I Smoke. I Can't Quit. Guilt Doesn't Help.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

I smoke. I've smoked for almost 18 years now. I'm severely addicted. Addicted to the point that no current aid can help, and I don't have the willpower necessary. Addicted to the point that after a several hours cold-turkey, I crumble to my knees in desperation, and will search outside for even the dirtiest left over butt I can light to take a drag off of.

Don't tell me I could quit if I really wanted to. Don't tell me I have kids and should care more. Don't tell me how I'm killing myself. Your guilt doesn't help. It just gives my blood the need for another smoke due to the additional stress.

Don't sympathize for me and yell at the tobacco companies. Don't put silly commercials on tv to guilt me even more while yelling at the tobacco companies.

You want to help? Fight for me in the right way. Fight for legislation, or funding or research, to find a cure. Help there be a way out of the madness. Fight for research for a pill, an injection, a vaccine. Just help there be something that works. That's how to help me.

end rant.

(by the way, the terms you refer to the public, not to DU'ers :) )

[johnnie]

1. Nice try ....

But people feel it is better to attempt to make us feel like the scum of the Earth
I guess they figure that by doing so it is a cure for any addiction.

[DanCa]

2. Peace to you - who are caught in the catch 22

My mom is a chain smoker, a cigarette a half hour. I personally dont want to see it banned because I feel that i have no right to tell anyone else how to live. And I say that as someone who is allergic to smoke. Take care and I wish you peace. If I can help you quit smoking let me know otherwise Ill stay out of your private lives.

[astonamous]

3. I can truly relate. I have started to buy one pack at a time

just to make myself feel like I am cutting back, but if I run out I feel totally lost. And yes, that would be me driving to 7-11 in the middle of the night because I can't wait until morning. I always try to make it look good though, and get a magazine or banana to go with the fresh pack.

I quit smoking in the house too. So when it is below freezing and snowing like a son-of-a-gun, I am out in it. I smoke so fast that I actually get dizzy.

[Straight Shooter]

4. Try this technique (if you haven't already)

I'm going to assume you smoke 2 packs a day. That's 40 cigarettes. For the next 40 days, smoke 40 cigarettes a day.

For the following 39 days, smoke 39 cigarettes a day.

The following 38 days, smoke 38 cigarettes a day.

Et cetera, et cetera. And, if you break the cycle, don't beat yourself up. If you're on the 25-per-day and you smoke 27, then continue on with 25 per day as if you'd never broken the routine.

You don't have to stop all at once.

My apologies if you've already tried this technique.

[LostinVA]

5. That didn't work for me -- I had to quit cold turkey

10.5 years smoke-free -- I smoked two-packs a day for over a decade.

You have to want to do it. Now it's hard and it sucks for about three months, then gets a little easier every month. I wouldn't smoke now just because of the money involved.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

6. Ahhhhh, One of the "if you really wanted to quit you would" crowd

Nahhhhh. You're right. I don't want to do quit. I want to die young. I want to get lung cancer. I want to freeze my ass off in the cold and rain. I want a guilt trip from my wife with each cigarette I smoke. I want to be shunned by society. I want to smell like an ashtray.

[Dogmudgeon]

19. No, it actually works that way for some people

Some people have less of a problem just stopping immediately. They are in the minority, but it's real for those people. My father was like that. He had been an alcoholic in his youth, and went cold turkey. He stopped smoking around 1976 (at age 52) cold turkey, as well. Neither process was easy, but he was able to do it -- bitching at the rest of us every step of the way! :)

Everybody's physiology is different. You may have been cursed with an intense addiction to nicotine and/or other stuff related to smoking.

Hundreds of other DUers have been down this same road, and hundreds more are struggling to stop. If you post/kick this thread every few days for a week or two, you'll find those hundreds.

I've never smoked, but I have an actual anaphylactic allergy to tobacco smoke, so I can imagine how strong the addictive nature can be. I wish you the best of luck with it.

--p!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

23. You are right.

There are genetic and physiological differences in people that can contribute to their level of addiction. In my case, I have a gene that rapidly metabolizes the nicotine which makes my brain crave it even stronger. I also have an overactive brain that I've been told can form neural pathways up to ten times faster then average. (smoking is partially so addictive because of the 'pleasure receptor' neuron pathways formed)

People who have both of those markers are severely limited in their ability to quit.

[leftstreet]

60. I can help you quit with one easy suggestion

You know that first cigarette you have each morning?

Don't have it.

Wait an hour.
Then two.
Then three.
(etc)

It really does work.

[DS1]

7. Good album

:thumbsup:

[spacelady]

21. I Wanna New Drug by Huey Lewis & the News

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

24. No, Operation Mindcrime LOL

[spacelady]

35. Can I buy That at FYE? HeeHee.

No, I'm sorry that if you want to quit & just can't right now. Don't feel that is the end of it, you WILL find the strenghth if not today, then tomorrow, no lectures.

