I need help with quitting...

I ain't gonna lie to ya... it's rough... But I've been "smober" for almost a year and a half. All you really have to do is get past the first month.

I used an herbal supplement called "Smoking Withdrawl Relief". It is the same ingredients as the "Smoke Away" you see advertised on TV, but instead of costing you $100, it's about $8 a bottle at most health food or herbal stores. One bottle should get you through a month.

Here's what I did:

Step 1: Don't buy any more cigarettes. If you have to smoke, bum one from somebody else.

Step 2: Don't stop taking breaks. Continue to go outside. When you get out there, inhale deeply and slowly about 20 times, then go back in.

Step 3: Take the herbal stuff The herbal supplement has a twofold approach. It takes the edge off of the cravings that you will continue to have, but it also makes you feel a little ill if you continue to smoke.

Step 4 Either start putting the money away, or find a way to spend the money that you used to spend on smokes on something else. The wife and I got the Dish. We couldn't afford to smoke and have Dish, so now we just have Dish.

Step 5: Don't beat yourself up if you do smoke. Quitting is hard. Damned hard. Don't ever expect it to be easy. Just keep trying.

Oh, and email me if you want to.

I have smoked since I was 15 or so. (I was 34 when i quit). I was never a heavy smoker, usually around 1/4 to 1/2 a pack a day. 3 years ago my lung collapsed due to a major infection that crushed it (the infection was a mucous mass that grew on top of my left lung). I ended up in the hospital and had to have the mass removed. I didn't leave the hospital for about a month. I haven't smoked since then. When I was in the hospital, i just decided that i didn't need to smoke anymore and just quit. I used the patch for about 5 days while in the hospital and then didn't bother with it.

My wife still smokes so i am around it all the time but I still haven't had one puff since the hosptial visit.

And just a note, the lung collapse had NOTHING to do with smoking. I just told myself "why bother?" and quit because it was convienient.

My coworker just finished chemotherapy after getting lung cancer from smoking for many years. She looked like hell during the chemo, and even though she's off it now (and the cancer's in remission), she says she still feels terrible. Seeing all the crap she went through is enough of a kick in the butt to get my smoking coworkers to quit. Thankfully, I don't smoke at all.

...you could do any of the following:

1. puzzles - I have a couple nicely framed Kincades on the wall
2. do some yard work - keep you fit and busy
3. learn to work on your car - exposure to gas may also help deter smoking
4. read a books or ten - but do so at the library, vice your own home
5. ever try blowing glass? - take an art class at your local college and see if they offer a glass blowing class
6. perhaps a change in career? - some professions are just bad, like working in a restaurant of any kind (usually a good place to score some other stuff too if that is your fancy )
7. got a pool? - swimming is good exercise and will keep you from smoking while doing it!
8. the patch - try two if one doesn't work
9. bum, don't buy - but if you do, choose a different brand, something you hate

--DDTM

I don't know if this will encourage you at all, but scientific studies have shown the ONLY physical addiction lasts for a week no matter how long you have smoked, after that it is all mental. So do your best to survive a week without it and you've taken your first BIG step

FWIW I believe step 1 is the most important. Stop buying what you want to stop using. Really simple. A friend tried to quit years ago, but she kept buying more smokes, and wondered why she was having a hard time quitting. I told her it was because she kept giving in to the urge to buy more smokes. If you haven't got anyting to smkoe, it's REALLY hard to "accidentally" forget your task to quit and have one. Get rid of it all and tell all your friends of your intents to quit and ask them to help you by limiting how many they will give you.

Thanks for all the ideas guys... I think if I ever really NEED to buy smokes again, I will definitely get the one brand I can not stand- last time I had Peter Jacksons they lasted me about two months because they're just so foul.

Anyone think it might be better to slowly cut down on them before just quitting?