Quitting Smoking...... *how I did it*

After many many MANY failed attempts I finally managed to quit smoking, it wasn't an easy task to achieve but I feel it was a necessary one for me, hopefully this little write up may aid others in quitting the habit...

For this you will need:-

3 x different strength nicotine patches (high / medium / low)
A Vape Pen (or e-cig --- ZERO nicotine --- just flavor)
A bit of willpower.

Now before you start, I'll say this... the only way this is going to work is if you REALLY want to give up, I believe I was completely successful because I finally didn't want to smoke any more and was willing to take the feeling crap for a change.

OK.

Set a day in your mind for when you want to stop smoking (lets say for example this Monday), what you are going to do is use your last cigarette about an hour before you go to bed on Sunday night, make a mental note that this will be your last cigarette EVER and you do not need it anymore.

Before retiring to bed put on a nicotine patch.

When you wake up in the morning remind yourself that you are getting a dose of nicotine so you have no reason for smoking... when the body starts to crave the habit of hand to mouth use the zero nicotine e-cig (i used banana flavour because it was tasty).

Do this for 4 days or however long you feel you need, I stayed on the high strength for 3 days....

Then move to medium.... continue on for as long as you need (again I did this for 3 days).

Then move to low strength....

It will help if during this whole process you are around people who smoke... when they are smoking, use your e-cig keep telling yourself that you don't need the nicotine... notice how bad cigarettes smell to you after about a week.

---

When you start on the low patch....

The next step is to start to look at the vape as just flavor -- if you wanted to taste banana you could just chew some banana gum right.

Give yourself however much time you need on the low strength patch.... I think I used it for about 4 days, but when I moved to the low I had already stopped using the vape.... after 4 days of not inhaling anything I decided to take the leap and not use nicotine.

Now I did feel like crap during the whole time, it got worse when I stopped using the patches and it would have been easy at any time to give in, but I just kept reminding myself how hard it had been to get that far....

My reason now for not smoking when occasionally the mind says "hey we ain't had a fag in a while".... I had to put in a massive effort to quit.... I'm not going through that again lol.

so there, I don't know if anyone cares, or if anyone will try and use it, but I smoked for 20 years and this worked for me, I hope it aids someone in their quest to quit.

Congratulations on the quit.

That little baby in your Avatar will appreciate it when you are still around to hold her baby!

Phortis Nespin wrote: Congratulations on the quit.

That little baby in your Avatar will appreciate it when you are still around to hold her baby!

Thanks.... it was about 5/6 months ago so I can officially call myself a "non smoker" now lol, it's insane, it proper stinks, when I walk past someone who is smoking it completely offends my nostrils now.
(though I'm not going to turn into one of those preachy ex smokers who rubs it in)

Ad I do have to confess My darling (little monkey of a *which is putting it nicely*) Daughter was good motivation

Next challenge... weight loss

What a great accomplishment Lee! I've never started smoking so I can't say I know how hard it is. But giving up an addiction that is both a physiological and a psychological addiction deserves praise. Well done friend.

I always end up starting again because I like it too much, but I find cold turkey more effective. The widespread availability of tobacco is what makes quitting difficult. Jestor swears by pills if i remember correctly.

Tripp Borz wrote: What a great accomplishment Lee! I've never started smoking so I can't say I know how hard it is. But giving up an addiction that is both a physiological and a psychological addiction deserves praise. Well done friend.

Thanks Tripp.... kind words indeed You Sir are a gentleman and I will be needing to pick your brain at some point about magic pants

ren wrote: I always end up starting again because I like it too much,

That's what I meant by you need to want to quit, so many times before I said... right I'm going to quit then I was just like sod it I like smoking lol.

ren wrote: I find cold turkey more effective.

I just couldn't do it that way... I was like Renton from Trainspotting in the bedroom every time I tried... like seriously I felt awful. weak, shaky... not nice at all.... had a little of those symptoms from the wean off the patch but it wasn't half as bad.

The reason for the flavoured vape was to break the hand habit first.... once I was able to convince myself that wasn't where the nicotine was I was able to put it down... then i was just the battle with the drug, I think methods though may be tailored to the individual... kinda like opinions lol there's no real right / wrong way to do it lol...

Just figured this was worth posting because it might inspire or help someone struggling to kick the habit, like I said 20 odd years and this was the only one that really worked.... though again I really was determined this time.

ren wrote: Jestor swears by pills if i remember correctly.

I never did try the "Champix" ... as someone who suffered from the psychological scars of a misspent youth I'm not a fan of side effects :silly:

For me cold turkey is effective, because if i can fight off the urge for just a few days, then i can stop "wanting" it. After that it's a matter of not accepting smokes from friends and not having the kind of problems that make me want to smoke. I've tried vaping and absolutely hate it, tried different devices and liquids, it really doesn't do it for me. Not only does it taste nothing like tobacco, but I actually find the vapor kinda harsh.

I quit almost 3-4 years ago,I quit for my son who is now 5 years old. I quit smoking cold turkey, it was extremely differcult because my financee' was smoking as well and did not want to stop. I won't lie, there were days that i was so irrtable i would have gladly B*tch slapped Godzilla and spit on him and not cared one bit. However, one thing kept me going....My Son. Five dollars a pack is not worth it, compared to playing with your child and seeing them smile back at you and hug you, and them telling you "I love you daddy" congrats on quitting, it is rough doing it. but that smile you get from your child, worth every second of hell you went through for them

ren wrote: For me cold turkey is effective, because if i can fight off the urge for just a few days, then i can stop "wanting" it. After that it's a matter of not accepting smokes from friends and not having the kind of problems that make me want to smoke. I've tried vaping and absolutely hate it, tried different devices and liquids, it really doesn't do it for me. Not only does it taste nothing like tobacco, but I actually find the vapor kinda harsh.

This is how I quit also. I was a longtime cigarette smoker. I kicked the cigarette habit early in 2014 (with a few occasional ones after that), but I did not quit tobacco. I did actually use a vaporizer to quit smoking cigarettes, but I used a liquid with a high nicotine content. I agree that it is a poor substitute, but there are a few flavors I enjoy.

Subsequently, I came to find out that, despite smoking daily for years, I did not have an innate need for regular, scheduled smokes as most habit smokers do. I found that I wanted tobacco before and after work, on my lunch break, and when I am drunk. I would use Black and Mild "cigars" for this role. Ultimately, it was a bit cheaper than cigs but not by too much. I also learned that vaping could not help me out here. So I quit, altogether. It was my last vice. I gave up alcohol, meat, and most unhealthy foods, which gave me more willpower.

For me, the only way to quit was to quit.

Congratulations Leandros Von. I stopped smoking soon after many years. I think that to stop smoking is a really important achievement in the life of anyone, especially those who have children.