[PassingFair]

8. I quit 3-1/2 years ago, when we went of out business...

just plain COULDN'T AFFORD them anymore. My husband and I both smoked about a pack and a half a day. Sometimes two.
That was 20 bucks a day.
That $600.00 a month was close to our health insurance payment for our family.
I was horribly addicted for over 20 years, I still want one occasionally (I won't have one, because just one would sent me puffing away again), but above all, I am of Scottish descent, and I'm CHEAP.
When I see people smoke, I think, jeez, how can they AFFORD it?

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. I'm right there with ya, man

And what I wish is that the fucking pharm companies would just stop trying to turn their suits and stockholders into multi-trillionaires and make stop-smoking aids more affordable. But, nooooooo! A three-week supply of nicotine patches costs more than a carton of cigarettes! :grr:

I want some legislator or pharm rep or public health official or somebody to explain to me why — if quitting smoking benefits everyone from the smoker to his family to everybody on the entire planet — stop-smoking aids aren't even covered by health insurance.

/rant (for now) :mad:

[DanCa]

10. Is this a good anology quitting smoking is alot like dietting

That you have to be self movitavated, and have people around you who are willing to help? I am not a smoker but I have a hard time loosing weight. And no amount of insulting me with fat fat the water rat will help! I was wondering if the anology is accurate.

[PassingFair]

42. Not accurate!

You can quit smoking altogether...
You can't quit eating altogether...

Weight is harder for me than the smoking.
I gained my weight when I quit smoking. I had it under control when I puffed.
I guess I'm just a classic oral-agressive. Doomed...

[DanCa]

51. Oh okay i was just wondering.

I dont smoke so i was trying to relate it to something that i know.
Hang in there and peace to you .

[PassingFair]

53. Thanks, DanCa! ....nt

[Orangepeel]

56. it's harder for you. maybe it isn't for other people

I've never been a real smoker (an occasional one in a club when I was young), but I am overweight. Like you, is very difficult for me to lose weight, but I don't think I would have a problem quitting smoking.

But that doesn't mean that it would be the same for everyone. There are a lot of people who are naturally thin and don't have a problem with weight, but for them, stopping smoking might be next to impossible. Different people have different problems and it can be inaccurate to generalize from our own.

It is true that one can't quit eating altogether, but one can stop eating unhealthy or processed foods altogether (although society doesn't make that easy).

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

11. Exactly! And Why Isn't Rehab Covered By Insurance For Nicotine

But for drugs it is? Even Ozzy said the most addictive drug he was ever on was nicotine.

Oh, and on a side note, I tried the patch. By the end of the first day I rolled it up and tried to smoke it. One puff and it felt like two fists pounded straight into my lungs. I don't recommend trying it lol.

[PassingFair]

48. The money that the states won from the tobacco companies

should have gone to ameliorate the cost of patches, lozenges and gum.

[Lady President]

52. Completely agree

I work for a company that requires smokers to pay more for insurance, but won't pay for aids to help smokers quit. I used the patch when I quit and it was expensive. You can't just buy a couple patches at a time which would be easier to budget. I used the patch for at least a month longer than they recommended. And, like many people, my food bill also went up. Now I'm saving money, but it shouldn't be an economic struggle to stop.

[KT2000]

61. Patches - $$$$$$$$$$$$

They piss me off so much. I had cut way back with the patch - I would get the full strength and cut it down so I could get two days out of a patch.
Now - they have raised the price of the full strength so that there is no longer a cost savings.

Every time the price of cigarettes goes up - the patches increase.

GREED

:mad:

[Dogmudgeon]

12. Calcium and Zyban (or Wellbutrin)

Zyban is half-strength Wellbutrin. Technically it's an antidepressant but it's also got fairly strong anti-addictive properties, and helps with stopping smoking. Most people report that after 3-6 weeks of taking the stuff, they just lose their desire to smoke, at all, forever.

Calcium also helps a lot of people, but hasn't been studied too well, although most people are a little deficient in dietary calcium. I also know someone who found that eating a lot more vegetables helped quite a bit, too.

That's just two (actually three) of the "inside" smoking cessation aids. There are plenty more. And if you're having a lot of trouble, see a physician who specializes in addiction medicine. You'll need to see a physician anyway if you want to try Zyban/Wellbutrin.

Good luck!

--p!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

14. I've tried it all. Literally.

Next I'll try the Rimnobant when it comes out, and hope for the best.

[Dogmudgeon]

25. Wellbutrin/Zyban didn't work?

Man-oh-man, that's harsh. You're the first person I've heard of that it doesn't work for (hospital study stats do show a significant percentage of Wellbutrin/Zyban failures).

