I am going to quit smoking when I wake up in the morning, any suggestions?

I used the nicotine gum to help me quit. I highly recommend it. I could use it at just the right time, and I only needed it for the first week or so.

Good luck!!

I’m in the process of quitting (ie cutting back severely) and have basically switched to dipping.

I definitely smoke less, but the habit is still there. I also work in a place (for the most part, I only use nicotine at work) where it’s an accepted behavior, which means a lot. Most people look down on dippers more than smokers because spit is ICKY GROSS NASTY (~).

I was thinking about buying one of those eco cigs they sell at 7eleven. They are just air or something, no nicotine or anything. I think maybe that would help get the nicotine my body and ease me off cigarettes outta without it being as hard, what do you guys think?

Yeah I could never dip lol…As if smoking is any better…but dipping is to yuck for me sorry ha

@jm5225 Those Ecigs have nicotine. Just no smoke. It’s an oil thing, I’m not exactly sure how it works, though…

@jm5225 I was just going to say that, I was looking for a link

well i can say that yes it is going to be hard. you cant just quit cold turkey, it takes dedication. It is an addiction and it will be hard to pull away from it. My mom quit 2 years ago, and she didnt do with a stupid nicotine patch that doesnt help anyways, she prayed to God to help her get through it. and He did. I would suggest praying. It does work you know. You cant do things on your own.

I’m three weeks into my third attempt, been smoking for 40 years. The gum, patch, e-cigs, etc didn’t work for me. I have a real motivation this time: a loved one has severe asthma that is triggered not only by tobacco smoke, but by the smell of tobacco anywhere.

I suggest getting rid of all visual cues: cigarette case, lighter, ashtrays, etc. The worst times seem to be with the morning cup of coffee and after meals; get up and do something strenuous in those situations.

Don’t think of it as quitting; think of it as “I’m not going to smoke today.” There is a big difference.

Congratulations! Just by writing the affirmation and sharing it here you’ve begun the journey.
Good luck to you.

juice, headphones and walking shoes. good luck. it’s hard but rewarding.

Best of luck @jm5225 Stay focused on the reasons you want to give up. It might be an idea to put the money you would spend on cigarettes into a jar. Then when you have a nice amount tucked away in there, you can treat yourself to something really nice, like a massage, etc.
You absolutely can do it. You just need to be very clear about the reasons why.
Have some options for when you really want a cigarette – you could carry a bottle of water around. Basically, substitute the habit with something beneficial for your body.
Good luck :)

Good luck.. Exercise more now. because you’ll gain weight. Or choose healthy snacks.

I recently quit after smoking off and on since I was about 17. The secret is to continue trying different ways to quit until you find the best way for you. I wound up using filters that attach to the cigarette. It decreased the amount of tar and nicotine I took in, and made me cough more. Finally, after several months of that, I just put them down and never picked them up again. After you quit, try jogging or rapid walking as a substitute. I would also munch out on crushed ice to help me over the hump, although I don’t really recommend this as a long-term substitute… too hard on the teeth.

Good luck, and remember… don’t quit trying to stop! Keep at it until you find the right combination for you!

Cold turkey worked for me. I was 28 when a doctor told me I had a small scar on one lung from a previous illness and recommended I quit smoking, since apparently scar tissue is susceptible to cancer. It scared me and I stopped for a week, then went back. The following year I was sitting at my desk writing an ad—I remember this so clearly—and I brushed my hand over my mustache. The smell of nicotine wafted up into my nose, and I was so repelled by that smell I quit cold turkey that day. I’ve never gone back. My point: I had to want to stop smoking for my own reasons.

Very Proud of You ! Congratulations! I did this 12 years ago, and don’t regret it. Use small candies, Tic Tac, Certs or even holding a toothpick to keep your mouth busy. Each day is an accomplishment, treat yourself with something small. You can do this!

Anytime you get the urge to smoke do 10 very slow as deep as you can inhales and exhales. You will not feel like smoking after the 10 breaths if you can even do 10. Try not to hyperventilate.

look at Doctor Oz’s website. doctoroz.com

Everyone’s different, but for me, committing to it and knowing I meant it was 90% of quitting. Constant gum chewing was the other 10%. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Quitting smocking is very psychological. anytime you think about smoking pinch yourself or snap a rubber band on your wrist. It’s a mind game, mind over matter, mind over body. just try to keep your thoughts in check

I successfully quit two years ago. I wanted to quit, as opposed to my previous attempts, when I really didn’t want to and was just doing what I thought was the right thing. It is the right thing, but it’s hard when your really don’t want to do that thing, right?

