Quitting smoking (HONEST!!) - Page 3

Schroeder · 05-07-09, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockstar

Eat some fish head soup cooked with cabbage, beets and birch bark when you get the urge, supposed to work. Birch bark is what does the trick though, the rest of the ingredients are added just to kill the taste of the tree bark. for real.

You have got to be careful with birch bark. It's bad for the stomach and can cause health problems.

AVGWarhawk · 05-07-09, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneToughHerring

You have snus in the States? It's legal? How funny. Those Swedes and their effective marketing of their addictive products.

I have used baggy-snus but gave it up pretty quick. It does give a pretty effective nicotine 'buzz' though and is popular among athletes because it is supposedly healthier and easier to use than smoked tobacco.

Yep, you can mail order straight from Sweden. However, Camel (USA) has made their own brand. As far as nicotine, you can select how strong you want, at least from the Swedish brand. Camel is what it is. As far as healthier, hell no, gum disease and possible liver damage. SNUS does keep you from smoking because you are provided the nicotine. Getting over the smoke after eating or trying to relax, that is the hard part.

NeonSamurai · 05-07-09, 03:19 PM

<reads over the suggestions> umm ya...

Ok here is the way it works in simple terms. If you want to quit successfully, you have to realy and truely want it. If a part of you does not want you to quit, then it will nag and chew and harrass you endlessly untill you give in or you have a moment of weakness. You have to have solid concrete reasons to counter the little inner voices excuses and attempts. So don't bother if you don't realy mean it.

Second when dealing with a smoking addiction you have basicly 2 sub types to deal with, chemical (physical) dependancy and Habbitual/psychological dependancy. As such its usualy suggested that you do something to replecate (or keep your hands busy) when you would normaly smoke, this can include stuff like using a nicoteen inhaler (they are shaped and used similar to cigarettes and work well), or just keeping a pencil or other object of similar shape and size to play with.

Also try to avoid stuff that you did along with smoking, particularly drinking. Alchohol for one thing will lower your resolve/resistance so that you will probably relapse. Strong associations will trigger the impulse to smoke.

Last I'm not sure if trying to deal with a caffeen addiction at the same time as dealing with a smoking addiction is wise. Unless its a minor habbit it can conflict with your resolve, especialy as the 2 chemicals are fairly related.

Anyhow I would suggest a nicotine device (inhaler is probably the best kind), as they do increase the odds of quiting successfully.

longam · 05-07-09, 03:50 PM

I have a year under my belt and what I did was research.

I educated myself on the cravings and triggers so I would know what to look for.

I had a real cause to quit, breathing. I was waking up short on breath and couldn't get it back for a few hours.

I always thought having a beer would be my biggest trigger, but it turned out to be work. I would walk outside every 1/2 hour and have a smoke, and there was always someone outside having a smoke, seems everyone smokes were I work at.

I would quit every night and by noon run down and buy another pack, so I finally just waited until the weekend so I would have a few days by myself and that were it started.

Its not easy by any means, and the first month was the worse for me, now I cant stand being around it....

Sledgehammer427 · 05-07-09, 04:33 PM

...candy sticks...like a cheap pack of sweet, cavity-inducing cigarettes, without the tobaccco.

they are a dollar and 9 cents US, I'm sure they aren't that expensive there

or if they are even there

I was just thinking though, that is how little kids learn to smoke cigarettes, so it must be even easier for adults to quit using them

the ones here are made by necco

Kapitan · 05-07-09, 05:01 PM

I know how hard it is im doing the same thing going cold turkey 2 days so far it does make me wonder why do we all start in the first place?

AVGWarhawk · 05-07-09, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kapitan

I know how hard it is im doing the same thing going cold turkey 2 days so far it does make me wonder why do we all start in the first place?

Good for you! I hope you make it.

CaptainHaplo · 05-07-09, 06:55 PM

I smoke a pipe every great once in a while nowadays.

The biggest thing isnt the physiological side - its the "having to do something with your hands and mind". Some people swear by hard candy or gum.

Personally - I suggest you do something that takes mental focus. If your a welder - try the flip side - take a break and go whittle for a bit, work with wood. Do something different that breaks the monotony of your day - but isn't harmful to your health. By doing this you force your mind to focus.

Also - when doing cold turkey and your really wanting to light up and afraid your going to lose the battle, go look at yourself in the mirror and ask the guy you see - aren't you strong enough to keep from being whipped by a little stick of cancer plant?

Peto · 05-07-09, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dowly

So, I got rid of my other 'addiction', coffee last week and figured this would be a good time to get rid of smoking aswell. I'm going to go cold turkey straight on, as I know I'd just keep on smoking if I'd try to lessen slowly.

Any tips? What helps to get over the worst? Anything to avoid that makes me want to have a cig?