You might try to get into a pre-marketing Rimnobant trial. I don't have a contact or source for you, but it might be worth looking for. Pre-marketing trials are as low in risk as the final FDA OK. They do those trials to get an official set of stats to put in their product literature.

As I said earlier, keep talking to DUers. Some of them probably have better suggestions than I do. And don't let the despair win -- most people who keep trying to quit either do finally quit, or at least cut down so much that their health improves. Even the temporary, small, or partial victories count -- altogether, you will eventually win.

--p!

[Oeditpus Rex]

20. I tried Wellbutrin

I had less desire to smoke, but I was also depressed (anti-depressants sometimes "boomerang") and very irritable.

I've got a feeling about where this thread's going, and I'm not sure I want to be part of it.

[Dogmudgeon]

37. I don't blame you

A lot of people get moralistic -- and hostile -- about "habits" and Personal Responsibility™.

I STRONGLY disagree with the moralizing point of view. I am literally the only person in my family in the past three generations who has NOT smoked (though most of them have given it up). It can take a long time, and a protracted struggle.

The non-smoking population has a strong moral obligation to be supportive of people who wish to give up smoking. That kind of support can take many forms, but scolding and superiority are NOT supportive. And the same thing applies for people struggling with other addictions (alcohol as well as drugs), obesity, inborn or acquired handicaps, mental illnesses from simple depression to schizophrenia to organic brain syndromes, or just plain bad luck.

Nobody's immune to being laid low by bad times, and anybody who thinks otherwise is deluded. And that attitude is a big part of the thinking of the current ruling junta.

All those who struggle have my respect. I'm struggling with a few things myself. In many respects, we are all in this together, and no one has the luxury to smirk in disapproval.

Not even when SCOTUS or Diebold say they can.

--p!

On Edit: Changed "empathy" to "respect". So there.

[Oeditpus Rex]

40. I wish there were more like you

Thanks, Pigwidgeon. :yourock:

See post #28 for a good example of your antithesis — what there's far too much of.

[NNadir]

13. My father couldn't quit either.

Even when he had several types of cancer he snuck some on the side.

I know he wanted to quit, but he couldn't. It killed him.

I am sorry but I and my whole family are victims just as much as you are. We are the survivors who live with the memory of what that death was like. (It is over for him of course.) I hate the tobacco companies - I boycott all their products like Kraft Foods, Miller Beer, Post Cereals etc. I MUST scream at them, because they murdered someone I loved very much.

You may think you have the right to dictate to other victims of smoking but you don't. We have every right to react as we wish.

[brentspeak]

15. Ask your kids to destroy your cigarettes

I would sneak into my father's coat pocket and destroy his cigarettes. He didn't ask me, but it certainly made it harder for him to smoke.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

17. I have 3 cartons minimum in the house at all times. Even if destroyed,

I'd just buy more. Not to mention my two cuties are only 2 and 3 months. :)

[jseankil]

86. hope you dont' smoke around them. /nm

nm

[swag]

16. I sympathize. Several good and loved friends are in that boat.

Me, I finally got off the sticks with what the American Lung Association then called their "Freedom From Smoking" booklets.

For the record, I had to go through this self-administered program three times before it finally took for good.

They have apparently refined it and made it better, but it has been a while since I've bought the booklets for anybody. Usually the self-administered smoking cessation programs are available through state lung associations.

Obviously, it doesn't work for everyone, but it worked for me. I had smoked 2 - 3 packs a day for eight years.

Best to you in everything you do.

[rurallib]

18. Here is what worked for me and some others I have told

and it is free!
One day on the radio I heard a guy say that beside the nicotine, smokers also really, really crave the deep breaths. The only time a smoker breathes deeply is when they are smoking. SOOOOO when you want a cig, take several (10 - 20) deep, deep breaths. The desire for a smoke goes away (plus you get a little buzz from all that oxygen).
For the first week (I was a 3 pack a day dude for @10 years) I took deep breaths every hour or so. Then the desire just faded to the point where I might breath deeply after a meal and maybe on waking. Then one day I just realized I no longer had a desire. Took @6 weeks I think, Really pretty easy and cheap.
If you try it and it works send me an email.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

22. I appreciate the intent. But I've gone that route too

I've also tried the drink lots of water route, the vitamins route, the toxic flush route, the nasal spray route, gum route, patch route, hypnotism route, supposed-pyschics-who-wave-their-hands-in-front-of-your-face-and-say-you're-cured route, the staple in the ear route, the zyban route, some other pill I can't remember route, the nicotine liquid in a plastic cigarette route, the poke holes in the filter route, the cold turkey route, the support group route, the non-nicotine herbal cigarettes route and I'm sure a few others I've missed.

