threw the pack out of the window after crushing it. There was one reason for quitting. When my young daughters used to ask for ice cream everyday,I would get angry and yell "you can't have ice cream everyday. Money doesn't grow on trees." Onday I calculated and realised that I swas smoking for 20 times the cost of the ice cream they used to have.Isn't it unfair? Wasn't i being mean? So I quit.

I haven't been a smoker ever. I do not like others smoking just for the health thing. I think one should have control over their smoking and STOP it totally. As we all know its not a good thing then why resort to it? I also believe that there is nothing called minimising, you should smoke or not smoke, there is NO TRY Here are some amazing facts: Effects of quitting 20 mins: Blood pressure and pulse rate return to normal 8 hours: Oxygen back to normal 24 hours: Carbon monoxide eliminated 48 hours: Nicotine eliminated 72 hours: Breathing easier 2-12 weeks: Circulation improves 3-9 months: Lung function increased by 10% 5 years: Risk of heart attack halved; risk of stroke equal to never smoker’s 10 years: Risk of lung cancer halved; risk of heart attack equal to never smoker's QUIT SMOKING NOW.

I used to smoke a lot when I was in college but when I got married and had kids I thought of my kids health first and tried to avoid it...but then I can't so I did it occasionally only without letting my kids know I smoke..Then as the days passed I slowly hated the smell of smoke that I stopped. It's not cool to be a smoker it just causes health problems. I had a patient before and he was using this machine to speak because he was a chain smoker it hit him bad and took his voice away..throat cancer..now he gets to talk due to technology in a small box attached to his neck and he has a small mike he needs to put in his mouth for you to be able to understand what he is saying..the voice frequency helps the box to decipher what is being said and turns it into words..garbled but understandable..and he has a hole on his neck. They have to cover it because when he needs to drink it spills. It is really awful..I do hope people would stop smoking and stop selling it as well. I made this man a reason for me to stop because I don't want to suffer like that. There are available anti-smoking candies which can help you avoid smoking. When you feel like smoking eat or chew something and keep yourself busy. That's what I do.

I'm a non-smoker myself (I tried it once when I was about 5, and the taste was so horrible that it put me off for life), but I do know what it's like to have a bad habit. My personal bad habit used to be comfort shopping, which isn't chemically addictive of course (or as harmful, although it didn't do my credit card balances any good). I do know there are many different ways of giving up f@gs (stupid MyLot automated censor doesn't like that word for some reason), which work more or less well for different people. You'll already know about the different types of nicotine patches, gum etc, which you may or may not find helpful. Chances are that you've got a psychological dependence, as well as chemical, and there are at least some steps you can take to control that side. It seems to me that focusing your mind on all the positive aspects of giving up smoking - not just the reduced risk of cancer etc, but the money you'll save, and the fact that your sense of smell and taste will come back after a bit - then it'll be worth trying a black pudding, isn't that something to look forward to?It might be a good idea to sit down and work out how much money you spend on f*a*gs (I hate the MyLot censor!) every week, then put that amount aside for something you really want - a nice holiday or whatever. That way you've got a real motivation. A lot of people giving up smoking seem to get very stressed up - my line manager where I'm working at the moment packed it in a few days ago, and he's been a bag of nerves today (mind you, he's not exactly laid-back at the best of times). So if relaxation's a problem for you, I'd suggest learning to meditate if you don't do so already - there's loads of different techniques you can get from books or off the net, and there's a pretty fair chance you can find someone running meditation classes near where you live - there's certainly at least one Buddhist meditation centre in Manchester that I've heard of that gives free lessons. I've heard that some people benefit by substituting a less harmful habit - carrying a bag of sweets around and having one when they feel like a smoke. That strikes me as worth trying - you may end up putting on an extra pound or two, but so what?

You have a number of reasons to quit smoking so my suggestion to you is to do it at the earliest. I want you to stay healthy....lol Thanks Ganesh

Hello munchkin I also hae the same problem in fact I also made a discussion on smoking here in mylot. The thing is I still do smoke and cant have enough of it I took seeral advice an made seeral promises I just grew tired of it and simply go on smoking. I think I will stop when I reach my limit meaning if I got sick or simply tumble down due to smoking not that im asking for it.

My elder brother used to smoke...he was a chain smoker till 1998..He was smoking since he was 16 and after 40 years he decided to quit...and do you know , how? Just strong WILL POWER...nothing else ..almost 10 years have passed , he is quit well and have never touched it again.. I know you are a stong lady..and once you have to make up your mind...it willbe hard to do so , but as days passed , you can over come it...just try... [b] "If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self" [/b]

~I'm a smoker 2 but I quit smoking for a few times.First I stop smoking when I get pregnant and I start to smoke again when my baby was 6m old because my husband went to work to another country and I was feeling desperately.So hire is the thing-when u stop smoking u need to find something to work,something that will occupy ur mind and u need to remind ur self why did u stop smoking.When u have strong will u can do what ever u want in the world.~

good luck with that: try not hanging out at your favorite smokey bar for a couple of months. that should help. lg

I've quit smoking twice.. Once i did it successfully for almost a full year and ended up starting again. The Second time i went for a whopping week! It is very hard, but it is possible to quit smoking. You have to say NO. My best advice for you and it's something i did when i quit for almost a full year. Everytime you want to light up do something else. Write something, read, go for a jog..just do something. I wish you the best of luck in your venture.

Same here :( I wanted to go on champix, or zyban but my dr won't let me have it :(

Have you thought about joining a support group? E gigs also seem to be the in thing now as well. I don't smoke but I do know there is lots of support out there for people who want to give up smoking

Hi munch, I can tell you what helped me. My doctor prescribed a pill called Chantix. You need a prescription for it. It really works. It has some unpleasant side effects but none that are so bad that you can't deal with. I had a slight feeling of nausea and dizziness. This medication makes you not like the taste of a ciggarette so that you start smoking less and less and by the time you have to stop you really don't mind doing it. If you don't really quit on the first time which I didn't then try again. I have totally stopped smoking now for months. I lost count of how long it's been. Ask you doctor about Chantix (I sound like a damn commercial)!Me and quite a few of my friends did it at the same time. Some of us made it and some didn't. It depends on how badly you really want to stop.

i cant tell you how to quit smoking , infact no one can its in your hands you just have to be motivated always and the worst part also the main reason for me not been able to quit smoking ,try to make your friends quit smoking too...coz if they will, you will....Just try this whenever you feel the urge to smoke realise that its the nicotine controlling your brain right now and if you wont smoke the nicotine content will fall in your body making your face glow more...this surely helps as it is a true fact, it has helped me kill the urge to somke sometimes but not alwayts....sometimes i just keep aside all the bad reasons of smoking and get a ciggarette...so i dont have any clue how to make you quit but i wish you all the luck for your mission...

My friend who gave up smoking says, dont bother with the patches or the inhalators or whatever,just plain cold turkey. If you really want to give up you will