HEEEEEEELP!!!

How about this one. A honest contest. I'm on my last can of tobacco right now (I've been making my own cigs with Top for years). I've proclaimed that this is my last can for about 2 weeks now. When it's done--I'm done smoking.

So--this contest requires us taking each other at his word but--I bet I can quit smoking easier than you can

!!! Maybe a little friendly competition will help both of us. H*ll--lets get AVG to sticky the "Quitting Smoking Simmers" and we'll see if others will join the competition!

Good Luck! To both of us (and whoever else picks up this heavy gauntlet).

AVGWarhawk · 05-07-09, 07:47 PM

You are making me nervous....I need a smoke

I did purchase the book McBeck recommended. Let see what that is about.

Peto · 05-07-09, 08:11 PM

Well--I quit once for 7 years so am confident I can do it again. But the book might be a good idea and I might check that out. The thing that made it easiest for me to quit for 7 years was the group of people I knew who kept telling me I wouldn't be able to. Had to prove them wrong

.

I started smoking again while on a 4 month backpack walk-about of Europe. Everyone I met offered me a cigarette and I finally caved in. That was years ago.

Hey AVG!!! Quit chewing that snuss like it's bubblegum!!!

SUBMAN1 · 05-07-09, 08:19 PM

Hey man, I quit about 8 years ago. Combo that worked for me was that gum for when you have a craving (which you can transfer over to normal gum later on) and full on cigars. With the cigars, your body starts to get used to smoking one a day (equal to about 50 cigs in nicotine so it works well) and then you will be able to simply cut out those cigars over time.

I still smoke the occasional Arturo Fuente every 6 months to a year, but I tell you, cigars made it easy to quit, especially after failing a few times prior to taking this strategic method.

-S

August · 05-07-09, 08:33 PM

I was a pack a day smoker for 36 years and it has been almost two years since I last took nicotine in any form.

The secret to successfully quitting smoking is commitment and personal discipline. Pure and simple.

Every time I had tried to quit in the past and failed, it was because in the back of my mind I never thought of the cigarette I had already smoked earlier as the Last Cigarette I would ever have. That cigarette was always the one I was going to light up later on, or the one I would smoke on "The Big Quitting Day" or the one I would allow myself if I was able to hold out for some arbitrary amount of time, or if I just needed to smoke one to keep from choking somebody who richly deserved it. If you think about it you can invent all sorts of reasons to fail.

But all that did was set me up for failure, because even when I was smoking what I intended to be my last one I knew the real quitting battle wouldn't begin until the jones for the next one started. It was like a condemned man waiting for the axe to fall. The physical jones hadn't even started yet and already I was stressed out about it.

So laying in bed one morning I decided that the Last Cigarette was going to be the one I had smoked last night before I had gone to bed. Of course I didn't think of that one as my last smoke at the time, but I damn sure would see it that way now.

It avoided making that whole big scary line crossing, journey beginning moment of drama, instead I found myself past that and already on my way.

It's difficult to explain. The only analogy I can think of is that it was like suddenly finding myself on the road, already heading to some distant destination, on a trip that I didn't have to pack for, or make any arraignments to go beforehand. Does any of that make sense?

Anyways, that got me through the first few days. That and chewing a lot of sugar free gum. What got me through the first crucial month was stubbornness that was increasingly buttressed by pride.

I resolved to treat the addiction like kids who will badger a parent for something until they give in: "Can we have it?", "Can we have it?", Can we have it?" My answer would always be "NO!" no matter how many times it asked, I would have an entire sack!, a mountain! an unending supply, of "NO, I will not smoke one!".

Because that is how nicotine addiction works. It insidiously wears you down over time by constantly nibbling at you until you give in, and I was just not going to let that happen this time. I will never smoke another cigarette for any reason, be it personal tragedy, natural or man made disaster, pestilence, nothing. Que the Rocky theme music, I was going to be stubborn.

About three weeks into it a curious thing happened. The longer I went without a cigarette the prouder I felt talking about it. It feels really good to be able to say "I haven't had a cigarette in three weeks", but it feels MUCH better to say "I haven't had a cigarette in two months!" and it continues to get better. The length of time since the Last Cigarette has become a source of pride to me. Now every time I get the urge I think to myself how much it would suck to have to go back to saying "It's only been 48 hours since my last cigarette"

and that does the trick.

I've put too much effort into it now to waste it.

Almost two years into it I still get the urge occasionally but it has gotten much easier to tell myself no. I've gotten into the habit of not smoking you see.

So good luck Dowly. Be stubborn. Be strong. Be true to yourself because that is what this is really all about...

UnderseaLcpl · 05-07-09, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by August

The secret to successfully quitting smoking is commitment and personal discipline. Pure and simple.