I didn't intend this thread to be one on advice on how, as I know I've researched it to death and tried everything. It is more a rant to why so many people feel so self-rigtheous as if they are helping us by guilt trips and blasting the corporations, yet I rarely see any group, ad, or otherwise that is actually trying to help find a "cure".

[A-Schwarzenegger]

26. Get cancer.

That sure helped me stop.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

29. I can almost guarantee that it wouldn't be enough for me....

How sad is that. :(

[DainBramaged]

27. I quit Aug. 29th, the five year anniversary of the removal of

my brain tumor. No shit, no lie. Being tumor free (I HATE the other word)for five years, I felt it was time to consider living longer and to stop pissing away the money I couldn't afford anyway. Started thinking about it a few months before. Was two packs a day. Had started on Sept. 17th 1983 (weird how you remember certain things). Why you may ask? Because it smelled so good, and at that time I decided that I'd have had a 20+ year start on everyone else who smoked.

I started smoking less, longer between smokes. Waiting longer in the morning after I woke up, not smoking before I just went to bed. In the month before I quit, I had weaned myself down to a pack a day. The weekend before I quit, I had obtained two Ambians from a friend. I went to bed as usual Saturday night, and when I woke up in the morning on Sunday I did the bathroom, dog out, feed dog and cat thing, without lighting up, swallowed an Ambian, fell back asleep till that evening.

Woke up about 8PM that Sunday, did the morning thing again, took another Ambian WITHOUT smoking, and when I woke up late Monday morning, I did my usual stuff and when I thought about a cigarette, the craving was gone. Having smoked my last cigarette Saturday night, I had none to smoke. Over the next week, lollipops helped break the busy hand habit. Now I put $10 a day in a jar. MY Daughter will have a great Giftmas, and after that, I'll have an emergency fund if something happens.

I did it, don't tell me it isn't worth trying again. They have a shot I think if you have health insurance that supposed to help you break the habit. But if this isn't the only thing you are addicted to, light 'em up if you have 'em, because this was just a good story to distract you from lighting up for two minutes.

Be well.

[0007]

28. You'll quit when the coughing is so bad you can't get a breath

of air. You'll quit when your lugging an oxygen tank on you're fucking sore back to go to the store. You'll quit when you're gasping for you're last breath.

But hell you've got a long way to go yet, maybe another twenty five years, if 'ya don't get lung cancer.

So keep on smoking the tobacco companies loves taking money from suckers like you.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

31. As I said, Guilt Doesn't Help. And I am no sucker. But also thankful I'm

not a fucking prick.

[0007]

41. You are a sucker, a first class sucker

You suck on Cigarette, 'eh?

You support the folks that hooked you with a habit that you're to weak to kick.

Every time you buy a pack of cigarettes, a big invisible "S" is glowing on your forehead.

When tobacco has power over YOU, YOU can't do anything about it .... well you, go figure.

In reality we're all suckers in one form or another.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

44. You are implying that I am ignorant. Not so

To be a sucker one must be ignorant to the reality of the wool being pulled over their eyes.

I gotta go now though (will be back in the am), but I will go to bed with the knowledge that it is not me right now coming off as ignorant.

[0007]

49. That not true, you got the two terms mixed up!

And anyone that does smoke is ignorant. If they weren't they wouldn't be smoking. 'Tis that fucking simple, kid.
Anyone that sucks on a cigarette is a sucker. But if you chew tobacco, you're not a sucker, but an ignorant type of person.

We're are all ignorant in one form or another and it has nothing to do with education or street smarts. No one knows everything, do they?

Please look up the word, "Ignorant."

[Dogmudgeon]

54. And mocking them helps -- how?

The moralizing approach has been tried, and it doesn't work. It's usually just an excuse for arrogance and disrespect, with much less of a chance of accountability.

Perhaps you'll even mock yourself, as you started to do in your post. But that's just another evasion of responsibility. Cynicism and Fundamentalism are siamese twins. You get to inflict holy wrath either way.

Can we expect anything constructive or helpful from you? Or just more disdain and ridicule?

--p!

[0007]

62. Yikes!!


Doctor Phil has just spoken

[Dogmudgeon]

77. More ridicule for EVERYBODY!

Edited for no damn reason.

Ridicule is the sign of an insecure, pathologically destructive, angst-driven person who has failed to make healthy object-relations contact and suffers from primary ego dystonia, lack of an appropriate love object, aggressive oral and anal cathexes, and inadequate reality testing.

Ridicule is also the sign of a punk-ass loser who fucks with people online for "1337" brownie points.

Which one are you?