Every time the urge hit, I’d sing “Big Yellow Taxi,” to myself, which is something Joni Mitchell can no longer do as she did in the 1970s due to her 40+-years, 2-pack-a-day habit. Being able to sing soprano was something more important to me than smoking. I didn’t want to lose my ability to sing 4 octaves, even though I’m not a pro. Also, I wanted to be able to walk up the stairs of my building without huffing and puffing after 3 or 4 flights.

Every time the urge hits you, ask yourself, What is more important to me than smoking?

I quit 5 years ago in Feb. I used sunflower seeds because I had to keep my hands busy! It’s hard at first and you just have to remind yourself of how you feel when you smoke and stick with it! I still want a cigarette after 5 years and when it gets almost overwhelming I remember what it made me feel like and that’s incentive enough to go on without starting up again!

I went through this in 1980, age 31 for me. That was before nicotine patches, so it was cold turkey or nothing.

You are not going to quit in the morning. You are going to quit tomorrow night when you go to bed, having spent your first whole day without a cigarette. After that, here is what to expect, based on my experience:

Think in 3s. After I stubbed out my last butt, it took 3 days for the worst of the physical withdrawal symptoms to subside. The worst time was the evening of the second day, when I almost broke down. Knowing I’d have to start all over if I gave in got me through it. Being mad as hell that I was a drug addict got me through it. By the evening of the 3rd day, I was past the crisis. I still had cravings, but they were manageable.

It took 3 weeks for the cravings to go away altogether. Stuff happened during that time to help things along – food started to taste better, and my sense of smell started to come back. Realizing that everything in my apartment smelled like an ash tray was a good motivator.

It took 3 months before my body felt completely right again. My sleep patterns had changed (going to bed earlier and rising earlier – not a bad thing), and I had gained some weight that I had to take off. However, now that I could breathe, exercise was less of an effort.

It was 3 years before I stopped wanting a cigarette once in a while. I never gave in, not even once. I dropped the sugarless mint habit I’d picked up by then, too.

You might also want to consider some reward system for yourself. A friend used to put a gold star on each day of the calendar when she went smoke-free. Another picked out something she wanted to buy, and each day, would put the money she would have spent on cigarettes in a jar. Both said that focusing on the health benefits of quitting was more important, but they also liked the visual motivation on a daily basis.

@Pied_Pfeffer , I should have mentioned that part. Every year for several years, I took the money I would have spent on cigs and bought myself something nice on or near the anniversary of my quit date (February 20, 1980).

The last time I checked, cigs were about $5 a pack. Given the habit I had, that would come out to around $8/day. Over a year, that would come to $2,920.00. You can buy something pretty nice for that.

Do what I did.

Don’t smoke.

If you have a desire to eat. Go with it. It will fade in a week or so.

Besides, it saved me around $170 a month. It’s like winning the lottery.

I planned my day to quit months in advance, and I smoked and smoked (and smoked) with reckless abandon up until I went to bed the night before my planned last day. I haven’t smoked since; that was 12 years ago, and I had smoked a pack, pack+ a day for 16 years.

Also, mind what @IchtheosaurusRex says. Watch out for the threes (3 days, weeks, months) those will be your toughest times, but if you know that up front, it will work to your advantage.

I caved :( but I did smoke only ¼ of what I normally would have smoked in a day which I am kind of proud of because honestly I found that to be a challenge even a week ago. I am going to try again tomorrow. I caved today I think because I ran out of ciggs and was totally fine with it. If i don’t smoke in the morning it’s much easier then if I just have one and try and go the rest of the day. However my boss gave me a whole pack of cigarettes and i said no but he insisted and doesn’t speak english so I took them and sure enough after a bit of debating I caved and smoked one and later that night smoked another then I ate and thought well I already smoked two so why not three….then I realized WTF am I do…this is not what I wanted to do and I’m slipping….so I think I will give the pack to someone at work tomorrow and start fresh in the morning with no cigarette.

Relapse is part of the process. You will make it eventually.

Second time I quit. I never had a craving of any kind. It’s as if I never smoked.

Let us know how Day #2 went. We promise not to judge….only encourage.

So far so good, i cracked on day 2 and had one but have not had one since :)

Nice one!

Good luck and hang in there! Congrats on making it this far!