Be stubborn. Be strong. Be true to yourself because that is what this is really all about...

Spoken like a true soldier

sunvalleyslim · 05-07-09, 11:41 PM

Forget all the advice Dowly. When you really want to quit, you will do it all on your own. Everything else is just BULLSH_T.........You will find what works for you, if you're honest....Good Luck My Friend.......

05-07-09, 03:19 PM	#33
NeonSamurai Ocean Warrior Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Socialist Republic of Kanadia Posts: 3,044 Downloads: 17 Uploads: 0	<reads over the suggestions> umm ya... Ok here is the way it works in simple terms. If you want to quit successfully, you have to realy and truely want it. If a part of you does not want you to quit, then it will nag and chew and harrass you endlessly untill you give in or you have a moment of weakness. You have to have solid concrete reasons to counter the little inner voices excuses and attempts. So don't bother if you don't realy mean it. Second when dealing with a smoking addiction you have basicly 2 sub types to deal with, chemical (physical) dependancy and Habbitual/psychological dependancy. As such its usualy suggested that you do something to replecate (or keep your hands busy) when you would normaly smoke, this can include stuff like using a nicoteen inhaler (they are shaped and used similar to cigarettes and work well), or just keeping a pencil or other object of similar shape and size to play with. Also try to avoid stuff that you did along with smoking, particularly drinking. Alchohol for one thing will lower your resolve/resistance so that you will probably relapse. Strong associations will trigger the impulse to smoke. Last I'm not sure if trying to deal with a caffeen addiction at the same time as dealing with a smoking addiction is wise. Unless its a minor habbit it can conflict with your resolve, especialy as the 2 chemicals are fairly related. Anyhow I would suggest a nicotine device (inhaler is probably the best kind), as they do increase the odds of quiting successfully. __________________ SH3 Newbie Guide Links and other helpfull stuff

05-07-09, 04:33 PM	#35
Sledgehammer427 PacWagon Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Drinking coffee and staring at trees in Massachusetts Posts: 2,901 Downloads: 280 Uploads: 0	...candy sticks...like a cheap pack of sweet, cavity-inducing cigarettes, without the tobaccco. they are a dollar and 9 cents US, I'm sure they aren't that expensive there or if they are even there I was just thinking though, that is how little kids learn to smoke cigarettes, so it must be even easier for adults to quit using them the ones here are made by necco __________________ Cold Waters Voice Crew - Fire Control Officer Cmdr O. Myers - C/O USS Nautilus (SS-168) 114,000 tons sunk - 4 Spec Ops completed V-boat Nutcase - Need supplies? Japanese garrison on a small island in the way? Just give us a call! D4C!

05-07-09, 05:01 PM	#36
Kapitan Sub Test Pilot Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK + Canada Posts: 7,090 Downloads: 68 Uploads: 7	I know how hard it is im doing the same thing going cold turkey 2 days so far it does make me wonder why do we all start in the first place? __________________ DONT FORGET if you like a post to nominate it by using the blue diamond Find out about Museum Ships here: https://www.museumships.us/ Flickr for all my pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/131313936@N03/ Navy general board articles: https://www.navygeneralboard.com/author/aegis/

05-07-09, 06:55 PM	#38
CaptainHaplo Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 4,404 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 0	I smoke a pipe every great once in a while nowadays. The biggest thing isnt the physiological side - its the "having to do something with your hands and mind". Some people swear by hard candy or gum. Personally - I suggest you do something that takes mental focus. If your a welder - try the flip side - take a break and go whittle for a bit, work with wood. Do something different that breaks the monotony of your day - but isn't harmful to your health. By doing this you force your mind to focus. Also - when doing cold turkey and your really wanting to light up and afraid your going to lose the battle, go look at yourself in the mirror and ask the guy you see - aren't you strong enough to keep from being whipped by a little stick of cancer plant? __________________ Good Hunting! Captain Haplo

05-07-09, 07:47 PM	#40
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 27,343 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	You are making me nervous....I need a smoke I did purchase the book McBeck recommended. Let see what that is about. __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

05-07-09, 03:50 PM	#34
longam Admiral Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 2,014 Downloads: 26 Uploads: 0	I have a year under my belt and what I did was research. I educated myself on the cravings and triggers so I would know what to look for. I had a real cause to quit, breathing. I was waking up short on breath and couldn't get it back for a few hours. I always thought having a beer would be my biggest trigger, but it turned out to be work. I would walk outside every 1/2 hour and have a smoke, and there was always someone outside having a smoke, seems everyone smokes were I work at. I would quit every night and by noon run down and buy another pack, so I finally just waited until the weekend so I would have a few days by myself and that were it started. Its not easy by any means, and the first month was the worse for me, now I cant stand being around it....