--p!, PsyD (U of Dipl Mill, '94)
Waiving the fee as I usually do for unsupervised juveniles.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

78. Hey, You Should See Post 71 LOL

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

66. Ok. Just for shits and giggles I looked it up. And......(drum roll)

ig·no·rant ( P ) Pronunciation Key (gnr-nt)
adj.
Lacking education or knowledge.
Showing or arising from a lack of education or knowledge: an ignorant mistake.
Unaware or uninformed.


It means EXACTLY what I said it did. I am not misinformed or unaware, and I don't lack education on the subject as I have done extensive research. But all of the education in the world matters not when you are as severely crippled by an addiction you can't control as I am.

However, by the definition above, and by the complete lack of insight of your posts, you do fit the definition of ignorant, KID.

[Oeditpus Rex]

34. I stand validated

I've got a feeling about where this thread's going, and I'm not sure I want to be part of it.

I didn't, however, foresee it coming in such vile, hate-filled form. I expect so much more of so-called liberals.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

36. Don't sweat it. There's always a few in every crowd ya know? lol

Overwhelmingly though DU is filled with wonderful supportive people. That's what makes it the best community there is. :)

[spacelady]

30. I can't wait for the silly commercials berating overweight people, just

think how helpful that would be to our collective soul.

This is your giant pie-hole
This is is your pie-hole being stuffed
(cut to starving, yet skinny people)
See how attractive they are?
You are a heavy, space wasting, drag on health care, your family and America's economy.
Any Questions?

P.S. I am a smoker & not skinny & none of these scolding methods help
SO, all you types that are inclined, take a powder, please

[Oeditpus Rex]

43. Aren't we pretty close to that now?

The weight-loss industry (Jenny Craig, "miracle" herbs, etc.) is on my list of Corporate Motherfuckers to Destroy When I'm God. :grr:

[spacelady]

47. You know it. Fried eggs indeed. (but not for obesity PSA's)

[Lady President]

32. You'll quit when you're ready

There is no point in trying to make you feel guilty. I'm assuming you don't live in a hole, so you know it's unhealthy.

Me? I smoked for about 14 years. I just passed my year mark without a cigarette. I quit the day my father was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died in July. I quit to stay healthy because I need to take care of my mom.

You need to be really ready to quit. If you're not completely committed, then there is no point in making yourself miserable. I had to change my entire schedule for months-- no coffee in the morning, no alcohol, no weighing myself. And, I used a the patch which helped some. If you decide to quit someday, good luck. :)

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

33. I decide I want to quit every day. But as in the opening post, not enough

I compare it to someone who says "I'm dedicated to holding my breath forever". You can be as committed to that as you want, and in the first 30 seconds you feel strong as can be. "yeah, I can do this, no problem" But after a minute, you start feeling that emptiness. You can't explain it. It is just this overriding signal from your brain demanding you breath. Minute and a half, holding on. Two minutes, starting to weaken. Not much resolve left. All the strength you had at 30 seconds is all but gone. What happened? you think. I woulda sworn at 30 seconds I could do it. 2 minutes plus. You exhale. You tried. You really wanted to do it. But your brain overrode every bit of will power you possibly had. You had no strength left. Only sheer urgent desperation to let out the last breath and breath in with an urgency you've never had.

No, that is NOT overly dramatic. That is what I go through.

[DainBramaged]

38. I cannot imagine that, not for one minute

Know we understand. Know we care. Know we want to help and wish we could. Would a drug rehab facility help? You haven't mentioned that you tried that route.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

39. I hadn't tried that, but have said it's probably the only way.

I always said I probalby need two weeks isolated being forced from them. Problem is getting away from work and insurance coverage.

[Lady President]

50. There is deciding, and then there is deciding

Seriously, I tried quitting dozens of times and failed miserably. I was not a smoker who went days or weeks with a cigarette, then slips. I never made it more than a few hours in my previous attempts. I was the person you see lighting up the second they leave a movie, or shivering in the snow outside work. I knew what communities in my area allowed smoking so I never was stuck at a non-smoking bar.

I had to change my entire schedule and it sucked for months. I never smoked upstairs, so I only went downstairs to grab food and leave. I avoid friends who smoked. Took a different route to work and avoid the smoking areas. Not a drop of alcohol for six months. I could never bum one without being at square one.

I completely agree with your original post that smoking is a real addiction. I've heard you shouldn't try to quit when you're stressed, but it helped me. I was an emotional wreck when I found out my father had only a few months to live. It seemed fitting that I should be miserable in every way for awhile.

I know, it's hard to believe when you are in the midst of the addiction, but I truly know you can quit at some point. Lecture done. ;)

[Withywindle]

45. No judgement here, bro/sis (whichever ya are)

Been about 19 years for me. I can't shake it either. I have to admit I haven't tried as hard as you have yet, though.

It's real fucking easy for people who've never been a similar situation to take pot shots at you. Funny, I haven't met one of those moralists yet who ever told me anything useful. It's always the people who've been there who have advice that means something, if anyone does.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

46. Bro, by the way lol. A woman the other day came up to me

She said I have to quit, and gave me the whole guilt trip thing. She told me she smoked for 30 years and finally gave it up blah blah.

I looked her dead in the eyes and said "30 years huh?, guess that means I have 12 years to go then until I get to become a self-rigtheous preacher."

[Orangepeel]

55. the silly commercials on TV aren't designed to guilt you

they are designed to make kids think twice before they get into the mess you are in. Whether or not they work is debatable, but they have a noble purpose.

[China_cat]

64. The so-called 'truth' commercials

are flat out lies and distortions and that's NOT a noble purpose.

Push a shopping cart full of food items except for a pack of cigarettes out and ask why cigarettes aren't required to have 'nutrition' labels on them. Duh...they aren't food.

Pull in to an area and shout at a building (which isn't even clear that it's a tobacco company headquarters) on a Sunday or a holiday when nobody's there and then berate them for not answering you?

There's enough TRUE stuff about tobacco and smoking without resorting to that shit.

[Beausoir]

57. Quitting is THE hardest thing in the world. Here's what helped me....

I phoned my doctor. A cold call. I said "I am ready to try and stop smoking RIGHT NOW." My doc scheduled me in that day and prescribed the patch. Any Doc worth his/her salt will work you in IMMEDIATELY if you want to quit smoking.

Take the patch....it works. And then be prepared to substitute FOOD for cigs. I gained weight. I gained LOTS and LOTS of weight. I am damn PROUD of every pound I put on because that was one less cig smoked. I CRAWLED on my hands and knees for 3 months to gain the upper hand on this horrid addiction. I finally was able to quit...but only because of the patch.


You CAN do this. We have all been there. You are no different than the rest of us. You CAN quit.
And when you do....PLEASE let us know.

[Kali]

58. Ya know, it doesn't kill everybody

Stop worring about it. May be just cut down a little - don't beat up on yourself (not sure that you are, but obviously you have been struggling) are you healthy otherwise? Get excercise, eat right?

If you have to live with it, try making it pleasurable - buy expensive tobbacco - I don't know, is there organic hand crafted product? Make it as healthy as you can and as pleasurable. If you really can't quit why be miserable?

[GrpCaptMandrake]

59. I share your addiction

and your pain and your frustration.

So, till the cure comes along, what say, not because it's their fault, mind you, just because it's fun, we strap a bunch of tobacco execs into chairs, fire 'em up regularly with the best Afghani White, steady-like, then, after a couple of weeks, take it away, and let them explain how tobacco's not really a drug.

Gotta admit: it'd be a blast. Maybe we could even offer 'em a smoke.

Whaddya think?

:evilgrin:

[China_cat]

63. When you are really ready

to quit, you will. It's as simple as that. I smoked for almost 40 years. Tried to quit several times and concluded, as you did, that it was impossible for me. Eight years ago I was really ready, and realized that the other times I tried I wasn't.

That's when I finally quit. And you're right, guilt does absolutely nothing to help. Neither do those patently dishonest 'truth' commercials.

[hyphenate]

65. While I do so hope you can quit for your own sake,

right now is NOT the time to try. The holidays are WAY too stressful to try to quit. Many have tried during the season, and fail, and blame themselves instead of the overstress created by the season.

Wait until sometime in February. By then, the "New Year's Resolution" people will have either given up or are still going routinely, there won't be any additional pressure on you, and you should have a different mindset that can help with the quitting.

I've heard that the Zyban routine helps some people, but you might also want to check out an alternative medicine possibility, either with acupuncture, acupressure, hypnosis or biofeedback. Sometimes something like that can help the more unusually addicted smoker.

And yes, you do need to want to quit, regardless. It does sound like you have the motivation, but I've known people who "think" they're ready, but deep in their subconscious, they're not. If you can get past the first day without smoking, you are proving you are ready--if you still can't manage that one day, you are probably fighting an inner demon who doesn't want to give it up.

[kwassa]

67. I couldn't quit, either, then I figured something out.

(Quitting smoking is easy, I've done it hundreds of times.)

The last time has worked for me, and I had failed cold turkey ten times or so before I figured it out.

I used to smoke about 2.5 packs of Marlboros every day. I realized one day that much of my smoking was merely habit rather than need, so I decided on a more modest goal.

I decided to smoke as few cigarettes as possible without going crazy. I would just reduce my habit. My rule was that if I really wanted one, I could have one, but I kept the cigarettes in a place where I would have to actively go out and get them.