05-07-09, 08:11 PM	#41
Peto Ace of the Deep Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: The details of my life are quite inconsequential Posts: 1,049 Downloads: 4 Uploads: 0	Well--I quit once for 7 years so am confident I can do it again. But the book might be a good idea and I might check that out. The thing that made it easiest for me to quit for 7 years was the group of people I knew who kept telling me I wouldn't be able to. Had to prove them wrong . I started smoking again while on a 4 month backpack walk-about of Europe. Everyone I met offered me a cigarette and I finally caved in. That was years ago. Hey AVG!!! Quit chewing that snuss like it's bubblegum!!! __________________ If your target has a 30 degree AOB, the range from his base course line equals the current range divided by 2.

05-07-09, 08:19 PM	#42
SUBMAN1 Rear Admiral Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11,866 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Hey man, I quit about 8 years ago. Combo that worked for me was that gum for when you have a craving (which you can transfer over to normal gum later on) and full on cigars. With the cigars, your body starts to get used to smoking one a day (equal to about 50 cigs in nicotine so it works well) and then you will be able to simply cut out those cigars over time. I still smoke the occasional Arturo Fuente every 6 months to a year, but I tell you, cigars made it easy to quit, especially after failing a few times prior to taking this strategic method. -S __________________

05-07-09, 08:33 PM	#43
August Wayfaring Stranger Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 22,667 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I was a pack a day smoker for 36 years and it has been almost two years since I last took nicotine in any form. The secret to successfully quitting smoking is commitment and personal discipline. Pure and simple. Every time I had tried to quit in the past and failed, it was because in the back of my mind I never thought of the cigarette I had already smoked earlier as the Last Cigarette I would ever have. That cigarette was always the one I was going to light up later on, or the one I would smoke on "The Big Quitting Day" or the one I would allow myself if I was able to hold out for some arbitrary amount of time, or if I just needed to smoke one to keep from choking somebody who richly deserved it. If you think about it you can invent all sorts of reasons to fail. But all that did was set me up for failure, because even when I was smoking what I intended to be my last one I knew the real quitting battle wouldn't begin until the jones for the next one started. It was like a condemned man waiting for the axe to fall. The physical jones hadn't even started yet and already I was stressed out about it. So laying in bed one morning I decided that the Last Cigarette was going to be the one I had smoked last night before I had gone to bed. Of course I didn't think of that one as my last smoke at the time, but I damn sure would see it that way now. It avoided making that whole big scary line crossing, journey beginning moment of drama, instead I found myself past that and already on my way. It's difficult to explain. The only analogy I can think of is that it was like suddenly finding myself on the road, already heading to some distant destination, on a trip that I didn't have to pack for, or make any arraignments to go beforehand. Does any of that make sense? Anyways, that got me through the first few days. That and chewing a lot of sugar free gum. What got me through the first crucial month was stubbornness that was increasingly buttressed by pride. I resolved to treat the addiction like kids who will badger a parent for something until they give in: "Can we have it?", "Can we have it?", Can we have it?" My answer would always be "NO!" no matter how many times it asked, I would have an entire sack!, a mountain! an unending supply, of "NO, I will not smoke one!". Because that is how nicotine addiction works. It insidiously wears you down over time by constantly nibbling at you until you give in, and I was just not going to let that happen this time. I will never smoke another cigarette for any reason, be it personal tragedy, natural or man made disaster, pestilence, nothing. Que the Rocky theme music, I was going to be stubborn. About three weeks into it a curious thing happened. The longer I went without a cigarette the prouder I felt talking about it. It feels really good to be able to say "I haven't had a cigarette in three weeks", but it feels MUCH better to say "I haven't had a cigarette in two months!" and it continues to get better. The length of time since the Last Cigarette has become a source of pride to me. Now every time I get the urge I think to myself how much it would suck to have to go back to saying "It's only been 48 hours since my last cigarette" and that does the trick. I've put too much effort into it now to waste it. Almost two years into it I still get the urge occasionally but it has gotten much easier to tell myself no. I've gotten into the habit of not smoking you see. So good luck Dowly. Be stubborn. Be strong. Be true to yourself because that is what this is really all about... __________________ Flanked by life and the funeral pyre. Putting on a show for you to see.

05-07-09, 11:41 PM	#45
sunvalleyslim Ace of the Deep Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Los Angeles, Ca Posts: 1,142 Downloads: 267 Uploads: 0	Forget all the advice Dowly. When you really want to quit, you will do it all on your own. Everything else is just BULLSH_T.........You will find what works for you, if you're honest....Good Luck My Friend....... __________________ Crew member/ decommission member TM2(SS)(SD) 3/68-7/70 DIESEL BOATS FOREVER USS SEGUNDO (SS398)