I immediately cut down to about 6 or 8 cigarettes from 50 I would have smoken. That is all my nicotine addiction required. I thought about the 42 or so cigarettes I didn't smoke, and considered that a victory. I kept counting all the cigarettes, or actually didn't, because I didn't want to make the goal obsessive, either. I was aware of how many I didn't smoke that I actually would have.

I kept cutting back over several months. I was finally down to one cigarette a day, quite comfortably, for several months, until I decided to finally stop. I still kept my rule that if I really wanted to have a cigarette, I could. I also wanted to be able to live with cigarettes around me, so I kept an unopened pack in the house.

When I stopped, I had so weaned myself off nicotine that I forgot, FORGOT, I was a smoker in two weeks. I have had no cravings since I quit, except a couple tiny brief ones that I could ignore, soon after.

I could never do cold turkey, I failed every time, I didn't have the will power, but my method didn't require any real will power, because the nicotine had been so far reduced in my system BEFORE I quit.

I've now been quit for 21 years, after smoking for 14 years. Best thing I have done in my life for myself.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

68. FWIW, I did the Alan Carr "Easyway" method

and it worked for me. (6 years, 20 a day)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1402718616

[Taxloss]

70. It worked for me as well. BRILLIANTLY.

I was a smoker for 8 years - 20 a day. My last cigarette was on 13 December 2004.

[neweurope]

69. I hear you - I just had a heart attack, and I'm still smoking 50 a day.

I know I have to quit, and soon, but I'm still not ready... I did read with interest all posts, though, and I think the post about missing the deep inhaling was good. I'm going to try that. I'll also try hypnosis, acupuncture and the patch, all at the same time. I'm afraid I won't make it *sigh*

---------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[friesianrider]

71. Oh for God's sake.

You COULD quit if you really wanted to. You have kids and SHOULD care more. And you ARE killing yourself. This isn't a guilt trip, it's just the truth. Give me a fucking break that you can't do it. That's so friggin' weak. Hundreds of thousands of people have quit smoking, and many have smoked longer than 18 years. Is it hard? I'm sure it is the hardest thing in the world to do. But if you won't do it to save your own damn life...

My God. Suck it up and get the help you need *yourself*, and stop asking others to "fight for a cure" or "fight for research" or "fight for a vaccine." I do feel very sorry for smokers but to act like your addiction to smoking just happened to you is an INSULT to the thousands of people who are dying because of real medical problems that THEY COULD NOT HELP. Smokers don't fucking need a cure or research or a vaccine. They need a kick in the ass and a dose of anti-whining medication. But you know what does need a cure? You know what needs research and a vaccine? Fucking breast cancer. AIDS. Alzheimer's. Parkinson's. REAL diseases that kill people who did nothing to deserve their illnesses.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

72. LMAO. I hope there are pillows under your high horse in case you fall off

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

sorry, but the absurdity :rofl: of :rofl: that :rofl: post :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

ohhhh. :rofl: I gotta wipe my eyes :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[friesianrider]

73. Wow.

That was creative. :eyes:

The truth hurts, I know. But it isn't being on a high horse to refuse to sympathize with that poor-me-I'm-an-addicted-smoker bullshit.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

74. LMAO Come On LOL LOL Tell me again how pathetic I am LOL

I'll keep laughing at you like I do to the freepers who also attack me only because they are uninformed and have self-rigtheous issues :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

C'mon, tell me more oh wise one :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Oh god :rofl: :rofl: you crack me up! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[friesianrider]

75. Ok.

:eyes:

[henslee]

76. "It's the temp. of the cig. that you need to deal with, not smoking....

Temperatures of cigarette without drawing:
Side of the lit portion: 400 deg C (or 752 deg F)
Middle of the lit portion: 580 deg C (or 1112 deg F)

Temperature during drawing:
Middle of the lit portion: 700 deg C (or 1292 deg F)

That is what's jacking your health by frying your lungs. Stop smoking cigarettes and MODIFY YOUR NICOTINE DELIVERY SYSTEM. GO GET A VAPORIZOR type device --(the kind that folks use to smoke weed. Buy pure tobacco, not the weird additive laden stuff. Smoke it at a low temperature. You will be satisfying your nic. addiction and sparing your lungs of all the carbon based burnt crap. This is my advice. I am sure by satisfying your nicotine fix this way, you will no longer need to smoke a gillion hot ciggies and wearing out your lungs.

[graywarrior]

79. So, as long as you don't want to quit

become the best smoker you can possibly be. That's how I finally quit. I got so good at it, I upped my normal fix of 4 1/2 packs of Marlboro's a day to 5 and when I drank all weekends, 6.

I'd light the next one from the last while I sat at my computer at work-a hospital!! I reeked of tobacco. I was actually yellow and PROUD!

After 2 months of that, I got so sick of smoking, I stopped cold turkey. That was in 1977. Never smoked again. Ten years later, I got sober after drinking myself to the top of a table in a gay bar doing Elvis impersonations with 2 nuns cheering me on.

Baby steps, my friend.

[Digit]

80. I used Smoke Away with some success

I had tried the patch, hypnosis, and acupuncture to no avail. Couldn't even go a week under those methods.
A co-worker told me about Smoke Away, which is a herbal method which detoxes your body of nicotine.
I had no cravings and could be around smokers without craving. I never, ever would have thought this possible.
Unfortunately, my father had a fall, and a series of nasty events rapidly ensued culminating in his death.
I started smoking again, but can't smoke cigarettes as strong as what I previously smoked.
I went to Target just recently to get some more, and at least my local Target doesn't carry it anymore. I know Walmart does, but I refuse to shop there.
I kind of forgot about it again until this thread.
My two cents...

[Bonhomme Richard]

81. I quit cold turkey a Little over 8 weeks ago....

and I'm here to tell you there have been times it was easy and times it's a real bitch. I've been smoking Kools for about 36 years and decided to try and quit again for 2 reasons.
I'm in a band and I wanted to see what it did for my vocal range.
Answer- I've already gained an octave.
I decided it was controlling everything I did in life and I got pissed.
Simple as that.
One thing I think helped me this time was that for the first 3 weeks I carried around an open pack of cigs in my pocket like I always did. That relieved me of the stress that I didn't have any smokes and it also made it a mind game challenge not to give in.

[skygazer]

82. Copout

The word "can't" is a copout. Don't want to hear it? Don't post stuff like this. Think I don't know? I've done and quit everything under the sun. Cold turkey. No help. Cigarettes. Drinking. Cocaine. Heroin. Kicking heroin was the toughest thing I've ever done. Did it anyway.

You want me to help? Help yourself. Why should I knock myself out when you won't even try? Don't tell me "can't". "Can't" is a copout.

[bigwillq]

83. I'm in the same boat dude.

I just can't quit. Nothing helps, nothing works.
I think I need to go into Detox. I feel that's the only way. Rid me of the habit once and for all. I need a good month or two locked away and that just might do the trick. Of course some of my other dirty habits, like going to the bar, need to be cut out of my lifestyle.

Good luck to you. :hi:

[Burma Jones]

84. Here's how I handle it

I smoke a few (2 or 3) butts a day and chew nicorette when I get jiggy.

I can go weeks now without smoking, but always come back to those few cigs a day.

If there were preventative measures that would take the harm out of smoking, I'd be all for it, as it is, I just try to minimize the amount of damage I am doing. Exercise and a good diet will also help you stay healthier and still smoke.

My Maternal Grandmother smoked from age 10 to age 75 (or so), she's now 98.
My Paternal Grandfather smoked about the same amount of time, and died from colon which spread to his liver cancer at 80.
My Dad smoked, got throat cancer, went through some horrific treatment, and has been cancer-free for two years now. He's 69.
Got an 81 year old Uncle with Emphysema. He quit about three years ago.
I think drinking has a lot to do with your chances of getting cancer.

[diplomats]

85. I don't know if this will help, but here goes....

I just finished Christopher Lawford's book about his 17 year drug and alcohol addiction. He has been sober for 20 years. What helped him get clean was getting down on his knees and praying for help with his addiction. And his prayers were answered. He spent about a month drying out and from then on, he had NO desire for drugs or alcohol.

He said in his book that Carl Jung wrote that he had never seen an addict get sober without some sort of spiritual experience. Interesting.

I quit cold turkey after smoking 2 packs a day for 40 years. I quit because I was actually coughing after each PUFF! I really felt ridiculous puffing and coughing, puffing and coughing. I knew that my body was telling me something and I better listen to it. I also prayed for help with quitting and my prayers were answered because I had no trouble with withdrawal symptoms. I am so grateful for that. I didn't escape unscathed because my appetite did increase and I gained 10 pounds that are hard to lose. Better that than smoking, though.

One thing that was an unexpected surprise was the extra money I had each month that I had previously spent on cigs. I can't imagine paying the prices that cigarettes cost today for a two pack a day habit!

Good luck to you.

[mwooldri]

87. Don't try this way to quit smoking: have a heart attack.

My father and my grandfather quit smoking this way. It doesn't work for everyone but for some people, a major life threatening event like a heart attack or developing emphazema is something to put them to the point of stopping smoking.

You, "operation mind crime", whoever you are, have done a good thing: you have at least acknowledged that you want to stop. I am not an expert at treating addictions.

Maybe there needs to be a tobacco de-tox clinic set up?

Mark.